The Switch is the best place to play Spelunky and Spelunky 2
I have written thousands of words about Spelunky and a little less about its sequel. So I’ll be direct: The Nintendo Switch is the best place to play two of the greatest and most influential video games ever made.
With this in mind, I will quickly address two audiences: lifetime Spelunky enthusiasts and new Spelunky users. Depending on their previous experience with the series, these two groups will have different expectations. Let me quickly address any concerns.
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Do I have to play Spelunky 2021?
It would help if you played Spelunky. You get the idea. Obviously.
The Nintendo Switch is a great place to start if you haven’t tried Spelunky 2 or Spelunky 1. Start with the Spelunky. It’s comparably slower, and fans have filled the internet with tips, tutorials, and guides.
The first entry in a series of video games serves as a draft for the subsequent entries. Spelunky is not like that. It is a game that stands alone as the best of the last decade.
“This refined Spelunky revived a neglected genre; fostered community of critics, sleuths modders and speedrunners; has single-handedly maintained my PlayStation Vita’s charge since it was ported onto the forsaken handheld.”
I’m happy to put Spelunky in the box of seldom played retro games systems for the first time since it was introduced on the Vita. Though the Switch’s screen can’t compare to the quality of the Vita’s OLED screen (not yet, at least), the game runs notably better on it — especially in the ice caves area, which had a notorious slowdown problem on Sony’s little-portable-that-could.
Spelunky 2 runs well on Nintendo Switch
Long-time fans are asking this question. Spelunky2 featured fancier visuals and liquid physics. It also had multilayered stages that exhausted some midrange and lower-end PCs. It was difficult to run Spelunky on the handheld machines of its day, so I was sceptical that the sequel would work smoothly on the Switch.
Be assured, fellow Spelunky obsessed. Although I haven’t beaten Spelunky2 on Switch, Russ Frushtick, my colleague, has found the true ending deep within the bowels. He is the one who will take you to the credits. He can confirm that every stage runs smoothly. He said, “It runs faster on Switch than on my PC.”
Spelunky2 did not seem to get as much attention on PCs or consoles. Perhaps this is because people like the series more when it’s portable. Perhaps it was released with Hades, the arguably greatest roguelike of the decade. Spelunky2 is worthy of its time in the sun.
Spelunky2 is all about the unexpected ways it challenges the expectations of its predecessor. In my Spelunky 2 review, I said that “This isn’t a sequel.” It’s another chance to play Spilunky with fresh ears; everything is just slightly different, another stroke that shows perfection is imperfect. Even the best can be better.
These hidden treasures can be discovered or rediscovered by millions of people with both Nintendo Switch games.
Spelunky 2 and Spelunky 3 are available for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Windows PC. Mossmouth provided download codes that allowed the game to be played on Switch and PC. Vox Media has affiliate relationships. They do not affect editorial content. However, Vox Media might earn commissions for products bought via affiliate links. Additional information on Polygon’s ethics policy can be found here.
