You will die a lot, by the way.

J.D. and I locked horns over this game back when the first public beta version was released.  J.D. and I tend to lock horns over a lot of things, no matter how minor.  In this case, I thought the game was shaping up to be one of the best of the year.  J.D. though it was merely very good, so we argued.  Still, what’s clear from such petty squabbling is that it was, even in its not-properly-released stage, a great little platformer from one of the brains behind such other indie oddities as Aquaria.  And, since it’s free, we both agreed everyone should play it immediately.

The other day, Spelunky saw its proper release.  It’s been playable for the best part of a year now, in various guises, though I’ve not touched any of them since version 0.8, which I downloaded in February.  What struck me then is how utterly brilliant the game would be if some of its little quirks were ironed out.  What strikes me now is that literally every single one of them has been.

So.  It gets a review over at Resolution, and – for those of you who care about the numbers – the highest mark I’ve ever awarded in my time writing about games.  Often it’s easy to get carried away with hyperbole when you’ve just played through a fantastic title, but in this case there is no doubt in my mind.  I have played no other game with such worryingly addictive tendencies all year.  That it’s now so refined, so improved from an already phenomenal base, is just astounding.

Er. It occurs to me that I’ve gone through this without actually mentioning anything about the specifics of the game.  You’re more than welcome to follow the Resolution link, but in case you can’t be bothered, it’s a platformer in the guise of 80s arcade stuff, only one that randomly generates itself each time you play, and one where you can never save your progress, despite it being fiendishly difficult.  It’s really, stunningly brilliant.  Play it now, or forever fear my wrath.