History VideoGame / Spelunky

The first entry, now referred to as ''Spelunky Classic'', was a {{freeware game}} released at the end of 2008. It can still be found [[http://spelunkyworld.com/original.html here]]. This version later received a VideoGameRemake for UsefulNotes/XboxLiveArcade, complete with [[ArtShift a change from retro graphics to hand-drawn art]], more features, many new levels and enemies, and local co-op/comptetitive multiplayer. Known simply as ''Spelunky'', the HD remake was released on Xbox LIVE Arcade on July 4, 2012, Platform/GOGDotCom and Platform/{{Steam}} on August 8, 2013, Platform/PlayStation3 and Platform/PlaystationVita on August 27, 2013, and Platform/PlayStation4 on October 7, 2014.

** Most of the Spelunkers wear the same outfit of gray-white shoes, pants of their color held with a black belt, and a colored jacket with a white undershirt -- easy to see when you look at them [[https://spelunky.fandom.com/wiki/Spelunkers side by side]]. Each one has a distinct head, though, from Colin's blonde beard-mustache to Van Horsing's top hat. The UsefulNotes/PlayStation3's XMB background for this game allows you to get a good comparison between the default four characters' outfits outside of sprites.

* DiscountCard: Wearing the Crown causes shopkeepers to [[PrincessForADay recognize you as royalty]] and [[HospitalityForHeroes give you a discount]][[note]]the Crown's counterpart, the Hedjet lacks this benefit, but instead regains its vision-enhancing properties from ''Spelunky Classic''. Shopkeepers also reward you with a 10% discount on future purchases if you buy out all the items in one of their shops.

* GenderEqualEnsemble: The 20 playable characters in the game are equal in gender representation, with 10 females [[note]]Ana Spelunky, Margaret Tunnel, Liz Mutton, Nekka the Eagle, LISE Project, Coco von Diamonds, Tina Flan, Valerie Crump, Demi von Diamonds, and Princess Airyn[[/note]] and 10 males [[note]]Colin Northward, Roffy D. Sloth, Alto Singh, Manfred Tunnel, Little Jay, Au, Pilot, Dirk Yamaoka, Guy Spelunky, and Classic Guy[[/note]].

** The eggplant run. To get an eggplant, you need to sacrifice a mystery box to Kali. At first glance, the Eggplant does nothing except change the music to a sweet retro tune, but throwing it at the TrueFinalBoss will cause something special to happen. No easy feat, since it's a long journey that is technically impossible to do by yourself (the way the challenge was designed, a second person playing during co-op is supposed to carry the eggplant during a specific part of the game).
*** And if you want to do it solo? In addition to being lucky enough to have a shop with a mystery box spawn in the same level as an altar, you then need to nuke every altar you see until Kali gets angry enough to shackle you with a ball and chain. Next, you need to go the [[spoiler:Black Market, and buy/steal the Ankh]], you need to get a companion from a slave shop (or start with a fresh save so you can guarantee one will spawn in a specific area), then you need to use the ball and chain to break through the Moai head without losing the ball and chain (which is actually a glitch). [[spoiler:When you get to the temple, you'll need to have your follower carry the eggplant until you're able to get inside of the City Of Gold.]]

*** The Telepack in the sequel is both better and worse about this. Since it's a backpack item, it leaves your hands free for stuff like rocks, shotguns, the Scepter, [[spoiler:Hou Yi's Bow]], etc., but this also means that it can explode right on top of you if you get hit from behind, on top of the risks of warping into a solid wall, directly above a spike pit, etc. You'll probably get better use out of a Jetpack or Vlad's Cape.

The first entry, now referred to as ''Spelunky Classic'', was a {{freeware game}} released at the end of 2008. It can still be found [[http://spelunkyworld.com/original.html here]]. This version later received a VideoGameRemake for UsefulNotes/XboxLiveArcade, complete with [[ArtShift a change from retro graphics to hand-drawn art]], more features, many new levels and enemies, and local co-op/comptetitive multiplayer. Known simply as ''Spelunky'', the HD remake was released on Xbox LIVE Arcade on July 4, 2012, [[Website/GOGDotCom GOG.com]] and UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} on August 8, 2013, UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 and UsefulNotes/PlaystationVita on August 27, 2013, and UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 on October 7, 2014.

A sequel, titled ''Spelunky 2'', was announced in 2017, starring the [[SpinOffspring original protagonist's daughter]]. You can watch the announcement trailer [[https://youtu.be/EywsqbENxwE here]]. The game was released for UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 on September 15, 2020, and released for Steam on September 29. Both games were released for the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch in August 26, 2021.

