Spelunky Hints And Tips Hit The PS Blog

Spelunky recently released on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita, bringing with it it's own unique brand of masochistic fun. Death is a familiar friend within the ever-shifting walls of Spelunky and so, to help ease the newest audience in, the PlayStation Blog's Account Support Manager Nick Suttner has put together a few tips for success.

Keep in mind that when I say “success,” what I really mean is “this stuff will likely help you live at least a few minutes longer...But no promises.” Spelunky originally launched on the Xbox 360 and then the PC and is only arriving on the PlayStation Vita and PS3 just a couple of weeks ago. For those of us who missed out on these deep-diving adventures up until this point, Spelunky sure doesn't do much to ease you into the shallow end. Instead, this game tosses you into the bottomless abyss of a tumultuous ocean and could care less if you manage to sink or swim.

Believe it or not, that's a great thing. Spelunky is challenging as hell, but it's that difficulty that also makes the game rewarding. Also, the game's randomly generated levels mean that, even though you keep getting sent back to the start of the game, you'll never be playing the same dungeon twice.

Sony recently put out an all call for Spelunky tips on Twitter, asking gamers to share their best words of wisdom to help their fellow adventurers along. My favorite from the lote was a tweet by Patrick Toy, who said, “When you throw your controller/Vita, aim for something soft.” Probably not the type of “tips” Sony was looking for, but with a game like Spelunky, it's certainly sage advice.

To help beef up the hot tips, Sony's Nick Suttner put together his own list of helpful tidbits that are actually extremely helpful. These range from the obvious yet frequently forgotten (always look down before dropping to a lower level), to the less obvious (Saving a damsel probably isn't worth a bomb/rope if they are too far hidden away). I can't tell you how many times I've plummeted to my death and got sent all the way back to the beginning of the game simply because I naively stepped forward thinking, “There probably won't be spikes down there, right?” Or worse, I'll frequently burn through a full stash of bombs to reach a damsel only to discover that, whoops, I'm now out of bombs, don't have access to more and the exit is behind a brick wall.

There's a meaty chunk of helpful advice to get through, so anyone who is just stepping into the world of Spelunky, or perhaps old hands who could use a little assistance, should definitely give the recent post a thorough read.

I'd add in some of my own tips but, after quite a few hours diving deep into the world of Spelunky, the only thing I'm able to say about the game is “Noooooo! Not again! So close!”