248. Spelunky 2 (Mossmouth, Playstation 4, 2020)

Ok, I caved (pun intended). 

I bought a new videogame on day one, and not for any of the reasons I outlined on my rules post for this blog. I bought Spelunky 2 on the day it released, because I've put hundreds of hours into the first Spelunky through over 1,000 runs, and I really wanted to play the sequel. Unlike Polygon, I wanted to actually beat the game before I wrote my review. Despite being a Spelunky veteran, it took me over a month of playing at least a few rounds daily to even reach the last level (though once I did get to the last boss, I beat the game within a couple days).

At its core, Spelunky 2 feels more Spelunky than Spelunky: the randomization is more interesting than ever, with branching paths and caves that let you go behind levels. Not only that, but being careful is so much more important than in Spelunky, because there are just so many possible ways to end up dead at a moment's notice. Being comfortable with the controls was probably a hindrance in hindsight, because it made me less cautious, which lead to a LOT of early deaths.

Tiny new touches feel huge: the existence of fire is a game changer that makes previously safe strategies much riskier, and the way throwing works is so much better, even though it was only a minor tweak. Going from Spelunky to Spelunky 2 really feels like the same kind of progression that you can see from Super Mario Bros. to Super Mario Bros. 3: the formula that worked in the original is not especially different, there are just some tiny control tweaks and a whole lot more stuff in the sequel.

Now that I've cleared the main path through Spelunky 2, I've allowed myself to dip in to the game's wiki. Not to fully read and understand everything, just to get enough little hints to discover more secrets, and having a blast thinking about the possibilities that await me. I was initially hesitant to even review Spelunky 2 for this blog because I knew it would rocket right to the top of the rankings list, but at this point I'm so behind, I need all the writeups I can get, cheers!

5/5, one of my favorite games of all time, but a little more refined and with a lot more everything