14 DAY TRIAL // 
Spelunky has been around for quite some time, as it was first released as a freeware game but appeared on the Xbox 360 last year and earlier this month once again on the PC as a full-fledged title via Steam.
The game has evolved in many ways since then and plenty of improvements were made to the core recipe, which basically revolves around an explorer who goes through different randomly generated stages while searching for treasure and killing enemies.
Does this final version of Spelunky manage to nail the puzzle platformer recipe or should the explorer retire? Let's find out.
Spelunky opens with an Indiana Jones-style explorer lost in the desert who finds a dark cave and enters it to seek refuge from the sun. Besides refuge, he finds that the cave houses a huge complex of different environments that, every time the player dies and is reborn thanks to an ancient curse, all the rooms are rebuilt in a different shape.
Basically, this is all an excuse to explain the procedurally-generated levels and the player's restart of his adventures after the untimely demise.
While at first you go through a tutorial starring an ancient Asian explorer, you can then travel through the different stages yourself and see how far you can go before dying at the hands of many of the different dangers found in the cave.
From snakes to bats, spiders, ghosts, monkeys, man-eating plants, lots of creatures are out to get the player, not to mention many other static traps, from dart-throwing statues, to booby traps, like the infamous Indiana Jones rolling boulder.
Death is a constant affair for Spelunky players, as they have a limited number of health chunks. These can be refilled by rescuing Damsels in Distress, which reward you with a kiss and some bonus health once the stage is complete. Getting to the damsels, however, can be quite tricky and, in some cases, might actually cause your death.
In terms of tools, you have your trusty whip, which can be used against different foes, as well as collectibles like bombs or grapple hooks, which can destroy the environment or allow you to reach new places, respectively.
During some stages, you can also reach shops run by different keepers, who can sell anything from more bombs and hooks, to special items that aid you in your journey. You can buy them by collecting gold and jewels while traversing levels, but it's always a good idea to find the exit first and then try to get some bonus loot that doesn't endanger your health.
While death is practically constant, repetition isn't, as even the different themed worlds can be bypassed by meeting an NPC called the Tunnel Man, who, in exchange for various things, can build shortcuts and allow you to bypass at least the starting areas.
In case you get bored with the campaign alone, you can invite up to three other friends and try to complete the stages together by pooling your resources and skills. Sometimes, it works brilliantly, other times, all chaos breaks loose, but you'll have a lot of fun.
Instead of working together, you can choose to compete against each other and try to kill them before you get eliminated. This is even more chaotic and, considering the multiplayer is only available locally, it will soon lead to some real-life arguments.
You can also engage in the Daily Challenges, which provide different tasks for players to complete, from speed runs, to survival attempts, and more.
Spelunky will also draw you in with its cartoonish visuals that don't betray the gruesome deaths you'll experience within the dreaded cave. You can also change your character with a number of other pre-determined ones, as well as the Damsel in Distress, which can even be replaced by a dog.
The sound design is also quite cheery in Spelunky, but awfully repetitive, so you might want to play your own music, or without it altogether, to stop the track from engraving itself onto your brain.
Conclusion
Spelunky is a great and bad game at the same time. For those who constantly want to challenge their skills, who find great pleasure in other masochistic experiences like Dark Souls, this game will be right up their alley.
For those who want to unwind and relax, Spelunky can be quite challenging and downright nerve-racking when you get some really complex levels early on, filled with many foes. Throw in the not-so-good keyboard controls and you'll have a hard time liking it.
