Part 1 (Sep 2023) · #8 of 35 in that tierWatch the moment (2:39:27)
Spelunky 2
- Developed by
- Mossmouth, BlitWorks
- Published by
- Mossmouth
$19.99
Spelunky 2 builds upon the unique, randomized challenges that made the original a roguelike classic, offering a huge adventure designed to satisfy players old and new. Meet the next generation of explorers as they find themselves on the Moon, searching for treasure and missing family.
Consensus
A80.5/100
Steam players92.8% positiveVery Positive21,996 reviews
Metacritic ↗91/100Users: 8/10
VG Insights estimate ↗≈660K copies · ≈$9.4M gross
What creators say
Ranked Apr 2022 · #6 of 8 in that tierWatch the moment (0:21:37)
Ranked Jun 2023 · #5 of 12 in that tierWatch the moment (0:47:25)
Ranked Apr 2023 · #1 of 15 in that tierWatch the moment (2:03:54)
Ranked Jan 2026 · #2 of 5 in that tierListen to the episode
What players say
Derek Yu's 2D procedurally generated platformer-roguelike sequel in which Ana Spelunky, daughter of the original hero, descends through a much larger, more interconnected set of caves on the Moon, with one-life runs, physics-driven chaos and optional 4-player co-op or arena play.
Spelunky 2 is received as a superb, more-of-the-same-but-bigger sequel: critics gave it near-universal acclaim (PC Metacritic 91, IGN 10/10) and Steam players rate it Very Positive (about 93% of roughly 22k reviews). Praise centres on its deep systems, secrets, mounts, branching paths and hilarious emergent deaths. The recurring caveats are brutal difficulty with hidden one-hit-kill hazards, a no-save/no-checkpoint structure that turns the true ending (Cosmic Ocean) into a multi-hour endurance test, and, in recent Steam reviews, long-running online multiplayer/crossplay bugs. Some long-time fans feel it is slightly less tightly balanced than Spelunky HD. It is a finished, shipped game (PC/PS4 2020, Switch 2021, Xbox 2022, PS5 2025) rather than early access, though developer updates appear to have been sparse after the initial patches.
Players love
- Systems-driven chaos: liquids, fire, explosives, thrown items and enemy interactions create funny, memorable emergent stories (players describe deaths as punchlines)
- Huge, dense secret and unlock content with branching paths (Jungle/Volcana, Tide Pool/Temple), alternate routes, and shortcuts that reward exploration
- Mounts (turkeys, rock dogs, axolotls, qilins) and new environments add real tactical variety while keeping the classic feel
- Strong mastery loop: reviewers and players describe progress as learning to read threats, with winning a run being unusually satisfying
- Polished art, animation and soundtrack, more expressive visuals than the original, plus a coherent world with NPCs and a family-themed story
- Excellent couch and online co-op for up to four players, plus a customizable arena/deathmatch mode with 40 maps and bots, daily challenges and seeded runs
- Enormous replay value; many Steam reviewers have 100 to 1000+ hours and call it a near-perfect or desert-island game
- Quality-of-life improvements over the first game (e.g. more consistent shopkeeper balance, expanded exploration) that some players think make it more approachable
- Best with friends: reviewers repeatedly say the chaos and deaths are funniest in co-op, and a few call it a calming, even cozy, game once you learn its rules
Common complaints
- Many instant-death or combo-death situations, including hidden hazards such as bear traps concealed by terrain, which critics (e.g. Destructoid) called frustrating and players call cheap or trolling
- Online multiplayer problems widely reported on Steam: stuck on the loading screen, inability to join, crossplay-related breakage, and a bug requiring workaround input to load the next area; some reviewers say it has been broken for months or over a year
- Perceived lack of developer communication/support after launch; Steam complaints mention no word from the developers for a long stretch
- The Dwelling, Jungle and Volcana are called disproportionately hard for early worlds by some veterans, and certain levels feel specially designed to ruin a run
- Some dedicated players feel the added mechanics (and the 'Sunken City'/Cosmic Ocean path requirements) dilute the tight risk-reward balance of Spelunky HD
- Movement/controls friction: no dedicated pickup/drop/throw/climb buttons, leading to accidental climbs or item handling mistakes that kill the run
- Short-range whip and thrown-item ricochet feel punishing to newcomers, who complain about taking damage just to hit a stationary enemy
- Gameplay randomness (seed quality, needing specific items to spawn for shortcut unlocks) is cited as unfair by players who wrote negative reviews
Can feel tedious
- Cosmic Ocean: a many-hour endurance sequence with no saves that many call the main grind; Steam reviewers joke about not being able to spare four hours and about few reaching it
- Starting over from 1-1 after a sudden death, which newcomers and some critics (Gameblog.fr at 60/100) find unpedagogical and demoralizing
- Repeated tedious retries to unlock shortcuts and characters, with rewards like a victory screen and a new character considered underwhelming by some
- Status effects such as poison and curse described as run-ending annoyances
- Fighting the interface and inputs (accidentally climbing or not being able to drop items) rather than the game
- Bug-related restarts in online mode, such as getting stuck on the 'walls are shifting' screen
What's unique
- Every level is a hand-tuned procedural layout built from templates, so runs feel random but readable and fair at a systems level; the series is the reference for this style
- Permadeath with literally no meta-progression in power: only shortcuts, unlocks and knowledge carry over, so skill is the main upgrade
- Shared physics and item interactions where almost anything can kill you, including your own thrown items, enabling speedrun and trick strategies
- Branching world structure with hidden areas, alternate paths and a secret true ending (Cosmic Ocean) requiring a long perfect run
- Integrated multiplayer modes: 4-player couch and online co-op over the same campaign, and a full arena deathmatch mode with map variety
- Distinct personalities for shopkeepers, NPC family members and the ghost mechanic that punishes slow play
Players want
- Fix online co-op stability and crossplay bugs, and communicate about fixes on the Steam forums
- Offer optional accessibility or difficulty options (e.g. extra health, easier modes, checkpoints/continues); one reviewer called their absence sadistic, though the developers deliberately preserve the no-continue design
- Reduce reliance on concealed or unreadable hazards so deaths feel more telegraphed and learnable
- Add dedicated buttons or rebind options for pick up/drop/throw/climb to reduce accidental actions
- Smooth the early-game difficulty ramp (Dwelling and Jungle in particular) and make unlock requirements less dependent on random spawns
- More post-launch communication and updates; reviewers complain of over a year of silence while plush merchandise was announced
Summarised from Steam reviews and community discussion.
Steam tags
Platformer2D PlatformerDifficultOnline Co-OpPerma DeathCo-opReplay ValueIndieProcedural Generation4 Player Local
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Tier list Part 1 (2023)
Spelunky 2 is the 2020 sequel to the classic Spelunky, a brutal, secret-filled platformer roguelike. PepperHead admits it is not his preferred play style and he has only about five hours in it, so he treats this as a partial review. He found it more fun and more readable than the original, with great art and VFX, but still very punishing later on. He places it in B tier with the note that he may bump it up once he plays more.
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