Super Meat Boy 3D Secret Levels Guide: Where To Find Every Purple Portal
Finding the hidden levels in this meat grinder requires completely ignoring every survival instinct you possess.
This franchise has always loved hiding its coolest stuff behind the most mathematically unreasonable jumps imaginable. The jump to 3D has not softened that design philosophy at all. While you are busy dodging buzzsaws and trying not to turn your protagonist into a fine red mist on the floor, the game expects you to keep an eye out for hidden dimensional tears.
There are exactly five secret levels tucked away in the main campaign. They are accessed through floating purple portals that the developers placed in incredibly inconvenient spots. You will know you are getting close to one because the fast paced soundtrack will violently distort and slow down. It is a fantastic audio cue, but it usually happens right when you are in the middle of a life or death platforming sequence.
Jumping into the portal is only the first step. You actually have to beat the retro inspired stage inside to officially unlock the unique character trapped at the end. I spent an unhealthy amount of time leaping off cliffs to find these things. Here is exactly where you need to look.
World 1: Easy Start And The Retro Callback
The developers decided to give you a taste of the secret hunting immediately. The very first portal is located in World 1 on the level Easy Start.
Right after you spawn into the stage, ignore the main path entirely. Look up and to your left. You will spot an isolated platform with the purple portal glowing in the distance. The gap looks a bit too wide for a standard jump. You need to get a running start, sprint right off the edge, and perfectly time your air dash to grab the ledge.
This portal drops you into Plumber Hill. It is an aggressive homage to Super Mario 64 complete with a Bob-omb Battlefield visual style. You play as Super Meat Boy 64 here. To clear the stage and unlock the cage holding Bandage Girl, you have to track down three specific sets of coins that merge into a star.
World 2: Upwind And The Truck Chase
The second portal is tucked away in level 6, fittingly named Upwind. The core mechanic of this stage involves riding massive vertical wind gusts to reach higher ground.
Very early in your ascent, keep your eyes glued to the right side of the screen. You will eventually spot an isolated platform featuring a fan pushing air outward. Jump over to this platform and inspect the open pipe attached to it. The purple portal is hiding straight down the pipe.
This takes you to Crash Corps. This level abandons traditional platforming entirely. You are suddenly playing as a rogue truck desperately fleeing an incoming missile. Your only goal is to clear the obstacles on the path ahead so the missile does not detonate on you. Keep destroying debris until you hit a massive pool of acid, then carefully dodge the missile as it blows open the final path to Bandage Girl.
World 3: Pain Production And Stealth Mechanics
By the time you reach World 3, the level design gets noticeably more hostile. You need to load up level 10, Pain Production, to find the third portal.
Navigate your way through the deadly conveyor belt section until you land on a central platform occupied by a patrolling robot. Every fiber of your being will tell you to jump forward and keep running. Ignore that instinct. Turn to the right and execute a massive blind leap behind the spinning saws. The portal is tucked safely behind the death trap.
Welcome to Beef Gear Tactix. You are playing as the Squirrel in a blatant Metal Gear Solid parody. You have to stealth your way across a series of platforms guarded by security systems. Whenever a green spotlight is about to sweep over your character, stop moving entirely. You will hide in a cardboard box and survive the detection phase. Just be patient and inch your way to the end.
World 4: Ruinous Tunnel And Pure Agony
World 4 hides its secret portal remarkably early. Load into level 3, Ruinous Tunnel, and play through the stage normally.
Near the very end of the run, you will encounter a terrifying obstacle consisting of four sets of bone saws spinning in a massive circle. Instead of navigating the intended path, you need to jump hard to the right and smash your body directly through a glass pane. It requires surgical timing, but the portal is right behind the glass.
Veterans of the original game are going to feel a cold sweat right about now. The Guy is back. This level forces you to use his slow double jump and dash mechanics to weave through a claustrophobic maze of instant death drills. It is agonizingly difficult. Use your ground slam to drop quickly through the tighter gaps.
World 5: Anni's Nightmare And The Final Portal
The last portal is an absolute nightmare to reach. You need to head to World 5, level 8. Anni's Nightmare is a brutally fast auto scroller where you ride moving trains while dodging walls of spikes.
Right as you approach the jump to the final set of trains, do not take the obvious leap. Stay on the tracks, angle your jump slightly toward the camera to clear the spikes, and aggressively climb the metal tower in the foreground. The window for this jump is microscopic. You are going to die a lot trying to land this.
If you manage to grab the portal, you are rewarded with a relatively relaxing Donkey Kong Country parody. You play as Pumpkin Jack and simply blast yourself between floating barrels. It is a breezy victory lap compared to The Guy, but be careful on the very last barrel shot. It only gives you just enough momentum to reach the end.
Once you clear this final retro stage, you get a shiny trophy and a stacked roster of weird characters. Now you just need to figure out how to survive the Dark World.
