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This game deserves a Mega-Topic, even though I know the majority of you won't even give the game a second look. It is a simple, but beautifully-drawn 2D game; quite unlike the majority of most rogue-likes! It is TOUGH as NAILS and could probably give Dark Souls a run for its money in the difficulty department, but it is OOOOOOHHHHHH SOOOOOO GOOD and COMPLETELY ADDICTING ! ! !
I feel the need to give this game as much exposure as possible, but hesitate to post that much about it --ONLY-- because half the BRILLIANCE of this game is learning the tricks, traps and devious nuances of the game YOURSELF! What do each of the items do? What weapons should I use? What's the advantage of saving the Damsels? I've only played the game for a few hours this morning, but the potential I see in using the game's items against itself and respecting its challenge... Whoa! It's AWESOME ! ! !
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In a PERFECT world, this topic would be devoted to all of us discussing this game in a SPOILER-protected, Open-Forum, trading advice and sharing our individual experiences, but I fully expect this topic to be me, mostly talking to myself...
Bugsy, Archie, Travo and Bear... You --REALLY-- all should give it a try. Vader too... I know the majority of you aren't into rogue-likes as much as I am, but I REALLY, REALLY think you would all LOVE this game!
It does look good, but the difficulty has me somewhat not too sure if I want to t ake it on. I will probably wait for a 1/2 price sale, so I don't feel so disappointed when it kicks my ass.
I think I would love it but I have so much to play... I might as well wait.
Is this a remake of that old NES game Spelunker?
Ravenprose said:Is this a remake of that old NES game Spelunker?
Some say Spelunker inspired Spelunky, but it's not a remake, no.
Unfortunately that's what I'm thinking as well. I watched the video review at Gamespot and it does look good.Dvader said:I think I would love it but I have so much to play... I might as well wait.
Yhere are differences but is similar enough.
BREAKING NEWS: In what is SURE to be the most controversial news story of 2012, possibly topping even the Mass Effect 3 scandals, I, Phantom_Leo, have discovered that you can play as a --GAY-- character in the recently-released XBLA title, SPELUNKY!
Game players by the HUNDRED'S OF THOUSANDS will SURELY be writing letters, posting nasty, troll-like comments and sending HUNDREDS of cupcakes to MossMouth's offices, I. AM. SURE!
Let me describe this VILE, WIKEDNESS: You can choose many characters to play as in Spelunky! Male or Female... Buried deep, deep in the coding of the game *the options screen* there is a way to change the default "Damsel" you rescue from FEMALE to MALE! SHOCKING! In some sort of blatant, CARELESS, developer's oversite, you can remain the default MALE character... You can then rescue a BUFF, SHIRTLESS, RED-BOW-TIE WEARING D-U-D-E... and he will proceed to GIVE YOU A KISS at the end of the level ! ! ! DISGUSTING ! ! !
I am 10 seconds away from calling MICROSOFT to cancel my Live Subscription, then the FCC to start the beginnings of a LEGAL INQUIRY and CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT ! ! ! It is UNACCEPTABLE that this BLASPHEMY made it past the ratings board! I PROMISE, THIS IS NOT THE LAST YOU HAVE HEARD OF THIS SUBJECT ! ! !
Dudebros cant kiss other dudebros, this is madness!! 
This is the game with the dude who enjoys "plunging the depths" right?
**The Best Written Review of Spelunky! also earned it's Best Review Score. The Reviewer REALLY gets the Concept of the game though, and it's WELL worth the read!**
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"If you've been following the indie gaming scene over the past few years, you're probably aware of Spelunky; this freeware 2D action roguelike has been floating around the Internet since 2008 -- heck, I originally brought the game to 1UP's attention in a blog post written well over three years ago. Since then, I've played quite a bit of Spelunky in PC form, all while anticipating the XBLA version that perpetually seemed just over the horizon. And though I hung up my Spelunky-ing hat years ago, diving back into this charmingly aggravating platformer gave me brief flashes of two devious and brilliant games that kept me highly entertained in the four years since the game's original release: Demon's and Dark Souls. These From Software RPGs may play differently than Spelunky, but Yu's game demands the same amount of focus and planning from its players -- a rare feat, regardless of genre.
