Spelunky is an amazing game and absolutely worth your money. The randomly generated terrain offers countless replayability. This rogue-like platformer also has random events and special areas, making it much more interesting. Speaking of which, this is not the kind of game that will allow you to play for long hours in one sitting, as you will find yourself regularly making small mistake leading to your avatar’s demise. Other than that, this is a perfect game for you to kill time during short breaks. Despite being randomly generated, you can still find some pattern within the levels.
Dying is a big part of the game and there are numerous ways of dying. It is not uncommon for player to die with only 10 seconds into the game, thus, making it extremely frustrating at those times. However, you will always come back wanting for more. With every death, the player will become more skillful and experienced. Over time, you will learn to check what is down there beyond your screen before making that leap of faith, or the trajectory of a thrown rock, making your shot more accurate.
Spelunky is not a game designed to allow players to explore every nook and cranny. When the player lingers more than 2 minutes and 30 seconds, a nearly invincible ghost will spawn at the corner of the map, chasing the player across the level. Despite the time constrain, the player will often have more than enough time to loot the majority of the level’s treasure and save the damsel.
My only complain of the game is the lack of “quick restart” button. Forcing the game to restart will redirect the player to the main menu, and the player will have to go through the avatar selection screen and loading screen, which I think is a hassle. There will be times when you screw up with just only 5 seconds into the game, such as when a spitting cobra is generated near to the shopkeeper’s damsel. The player will be blamed for a crime he/she did not commit over the death of the damsel, making the player unable to purchase valuable ropes and bombs from the shopkeeper for the rest of the game, which is essential for navigating throughout the level. On top of that, you don’t want to piss off the shopkeepers.