Spelunky

Spelunky's punishing platforming returns to PC, where its daily challenges bring new life to an amazing game.

Major improvements to the cooperative mode coupled with the Vita's portability make this the best version of the already excellent Spelunky.

Spelunky is a perfect game - a creation of rare crystal clarity that sparkles from every angle.

Straightforward and replayable, Spelunky is precision engineered to make death fair, funny, and a story worth sharing.

Normally, the first entry in a video game series acts as a rough draft for refined sequels. That’s not the case with Spelunky. It stands on its own as one of the most important games of the past decade.

The Vita plays the perfect host to Spelunky. Its intense, fast-paced gameplay feels right at home on the portable device, where quick stints of gameplay can help to alleviate the frustration that the title's unforgiving difficulty inevitably unearths. If you're fortunate enough to dig your way past the rock-solid opening hours, a never-ending supply of treasure eagerly awaits your discovery.

Nearly a decade on, Spelunky still has all the fundamentals in place and remains a great entry in the roguelike genre. Solid gameplay, plenty of secrets, and an addictive gameplay loop make for an easy game to recommend, though we’d say you should come into this one prepared to die a lot before you really ‘get it’. Whatever your tolerance for difficulty may be, Spelunky proves to be a nice fit for the Switch; it’s certainly worth your time if you never tried it before.

Those who missed out on the XBLA release of Spelunky and want a good tough rogue-like should pick it up from Steam. It's a little more based on reflexes than most rogue-likes, but even if you find out you're not that good at it, it is still a riot to watch friends try to get as far as the can before making the wrong step and getting crushed by a boulder.

Spelunky is considered a classic roguelike for good reason. Its hazard-filled structure will have you constantly learning new tricks as you continue to progress further and further. In fact, it even remains superior to its recent sequel so I highly recommend giving it a go.

Spelunky is exactly what a roguelike should be: challenging, addictive, and full of secrets to discover. Whether you play alone or in a group, it will keep you engaged for hours without even noticing the time passing by. Almost all the time, the player will be discovering new things while exploring and dying a lot in the mines. The only downside being that there are various moments of frustration where we suffer from deaths that really didn't seem fair.