Spelunky 2 Critic Reviews

Mossmouth took its time and managed to deliver a masterpiece that improves upon its predecessor in ways I never even would have imagined. Spelunky 2 takes everything that made the original great and expands upon each of those individual aspects without ever over complicating the elegant, retro simplicity of its 2D platforming. It doesn’t do much to win over people who already weren’t fans of the original’s unforgiving difficulty, but as someone who is more than 200 runs in and feels like he’s only scratched the surface, Spelunky 2 is a game that I see myself playing for a long, long time.

A thunderous sequel that surpasses its already incredible predecessor in every way that counts, Spelunky 2 is the ultimate roguelike and ruthlessly inventive platformer that never stops surprising and delighting those who pick up the controller. There are perhaps far fewer better ways to close out a console generation than this.

Spelunky 2 does an unbelievable job at enhancing the original one's virtues, which were not few. It's the most hardcore game of the decade, but also one of the most rewarding ones.

Spelunky 2 improves upon the original in every conceivable way, and if you can tolerate the difficulty is an absolute must-play.

A beautiful piece of craftsmanship. Spelunky 2 is all a sequel should be: polished, refined, bigger. A game of learning, a game of death, a game of emergent beautiful gameplay. Every second in this game is pure art: it will frustrate you, but in a positive way in which you will shout at the TV and then smile and retry. Just to die again, until you learn enough.

Despite my qualms with elements of Spelunky 2, I still can’t help to get “one more run” in hopes of getting that elusive win (over 1000 attempts and still a 0% victory rate). Even if I’ve achieved a victory, there are plenty of secrets waiting to be discovered! Rescuing the Spelunkys might end up in my list of unfulfilled rougelike checklist, but at least I’ll have had plenty of fun while I was attempting it.

Spelunky 2 enhances and expands on what worked in the first game without "fixing" anything that wasn't broken. In that way it's the perfect sequel for fans who have been playing this game for over a decade. Newcomers might be scared away by the difficulty and seemingly impenetrable secrets, but the effort to get through this is well rewarded.

Spelunky 2 is, at the end of the day, more Spelunky, an unspeakably radiant generosity to the medium at large. Whether or not it’s perfect is beside the point, because it’s the very definition of a must-play game. While multiplayer could not be tested for this review, the addition of online co-op will likely set Twitch streams on fire, and the return of daily runs ensures that Spelunky 2 is a game that will happily remain installed for years to come, and may even improve with age.

It does right by its forebear. It’s still just as addictive as ever to journey into untold dangers over and over, and even if it may put off newcomers with its difficulty curve, it’s an experience worth having for anyone willing to rise to its challenges.

Spelunky 2 improves on everything its predecessor did to become one of the best roguelites and a new landmark in the genre.

An excellent sequel to one of indie gaming’s most enduring stars, that changes just enough to keep things interesting without losing the magic of the original.

Spelunky 2 is an absolute gem. A game that preserves all the virtues of the original title, and which adds small tweaks to create an even more rounded experience. We can rarely play games that are so complicated and, at the same time, so fair to the player (or not). The point is that you will always want one more game. And when you play it, you'll be a little bit better. Just a little. Too bad that sometimes it seems more like an expansion than a sequel.

Spelunky 2 is more of Spelunky, and that is all it needs to be. It is still ridiculously enjoyable, packed with content, and the right mix of challenging and engaging. It's still going to kill you a half-dozen times, too. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it revitalizes an experience that risked going stale after a decade. The only downside is that the online experience isn't the best, but the rest of the game holds up great. If you liked Spelunky, then you'll like Spelunky 2, and if you never played the original, then Spelunky 2 is a great place to start. Just remember to always look before you leap.

Spelunky 2 is as brutally challenging as ever – sometimes to the point of exhaustion – but manages to keep the player engaged thanks to small but clever modernizations and the same incredibly creative universe.

Spelunky 2 is the sequel that Derek Yu's classic deserved. More of everything and without losing an iota of its essence. Lovers of a good challenge will find a perfect refuge in this game that requires a great deal of patience and coordination, but the continuous feeling of improvement that you get from this great roguelite is totally worth it. You can be reproached for not having had a more polished or complete online section. However, it is not something that many will take into account when enjoying one of the best games ever made within its genre.

Overall, Spelunky 2 is an absolute delight to play, even in the midst of my repeating failure in the game. Its randomized level generator and the bevy of tools to strategize your way through each level makes for a fun time. While the PvP isn’t up to snuff with the main adventure, the ability to play this game with friends (online or local) will keep you occupied for months to come.

It is a great achievement that Derek Yu has managed to improve the almost perfect gameplay construct even further, to add more variety and depth and yet remain true to his roots.

Mossmouth did the impossible with Spelunky 2 in managing to create a sequel to an incredible game that did not disenfranchise existing fans or turn off newbies. Instead, they’ve crafted another hard-as-nails experience that’s devilishly fun to play. Almost every new feature is an improvement and the new visual and audio flourishes enhance it further. Those who never played the original game don’t have to. They can jump straight into Spelunky 2 and enjoy a masterful title that will likely never grow old.

With a bottomless well of rules to learn and secrets to uncover, the endless satisfaction of making it further and further as your knowledge grows, and the looming spectre of death always just a second of lapsed judgement or a quirk of cosmic fate away, Spelunky 2 strikes a perfect balance of incredible complexity and endearing charm to create a replayable package anyone can enjoy.

Spelunky 2 offers a challenging, but rewarding experience. With so many new levels, items, and enemies, there's no shortage of exploration and mystery. It expands upon the addicting gameplay of the first game and offers an entirely unique experience each time you play.