Spelunky

 
Developer: Mossmouth
Steam Release: Aug 2013
Hours Played: 6.8
Similar To: Catacomb Kids / Caveblazers / Steamworld Dig / Vagante / Vertical Drop Heroes
Rating: 5/5 Parsnips

GAMEPLAY

With its title derived from the word spelunking, meaning "the act of exploring a cave", there will be no prizes for figuring out what this game is about for that is precisely what you do in this classic by Mossmouth Studios. In a 2D platformed world covering about a half a dozen or so screens' worth of space, you take control of our spelunker and set off on your journey. By jumping upon ledges, cracking your whip to dispatch enemies - Indiana Jones style, climbing ropes to reach elusive heights and dropping the odd bomb to demolish small areas... you fall forever downwards to find the cave's exit and dig forever deeper to uncover the world's secrets. With just four lives, four bombs and four ropes for company youl'll be subjected to a plethora of challenges and confronted by all manner of obstacles and traps.
 

BALANCE & PACE

The crux of the matter is that Spelunky is not about spending gold on permanent upgrades between runs to make the next one easier but learning about the environment, becoming more aware and taking mental notes. Explore, learn, wise-up, die... and then repeat in an endless cycle of enlightenment. Yes you do earn gold as you go but, as well as a way of keeping score, it can only be used to purchase a handful of items from the storekeeper who pops up at odd intervals during the run itself. In this respect, it works like Bard's Gold only there are no permanent upgrades and the landscapes are randomly generated so runs are always different and never the same. In the spirit of true exploration, all discoveries encountered such as places, monsters and items are continually recorded in a user-friendly and extensive journal.     

PRESENTATION & DESIGN 

To my mind, the art-style and presentation is the winning combination that makes Spelunky the true great that it is. Not only is the gameplay itself as smooth and as stable as a marbled statue, but the journal and stats pages that keep the player constantly informed of progress are extremely clear and well designed. Font choices and the colour-scheme all blend together nicely while the rustle of scrolls and parchments all gives it that stylish quality. One negative has to be the way the game throws you out to the Steam overlay when clicking on achievements - always a downer when it comes to immersion. Another is the painfully tuneless soundtrack of zero melodies which I did not like at all.
 

PROGRESS SYSTEM

In Adventure mode, where most players will spend their time, progress can be measured in a number of ways. Firstly, gold collected counts towards your score (not kills) and as this figure determines your rank on the leaderboard this may be considered the most important stat. The leaderboard will also show which level this was reached on. Spelunky consists of four worlds (Mines, Jungle, Ice Caves and Temple) with four levels in each plus half a dozen or so hidden areas. The second way to measure progress would be to refer to the journal which records info on 10 places, 56 monsters, 34 items and 14 traps. Obviously the more worlds and levels you explore, the more discoveries you make and hence more progress is made. Each entry has a quickly digestible, entertaining sentence
 

CONCLUSION

For cosmetic reasons, and not for particular playing styles, the game offers plenty of unlockable characters. In addition you can do a daily challenge or a deathmatch (not covered in this review). Indeed, the game is full of little extras and secrets to uncover. One of my favourites is the way the journal tracks how many of each monster has been killed as well as which monster or trap has killed the player - again, knowledge that's useful to know when considering strategy. Spelunky is an action platformer where charging wantonly into the fray and blindly killing everything in sight just won't cut it. Each run is to be savoured and has to be negotiated with care and consideration as one false move can spell the end. Spelunky commands all the respect it deserves.