#SPELUNKY 2 REVIEW HOW TO#
#SPELUNKY 2 REVIEW FULL#

There's even an achievement for completing the game in under eight minutes without using any short cuts. Okay, a lot of luck, falling, and bouncing was involved. This evening I finished one in seven seconds, for example. The levels themselves are incredibly short, which is a good thing. There are also several secret areas that require insane luck or internet detective work to unlock. The larger areas each have their own look, music, enemies, and traps. There are four main areas, and each one is made up of four levels. The randomly generated levels assured us a new experience each time. The more we played Spelunky, the more we liked it. Try not to die so much.Ĭoffins also hold unlockable characters. I also noticed that if you happen to be playing with three or more players, only one character will be revived per coffin.

The revived player wouldn't have any bombs, ropes, or items, so it's essential to pick up your partner's gear if they die. As long as one player survives to the end of the level, the game goes on. This gives co-op players a huge advantage over single players.

#SPELUNKY 2 REVIEW FULL#

The surviving player would simply whack the coffin with their whip, and the co-op buddy would be back in the game with full life. We could revive each other if we found a coffin in the next level. Ghosts aren't confined to their ethereal form. Good times at the Gaskill household, I tell you.

We merrily ordered each other to blow many a foe that night. And yes, we thought this was absolutely hilarious. Yes, you blow a puff of air to displace baddies. While in ghost form we could pass through platforms and blow enemies out of position. When one of us died we could still interact with enemies as a ghost.

#SPELUNKY 2 REVIEW HOW TO#

As we learned how to anticipate traps and pitfalls we discovered we could use death to our advantage. Some hazards, like spikes, could kill us instantly. We would need to plan and share the spoils. Each level had one, solitary Damsel who could replace one HP for the player who rescued her. Snakes, spiders, arrow-shooting statues, and other nasty creatures had sought to deplete our precious few hit points. Spelunky 2 certainly won't be for everyone, but for those who stick with it to see what it has to offer, the payoff is worth the investment.Many co-op players will spend much of the game is ghost form, like Ketchup and Mustard here.Īfter several attempts, we eventually conquered the Mines. Simplicity and challenges are key components of the game, and they're executed almost perfectly here in an accessible and skillful way. 'Completing' Spelunky 2 feels like one challenge while fully knowing the intricacies of its levels and the levels' inhabitants is a completely different mission.

You'll panic mash your jumps and whips and beat enemies away from you so you can check the journal to find tips on them knowing all the while it's only death and practice that'll teach you how to survive in the world. There's an alluring, tingly feeling of anticipation and uneasiness to be felt when you cross the threshold into a new realm. The ability to choose between different worlds to go into after you complete one is sort of a pick-your-poison mechanic where you choose the one you've grown most familiar with and master it until you're tossed into the next. Those levels are diverse enough to keep things fresh and intimidating with every new world you unlock. Through limited resources and the occasional item pickup, it emphasizes skill and decision-making over putting the right shape in the right hole to advance to the next stage. It doesn't layer abilities onto your character to turn you into some superhero with combos to master and it doesn't force you into situations where there's only one viable option. Death comes quickly and from the most seemingly harmless sources in Spelunky 2 – airborne enemies like bats and mosquitos are some of the best examples early on – and it soon becomes apparent why your journal's bestiary tracks how many times specific creatures have killed you.īut once you peel away those frustrating layers, it's easier to appreciate Spelunky 2 for how simple it keeps things and its fair expectations from players.

After being ferried through a tutorial where you whack some cardboard cutouts and learn how to finesse your enemies, you quickly find out you're basically the cardboard and your enemies are the ones whipping you. The steep learning and difficulty curve in Spelunky 2 is the first big roadblock to overcome.

Spelunky 2 review