Oh yes
I agree with that slowing down is the biggest lesson at the start, and it’s a hard one to learn! Because you can go so fast and zip right by the spiders and snakes, but then the lizards will ruin your day
I think much like 1 this will feel better hunched 5 inches from my computer monitor as opposed to lounging on the couch.
I’m inclined to agree! It’s kind of like they tried to put a lampshade of all the danger, murder, death, and pain but the lampshade is really garish and draws attention to itself.
1 Like
I BEAT 1-4!!!
I used to hate the mole. But now I hate yellow sonic lizard thing. Fuck that thing.
2 Likes
I’ve gotten past 1-4 twice now to both of the subsequent areas, after many failed attempts that mostly ended on 1-4 itself
Evidence suggests that the door on the left leads to the usual level 2 jungle area but the door on the right goes to a new mines area which is filled with lava and other obstacles and enemies from the hell level of spelunky 1? It seems absurdly hard, I died almost immediately
Is it just me or does the jungle look bad in this game? Like really bad. Its so bright that it almost looks like there’s some shader that got disabled accidentally.
I love the slowdown in the factory area, the lava physics are like noita but running on a single unity thread
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I’ve been having more success with factory than the jungle. Jungle is so dense; factory is pretty open a lot of the time and is easier for me to safely navigate.
Yeah I beat the factory, but I suspect what’s after the factory is harder than what’s after the jungle?
ok 90% of my deaths in the jungle are to spike blocks so maybe that’s my issue
edit oh and bear traps
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made it to the factory.
i like the addition of turkey yoshis to the game.
i don’t quite remember so many enemies/traps stunlocking the player into death in the first Spelunky, but it definitely seems to keep happening a lot to me.
3 Likes
Happens in the first game too a decent amount, but mostly in later areas.
I’m able to reliably beat the first area now (>80%) so I’m getting there!
I also recommend using the shortcuts when you first unlock them so you can grind the new area. It takes way too long to learn otherwise. That’s also what I did in Necrodancer, although that game more explicitly encourages it.
I’ve started picking up machetes or spike boots to combat this. Both feel like a nice upgrades now, where before they weren’t too exciting. You can use a machete while riding a turkey, too!
was expecting this to be more substantially different tbh. the fact that the first area still has the key/udjat eye thing going on, most shop items have been the same etc feels pretty conservative
the dungeon generation seemed to sometimes fail to create a path to the exit? unless we were missing something
i appreciated that the ghost jar worked exactly like i expected it to when i saw it, probably the most interesting addition early on. also glad that the ghost becomes more threatening after a delay
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the turkey sidequest reward is so small that it made me think i must be missing something (other than excavation/skeleton key strats)
if there isn’t an underwater area/level variant later on now that there are some fluid physics then i have no idea what they’re doing. hopefully some of them also make more interesting use of the la mulana backside dungeon thing. idk there’s so much in the platformer genre to draw from
conducts on the game over screen is cute (especially that they took nethack’s veganism one), i wonder if pacifist runs are a thing
2 Likes
Gather all the turkeys together and bomb them all IMO.
There actually does seem to be a lot going on in this game, but the early game definitely feels more like a Spelunky 1 expansion pack than a sequel.
Not sure why the branching paths aren’t at the beginning of the game too. Shouldn’t you put the most variety where the player spends the most time?
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especially if you’re difficult enough that only a few players will make it past the beginning!
https://steamcommunity.com/stats/239350/achievements
On the first game, 40% of players made it to the Jungle
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Binding of Isaac isn’t my thing, but unlocking variety seems like a good way to do a more accessible roguelike. The game can start a little easier, then, and as you achieve things in the game you unlock more variety & complexity.
That’s not to say that the game’s current difficulty doesn’t work for me – it totally does – but like it doesn’t seem that hard to make a game that more people could enjoy.
I am largely against persistent stats, like Rogue Legacy has, because I find that ruins the player progression that a roguelike is trying to achieve. I no longer know if I’m getting better or if the stats are carrying me, but I don’t see too many downsides to unlockable elements. I guess maybe the player will feel like they’re slowly getting worse, but by that time they’re hooked more I’d think.
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I’m pretty sure the difficulty curve in Spelunky spikes by level 2 and evens out just like a certain other “brutally difficult” game series.
But you don’t start at the beginning when you die in Dark Souls, and that game has other mechanics that let people grind their way through difficult sections (leveling, summons), so I don’t think that comparison fits.
Also, I’m not saying the game is too hard, I’m saying that it’s possible to make a game that starts at once place, and ramps up to this difficulty (or beyond), in addition to making the game feel fresher as variety is slowly added.
Binding of Isaac has a really gentle difficulty curve, too – they add in extra bosses and make the dungeon longer as the player beats it. So a good number of players have ‘beaten’ Binding of Isaac, but only in the shortest, easiest way. Slay the Spire uses those ascension levels to tease players into harder difficulties, too. I don’t see any reason why a longer difficulty curve doesn’t fit in a roguelike, which has so many ways to tease extra content as a player learns more.
5 Likes