Spelunky Classic HD 1.14

Spelunky is a great game. You're probably not going to be surprised about that if you've been into 2D platformers for a while. However, not a whole lot of people remember the original Spelunky that was created in Game Maker a few years before releasing the commercial version we all know and love. That version has had an unofficial remake, supported by the original developer, and released as Spelunky Classic HD.

To install Spelunky Classic HD, simply unzip the archive and run the executable.

The first thing to note is that the original vision is unchanged. There's little more added other than resolution updates and bug fixes...up to a certain point, of course. Game Maker is, after all, a limited engine. Unfortunately, that means that the game will crash relatively often despite their best efforts, as the engine just isn't very well suited for procedural generation.

That said, the fact that it works this well is already a small miracle. And it has all the makings of a proper Spelunky game. It has the same, simply yet addicted game loop that's fast and provides enough challenge to reward skill. There are very few deaths that feel completely unavoidable in this game, and it can be totally chalked up to your own mistakes.

Overall, Spelunky Classic HD holds up extremely well. There's almost nothing wrong with the game itself, and most of the downsides come from the engine it's attached to rather than the game. If you want to learn what Spelunky's first pass was like, take a look at this game.