Sperlunky Review

Finally I decided to go back to the chrome app store to try and find something to kill some time. What better way to kill time than to play a game? While browsing around I did find one game that kind of reminded me of pitfall from the old Atari era, just with better graphics. That game is what we are going to look at today. Introducing sperlunky, although an interesting name it is an independently made game that was released not just for the google chrome app store, but psn, and xbox live as well. So let’s dive right it to the catacombs that our grave will surely be.

The whole point of the game is to collect treasure and go spelunking. So all you have to do is get the gold and gems, kill of the bad guys, and save the girl and reach to the end of the level without any extra hassles. That is easier said than done. When I first started to play the game I did start to notice one thing, and that is that this game is extremely difficult. The tutorial levels of the game are the easiest part of all of it. However once you jump right in you have to avoid many traps and hazards and could either potentially harm you, or just straight out kill you. Every time you die the level restarts completely randomized so nothing stays in the same place twice.

As for the controls of the game, all you have to remember are the arrow keys to move and the z x c keys for jumping running, picking up items or selecting items. Speaking of the items, you do have a wide selection of things to use to make your journey easier. One of which are the bombs. These will allow you to clear up some walling to get to the other side of something or to open up new path ways. The next item you will use the most is the rope. The rope allows you to climb up to higher places to reach something or to avoid hazards. At one point, a giant rock tried to crush me, and I was able to avoid it by climbing upward. You do get some weapon upgrades, which your first weapon is a whip which is almost useless. But you can buy guns later on down the road, if you can keep them long enough. You do have a flare, but I never got one to use it. The game is so well lit as it is I don’t think there really is a purpose to it.

Let’s talk about the traps. As I mentioned before there are traps and hazards you have to watch out for. These can either get really annoying or pretty clever. One of the most common traps, and are the most annoying are the arrows that pop out of these special blocks. One moment you could be trying to reach something and you are almost dying and then bam. This arrow comes out of the blue and kills you. You can avoid them by tossing something in front of them, but this is a beginner’s trap. You will fall for these things a lot more than just one time. Another trap is the classic bolder much like from Indiana jones. Once you pick up the golden statue the screen will start shaking and no matter if you are on a flat service or not,  a giant bolder will gravitate straight for you. The first time this killed me, because I thought it just went one way. The second time I was able to avoid it. The hazards in this game are nothing special, spiked flooring and monsters hidden in vases. But once you master were everything is, you’ll survive a little bit longer each time.

Although I died a lot in this game, and it did prove I suck at gaming sometimes. I did have a lot of fun playing through this game. It is free to play and you can download it at the google chrome app store. So if you need something to play, give sperlunky a try.