** The Teleporter. A small high-tech device that can instantly zap you from place to place, allowing you to reach inaccessible locations, and even take out dangerous enemies with TeleFrag! But unless you're ''extremely'' careful when using it, you're more than likely to end up fragging ''yourself'', or materializing yourself over some deadly hazard. [[UselessUsefulSpell The situations where it's useful are outweighed by the situations where it's potentially deadly.]] Since the Teleporter must be carried around in your hands, and you can only carry one item at a time, it's usually just not worth it. You'll probably get more use out of [[BoringYetPractical carrying a rock, instead]].
** Also the [[spoiler:Scepter]] in the remake. It's an inescapable homing wall-phasing one-hit-kill ranged weapon [[note]]technically, the Scepter "only" does 10 damage, but there are ''very'' few enemies with more than 10 HP, and you have to be playing ''very'' well to have more than 10 HP yourself[[/note]], but you are ''not'' immune to its blasts, which linger around enemy corpses while knocking them around unpredictably, liable to fry you as well.

** The Metal Shield is one of the few items in the game that can reliably kill almost anything instantly via crushing it against the wall. Sounds cathartic, but you're much better off using a different weapon or utility, as it can accidentally crush treasure, items, damsels, [[ShopliftAndDie shopkeepers and their item stock,]] and even ''explosives'' against the wall (and no, it does not protect you from the blast). Furthermore, in ''Spelunky HD,'' it's hidden in a dangerous out-of-the-way area and wielded by an enemy that can just as easily kill ''you'' with it if you aren't careful. Suffice to say, there are several better, more easily-accessible items that can dole out just as much punishment without the risk of accidentally destroying treasure or getting yourself wanted/killed.

** Also, if you move fast enough as the spelunker, you can [[DifficultButAwesome disarm the shopkeeper and shoot him]]. If you pick up an item, place it down, then whip him, or throw the item at him and jump quickly, he will turn hostile, but you can just knock the gun out of his hands when you land on him, pick it up and blast him point blank, then [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown keep shooting him]] [[DoubleTap to make sure]] [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill he doesn't get back up.]]
* BambooTechnology: Somehow cavemen are capable of creating motion-sensing arrow traps, blocks of wood that thrust spears/punches out over and over and rigging giant logs and stones over idols of gold.

* BettingMinigame: Some of the shops are replaced with betting parlors. The classic version has you roll two dice and try to get a number higher than 7. The remake has one similar to ''Series/WheelOfFortune'', probably because it was too easy to [[ShopliftAndDie provoke the shopkeeper if you picked up the wrong die.]] They brought the dice minigame back in the sequel, and it's still very easy to provoke the shopkeeper.

* BoringYetPractical: Rocks do two ([[{{Nerf}} one in the remake]]) damage per hit, are reusable, are good for triggering traps safely, cannot be destroyed except by being crushed or falling in lava, and can be thrown a pretty good distance. With a little practice you can destroy most enemies long before they become a threat and finish off those you've already knocked down without having to wait for them to wake up from the stun and lose their MercyInvincibility against your whips. The only downside is that you need to be careful not to [[HoistByHisOwnPetard hit yourself on the rebound]].
* BossAlteringConsequence: Eggplants are seemingly useless items that will break if you don't set them down gently, that is, unless you manage to bring one all the way to the final boss, King Yama. If you throw one at his face, it will transform him into a helpless eggplant monster that can't attack and will die in one hit.

** Bees fly towards the Spelunker erratically, frequently changing the direction of their movement and slowing down/speeding up. Makes it very easy to miss a GoombaStomp or a whip.

** Every time you try to rescue the damsel. Fortunately, she's nearly invulnerable and makes a good human shield (or [[GrievousHarmWithABody weapon]]). You can and pretty much have to carry her around. However, in the remake she (or he, or it) is [[AdaptationalWimp no longer as durable as she used to be]], and can only take a couple of hits before perishing.

** In the sequel, Volcana, Olmec's Lair again, [[spoiler: Duat]] and Neo-Babylon all feature lava. There's no lava immunity around, and to make it worse fluid physics are present. Instead of lava simply being deleted when destroying the tank it is in, it can flow around the level, for example flooding the level exit or down the shaft to Vlad's Castle.

