Spelunky 2 Review – Enthralling Entropy

Developer: Mossmouth, BlitWorks

Rating: Teen

Reviewed on: PC

Also on: PlayStation 4

“This is the run where I make real progress,” I tell myself. “Last time I got careless, but this time will be different.” With that self-assurance, I descend into the caves of Spelunky 2 for the umpteenth time. Masterfully dodging booby traps and whipping bats, spiders, and snakes before they can steal my health, I make it through the first level with ease. My confidence rises as I pick up a crossbow from the shopkeep. Everything is going according to plan, when suddenly a horned lizard rolls into me, knocking me back and setting off a glorious chain reaction featuring skeletons, arrow traps, and eventually, a spike pit that triggers my demise. I’m frustrated my best-laid plans fell apart so fast, but as soon as the option to start a new appears, I can’t select it fast enough.

Despite the many times I’ve yelled as my character’s body bounces around like a pinball from scenarios such as that, Spelunky 2 is unceasingly fun. Maintaining the same formula as its predecessor, the engaging roguelike action-platformer drops you into a procedurally generated cave system and dares you to get further than you did last time. The engrossing difficulty and randomization of the world effectively combines with that very desire to do better, providing the drive to take on another round. As you dig deeper into the caverns, you uncover new biomes, like an aquatic-themed area with killer fish and octopuses that are all too willing to end your run. While starting over at level 1-1 can make the experience tedious, multiple visits to the deeper areas grants you the ability to start your run at that point instead. The procedural generation provides nearly endless levels to play through, and the distinct worlds introduce new elements and challenges to keep the experience fresh as you progress deeper into the caves.

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This time around, you can chart your path depending on the challenges you want to encounter. After completing the first area of the cave, do you venture into a lush jungle flooded with monkeys and man-eating plants? Or do you want to brave the volcanic foundry full of explosive robots and fire-spewing ladybugs? I love getting to decide which world to tackle as I reach these new areas, and I’m continually impressed at how different each biome feels from the others.

In addition to being able to choose your path through the caves, Spelunky 2 adds new secret areas you can duck into for treasures, challenges, and even new characters to rescue and add to your community back at base. It’s fun seeing the people you save appear at your camp, but too often these passageways lead to nowhere, causing me to sometimes disregard them since they’re usually wastes of time. This further highlights the main pitfall of procedural generation: While skill clearly plays a large role in your overall success, luck is also a factor as some runs are significantly easier than others. Still, no run is impossible, as Spelunky 2 ensures there’s a clear path to each level’s exit, so I tried to make sure I took advantage of the times fortune favored me.

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While descending into the caves alone is a blast, you can enlist help in the form of NPCs, who are often so aggressive that the best you can hope for is they’ll take down a few enemies en route to causing their own demise. You can also discover helpful mounts like a turkey that can headbutt enemies and glide, a fire-breathing dog, or a lizard that spits bubbles. However, the better company to keep comes from multiplayer, which can now be played locally or online. As you might expect, chaos reigns supreme as you add more players into the mix; don’t expect to make better progress with your friends, but it sure is fun.

Spelunky 2 is as addictive an experience as I’ve played this year. Two-minute-long runs stack to turn into consecutive hours of gameplay, and “just one more try” easily turns into an afternoon of exploring, dying, and trying again. Spelunky 2 is at once captivating, stressful, and exciting, and even now, I can’t wait to once again test my mettle within the cave’s ever-shifting walls.

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Note: This review is based on a pre-release build in which online multiplayer was unavailable.

Score: 9

Summary: Spelunky 2 is an addictive and chaotic experience that builds on the already exciting formula of the original.

