Spelunky is a game to hate and love and hate some more but keep going back to. It is a platforming adventure that was originally developed for the PC in 2008 but an updated version has been released this August for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita for €14.99. You take control of a nameless character to go exploring down a large cave with each level becoming more difficult than the last.
Each area of the cave has its own four levels that you must complete before moving on to the next area. In order to do this all you have to do is make it from the entrance of the level to the exit. Sounds simple right? What’s stopping you are traps, monsters and other distractions, most of which can instantly kill your little spelunker. Regardless of how far you’ve gotten and what you’ve collected, death is permanent, you get sent straight back to the beginning of the cave with no loot. This is where the challenge and frustration comes from, get used to dying, it will happen a lot. However there are short cuts so that you can begin at the start of each area rather than at the beginning of the game but you have to earn these too by paying the tunnel man increasingly high prices for each short cut. It is actually possible to complete the game in less than eight minutes but you can expect to rack up several hours at the game and still not have even made it to the end.
The levels are randomly generated so no two playthroughs are the same, as soon as you die you can restart in seconds and a different variation of the level will be there for you to complete. Spelunky really does take practice; once you discover and are killed by the different kinds of traps, you know how to avoid them the next time. Pillars that shoot arrows or red buttons that explode when you land on them will catch you off guard the first time but now you know what they look like and what they do for the next attempt. Each item, monster or trap you come into contact with also gets recorded in a journal, displaying how many times you’ve met your end by them. You start with four hearts (health), four bombs and four ropes but you can find and buy a variety of other items within the cave. Pickaxes, compasses and jetpacks all make traversing the levels a different experience but it also makes your death all the more bitter when you lose such useful equipment. Health is increased by finding a damsel in distress in the level and bringing them to the exit. Before starting, the damsel can be customised to suit your taste as either a man, woman or pug. You get to choose what your spelunker looks like too, anything from an Indiana Jones inspired fellow to a robot or Cyclops.
With the cross-play and save you can swap between the PlayStation 3 and Vita version seamlessly. Unlike several other games, Spelunky doesn’t require you to upload your save to the cloud and download it again from your other device. All saves in between levels are automatic so if you’ve been playing on your Vita and then switch to PlayStation 3, your progress will be there already. I found the Vita perfectly suited to Spelunky’s short levels and rather than switching off your PlayStation 3 in frustration and walking away when you have died for ‘the last time’ it is much easier to hit standby on the Vita and then end up quickly picking it back up for ‘one more try’. Spelunky is a game that should be kept on your Vita as it is one you can always quickly go back to even if just for one level, it is strongly suited to being played on the go.
The multiplayer on offer is excellent and really changes the feel of the game. Instant death for a character is a bigger source of amusement than despair when playing with friends. Four characters can all play locally together on the one screen, helping or hindering each other. Your dead friends can follow behind you as ghosts until a coffin is found and broken open to get them back in the game. If you have a Vita it can be connected wirelessly with your PlayStation 3. Playing the Vita screen means you can split up from the characters on the PlayStation 3 as you don’t have to stay in the same area on screen with them, mixing up the dynamic even further. If your friends tire of trying to work together there is also a death match mode, where up to four of you are put in small room and the last player left alive wins. It reminded me slightly of Bomberman but everything is a bit more hectic and the battles can end much, much faster in the chaos.
Depending on how you play, Spelunky can be a game that occupies you a for hours, one you can always go back to or really be one that frustrates you to the point you need to put it down before you throw it against a wall. I found it much easier to pick up and play with the Vita and enjoyed it more playing with friends. It is much more addictive than you will initially expect when you first pick it up.