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Spelunky 2: Spelunk Harder

Mogri

Round and round I go
(he)
Staff member
Moderator
I am not good at Spelunky. Spelunky 2 releases this week, and judging by what I've seen of it, it looks harder than the first Spelunky.

I'm not certain this game is for me, but I'm excited to watch better players attempt it.
 

ASandoval

Old Man Gamer
(he/him)
Having been playing Spelunky on and off since the original freeware version came out, I have never successfully completed a run. I really should make a point to do that before picking this up.
 

lincolnic

can stop, will stop
(he/him)
I tried a couple of games of Spelunky the other day in preparation for the sequel, and let me tell you: not playing Spelunky for a few years makes you very bad at Spelunky.
 

jpfriction

(He, Him)
I tried a couple of games of Spelunky the other day in preparation for the sequel, and let me tell you: not playing Spelunky for a few years makes you very bad at Spelunky.

Yup, couldn’t make it past the ice caves last week and I’ve successfully beaten the game “the hard way”... once...out of probably hundreds of tries.

Playing the crap out of this for the next 10 years. Talk to you guys when global warming kills us all.
 

SilentSnake

Administrator
(He/him)
Staff member
Moderator
I'm having fun with the game so far, but it's friggin' hard! I'm pretty sure I've died 200 deaths by now, and I still have yet to get past 1-4. Also want to figure out the significance of the Udjat Eye at some point.
 

Mogri

Round and round I go
(he)
Staff member
Moderator
As someone who never actually beat the first game despite reaching the last boss a few times, it's disheartening to see that Spelunky 2 (BIG SPOILER PROBABLY) has a way harder version of Olmec after the second area (YOU WERE WARNED).

The game seems like it was made for people who were really good at the first one, and I have to imagine that was a very thin slice of the audience. If I were in that slice, I think I'd be very excited about this game, though.
 

Violentvixen

(She/Her)
As someone who never actually beat the first game despite reaching the last boss a few times, it's disheartening to see that Spelunky 2 (BIG SPOILER PROBABLY) has a way harder version of Olmec after the second area (YOU WERE WARNED).

The game seems like it was made for people who were really good at the first one, and I have to imagine that was a very thin slice of the audience. If I were in that slice, I think I'd be very excited about this game, though.

Aw man, this is a bummer to hear. I don't have a PS4 so I haven't tried it yet but was looking forward to it.

Have any of you tried co-op? Is that any easier? My husband and I were looking forward to playing this together as us pairing up and reviving each other in the first game was how I got all the way to Olmec. Never did beat him though.
 

ASandoval

Old Man Gamer
(he/him)
Got to Olmec with a jetpack last night in the first game. Really thought that was the run. Got caught in too small of a space, died.

If what folks are saying about Spelunky 2 are true, it will probably be another two or three decades before I have a similar run in that game.
 

lincolnic

can stop, will stop
(he/him)
So I put an hour into this earlier tonight and I'm sad to report I didn't really have any fun at all.

Reports of increased difficulty seem to be very real. I think I made it to 1-4 once or twice, but never past there, and when I did it was by the skin of my teeth. I feel like the first levels give you almost nothing compared with the first levels of the original -- in that one you'd either get some items in crates, or at least enough money to maybe buy something, but in my hour of playtime I was able to get enough money to buy something once, and I found maybe two items in the levels themselves. It seems very, very hard to get a foothold, and the new/harder enemies don't help (seriously, fuck moles).

I also have a really hard time seeing arrow traps now, feels like they blend into the environment too well.

I'll give it another shot tomorrow, but for a first impression I'm pretty disappointed. Not that I was expecting to beat the game or anything, but it feels like they just made it punishingly hard for no real reason.
 

jpfriction

(He, Him)
Definitely messes with your expectations. Turkeys are very common in the first couple of stages and those are a good way to soak up a couple of hits.