Concept: Dive back into the shifting cave system of Spelunky, this time with branching paths, new enemies, and mounts to ride

Graphics: Beautiful environments are a treat to behold, and improved physics make water and lava look great as they slip through holes and cracks in the world

Sound: Helpful audio cues hint at nearby side-objectives, while a solid soundtrack accompanies the on-screen chaos

Playability: Despite its high degree of difficulty, Spelunky 2 is easy to pick up and play thanks to simple and tight controls

Entertainment: No matter how many times I yelled in frustration, I couldn’t wait to jump right back into the ever-shifting caves

Replay: High

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Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 And 2 Review – Once Again Nailing The Trick

Publisher: Activision

Developer: Vicarious Visions

Rating: Teen

Reviewed on: PlayStation 4

Also on: Xbox One, PC

Forget the weird peripherals, bad sequels, and questionable ports that defined Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater in the series’ later years. Instead, remember the glory days of the late ‘90s and early ‘00s, because that’s where you’re going with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2. By returning to the first two games in the franchise and modernizing them with changes large and small, developer Vicarious Visions reminds us why we fell in love with this series in the first place.

The overall structure remains completely intact: You select levels based on various locations around the globe, then hop on your skateboard to complete objectives like getting the high score before the time limit expires, collecting letters to spell out “skate,” and doing tricks over specific areas. Vicarious Visions keeps the best parts of the game largely intact, but various enhancements, including a larger arsenal of tricks, lifts these classics to new heights. Stringing together tricks feels amazing thanks to smoother controls, and the modern visuals look great in motion.

While these games are fun independent of nostalgia, as a fan of the original games, I loved how this release gives continual nods to the classic versions. Featuring every single real-life skater from those first two games, an enhanced create-a-skater mode, and nearly every song from the classic soundtracks, this is a crowd-pleasing remaster bundle. Stepping back into the shoes of Tony Hawk and crushing a halfpipe as Goldfinger’s “Superman” comes over my speakers brought a smile to my face. However, this bundle also adds several current-day skaters and a huge selection of new songs. By masterfully blending old with new, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2 lands on a sweet spot.

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All the levels from the original games are also available, complete with beautiful makeovers for the current technology. I was continually impressed by how gorgeous these new environments look. The stages feel faithful to the versions you played 20 years ago, while simultaneously featuring the look of new creations. Perhaps most surprising is how well the levels hold up today; skating through the streets of San Francisco and New York still feels great, and the timeless designs of Warehouse, Hangar, and the Chicago Skatepark have me returning time and again. The levels feature fun paths on which you can chain together massive combos, as well as enormous ramps to launch off, countless rails and edges to grind on, and plenty of objects to smash through. The only downside to these stages is that some of the objects you’re supposed to destroy, like the school’s bells or the “No Skating” signs in Minneapolis can be more difficult to spot since there’s a lot more going on with the visuals now.

If you’re looking for new places to skate, you can design the park of your dreams. With a massive set of elements choose from, including smart objects you can curve at multiple articulation points, the intuitive creation tools make it easier than ever to transpose the park from your mind to the screen. Once you finish, you can upload your creation to share with other players. I loved exploring the community feature; my favorite created parks ended up being the zany ideas, like an automated rollercoaster for you to grind along, rather than the more traditional skateparks. Unfortunately, I sometimes got stuck inside of objects in created parks as the pieces don’t fit together as perfectly as they do in the developer-created levels.

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Outside of sharing your parks, you can also jump into online matches. In the frantic and fun online sessions, you compete in a randomized objective playlist of quick-hit matches where eight players vie for the top spot. These objectives are as simple as getting the best score within the time limit or landing the best single combo, or as off-the-wall as graffiti mode, where you try to tag as many of the objects as possible by performing tricks on them. I love how you’re essentially into the next match as soon as you finish the one before it, with players able to seamlessly join and drop out without everyone else needing to return to a lobby. While I enjoy the structure of the online play, the experience wears thin fast due to repetitive objectives and an inability to play some of the local multiplayer offerings like H-O-R-S-E- and Tag online. Despite earning cash to spend on cosmetics in the skate shop, I didn’t feel motivated to stick around for more than a few rounds at a time.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2 makes the experience of playing through these games again feel fresh and current. With contemporary visuals, smooth gameplay, and the iconic soundtrack you remember, the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater franchise may once again have a bright future thanks to this terrific blast from the past.

Score: 8.75

Summary: This bundle of two of the most beloved skateboarding games of all time effectively recaptures the magic of the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater franchise.