Spelunky throws its players into a set of sandboxy levels, and gives them one simple goal: get to the bottom. While this can often be accomplished in under a minute, the randomly generated nature of Spelunky's world combined with the relative weakness of its protagonist serves to make this task nearly impossible. The game starts you off with four ropes for climbing, four bombs for exploding, and a measly four hit points; all other items can only be found within the caverns themselves. And, in the tradition of roguelikes, your character loses everything upon death, including all the progress you've made -- though intrepid explorers can earn shortcuts by passing certain checkpoints several times with the right item on-hand. Just like all of the NES classics that haunted your childhood, Spelunky demands an all-or-nothing, skill-dependent approach, and punishes anyone who would dare to exhibit the tiniest amount of confidence.
The prospect of a game built around constant restarts may seem like the antithesis of fun, but Spelunky's fast pace, varied levels, and ever-present sense of surprise helps keep this repetition fresh. The game builds each stage out of very reactive parts, meaning that hilarious things can and will happen when one mistimed action sparks a Rube Goldbergian chain of destruction. Some of these domino effects can be used to your advantage; snatching an idol from a shrine will send a giant chunk of rounded rock sailing after you, but, if you manage to get out of the way, said boulder will leave a path of destruction behind it, building convenient, descending tunnels and tearing through enemies on its way to the bottom. Of course, if this boulder so much as brushes by one of the in-level shopkeepers, you'll have an angry, shotgun wielding maniac to deal with before you reach the exit. It's these moments that make experimenting in the game so rewarding -- even if it leads to yet another untimely death.
Not all of Spelunky involves mindless, madcap fun; neglecting to think over every single action can and will lead to death. The addition of a "run" button seems slightly cruel, since speed in Spelunky should only be used as a last resort; anyone who thinks they can simply run through the game's deadly levels will end up watching their character's corpse ricochet around the screen before they realize what just killed them. Even the simplest jump can't be taken for granted, as the ground beneath you holds unknown horrors that demand a preliminary examination. And the game's many items and weapons don't always provide a surefire solution, since they're limited in number, and your Indy-esque protagonist can only hold one of Spelunky's more important goodies in his hands at any given time. Much of the game boils down to a series of important decisions, like deciding if it's worth ditching your torch to blindly stumble to the exit with a valuable object or damsel (now available in male and pug forms) in your arms.
Though it's easy to balk at the apparent simplicity of Spelunky in our modern age of stacked mechanics, the game throws its basic elements into a constant shuffle to provide an entirely new experience with every restart -- not to mention the fact that the added multiplayer mode will add more excited screaming to your household since the release of New Super Mario Bros. Wii. In short, Spelunky offers the same immediate, pick-up-and-play fun of Geometry Wars, but demands much more than the simple reflexive reactions of your lizard brain. Here's hoping that whatever Yu works on next won't take quite as long to reach the audience it deserves."
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free for just about any pc you can all try it before you buy the HD version.
The free version of this is fun! itlooks like crap, but it's a blast, and if you like this then you can buy it, which I just might do. It works with game pads too.
Sweet, thanks for the link bear.
Sure this way it gives you an idea of the game at least, though the Xbox one is much more involved and beautiful.
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"The roguelike is a sub-genre of role-playing video games, characterized by level randomization, permanent death, and turn-based movement. Most roguelikes feature ASCII graphics, with newer ones increasingly offering tile-based graphics. Games are typically dungeon crawls, with many monsters, items, and environmental features. Computer roguelikes usually employ the majority of the keyboard to facilitate interaction with items and the environment. The name of the genre comes from the 1980 game Rogue."
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"Spelunky can feel like a complete waste of time. It doesn’t want you to proceed to the next cave, and you can go hours without making an inch of progress. Spelunky’s charming music and colorful art is a ruse -- it will punish the faint of heart and emotionally unstable. Death is permanent, gain is minimal, and you start from scratch every time you play. As such, you'll care when you do something right, when you narrowly avoid death. You'll cherish your fragile little life and appreciate what you earn, without a single concern for in-game unlocks.
This is a 2D platformer for the Dark Souls-obsessed, the kind of player who lives to overcome every challenge regardless of the abuse they’ll endure.You’re likely to spend hours in the mines, Spelunky’s first world, before you ever arrive at the jungle that follows it. As I write this, I’ve dedicated 10 hours to playing Spelunky and I’ve only ever made it to the Temple, its fourth world. I have no idea if I’ll ever finish Spelunky or see everything it has to offer -- but you can bet I'm going to keep trying." -- From IGN.Com's (9.0) AMAZING! Review!
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