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Pardon the dust! This page includes some jargon that hasn't been added to the site's glossary yet. I'll be around to fix this later, but sorry for the inconvenience in the meantime. |
Review: Spelunky
At a Glance
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How to Save and Pause:As this game is meant to be played through in one sitting, there's no way to save your progress. At most, whatever you unlock during an adventure will remain unlocked forever. To pause the game, bring up the game's menu by pressing ESC. Time needed per session:Plan for fifteen to twenty minute sessions - odds are that you'll lose long before then, but you'll probably want to try a few times in a single session.
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Does this game pose issues for Christian players?
 | Some players may have concerns Players can benefit from many immoral actions, including human sacrifice and theft. Fortunately, these are also optional, as you can always try to progress without them. |
Screenshots
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/spelunky_0.jpg)
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/spelunky_1.jpg)
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/spelunky_2.jpg)
Game Overview
Spelunky is an incredibly difficult platformer known for its cartoonish appearance and randomly generated levels. Your only real goal is to survive long enough to locate the current level's exit, and to be very frank, the odds are not in your favor. Each level is filled with all sorts of dangerous hazards, including traps, enemies, and surprisingly often, yourself.
Part of what makes this game hard is its unique mechanics. Unlike most platformers, your explorer can't jump very high or survive long falls. In order to safely descend or reach higher areas, they'll need to secure one of your few ropes and climb it. For many players, an alternative means of vertical movement is a must, so they'll spend the early levels searching out items like gloves that help you climb, capes that let you glide, or, if you're really lucky, a jetpack.
The path ahead is also likely to be blocked by some of the randomly placed terrain. There are a few items that will help you dig, but explosives are the usual method for clearing an obstacle. Just be sure to keep your explorer out of the blast radius or you'll become the cause of yet another game over. As a side note, digging through terrain can also uncover hidden items or buried treasure, so it pays to keep an eye out for tiles that might be promising.
But as nice as bombs and ropes are, they aren't that useful when it comes to dealing with the many hostile creatures you'll encounter in your adventures. Fortunately, every explorer comes equipped with a whip that's strong enough to defeat most of their enemies. The only downside to the whip is that there's a slight delay between pressing the button and the attack being carried out. This can make it hard to time your attacks properly. Alternatively, you can deal with weaker monsters by simply jumping on them Super Mario Brothers style - one good bounce usually does the trick. There's also an item that makes this work on the tougher monsters should you decide it's worth the risk.
Once you get used to these mechanics, it's time to delve into the underground realms and start exploring. Your ability to survive is going to depend on how well you understand how the different parts of levels work. For example, an arrow trap will likely kill unwary explorers, but they can only fire once, and you can trigger them by dropping almost anything - a rock, a key, a chest, an enemy - into their line of sight. Slow and steady is the way to succeed in Spelunky.
Now, in addition to the many traps and monsters, levels are also filled with many different types of treasures. The gold and gems you collect can be spent at randomly spawned shops, many of which offer rare or valuable items that can really help you progress.
However, you do want to take care about certain treasures - namely the golden or crystal statues that can sometimes be found resting peacefully in a level. Taking them will always trigger some sort of elaborate trap, many of which are extremely lethal. Should you survive the trap, you'll need to carry the statue to the level exit or a shop in order to exchange it for money, so be certain it's worth the effort before you touch it.
On a different note, shopkeepers aren't your friends in this game. Their primary concern is money, and if anything happens that threatens their income, they'll blame it on you and become dangerous enemies. Once you've made any of them angry, all of the shopkeepers in the game will try to kill you on sight, and to make matters worse, an extra shopkeeper will always spawn at the level exit. Since they carry shotguns, thieves and other mischievous players aren't going to live very long, so play accordingly.
And like many new players, this overview only scratches the surface of what can happen during the game. If you're willing to accept the steep learning curve and unusually high stakes, then you'll probably enjoy taking Spelunky for a spin. Just keep in mind that this game does include some darker material than you'd expect from the cartoonish art style.
Part of what makes this game hard is its unique mechanics. Unlike most platformers, your explorer can't jump very high or survive long falls. In order to safely descend or reach higher areas, they'll need to secure one of your few ropes and climb it. For many players, an alternative means of vertical movement is a must, so they'll spend the early levels searching out items like gloves that help you climb, capes that let you glide, or, if you're really lucky, a jetpack.
The path ahead is also likely to be blocked by some of the randomly placed terrain. There are a few items that will help you dig, but explosives are the usual method for clearing an obstacle. Just be sure to keep your explorer out of the blast radius or you'll become the cause of yet another game over. As a side note, digging through terrain can also uncover hidden items or buried treasure, so it pays to keep an eye out for tiles that might be promising.
But as nice as bombs and ropes are, they aren't that useful when it comes to dealing with the many hostile creatures you'll encounter in your adventures. Fortunately, every explorer comes equipped with a whip that's strong enough to defeat most of their enemies. The only downside to the whip is that there's a slight delay between pressing the button and the attack being carried out. This can make it hard to time your attacks properly. Alternatively, you can deal with weaker monsters by simply jumping on them Super Mario Brothers style - one good bounce usually does the trick. There's also an item that makes this work on the tougher monsters should you decide it's worth the risk.
Once you get used to these mechanics, it's time to delve into the underground realms and start exploring. Your ability to survive is going to depend on how well you understand how the different parts of levels work. For example, an arrow trap will likely kill unwary explorers, but they can only fire once, and you can trigger them by dropping almost anything - a rock, a key, a chest, an enemy - into their line of sight. Slow and steady is the way to succeed in Spelunky.
