You Can Ride a Turkey in ‘Spelunky 2’

Take on bosses, explore extensive dungeons, ride wildlife, and keep killing the shopkeeper in Spelunky 2.

Spelunky 2 is the sequel to Spelunky, a game that has been around in some form since I started PC gaming in school, adding more to the experience with walls of bones, boss battles, and turkeys to ride. This updated version of the game basically is adding much more to those dungeons and caverns you might have explored previously.

In this platformer, you play as an adventurer in solo mode or with a few friends. Each of you have a shared life pool, as well as individual items to make the adventure easier, like a rope to get up higher or some bombs to take out land or enemies. As you bounce around the various levels, you’ll come across the classic snake (who’s able to jump this time), and the spider, as well as lizards, moles, and many more familiar creatures.

The end of some areas also comes with bosses. The boss I came up against in the demo I played at GDC was like a giant armadillo, curling into a ball and destroying everything in its path. If you’re playing in multiplayer, only one of you needs to make it to the next level, as a coffin is located at the top of the screen, allowing you to break out whoever died to being steamrolled by giant critters.

If these enemies aren’t enough, you can find ghost jars that can be broken for more gems, but release a ghost that follows you around and can’t be destroyed. All of these hazards aren’t the only new thing within the game. My favorite feature are the turkeys. Turkeys can be found in random levels, and if you mount one for long enough, they become your companion. They will hit enemies with their head when you try to use your whip, and allow you to glide when you jump. These lovely creatures do take damage for you, so you need to be extra careful when it comes to keeping them alive.

While riding my turkey around, I came across someone with a big cage asking me to capture turkeys. I am not sure what would have happened if I gave him my little feathered friends, but these new challenges and features are a very welcome addition to the game.

Spelunky 2 is coming to PS4 and PC soon. 

About The Author

Jupiter Hadley

Jupiter is a prolific indie game journalist, writing for Metro UK, Big Boss Battle, AlphaBetaGamer, and many more, all with a focus on smaller indie gems. She covers thousands of game jams and indie games on her YouTube channel, letting every game have a moment in the spotlight. She runs indiegamejams.com, a calendar of all of the game jams going on in the world, judges many jams and events.

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