Although it initially released in September of 2020,Spelunky 2has finally hit Xbox consoles for the first time, being included in Game Pass' excellent January lineup.Spelunky 2is, quite obviously, a direct sequel to the original 2008 Indie darling that’s often included amongst titles likeLimbo,FEZ, andBraidas some of the first truly popular Indie games.Spelunky 2sees players descend into a variety of underground worlds, defeating a range of cute but dangerous foes in a roguelike that emphasizes skill, smarts, and using the best gear for the job.
Along with creatures and monsters, players will also come across a whole slew of hidden areas, secret weapons, andfun little Easter eggs. Since the game’s first release in 2020, fans have delved deep into the game, conducting some spelunking of their own, and uncovering enough secrets to fill a mine shaft with.
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Spelunky 2’s Secret Areas
A game largely focused on exploration, it only makes sense that some ofSpelunky 2’s most prominent secrets are related to hidden areas. Some of these secret locations are taken straight from the first game, given new enemies, loot, and even boss fights in some cases, while some of these secret worlds are brand new to the sequel. Regardless of what’s in each of the hidden worlds, they all share one key similarity: they’re all pretty tricky to reach.
One of the more simple hidden areas to reach in the game is the “Black Market.” To find this world, players need to grab the Golden Key from world 1-2 or 1-3, and use it on the golden chest that spawns in the same level. This chest should give players the “Eye of Udjat” item which starts to glow when they’re nearthe Black Market’s hidden entrance, which is often found in the second, third, or fourth area in the Jungle.
Vlad’s Castle is also fairly easy to find, with players just needing to activate the drill that can be found in Volcana’s second, third, or fourth level, and entering the door that’s at the bottom. Upon defeating the boss in this secret location, players are given Vlad’s Cape, whichgrants them double jump and glide abilities.
At the more difficult to reach end of the scale,Spelunky 2’s “Mothership” worldis very tricky to find. While the entrance itself simply spawns in the Ice Caves, the player will need both the Alien Compass item and the Jetpack to gain access to the door, the former of which can only be obtained in Vlad’s Castle when a Skeleton Key is used to free the Van Horsling NPC.
There’s quite a few more hidden stages inSpelunky 2, like “Madame Tusk’s Palace of Pleasure,” that requires the player to roll a seven, four times in her dice game, “Abzu,” which requires the player to collect the Ankh scattered through Olmec’s Lair, and the “City of Gold,” that tasks the player with finding both theHedjet and Scepterfrom two different worlds, and bringing them to the Temple of Anubis' second stage.
Another stage, “Duat,” can then be accessed by the player by sacrificing themselves atop an altar in the City of Gold, and usingthe Ankh itemto revive themselves.Spelunky 2has a few more hidden worlds, like the “Sunken City,” and the “Cosmic Ocean,” each of which offer their own unique challenges and potential loot opportunities.
Spelunky 2’s Secret Weapons
AccessingSpelunky 2’s hidden worlds will also give the player a whole host of new secret weapons, some of which are extremely powerful. The “Excalibur Sword,” for example, can essentially one-hit most enemies in the game. Excalibur can be found in the Ice Caves, set into a stone. If the player hasthe King’s Crown, claimed when defeating Vlad, then the sword can be removed from the stone.
Another extremely helpful hidden weapon is the “Kapala,” a knife that heals the player upon killing enemies. But this knife comes at a cost, requiring the player tosacrifice enemies, NPCs, or animal buddiesto the blood-soaked altars found aroundSpelunky2’s stages.
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Spelunky 2’s Secret Final Boss
Spelunky 2is a game so entrenched in secrets, that even its true final boss is hidden away from most players. Named “Hundun,” this multi-stage, egg-shaped mythical boss can only be found in the deepest depths ofSpelunky 2’s hidden “Sunken City” stage, requiring the player to reach the already-tricky to reach “Duat” stage, kill the incredibly difficult boss “Osiris,” pick up the “Tablet of Destiny” item, and kill “Anubis” to leave the stage.
Once a player has done all that, they can then find the Sunken City by heading to world 6-2, and finding the room with the statues. Players then need to solve a randomly-generated puzzle (found by using the Tablet here) to determine which statue is the correct one, and will need to place that statue in 6-3, wherea flyable mountwill appear, named “Qilin.”
Using the mount, the player needs to reach the “Tiamat” boss fight in 6-4, and will need to fly upwards to find a hidden door, leading to the Sunken City. At the bottom, Hundun awaits, anincredibly difficult boss fightthat throws everything the game has at the player in one final test of skill and perseverance.
Some Additional Spelunky 2 Secrets and Easter Eggs
Spelunky 2isn’t content with just giving the player secret weapons, worlds, and bosses, no,Spelunky 2also throws in a swathe of Easter eggs and hidden gameplay tricks. These range from simple things like being able tospeedrun the tutorial in under 30 secondsby using bombs, to creating an entire level to just reference a joke from the previous game.
When a player uses the “Present Box” item on a Kali altar, anEggplant Child NPCis given to the player. This is a pretty overt reference to one of the most infamous Easter eggs in the original game, which gave players an eggplant for doing the same, which was essentially a useless item, with its only real purpose being that it transformed the final boss' head into an eggplant if the item was carried that far.
But there’s a lot more toSpelunky 2’s eggplant Easter egg. If the player takes the Eggplant Child all the way to the Neo-Babylon, a door in the shape of Yama, thetrue final boss in the first game, will open. Inside, there’s a decent amount of treasure and loot. But the Easter egg goes even further.
If the player manages to keep the Eggplant Child with them for the entire game, upon reaching the Sunken City’s second stage, a new doorway will appear. Entering this door will take players toan entire eggplant-themed level. It turns out, killing Yama with an eggplant is the canon ending to the firstSpelunky, and now his palace has been overrun with eggplant creatures. Enemies are passive, water has been turned purple, and Yama himself can be defeated in just one hit. This is one elaborate Easter egg.
Spelunky 2is available on PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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