SPELUNKY 2
Evan Lahti: Olde Spelunky, our 2013 GOTY, was a clever proc-gen platformer that along with other roguelikes helped usher in the era of ‘Difficulty is Good’. But seven years later, the indie hit’s legacy might be the daring, creative player feats it inspired: The eggplant run (escorting a useless eggplant all the way through to the end of the game), the no-gold run, a speed run of Hell itself.
What’s special about Spelunky 2, then, is how much the game’s lead designer Derek Yu drew on the legendary achievements of the Spelunky community as inspiration for this sequel. The eggplant, for example, is no longer just an item: It’s a path to reach a sprawling, secret level that contains the sacred lore of the eggplant god. NPCs are no longer cardboard cutouts, they’re part of the exponentially deeper web of secrets, and helping them can produce unexpected help later in your run.
Spelunky remains PC gaming’s Mario, a platformer built on pleasant, slippery physics that drips with the things that make our platform unique: Self-created goals, intricacy, depth, and a rich community of hyper-enthusiasts to admire.
Rich Stanton: I almost think of Spelunky 2 as an old-fashioned sequel, a 2020 game from the 1990s, when a platformer’s sequel would be simply more of the same, but better. This was the right approach for following up a roguelike that was already as near-asdammit perfect.
Spelunky 2 knows this won’t be the first time for any of its players, so has dastardly moles purpose-built to interrupt thinking time, a jungle with spiked walls and bear traps to snap-off careless explorers, and the temptation of the ghost jar.
That fragile jar embodies my personal Spelunking motto: Get rich or die trying. You often have to choose between carrying it to the exit, or a companion (money vs health). It’s easily smashed, so you’re even more terrified of getting hit than usual, and completely neuters offensive options. The money’s irresistible, but one slip can end your run. Spelunky 2 is all about making choices, and dealing with the consequences, up until you make the choice that kills you. Reaching out to grab the ghost jar, you feel that in microcosm.
SPELUNKY REMAINS PC GAMING’S MARIO