Spelunky 2, a sequel to Derek Yu‘s genre-defining 2008 rogue-lite platformer, is in development. The game’s announcement came as a surprise teaser at the end of the pre-show for Sony’s 2017 Paris Games Week presentation. The teaser revealed no gameplay, so little to nothing is known about the game itself.
Released first in 2008 as a freeware title for Windows PCs, Spelunky is a notoriously tough 2D platformer about descending through procedurally generated levels to discover ancient riches and rescue damsels (male, female, or pug, to the player’s taste) from successively deeper ruins and caves beneath the ground. Inspired by classics such as Super Mario Bros. and more recent indie platformers such as La Mulana, it was one of the first widely popular games to distill elements of the classic roguelike genre (such as newly generated levels in every new playthrough and collecting randomized items) into a friendlier and more accessible shell than the famously obtuse family of games originally from the ’80s. The free version of Spelunky was so successful that a visually overhauled remake came to consoles in 2012, eventually coming back to PC. The game has inspired countless imitators, and has remained a beloved and still-played classic ever since, with a vibrant speedrunning community.
The walls are shifting once again…
Spelunky 2 is coming to PS4. pic.twitter.com/e4zyWaL2Qs
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) October 30, 2017
The trailer for Spelunky 2 mostly comprised still photographs of the Spelunky protagonist retiring from his adventures to raise a family, with a new generation of aspiring adventurers growing up to assume the spelunking mantle. There was also an allusion to looking up toward the sky and a moon featured in the logo at the end of the trailer, suggesting the possibility that players may be inverting the first game’s basic paradigm and exploring upward instead of down.
No release date or window was provided for Spelunky 2, so presumably, it won’t be arriving until 2018 at the earliest. Although the game was revealed during Sony’s presentation, there was no mention of platform exclusivity — timed or otherwise. Given that the previous game has been ported widely, it seems safe to assume that the sequel will be coming to a range of devices as well. You can still download the original version for free here on the developer’s website.
