SPELUNKY 2

Derek Yu on why survival is better with friends

Format PS4 ETA 2019 Pub TBA Dev Mossmouth, LLC

OPM: What were your first thoughts on making a sequel?

Derek Yu: My first thought was that I wanted to figure out what made Spelunky feel uniquely Spelunky and push those aspects as far as I can. There are a lot of great rogue like-inspired games now, but I think that Spelunky still occupies its own unique space.

OPM: Online multiplayer is one of the biggest new additions to the sequel. How did you find the response to co-op in the first game?

DY: The best thing about co-op for me was that it brought people together, regardless of age or skill level. I heard from parents who enjoyed playing the game with their kids in co-op and platformer fans who enjoyed playing it with non-fans that way. A lot of people have probably beaten Spelunky co-op but not in single-player. So the main focus on multiplayer moving forward is going to be having fun moreso than being ‘balanced’.

OPM: The first game was very, very hard. Is Spelunky 2 similar?

DY: In Spelunky we had the shortcut system, which seemed to work pretty well as ‘training wheels’ for new players. I don’t plan on adding anything more to Spelunky 2 to make the game easier in a direct way like that. However, I do want to make the game feel more nurturing and less lonely, even in single-player. A lot of people have told me that they bounced off Spelunky and didn’t get into it until a friend convinced them to try it again – I’d like Spelunky 2 to have that friend inside the game!

OPM: What new tricks have you had the most fun seeing people come up against, and which favourites were you keen to see return?

DY: I think the Volcano area is a good example of how we’re mixing old and new together. It has a lot of the trappings of Hell, which was the secret final area in the first game, like lava and flying imps, but there’s also so much new stuff going on: the new liquid physics, exploding robots, conveyor belts, wild rock dogs (that you can tame and mount), the second layer, etc. So for old players there’s a sense of familiarity in an otherwise very new place. It also appears as one of the second areas (there are occasional branching paths in Spelunky 2), so there’s this feeling of, “Whoa, this feels like Hell, but it’s very early in the game… what’s going on?!