Concept: Serve up modern versions of the first two Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games, complete with new and returning skaters, the full suite of levels, and online multiplayer

Graphics: With overhauled visuals, these 20-year-old games look right at home on current consoles

Sound: Skating to these iconic soundtracks again feels great. The huge selection of new songs fit right in with the established vibe

Playability: Stringing together flip tricks, grabs, grinds, and manuals has never felt better thanks to tweaks that make the gameplay smoother

Entertainment: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2 is the best way to experience these two classic titles

Replay: High

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Marvel's Avengers Review – A Powerful Superhero Experience

Publisher: Square Enix

Developer: Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal

Release: May 15, 2020

Rating: Teen

Reviewed on: PlayStation 4

Also on: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Stadia, PC

Like the rampaging Hulk and his transformation into the brainy Bruce Banner, Marvel’s Avengers is a game of shifting personas and experiences. Developer Crystal Dynamics delivers a powerful superhero showcase that taps into each Avenger’s unique abilities to light up the battlefield in thrilling ways, but when the dust settles, it slows down to show a softer, human side that is every bit as engaging, placing a character you wouldn’t expect in the central role.

Crystal Dynamics makes a huge gamble right out of the gate, delivering the message that even though the name Avengers is on the box, this is actually a story about a young girl named Kamala Khan – a huge fan of the super team.

The opening moments show Kamala at an Avengers convention, geeking out when she meets the likes of Captain America and Black Widow. Kamala’s viewpoint as a little kid is a refreshing change of pace, and her excitement is likely in line with the player’s, showing an appreciation for these awesome heroes. It’s a fun way to kick off this story, but I was shocked by just how little screen time the Avengers get in early parts of the campaign. They are hardly featured within the first three to four hours of play, but it oddly works.

The focus this time is instead on Kamala’s origin story and her growing into the role of Ms. Marvel. This coming-of-age tale is beautifully penned with some legitimately touching moments along the way. Even as she is learning about her powers, Kamala shows us she’s no slouch in combat, using a wild set of fun shapeshifting moves to pummel foes. While combat is the central hook, a good portion of Kamala’s gameplay is distinct and consists of frantic platforming.

Ms. Marvel grabs onto ledges, tumbles when platforms crumble under her feet, and barely survives every big leap – all elements that recall Crystal Dynamics’ previous work on the Tomb Raider series. Kamala is even pushed to use stealth in a few sequences to sneak past AIM robots that serve MODOK, another character that is realized in awesome ways and is developed thoroughly from start to finish.

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The platforming action is differentiated by a superhuman element, allowing players to use Ms. Marvel’s stretching abilities to propel her great distances and feel like a hero. These sequences, while impressing with the level destruction often on display, are repetitive in their steps, and fail to deliver a true sense of danger. They do, however, aid the narrative and help Kamala further develop into the game’s most dynamic character. It’ a game about the Avengers, yet the true star isn’t part of their ranks. I love that the story takes chances to keep you off-kilter, all with a satisfying amount of narrative pay-off.

When Ms. Marvel meets the Hulk in her attempt to reunite the team, the entire game structure transforms. It moves from linear, story-driven sequences to a hub format filled with deep RPG systems and a world map with a dizzying array of single-player and cooperative missions. I didn’t like hoofing it in the hub world to talk to various vendors, but the map is nicely designed and gives you all of the info you need before jumping into new critical-path missions or side activities.

At this point in the game, Kamala Khan’s story remains strong, and is joined by mini-arcs for each of the Avengers. Crystal Dynamics did a nice job creating scenarios tailored to these heroes’ unique abilities.

The Hulk is the unstoppable monstrosity you’d hope, smashing enemies and environments to bits. Thor’s Mjölnir absolutely wallops enemies, and each swing feels like it is delivered by a god. I also enjoyed the shield antics of Captain America (who doesn’t get much screen time for good narrative reasons), and the acrobatics of Black Widow. All of these heroes have great cinematic moments backed by huge gameplay setpieces. I don’t want to spoil any of them, but one cool sequence has you frantically running as the environment rotates around you. Crystal Dynamics also keeps you on your toes by challenging the norm for many of the heroes, putting them in situations where they may not have their gear or are wounded.

