Spelunky 2 is set to release on September 15th, following a delay that pushed it from 2019 to 2020. Spelunky 2 is the long-awaited sequel to Spelunky, a 2D platformer released by Derek Yu in 2008. The game casts players as a spelunker exploring caves and mines in search of treasure while being menaced by traps and monsters along the way. A remake in 2013 added co-op to the game, further expanding interest in and affection for the title. It is considered one of the earliest and best examples of the modern roguelike game.
A sequel to Spelunky was announced in 2017, almost ten years after the original’s release. The trailer announced a host of new features to expand on the basic formula fans loved from the original title and set a release window for sometime in 2019. Unfortunately, Derek Yu later announced on Twitter that the game was not going to be able to make that goal. Spelunky 2 needed more development time than initially expected; this time was used to fine-tune the game and improve environments for added visibility. The announcement was of course a disappointment for fans, but ultimately, the cause for the delay was worthwhile.
Now, Spelunky 2 is ready for its debut. During PlayStation’s recent State of Play stream, Derek Yu took the stage for about three minutes to discuss the upcoming title and some of its key features. He placed a strong emphasis on community, citing the fact that many fans of the first game were introduced to it through their friends and family. To that end, online multiplayer will be offered in Spelunky 2, and every new character discovered in the caves will add to a growing in-game community that can be interacted with. Yu stressed the importance of making Spelunky 2 approachable in spite of the game’s high difficulty. And, of course, the trailer gave fans the release date: September 15th, 2020.
In addition to fostering an online community, Spelunky 2 will expand the game’s mechanics in plenty of other ways, most notably by offering players the ability to ride turkeys through the caves. New items and secret paths also await discovery. Yu closed out the trailer by thanking fans for their patience during the game’s development and predicting that Spelunky 2 would be worth the wait.
It’s always disappointing to see an exciting new game get delayed, and unfortunately, with the additional obstacles introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic, game delays have become more and more common. Fortunately, Spelunky 2 seems to have risen above its stumbling blocks. If the footage displayed in the State of Play trailer is any indication, Yu and his team have used Spelunky 2‘s extra development time to its absolute fullest. Hopefully, fans will find their patience rewarded when Spelunky 2 launches next month.
Spelunky 2 will be available on PlayStation 4 on September 15th, 2020, and on PC at a later date.