* StuffBlowingUp: Not in the main game itself, but there's a mod for it. This makes the game harder by making every either explode or [[IncendiaryExponent or on (harmless) fire.]] This is worth mentioning because how much it changes the game's playstyle by just using this trope. P.S. arrow traps aren't your friends at all.

* UndergroundLevel: The whole game, which happens inside ruins... at least initially.

** There's nothing stopping you from pummeling the Tunnel Man in the pregame lobby, something frustrated players may occasionally find themselves doing after dying for the umpteenth time. [[WhatTheHellHero He'll call you out on your actions when he eventually comes to his senses, though.]]

** While the game now features branching paths, the player can reach the City of Gold, [[spoiler:the Sunken City and the Cosmic Ocean]] regardless of the path taken (with the exception of the first of these as it lies inside Temple of Anubis).
** Cursed Pots summon the Ghost when broken. There are some precautions against Ghost getting summoned early without the player ever touching that pot:
*** Cavemen might pick up random items they find on the floor, even booby-trapped Golden Idols, but will ignore Cursed Pots - it would be impossible to retrieve something so fragile from their hands without destroying it.
*** On the Volcana level which holds the drill and Vlad's Castle will always generate the Cursed Pot inside Vlad's treasury, safe from the drill. Level generation might put a shop below the drill, it might put Kali Altar below the drill, it might put both of them and Ana's little dog too below the drill, but never Ghost Pot.

** Items required for getting to [[spoiler: Cosmic Ocean]] are not contingent on accepting Tun's challenges. Skipping out on challenges will certainly lock you out of the Elixir, Clone Gun and that bag with 24 bombs and 24 ropes, but [[spoiler: the Bow and Light Arrow]] are always in there for you to grab.
** Tun will enact a one-stage long truce when greeting you above Tiamat's Throne, even if you're wearing the True Crown. Getting there is enough of a problem without getting shot at.
** Exit door in [[spoiler: Abzu]] doesn't need you to defeat the boss in the area to open it, otherwise players lacking necessary tool(s) to defeat her would be completely stuck with the only option left being dying and restarting the run. This permits at least continuing with the regular ending.

* AwesomeButImpractical: Most of the mounts, with the exception of the turkey and ''maybe'' the Rock Dog, are way more trouble than they're worth. The axolotl has no damaging attacks, and, just like the Teleporter, it's ''very'' easy to accidentally TeleFrag yourself with it. The mech is extremely powerful, but it's incredibly slow, too big to fit in doorways (meaning you can't take it to the next stage), and risks blowing up the rider. The [[spoiler:Qilin shoots fireballs and has infinite flight]], but you'll only get to spend two entire levels with it and can't be taken into the next area, serving only as a transport to TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon (which is ''possible'' without it, but very difficult). The Rock Dog's only major downside is that if you accidentally jump ''in front'' of them instead of ''on'' them trying to tame them, they tend to trap the player in a brutal CycleOfHurting or send them hurtling into lava.

** The Tide Pool's Clone Gun, which can clone up to three objects before breaking, was unanimously seen as better than the Temple's nigh-useless Elixir, whose benefits (health and status effect removal) would be useless and/or lost almost immediately if attempting a [[spoiler:Sunken City]] run, so a later patch gave the Elixir several buffs to make it a more viable alternative. The main change was to make it also grant a beneficial status effect, denoted by your character turning purple; in this state, you receive double health from all healing, and the next poison or curse status will be negated at the cost of losing the health amplification buff. Additionally, the buff will not be removed [[ObviousRulePatch upon dying with Ankh]], otherwise [[spoiler:there wouldn't be much use of it since you need to get yourself sacrificed in the City of Gold to reach Duat]].

* BossInMookClothing: Lavamanders can only spawn in at least 2 tile deep lava pools in Volcana, are still rare spawns even with that condition fulfilled, are invincible when heated by lava and even out of it are still immune to bombs. All that lava they love to soak in is [[OneHitKill obviously lethal]] and they splash you with huge waves of it when they feel bothered by the spelunker. They don't even spawn in [[spoiler:Cosmic Ocean]], so most players will probably have more kills of the final boss or the secret boss than Lavamander kills. Thankfully, you can simply run past them.

** Exclusive forms of attack of Anubis 2 (who himself is a DualBoss together with Osiris) and Kingu. Former is much more dangerous than the latter.
** When first fighting Olmec, he might seem like an aversion - his head crystal, which he used to spawn various creatures in the first game, is not present. In his third phase however he begins to launch [=UFOs=].

