GameTech review: Spelunky gets funky with impressive sequel 

The depth of gameplay and game design in Spelunky 2 are unparalleled, and well worth checking out

Spelunky 2 offers a little universe that keeps changing every time you return, offering risk and reward in equal measure.

For many of us, 2020 has felt like living in a cave. We’ve seen far too much of the four walls that surround us. How fitting, then, that a game about spelunking might be the best of the year.

How deep can you go? That is the theme of Spelunky 2 (Steam, consoles, €19,99), the long-awaited sequel to one of the greatest games ever made.

The surface-level goal of the game is to explore deeper and deeper into the recesses of the ‘moon’, until you beat the final boss, but the theme extends to the metaphorical too. The depth of gameplay and game design in Spelunky 2 is unparalleled, and a fitting reflection of the challenges we have all faced this year.

That might sound a little haughty for a cartoonish game about avoiding traps and monsters, but Spelunky 2 speaks the language of gaming, not film or music or books.

It’s not a linear, fixed creation, but a generator of exploration and puzzles — Spelunky 2 is a little universe that keeps changing every time you return, offering risk and reward in equal measure.

On the surface (or below it), Spelunky is a very difficult platforming game, somewhat resembling the original Mario in basic movement. Your objective is to keep descending through changing environments, acquiring various items and abilities to assist, until you reach the end boss.

Each of the levels has different themes, secrets, traps and monsters that are randomly generated each time you play. Once you die (which will happen very, very often), the next attempt will look different to the last.

That’s why Spelunky 2 is so special. This is a game about the beauty and danger of exploration. It’s a game where everything is out to kill you, yet learning from those failures and overcoming them is worth the journey.

It’s a game where you embrace the frustration, so that you can feel the sheer triumph of becoming better.

And as you descend into the depths of the ‘moon’, the charm and mystery of Spelunky’s world continues to grow with every newly generated journey.

The obstacles become energisers, the tension becomes excitement, the randomised world becomes a shifting work of art, one that reveals a new frame with every experience. Fittingly, Spelunky 2 is a game far richer than it appears, one that reminds us to face life with resilience and ambition and wonder, even in the face of adversity. Deep, man.

MICROSOFT V SONY

Microsoft announced that Xbox Game Pass will now include EA Play at no additional cost

Meanwhile, Microsoft will be facing adversity of their own in a few months, as they go to war with Sony for next-generation dominance. The Redmond giant has finally blinked first in a staredown that was building for months, revealing both the release date and the price for its two new consoles, the Xbox Series X and the Xbox Series S, something Sony has yet to do for its PlayStation 5.

Both Xbox models will be released on November 10, with the Series X coming in at €499 and the Series S at €299. This is the first time that a console manufacturer has gone with the ‘smartphone’ approach to hardware releases, with the Series X being significantly more powerful than the Series S, leading to some questions over what that really means for the future of Xbox.

The Series S is digital-only and has significantly less graphical power and RAM than its bigger brother.

All of which makes us wonder if the games on Xbox next generation will be somewhat limited by the lower specifications on Series S, or if the more powerful Series X will receive games that are exclusive to it.

In addition, Microsoft announced that Xbox Game Pass will now include EA Play at no additional cost, giving players access to all the games on that service in addition to the large library of games already building on Game Pass.

Intriguingly, Sony have announced a livestream State of Play for tomorrow night at 9pm, during which they are expected to reveal their own price point for next generation.

All eyes will be on whether Sony will launch at €599 or if they will drop their number to match Microsoft’s €499 price point. The games have already begun — and the consoles aren’t even out yet.