Spelunky And Spelunky 2 Release On Switch Next Year

Spelunky and Spelunky 2 are headed to Switch. This announcement comes from the Nintendo Indie World December 2020 livestream, which reveals that both roguelike games are scheduled to release on the hybrid console in Summer 2021.

On Switch, the original Spelunky will only support local multiplayer. Meanwhile, Spelunky 2 will support both local and online multiplayer on release.

For those who are unfamiliar, the original Spelunky released back in December 2008 as one of the titles that led to the growing indie game boom at the time. Its follow-up was released in 2020, and thus far has only been made available on PC and PS4 (and PS5 through backwards compatibility). Both Spelunky games see you play as an explorer making their way through a series of dungeon-like environments--the protagonist of the second game is the daughter of the protagonist of the first. They're both acclaimed for their impressive level of emergent gameplay and the enjoyment of experimenting with their ruthless worlds.

In GameSpot's Spelunky review, Tom Mc Shea wrote, "Spelunky doesn't extend a helping hand when you're down. It doesn't have mercy. And that stubbornness is one of the main reasons it's so hard to pull away from the game. When you finally conquer something that has been hounding you for hours, you feel like the best darn explorer on the planet, and that feeling overshadows all the hardships you overcame down the troubled path you traveled."

And in GameSpot's Spelunky 2 review, Andrew King wrote, "Spelunky 2 is a successful evolution of what made the original Spelunky work; the tight controls, impressive use of procedural generation, expressive art style, and interesting stage themes are better than ever here."