Now, in addition to the many traps and monsters, levels are also filled with many different types of treasures. The gold and gems you collect can be spent at randomly spawned shops, many of which offer rare or valuable items that can really help you progress.
However, you do want to take care about certain treasures - namely the golden or crystal statues that can sometimes be found resting peacefully in a level. Taking them will always trigger some sort of elaborate trap, many of which are extremely lethal. Should you survive the trap, you'll need to carry the statue to the level exit or a shop in order to exchange it for money, so be certain it's worth the effort before you touch it.
On a different note, shopkeepers aren't your friends in this game. Their primary concern is money, and if anything happens that threatens their income, they'll blame it on you and become dangerous enemies. Once you've made any of them angry, all of the shopkeepers in the game will try to kill you on sight, and to make matters worse, an extra shopkeeper will always spawn at the level exit. Since they carry shotguns, thieves and other mischievous players aren't going to live very long, so play accordingly.
And like many new players, this overview only scratches the surface of what can happen during the game. If you're willing to accept the steep learning curve and unusually high stakes, then you'll probably enjoy taking Spelunky for a spin. Just keep in mind that this game does include some darker material than you'd expect from the cartoonish art style.
Points of Interest
Unlockable shortcuts
As you travel through the different levels, you'll eventually meet the Tunnel Man. He's attempting to dig passageways between the starting location and the various sections of the underground, but he'll need some help from you (usually in the form of money or an item) to continue digging. Once he's made it through an area, you'll be able to start at the next section instead of beginning every game from the first level.
However, it's important to realize that these shortcuts are something of a trap themselves - by using them, you'll lose valuable opportunities to gather supplies. Thus, it's usually best to ignore them unless you want to practice an area.
However, it's important to realize that these shortcuts are something of a trap themselves - by using them, you'll lose valuable opportunities to gather supplies. Thus, it's usually best to ignore them unless you want to practice an area.
Unlockable characters
At first, player can choose to play as one of four explorers. More than a dozen more characters can be unlocked by freeing them from coffins that randomly generate in specific levels or by completing certain objectives.
Additional Game Modes
The normal adventure can be played by up to four players, but there's also a daily challenge and a deathmatch mode. In the daily challenge, you'll be exploring a specific underworld and your score will be added to the global leaderboards, allowing you to compete with friends and everyone else who took the challenge for that day.
The deathmatch mode, as the name implies, pits four characters against each other in an arena of your choice. The last person standing wins the match!
The deathmatch mode, as the name implies, pits four characters against each other in an arena of your choice. The last person standing wins the match!
Huge amount of content
This is one of those games where you can easily miss most of the content just by playing it too casually. There are a slew of hidden areas that you'll only find if you're incredibly lucky while goofing around or know how to trigger their entrances. In some cases, you'll even need to visit a hidden location in order to access another hidden location!
Steam community features
Like many other games, Spelunky features a set of Steam trading cards. It also features twenty achievements, and much like the game itself, they're fairly tricky to earn. Two especially hard achievements require you play through 1,000 games or complete the game in less than 8 minutes, neither of which I can picture your average player doing.
Extremely hard
Although your explorer starts with three hit points and can gain many more, plenty of things will still kill them instantly. Like it or not, you're always going to be just one mistake away from a game over, making luck just as important as skill. Many players actually find this somewhat funny in a slapstick sort of way, but if you're not one of those people, this might not be the best game for you.
Concerns and Issues
Blood and violence
Whenever an enemy is defeated, they'll burst into a small shower of red globs, presumably blood. These globs don't stick around, so it's largely just an effect. An exception to this happens when someone falls onto a spike trap - the trap will permanently be stained with their blood.
This is at odds with how violence is otherwise depicted in this game, as it's normally family-friendly.
This is at odds with how violence is otherwise depicted in this game, as it's normally family-friendly.
Kissing
The closest thing to sexual content in this game involves the damsels. These are women (or men, if you toggle a setting) who have become trapped underground and need to be rescued. To rescue a damsel, you'll need to pick them up and carry them to the level's exit. If done successfully, they'll reward your explorer with a little kiss between levels, increasing your health by one point.
You can also buy kisses at a kissing booth, if you have enough money and one happens to spawn somewhere you can reach it.
You can also buy kisses at a kissing booth, if you have enough money and one happens to spawn somewhere you can reach it.
Demonic references
Most of Spelunky's fantasy elements are intended to resemble Aztec myths, but there are a few exceptions. One of these is an altar you'll sometimes find in the early levels, which you can use to sacrifice enemies to the demon goddess Kali in return for gifts. The most "powerful" of these gifts is a cup made from a human skull that allows you to gain health by consuming the blood of your foes.
Another deviation from the Aztec theme is much more difficult to reach: should a player manage to pull off a long list of convoluted steps, they'll be able to enter Hell.
Another deviation from the Aztec theme is much more difficult to reach: should a player manage to pull off a long list of convoluted steps, they'll be able to enter Hell.
Immoral behavior is encouraged
As mentioned above, players do have the option to steal from shops, and if they are skilled enough, this can be a better option than just buying things. Players are also able to use damsels as if they were carried items, throwing them about or using them to set off traps, but perhaps the most offensive thing they can do with a damsel is to sacrifice them to Kali - this grants you a lot of favor with the demon goddess, making it a quick and easy way to obtain powerful items.