Spelunky

Not to be confused with Spelunker, a 1983 video game and influence for Spelunky.

Spelunky
Title screen of the original Windows game
Developer(s)Mossmouth, LLC
Publisher(s)
Designer(s)Derek Yu
Programmer(s)Andy Hull
Composer(s)
  • Buzinkai
  • Jonathan Perry
  • Eirik Suhrke
EngineGameMaker Studio
Platform(s)
ReleaseWindows
  • WW: December 21, 2008
  • WW: August 8, 2013 (remake)
Xbox 360
  • NA: July 4, 2012
  • EU: July 5, 2012
PS3, PS Vita
  • NA: August 27, 2013
  • EU: August 28, 2013
PlayStation 4
  • NA: October 7, 2014
  • EU: October 8, 2014
Switch
August 26, 2021
Genre(s)Platform, roguelike
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer (remake)

Spelunky is a 2008 source-available 2D platform game created by independent developer Derek Yu and released as freeware for Microsoft Windows. It was remade for the Xbox 360 in 2012, with ports of the new version following for various platforms, including back to Microsoft Windows. The player controls a spelunker who explores a series of caves while collecting treasure, saving damsels, fighting enemies, and dodging traps. The caves are procedurally generated, making each run-through of the game unique.

The first public release was on December 21, 2008.[1] The source code of the Windows version was released on December 25, 2009. An enhanced version for Xbox Live Arcade was released on July 4, 2012. The enhanced version was later released for Windows and PlayStation 3 in August 2013, and for PlayStation 4 in October 2014.[2] The remake was also made available on Xbox One via backward compatibility in December 2015.[3] A fanmade, ChromeOS version of the original game was made as well, titled Spelunky HTML5.[4] A port for Nintendo Switch was released on August 26, 2021.[5] A sequel, Spelunky 2, was released in September 2020.[6][7]

Spelunky was one of the first games to borrow concepts from roguelikes and combine them with real-time side-scrolling platformer elements. Due to its popularity, it was the influence for many later "roguelite" games.[8] Spelunky received critical acclaim for its gameplay, atmosphere and design, though some controls and multiplayer elements polarized critics. Many critics and publications regarded it as one of the greatest video games of all time.

  1. ^ Yu, Derek (December 21, 2008). "Spelunky v1.1 (and Source)!". TIGForums. TIGSource. Archived from the original on August 7, 2015. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
  2. ^ "Major Nelson Xbox Live Marketplace Release Schedule". June 26, 2012. Archived from the original on November 21, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
  3. ^ Langley, Hugh (December 17, 2015). "16 more games just got added to Xbox One's backwards compatibility list". TechRadar. Archived from the original on January 19, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  4. ^ "Spelunky HTML5 – Chrome Web Store". Archived from the original on January 3, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  5. ^ "Spelunky and Spelunky 2 for Switch launch August 26". Gematsu. August 12, 2021. Archived from the original on August 12, 2021. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  6. ^ Dayus, Oscar (October 31, 2017). "Spelunky 2 Announced For PS4 And PC, Watch First Trailer Here". GameSpot. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
  7. ^ "Spelunky 2 launches September 15 for PS4, "shortly after" for PC". Gematsu. August 6, 2020. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  8. ^ PC Gamer staff (January 1, 2016). "The 50 most important PC games of all time". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2016.