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Spelunky 2 steps on a trap, delayed to 2020

Spelunky 2's hazards have extended to its development, as the procedurally-generated roguelike is now delayed to next year.

Ozzie Mejia

August 14, 2019 1:37 PM

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There's a long list of games that one could place on their "Most Anticipated of 2019" list. One of yours might have been Spelunky 2, the follow-up to the exciting retro-style roguelike from creator Derek Yu. If it was, you might want to sit down for this. It doesn't appear that Spelunky 2 is going to make its 2019 release window.

Hey, Spelunky fans! Unfortunately, I don't think we're going to get to release Spelunky 2 this year. Development is still going well and we're not far off target, but the density and detail of the game is demanding more time.

Thank you for your patience. pic.twitter.com/BJvsHUWAY0

— Derek Yu (@mossmouth) August 14, 2019

Creator Derek Yu jumped on Twitter on Wednesday to deliver the bad news.

"Hey, Spelunky fans!" begins the message from Yu. "Unfortunately, I don't think we're going to get to release Spelunky 2 this year. Development is still going well and we're not far off target, but the density and detail of the game is demanding more time."

This is understandable when understanding all that goes into creating a procedurally-generated roguelike such as Spelunky. Yu has set out to create a true sequel to the original, setting it a full generation after the first game and putting forward a new cast of playable characters. While the main premise remains the same, with players setting out to explore dangerous caverns in search for loot and glory, Spelunky 2 also brings along some new features, such as mounts and liquid physics.

"We've got lava, which was in Spelunky, but we've got actual liquid physics in Spelunky 2," Yu told Shacknews back at GDC 2019. "So if you blow up a hole underneath a pool of lava, it'll actually fall using real water physics, versus in Spelunky where it was kind of faked. The liquid physics are another thing where it makes the game feel more dynamic. You get these lava waterfalls that just get naturally created as you're playing. There's a new robot in the volcano area where if you step on its head, that'll activate it and then the robot will explode after a little while. A lot of times, that'll work with the lava and create those lava waterfalls. But there are new items and things that you can use that'll help you past these new obstacles."

You can learn more about Spelunky 2 by traveling back to our hands-on preview from GDC 2019. Whenever Spelunky 2 is ready, now expected sometime in early 2020, look for it to arrive on PC and PlayStation 4.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?