Made it past 1-4 a few times, even managed to find what the Udjat Eye does this time around, although I died right after that.
 

lincolnic

can stop, will stop
(he/him)
I had a much better time with the game today than yesterday. I guess being able to calibrate my expectations for the first levels helped -- I was able to get past 1-4 a handful of times! Looks like there are two different choices for the second level, which I wasn't expecting.

For anyone who's gotten to/past 1-4 yet: can you actually kill Quillback, or are you just supposed to wait until he clears a path to the doors for you? Do you get anything special for killing him? So far I've only managed to make a run for it through the doors. I bet if you had a shotgun it would change the encounter pretty significantly, but I've only been able to grab those a couple of times so far (and I haven't been able to take one to him yet).
 

Mogri

Round and round I go
(he)
Staff member
Moderator
1-4 spoilers: You can kill the miniboss. Very easy with a shotgun, though if you kill him before he rolls, you'll need to carve your own way to the end of the level. He drops bombs or something.
 

jpfriction

(He, Him)
Continued 1-4 spoiler discussion: He blew himself up a couple of times for me, not really sure how or why. Dropped meat much like a roasted turkey which was pretty funny. Maybe he just ran into something else that had meat.

1-4 spoilers: You can kill the miniboss. Very easy with a shotgun, though if you kill him before he rolls, you'll need to carve your own way to the end of the level. He drops bombs or something.
 

Kalir

Do you require aid.
(whatevs)
As someone who never actually beat the first game despite reaching the last boss a few times, it's disheartening to see that Spelunky 2 (BIG SPOILER PROBABLY) has a way harder version of Olmec after the second area (YOU WERE WARNED).

The game seems like it was made for people who were really good at the first one, and I have to imagine that was a very thin slice of the audience. If I were in that slice, I think I'd be very excited about this game, though.

I think Olmec is easier, actually. The only buff he got is that his non-stomp jumps go further. Other than that, the floor is thinner, there's no monster spawns, and you can even get a bomb box if you did something unrelated yet spoilersome in the Jungle.

I can see how people might think this game is harder, and I can sort of see that, but personally I think the Dwelling is a WAY better first area than the Mines. Everything there just works so much better for teaching players the nuance of the game, ESPECIALLY the log trap. Goodbye and screw you forever, boulder trap.
 

Mogri

Round and round I go
(he)
Staff member
Moderator
The moles and lizards strike me as harder than anything in the Mines, but then there are new tools for dealing with stuff (turkeys).
 

lincolnic

can stop, will stop
(he/him)
I think Olmec is easier, actually. The only buff he got is that his non-stomp jumps go further. Other than that, the floor is thinner, there's no monster spawns, and you can even get a bomb box if you did something unrelated yet spoilersome in the Jungle.

I reached this for the first time today, and...I don't think that's true? After you break through the first level, he starts chucking bombs at you, and also spawns monsters. I died at this point, so who knows what else happens beyond that.
 

jpfriction

(He, Him)
Every time I sit down to play this I tell myself “just focus on making it as far as possible, don’t worry about figuring out all the secret crap” but I inevitably ignore that and make a beeline for the drill in the lava zone and usually get killed by the dozen of arrow traps around Vlad. So pretty slow going. Made it past Olmec once, died pretty much immediately in the temple. Still need to see where the other door goes.
 

ThornGhost

lofi posts to relax/study to
(he/him)
I played the original Spelunky a handful of times when it was free and never really got into it. I bought Spelunky 2 on a whim last week and holy heck do I really like this game. I kept dying, as expected, and started getting frustrated until on the death screen I flipped the page and saw my conduct. Something about that just really drove home that I needed to be treating this like Nethack. Everything is important. Everything is a part of a larger system. Read the room. It just clicked.

I'm not great at the game by any means but I think I am beginning to get it. The game is not unfair but it is unforgiving. Every obstacle has a solution. Trying to damage boost through a bad situation you don't want to deal with will usually drop you unprepared for the next obstacle, which will likely cause you two or three (or more) health before the situation is back under control. It's the opposite of Tokyo Drift: If you ain't in control, you really ain't in control OH GOD WHAT ARE YOU DOING THOSE ARE SPIKES

Anyway, I've played about 180 runs, have the shortcut to 1-4 unlocked and have made it to 2-2 a couple of times.
 

