When I first heard this described as a rogue-like game, I didn't believe it. I laughed. As someone who started with NetHack back in 1987 (yes, I'm old, thanks for noticing) and loved Moria and Dwarf Fortress, I just could not see how a platformer could possibly provide anything comparable to the same sort of play experience. Spelunky proved me wrong, in a big way.

The game starts out simple enough: spiders drop from the ceiling when you walk underneath, bats fly at you when you get close to them, snakes slither back and forth. Fine. You can run and jump, use a rope to climb to places you wouldn't otherwise reach, drop a bomb to bring down a wall or make a hole and get to otherwise unreachable areas. Cool. And each time you start the level has randomized elements so the walls and floors and treasure and monsters are in different locations so it's not predictable. Great. That alone would make a good game.

But as you advance, new enemies and items are added, along with special random areas. Each of these brings new elements that affect the gameplay not just for you but potentially with interaction with other items and creatures in the game. Very quickly your decisions become more complex. See the biggest spider you ever saw? Watch out, it's a lot harder to kill than a normal spider, so avoid at all costs... except if you kill it you can use the sticky webs to make your bombs attach to things they'd otherwise roll off of... which is fine if one blows up a higher part of the wall to get at a more valuable items but is not cool at all when you toss it at a monster who then comes chasing after you with a bomb stuck to its side ready to blow you up along with it... and even if you manage to get away it might accidentally destroy a floor you needed to run across or anger a shotgun-wielding shopkeeper or otherwise make your life more difficult. Do you do it? Decide quickly, because this isn't a turn-based game.


And then, after many deaths and many hours, you realize that you are having to make split-second decisions about bizarre questions you never thought you'd ask yourself, like "Hey, would that giant yeti be destroyed by a land mine if I threw one just right, and is it worth trying to disarm one by hand to carry it around just in case?" or "How far do you suppose I'll bounce if I jump on top of this flying saucer, and does it change if I'm wearing spiked boots?" or even "Should I try to carry this damsel in distress over to the exit, throw her at the carnivorous plant, go find an altar to Kali, attach this sticky bomb to her while she runs off this ledge, use her as a living shield. drop her on that strange orange globular thing over there, or put her in this pit so I can grab that freeze ray gun and maybe just maybe come back for her later...?"

You will die. A lot. But on strictly a price of the game versus how many hours of enjoyment you get out of it comparison, this is the best bargain on Steam.