Spelunker HD Deluxe | PS4 Review

Out of the box or borne from digital Tozai Games' "Spelunker HD Deluxe" is an utter failure of a classic arcade experience. Even though it offers four modes of play with solo or online/offline multiplayer options it fails to impress with it's carried over mechanics that hailed from a free-to-play version which was equally as horrible by design. There are no tutorials to instruct you on what it is your spelunker can do, nor details on the restrictions in cavern exploration that comes with simple approach. It is a broken, and frustrating experience not worth the asking price, and certainly not worth the aggravation. I sampled all modes, and even tried matchmaking with online players which were absent, and likely due to the same reasons I ditched the game for.

Spelunker HD Deluxe is a four mode package deal with two types of graphic filters. You get to play in either the newer 3D presentation or in the old school 8bit presentation. Each option offered up within the four modes of play. Speaking of modes of play you get Arcade, Competition, Championship, and Endless Cave Neo. Arcade is your standard adventure mode where you explore the maze-like interior of an undiscovered cave while collecting tools, and power-ups needed to advance past the pitfalls, and perils that lie in wait. Your spelunker can climb, and descend ropes, jump, plant bombs, fire a flare to ward of lesser enemies, and use a ghostbuster gun for destroying pursuing ghosts. The problem with said exploration comes with the jumping, and rope climbing mechanics though. If you try to jump from a rope, and miss a ledge or a rope you die. If you fall from a cliff trying to reach a rope further down you die. It complicates what was improved upon in the somewhat unrelated Spelunky games. Another game series that was inspired by this retro classic. Exploration, as such, is hindered by very restrictive progress boundaries, and the set number of lives given to a player. An artificial difficulty, if you will.

In Competition mode things don't fair much better. The gameplay setup is similar as with Arcade, but here you can go solo or with other players in an offline or online matchmaking system. It divides the screen up into four sections for the four players, and is a competition to see who can get to the end first. Each player has an infinite number of lives, and is simply tasked with completing a run as fast as possible. It's a speed run kind of deal with all the pitfalls, and problems lined up between start and finish. Championship mode also adds to the competitive value of the game by focusing on high scores. In it you can go solo, or with a group of online players. Each player having a stock of three lives. The multiplayer online option lumps everyone's score into a single points pool whereas the solo play option only tallies that single player's score total. Collecting items such as coins, or money bags will boost your score. Lastly Endless Cave Neo is an auto-scrolling descent downward where up to four players are pushed downward by the scrolling top of the screen further into the cave system as they collect the items, and tools needed to progress. You get three lives as a player. Scoring in this mode is a combination of depth reached, and points gathered from items and enemies. Timing is crucial in this mode as the stakes are higher, and the threats greater. If the ceiling catches up to you it is a life lost.

The Verdict ...

I started this review off with how I feel about it. I think it's a failure of a game, mechanically. I think it's biggest problem lies with how deaths occur, and how the game doesn't inform you on what it is you can do, or should do. Only the controller menu clues you into the base controls. Modes also come with a preview description, but only serve to point players towards objectives and end goals that are made damn near impossible to meet. When I tell you this game is mechanically broken I'm not coming at you like that dude who couldn't figure out Cuphead's tutorial. I am literally telling you this game is functionally frustrating to a point it's an immediate turn off. I can't, and won't recommend it. It's not worth it even with it's complete package of features.