Spelunky

As Spelunky makes it way to the PC, the rewards and dangers are just as alluring as they were one year...

Glorious, both in terms of charm and how well-designed this cave-based survival escapade is. Spelunky is comfortably one of the best games of the decade.

Those who missed out on the XBLA release of Spelunky and want a good tough rogue-like should pick it up from Steam. It’s a little more based on reflexes than most rogue-likes, but even if you find out you’re not that good at it, it is still a riot to watch friends try to get as far as the can before making the wrong step and getting crushed by a boulder.

It makes me slightly sad to see, because the rest of Spelunky is my perfect game - a creation of rare crystal clarity that sparkles from every angle. I think I could play Spelunky forever, and now that it has come home to PC, assuring its permanence, I believe I will.

This is a superb 2D platformer that’s as easy to hate as it is to love, and your patience for punishment will be the determining factor. Players who live to overcome abusive challenges and obsess over discovering new things will hunger for Spelunky's deeply rewarding exploration.

In this regard, Spelunky is less a game than an obsession. If it does get its hooks in you, it will get those hooks deep, sending you into a downward spiral of torrential swearing and tear-choked misery the likes of which you may never completely recover from. And I mean that as a compliment.