* GiveMeYourInventoryItem: The game features shortcuts to the levels 1-4, 3-1 and 5-1. They are dug by Mama Tunnel, and until you unlock them she will wait at the exit of a level, asking you for various items to complete her quest.
* GuideDangIt: Being cursed [[HPToOne permanently puts you at one hit point.]] Want to get rid of it? There are only three ways — by sacrificing enough [=NPCs=] to Kali and having her remove the curse as one of her loyalty rewards, [[spoiler:finding the Ankh and dying, which respawns you without the curse,]] or [[spoiler:completing the Star challenge in the Pyramid levels, which awards you with a curative Elixir]]. The first method is luck-based, as Kali's altars are not guaranteed to spawn in any given level, and the other two methods border on impossible to do with just one hit point.

*** Later on, in Neo Babylon, there is a hidden room containing dozens upon dozens of Ushabti - doll-like funeral statues with differences in features, material they're made of and the symbols on them. You have to [[spoiler:read the journal entry for the Tablet of Destiny, which randomly picks from these attributes every time you pick it up and describes the specific statue you need to carry with you to the next level. Choosing the correct statue and bringing it to the next level releases Qilin, a mount with infinite flight capability, from the statue]]. You then have to [[spoiler:ride Qilin to Queen Tiamat's throne room and fly up past the ceiling of the boss room through several difficult-to-avoid timed laser gates, at the end of which is the entrance to the Sunken City.]]
*** And to reach the [[spoiler:Cosmic Ocean]] requires ''even more'' steps on top of all of this. You have to acquire Hou Yi's Bow from the Moon challenge in either of the second areas, which at first appears to be just a reskinned crossbow, and [[spoiler:take it to a secret chamber in Olmec's boss room, which contains an [=NPC=] named Waddler who stores it for you for later, unless you hate yourself and want to bother with Hired Hands]]. After reaching [[spoiler:the Sunken City]], you then have to [[spoiler:complete the Sun challenge there, which rewards you with an [[SacredBowAndArrows Arrow of Light]]. After retrieving Hou Yi's Bow from Waddler, you have to defeat the TrueFinalBoss, Hundun, and then shoot the Arrow of Light into his eye]]. Needless to say, the chance that the average player would stumble their way through this insane sequence of events to get to either of these places is astronomically low.

* HealingPotion: The Elixir, which can by obtained by [[spoiler:completing the Star Challenge in the Temple of Anubis]], gives you up to 8 health, cures poison and curse and amplifies all further healing as well.

* HPToOne: Anything that becomes cursed suffers this. The Witch Doctor's familiars can do this to you. It's possible to curse enemies yourself this way using the Ghost Pot, but this causes the [[InstakillMook Ghost]] to spawn in right afterwards, so make good use of it! What makes matters worse: Being Cursed locks your HP to 1. Curing the Curse ''does not reverse it.'' Once you sacrifice that Pet to lift the Curse, you're still a OneHitPointWonder until you can do something to gain more — and you just killed the only guaranteed source of HP on the stage to lift it in the first place.

** Also the [[spoiler:Scepter]] in the remake. It's an inescapable homing wall-phasing one-hit-kill ranged weapon[[note]]technically, the Scepter "only" does 10 damage, but there are ''very'' few enemies with more than 10 HP, and you have to be playing ''very'' well to have more than 10 HP yourself[[/note]], but you are ''not'' immune to its blasts, which lethally combine initial zippy-fast ricocheting speed with a lingering dispersal around whatever target they end up at.
** Stealing the Golden Idol. It's worth a lot of money, but you have to survive the trap and take it to the exit or give it to a non-hostile shopkeeper to order to get credit for it. Also, in the mines, depending on the level generation, the boulder can potentially destroy shops or altars, provoking shopkeepers and Kali respectively. Similar to the Golden Idol, the Crystal Skull in the Restless Dead Level summons a ghost instantly if taken.

* BeatingADeadPlayer: If you leave a corpse after your death, enemies will still attack, throw, and shoot at your dead body.

** In the sequel, Volcana, Olmec's Lair again, [[spoiler: Duat]] and Neo-Babylon all feature lava. There's no lava immunity around, and to make it worse fluid physics are present. Instead of lava simply being deleted when destroying the tank it is in, it can flow around the level, for example flooding the level exit or shaft down to Vlad's Castle.

