Evan Lahti:Olde Spelunky, our 2013
GOTY, was a clever proc-gen platformer
that along with other roguelikes helped
usher in the era of ‘Difficulty is Good’. But seven
years later, the indie hit’s legacy might be the
daring, creative player feats it inspired: the
eggplant run (escorting a useless eggplant all the
way through to the end of the game), the no-gold
run, a speed run of Hell itself.
What’s special about Spelunky 2, then, is how
much the game’s lead designer
Derek Yu drew on the legendary
achievements of the Spelunky
community as inspiration for this
sequel. The eggplant, for example,
is no longer just an item: it’s a
path to reach a sprawling, secret
level that contains the sacred lore
of the eggplant god. NPCs are no
longer cardboard cutouts, they’re
part of the exponentially deeper web of secrets,
and helping them can produce unexpected help
later in your run.
Spelunky remains PC gaming’s Mario, a
platformer built on pleasant, slippery physics that
drips with the things that make our platform
unique: self-created goals, intricacy, depth, and a
rich community of hyper-enthusiasts to admire.Rich Stanton: I almost think of Spelunky 2
as an old-fashioned sequel, a 2020 game from
the 1990s, when a platformer’s sequel would
be simply more of the same, but better. This
was the right approach for following up a
roguelike that was already as near-as-
dammit perfect.
Spelunky 2 knows this won’t be the first time
for any of its players, so has dastardly
moles purpose-built to interrupt thinking time,
a jungle with spiked walls and
bear traps to snap-off careless
explorers, and the temptation
of the ghost jar.
That fragile jar embodies
my personal Spelunking motto:
get rich or die trying. You often
have to choose between carrying
it to the exit, or a companion
(money vs health). It’s easily
smashed, so you’re even more terrified of
getting hit than usual, and completely neuters
offensive options. The money’s irresistible, but
one slip can end your run. Spelunky 2 is all
about making choices, and dealing with the
consequences, up until you make the choice that
kills you. Reaching out to grab the ghost jar, you
feel that in microcosm.SPELUNKY 2
SPELUNKY
REMAINS
PC GAMING’S
MARIOTHE GAME OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2020
WIDE OCEAN
BIG JACKET
This is a game that presents a
camping trip from multiple
perspectives: a pair of teenage
friends and an older couple.
You switch between them over
the course of the trip while the
characters discuss growing
up. It’s a wonderful short
experience about the slight
limbo of no longer being a
child, but not yet an adult, and
how we think of it at different
times of our lives. It’s also the
funniest game I played all year.Rich Stanton
ORI AND THE WILL
OF THE WISPS
This isn’t a high concept
sequel: it’s another lavishly
illustrated platformer, but with
far bigger cross-sections of
forests and swamps and caves
to explore, more characters,
and a grander narrative. The
increased scope introduces
some sloppiness – I found the
combat mostly unfun – but
taken at a leisurely pace,
triple-jumping through Ori and
the Will of the Wisps is like a
soothing eucalyptus balm.Tyler Wilde
PERSONAL
PICKPERSONAL
PICKBEST
ROGUELIKE