Video Game Review: Spelunky

Spelunky is one of those oddities in gaming; a game which essentially goes out of its way to make itself inaccessible to the casual player, whilst still being geared towards exactly that kind of player.

Available to download for free (see link), Spelunky is essentially a platform game, capable of running on just about any Windows machine you have. The graphics are (deliberately) reminiscent of games from the Super Nintendo era, very 8-bit and blocky, and the music compliments this, sounding very digital and bleepy. You play the part of a character who descends into various caves and tombs, collecting gold and other treasure, avoiding traps and creatures, and generally trying to get out alive and to the next level.

It's tempting, because of its unusual gameplay, to put Spelunky in the same category as Roguelike games like Nethack orAngband, despite the real-time, arcade style of play. Like Roguelikes, levels are randomly generated each time, giving a large element of luck to the difficulty each time, and offering enormous replay value; no two games are going to play out the same. Traps, monsters, and even shopkeepers can appear in unexpected places.

Also like Roguelikes, Spelunky is rather unforgiving. Most platformers, from Donkey Kong onwards, have given the player three lives per game; Spelunky gives you one. You can take a certain amount of health damage (and ways to heal this damage aren't plentiful), and when it runs out, it's game over. It's possible over several games to establish shortcuts to later zones, but generally speaking, you'll be starting right from the beginning.

Your character starts with a handful of dynamite and a few climbing ropes, the uses of which become apparent quite quickly, and there's dozens of other items you can find along the way, from jetpacks to shotguns. Likewise, I know there's Easter eggs hidden throughout the game you can unlock. So far, I've been miserably unable to find many of these, but I've heard stories...

The biggest drawback of the game is its steep learning curve and unforgiving nature. If you put one foot out of place, reflexively or tactically, and you will be dead. Spelunky salves your feelings a little by applying this harshness evenly, however -it's tremendously satisfying to see the various lethal creatures in the caverns stumble into traps, killing two birds with one stone, for example.

This drawback is also one of the game's greatest strengths; because the games are so often over so quickly, it's a great game to play for short periods of time. In a day and age where so many games require hours of playtime, and have save points few and far between, it's rather pleasant to have something you can load up and play for ten minutes, or five. Despite the game's apparent desire to see you dead, it still manages to be tremendous fun.

And of course, the price is right.