Ludendorkk

(he/him)
Honestly coming down on the "they made it too hard" side, especially the Dwelling, which is absolutely ridiculous compared to the mines, and stuff that feels really unfair like the beartraps, which are barely visible and insta-kill
 

ThornGhost

lofi posts to relax/study to
(he/him)
I made it to 3-1 last night during a pretty short play session. I don't know if I'm just better at the game or if the second level is way easier, but I probably have only done about a dozen runs in level 2 before getting beyond it. (Not having a boss certainly helps.) I goofed up on that fight in 3-1 but I'm pretty sure I have the skills to do it if there's not some wacky second phase.
 

karzac

(he/him)
If I like the idea of Spelunky, and like watching Spelunky, but was absolutely terrible at Spelunky and just couldn't wrap my head around how you're supposed to play it, should I play Spelunky 2?
 

jpfriction

(He, Him)
I agree with the general consensus that Derek Yu built the game to fuck with people who are already pretty good at Spelunky HD. Might click but if the first one didn’t it’s going to be an uphill battle.

You can ride a turkey though, that’s fun!
 

Mogri

Round and round I go
(he)
Staff member
Moderator
If I like the idea of Spelunky, and like watching Spelunky, but was absolutely terrible at Spelunky and just couldn't wrap my head around how you're supposed to play it, should I play Spelunky 2?
I'm in that same position, where I'm thinking to myself, "It sure would be fun to play this for like an hour and then never again."
 

ThornGhost

lofi posts to relax/study to
(he/him)
Made it to 4-1 last night.

I do think the difficulty has been overstated. There is a very very sharp learning curve at first, which I think a lot of folks are bouncing off of, but it's not like the whole game has that curve. (At least that I've seen.) Everything behaves in very predictable ways and it's a lot of fun to learn those behaviors.
 

Mogri

Round and round I go
(he)
Staff member
Moderator
Made it to 4-1 last night.

I do think the difficulty has been overstated. There is a very very sharp learning curve at first, which I think a lot of folks are bouncing off of, but it's not like the whole game has that curve. (At least that I've seen.) Everything behaves in very predictable ways and it's a lot of fun to learn those behaviors.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but what's your experience with the first game? I remember dying a lot. I think I eventually got to Olmec (and might even have unlocked the Temple shortcut), but I know I never beat him.

Spelunky 2 seems aimed at fans of the first game. Which, you know, makes sense. But fans of the first game aren't learning the second game from scratch. In fact, there's more elements of the first game in the second than not, as far as I can tell.

There are some aspects of Spelunky 2 that are more merciful than their first game equivalents. Kalir calls out the log trap compared to the boulder trap, and there seems to be an easy, reliable way to (3-1 spoilers) get past Olmec this time, too. For the most part, though, Spelunky 2 seems to look at the first game and say, "How can we do away with some of these exploits?" Exhibits A and B are the new ghost and the updated shopkeeper behavior. (N.B. I was never confident enough in Spelunky to murder shopkeepers, but I understand there was a fairly reliable whip kill that no longer exists.)

Anyway, I don't want to harsh anyone's buzz. I'm happy Spelunky 2 exists, and I'm fascinated by all of the secrets and branching paths, but I found Spelunky too difficult, and I don't expect Spelunky 2 is any more approachable for me.
 

ThornGhost

lofi posts to relax/study to
(he/him)
I played the first Spelunky like twice for a total of 15 minutes years ago back when it was freeware. Spelunky 2 is 99% of my total Spelunkin' experience. I'm also not particularly good at platforming games.

I just really don't want people to be turned off from what is a pretty great game by this developing meme that it's only for Spelunky lords or the hardcore or something. It's definitely doable.
 
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