Spelunky (2013)

 

Release: 2013

Developer/Publisher: Mossmouth, Derek Yu

Genre: Rogue-lite, platformer

Gameplay Stats: 100 hours over many years/save files, 16/20 achievements

I finally finished a hell run! Only a couple weeks before Spelunky 2 hits the shelves as well. Coincidence? Nah, not by a long shot. I'm hyped and you should be too! Let's finally talk about the indie darling that is Derek Yu's Spelunky.

Visuals: I don't think I could say that Spelunky is a gorgeous game, but it's not really trying to be. Spelunky is all about visual communication and it nails that. It has kind of a chibi art style that conveys really well what it means to. The bats flap and the frogs hop. That isn't to say that this game is ugly, far from it! But neither is a beautiful. When you see it, it kind of screams early Xbox 360 arcade and that's exactly what it is. Any game that has an achievement about completing the game in 8 minutes has to make communication the priority.

Audio: Again, not really too much to say here. The background tunes are lovely (especially Wet Fur!) but not really what people are here for. The sound direction of the game communicates very well what is happening on screen and is a strength of the game for sure. I think the sound effects are really standout here, I'm pretty sure I could tell you what was happening with most any of them playing. After 100 hours though that's not super surprising.

Plot: There's really not a plot to speak of? You set off for some mythical shifting caverns in search of treasure. These are the mythical shifting caverns and that could be your treasure!

Gameplay: Here is where this game truly shines. Everything from your spelunker's jump height to the attacks of your enemies feels perfect. Each level is made up of 16 room tiles that are hand-made and pulled from a stock of hundreds and stitched in such a way that you can make it from the start to the finish of the level. It's a beautiful idea that is showcased extremely well here. The game feels like a delight to play and I very much felt like every mistake I made was my own fault. After I'd learned enemy patterns of course. This category is a stand-out and I really think other games should seek to mimic this games balance.

Achievements: A new category?? What! I structure a lot of my play time around these usually, so I feel they deserve a mention in my reviews. The achievements in this game straddle the easy and the very difficult, without too many in between. Novices will get one for reaching each of the new biomes and encountering some of the beasts and traps that lay in wait. Experts will need to complete wicked-hard challenge runs to see their achievements bar fill up. I didn't do the co-op achievement because I don't know anyone else that plays Spelunky and nor did I attempt the speedrun or gold-less run. The only other one that I am missing is the achievement for playing 1000 runs. I'm somewhere in the 300s, but I could see myself going back for this one. I think finishing the Hell run and beating Yama was one of the proudest I've ever been in my gaming life. That was such a struggle, but so very worth it.

Overall? I can see why Spelunky is viewed as a masterpiece and I think the moniker is very well-deserved. This is probably as close to a perfect game as I have played lately. I do think there are some issues with how some of the more challenging bits are conveyed to new players, but with rogue-lites in general this is intentional. I don't know if I ever would have figured out how to get to the Hell level if I hadn't watched a dozen hours of BaerTaffy playing this game over the years. I am so damn excited for Spelunky 2, I can't wait to see how Derek improves on this gem. [9.5/10]