Deep dive
The highly anticipated sequel to a beloved roguelike, Spelunky 2 delivers players to the moon in search of new treasures, traps and family friends. Building on the gameplay and character of the original in the single player adventure mode, Spelunky 2 also brings along daily challenges, competitive multiplayer and co-op play.
Moonwalk.
My experience with Spelunky 2 went something like this. First, there was the excitement of getting to grips with the newness of it – of learning the ropes.The presentation is immaculate. The level design is colourful, and the controls are as tight as they need to be in a game where precision is required to avoid certain death. Nevertheless, there was a lot of death.
MSRP: $19.99
Platforms: PS4, PC
Then came denial: the game was beyond me. It was too hard. I was never going to ‘git gud’. Then, when I finally completed the very first level for the very first time, a real sense of achievement followed. This was to be short-lived, as I discovered I would need to repeat this feat several more times in order to unlock a permanent short cut for future runs. What followed was a brief period of ‘gamer rage’ – I began to rush things, which of course only led to silly mistakes and more ridiculous deaths. Slowly but surely though, I began to learn how to play Spelunky 2.
Tricks of the trade.
There are lots of animals in the game, which can be ridden once tamed. And they’re not just for riding either – I figured out, accidentally, that bombs turn turkeys into extra health. Shops can be found mid-level, and offer an array of items for the player to spend their hard-earned treasure on. Just be careful not to inadvertently damage the goods via an ill-placed bomb, as – and trust me on this – the shopkeeper will not be pleased.
By this time,I had become a glutton for punishment. I couldn’t help but to keep coming back for more. When I finally did open up the short cut – allowing me quick access to two new levels – I was elated. I had impressed myself. Unsurprisingly, this sense of pride was extremely short lived as I began the trial and error again – a whole new set of traps to encounter, learn to identify and then figure out how to navigate.
Read the room.
The ingenuity of Spelunky’s game play is not that it is unpredictable or ruthlessly demanding. It is of course both those things, but in effect it trains the player to learn how to react to a sequence of cause and effect scenarios. Once the player understands precisely how a particular trap works, they can learn how to avoid or disarm it. Arrow traps will always fire when anything crosses their path. If the player can entice a foe to be that trigger or drop a rock in front of it first – the trap becomes redundant. If neither of those things are possible, it might be wise to search for an alternative route down and out. The ruthlessly demanding aspect of this is that Spelunky forces the player make these decisions swiftly. Thinking ahead is essential. Levels must be completed within three minutes or the player will be hunted (yes, hunted – not haunted) by a ghost and that doesn’t tend to end well.
Opening the game up early on to allow the player to choose their next route was a smart move by Mossmouth. The subsequent Jungle and Lava levels offer good variation, whilst being just as difficult. Logically I would tell myself that I should focus on learning one level inside out in order to try to progress, but after a string of failed runs it was nice to take a crack at something different just to change things up.
All that being said, I found Spelunky 2 was a still a game I grew frustrated with each session. Sometimes insta-kills happen so quickly it can feel out of the player’s control, regardless of how cautiously a level is approached. On the flip side, often times success feels more based on luck than skill. Additionally, some traps can be quite hard to spot even when the player knows to be on the lookout for them, particularly in the Jungle biome.
Conclusion.
Spelunky 2 is likely to delight those who revere its predecessor. As for newcomers, a whole new world of curiosity, frustration, rage quitting, perseverance and reward awaits. This is a game that may be a challenge to get into for some, but sooner rather than later determination to succeed will likely evolve into devotion. This will be a game that will always encourage players to come back for more.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