Iron Man is the only character that I didn’t find enthralling. His gameplay isn’t bad, but it’s tedious; his ranged attacks aren’t much fun, and his close-quarters melee isn’t as impressive as the other heroes’. Nolan North’s performance as Tony Stark is good – his voice and delivery work – but the jokes are overdone, sounding like a one-liner machine on the fritz.

All of the characters share similarities in button mapping, but feel distinct when it comes to combat and moves. Light and heavy combos abound for each hero, and are a blast to use. Each character also has a nice solution for ranged or airborne targets. The dodge, block, and parry systems are put to good use against almost every AIM enemy type, though your foes don’t have much variety.

Every encounter and success feeds into an experience point system that allows you to level up and earn new abilities. Avengers offers a surprising amount of depth in this field. You can’t really spec out a hero differently than their base potential, but you can add extra moves to combos, speed up cooldowns on ranged attacks, and make each character more lethal in certain ways. There are over 100 abilities for each character. It’s a rewarding system that will keep you playing for a long time.

Most of the critical-path missions are nicely designed and offer up plenty of rewards, but the same cannot be said of some of the side activities. For example, some assignments consist of destroying a just few things, so the mission is over almost as quickly as it began; I think I spent more time in the pre-match lobby (which can take time to load and find other players) than actually playing. You also get some odd control-point missions, which push you to stand on a spot to claim it, almost like Crystal Dynamics was thinking about competitive multiplayer ideas and just decided to use them here instead. The control missions are easy with other players at your side, but can be maddening with A.I., which rarely try to claim spaces.

The heroes are better when they are united on the battlefield. The cooperative play is exceptionally good. Most environments are wide-open spaces that allow a full team of four to clobber enemies in style, and you can also up the difficulty with your friends to get better rewards and make the battles more dynamic.

You are pushed to earn better gear to raise each of the heroes’ overall power ratings, which you need to tackle harder missions. You may have a power rating of 12, yet need 50 to stand a chance in a particular side mission. Crystal Dynamics clearly has played some Destiny, since the loot system, various currencies, factions, and hub world are nearly identical in concept.

Most of the gear you gain isn’t shown cosmetically, and the influx of items makes the experience drag. Getting a +1 spinal cord for Hulk is just weird, and does +1 really make a difference? Sure, the loot makes heroes more potent, but it just isn’t fun to collect.

Outside of legendary items, the one category of loot that is instantly satisfying is costumes. Crystal Dynamics loaded up on different outfits for each hero, and a lot of them are great nods to Marvel’s comic books. Getting the costumes either requires grinding to earn currency (of which there is an unnecessarily confusing variety), making progress on the Challenge Card (Avengers’ equivalent of a battle pass system), or getting a blueprint to fabricate.

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Nothing really comes quick in Avengers. I wouldn’t call the process a slog, as I had a good time making progress and replaying missions with friends. However, it goes slowly, making it seem like the structure is designed for you to spend real money to progress faster.

Crystal Dynamics wants you to play this game for years to come, and Avengers has plenty of content to keep you engaged at launch, but replaying missions on higher difficulties to get better gear won’t be enough down the road. It doesn’t have the competitive hooks of similarly designed games like Destiny. A steady drip of new stories and missions will be needed along with the announced heroes. Avengers is in great shape right now, dazzling with its story and action. I’m hooked on the end-game content that is available now, and I want to see just how powerful these heroes can become after leveling them completely.

Avengers, assemble! You have a great game to play!

Score: 8.75

Summary: Crystal Dynamics delivers a fun brawler that hones in on each of the heroes' unique abilities.

Concept: Avengers succeeds in its superhero power fantasy and is backed by solid writing, a fun origin story, and plenty of depth to keep you playing

Graphics: Worlds are swimming with details and the character animations are awesome. The game always looks great, whether you’re seeing story scenes or action-packed combat

Sound: Sandra Saad is perfect as Kamala Khan, and the rest of the voice performers fit their roles well. The soundtrack matches the superhero excitement

Playability: A lot of care went into making a universal moveset that is easy to grasp while allowing each hero to be distinct. Combat and traversal are both well done

Entertainment: The amount of depth can be confusing at first, but you have plenty of reasons to keep playing in the endgame

Replay: Moderately High

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