** While the game now features branching paths, the player can reach the City of Gold, [[spoiler:the Sunken City and the Cosmic Ocean]] regardless of the path taken (with the exception of the first of these as it lies inside Temple of Anubis). assuming you [[spoiler:choose to enter the Temple after the encounter with Olmec]].
** Cursed Pots summon the Ghost when broken. There are precausions implemented to avoid cases where Ghost is summoned early without the player ever touching that pot:

** The Tide Pool's Clone Gun, which can clone up to three objects before breaking, was unanimously seen as better than the Temple's nigh-useless Elixir, whose benefits (health and status effect removal) would be useless and/or lost almost immediately if attempting a [[spoiler:Sunken City]] run, so a later patch gave the Elixir several buffs to make it a more viable alternative. The main change was to make it also grant a beneficial status effect, denoted by your character turning purple; in this state, you receive double health from all healing, and the next poison or curse status will be negated at the cost of losing the health amplification buff. Additionally, the buff will not be removed [[ObviousRulePatch under one specific circumstance]] tied to the above spoiler: [[spoiler:sacrificing yourself in the City of Gold to reach Duat]].

*** And to reach the [[spoiler:Cosmic Ocean]] requires ''even more'' steps prior to all of this. You have to acquire Hou Yi's Bow from the Moon challenge in either of the second areas, which at first appears to be just a slightly-fancier crossbow, and [[spoiler:take it to a secret chamber in Olmec's boss room, which contains an [=NPC=] named Waddler who stores it for you for later, unless you hate yourself and want to bother with Hired Hands]]. After reaching [[spoiler:the Sunken City]], you then have to [[spoiler:complete the Sun challenge there, which rewards you with an [[SacredBowsAndArrows Arrow of Light]]. After retrieving Hou Yi's Bow from Waddler, you have to defeat the TrueFinalBoss, Hundun, and then shoot the Arrow of Light into his eye]]. Needless to say, the chance that the average player would stumble their way through this insane sequence of events to get to either of these places is astronomically low.

* HealingPotion: The Elixir, which can by obtained by [[spoiler:completing the Star Challenge in the Temple of Anubis]], gives you up to 8 health and cures poison and curse as well.

* InterchangeableAntimatterKeys: Played with: the Scarab Key only fits the corresponding Scarab Chest [[spoiler:and the door Mama Tunnel encounters when digging the shortcut to Ice Caves]], normal keys fit in all other doors, both of them exploding into scrap after being used. The Skeleton Key opens every door, but is not consumed and can be used multiple times. Then there is the secret door to the [[spoiler:City of Gold, where even the Skeleton key doesn't work and is only opened by [[MagicStaff Anubis's Scepter]], unfortunately while being consumed]].

* LavaIsBoilingKoolAid: Averted! Lava flows very viscously in ''2'', making it one of the few games that does so. It's also opaque, but items dropped in lava outline their location with a faint shade effect at their location.

** The True Crown, obtainable by purposefully destroying multiple altars. Getting it requires being cursed and it will either teleport you or spawn a live bomb at random. Fittingly, it is a HappyHarlequinHat.

* VariableMix: Gone is the three themes for each area and instead there's a single variable theme, most notably in the Dwelling where there's an initial swell at the beginning of the run. Music will calm down if you've stopped moving then kick back into action once you're going again. It'll fade out into the "beating of drums" when you reach Quillback, background areas will heavily muffle the foreground theme unless that area contains a unique track of its own, and even those are variable (e.g. Vlad's Castle will have an initial organ drone as you climb up before the theme starts).

* WeaponizedCamera: Introduced in ''HD'', the Camera causes a white box to flash in front of you that [[BlindingCameraFlash disorients and stuns most enemies]] (including the otherwise invincible and infallible Ghost, albiet only for a brief moment) and outright ''kills'' undead enemies such as Skeletons and Vampires. It can also be used to briefly light up dark floors.

* AntiFrustrationFeatures: Despite this game featuring branching paths, it is still possible to reach the City of Gold no matter which set of levels you end up going to after the first four, assuming you [[spoiler:choose to enter the Temple after the encounter with Olmec]]. In the Jungle, [[spoiler:you can still find the Black Market with the Udjat Eye just as in the first game, which contains the Hedjet for sale instead of the Ankh, which is now a prize for beating Olmec]]. If you choose to go to Volcana instead, [[spoiler:finding the Crown within Vlad's Castle also counts towards unlocking the door to the City of Gold]]. In addition, the step involving the [[spoiler:Ankh and the Moai heads]] is omitted and not necessary to find the City of Gold this time around[[note]]the Ankh is instead used to find the Tablet of Destiny[[/note]] — all you need are [[spoiler:one of the royal headgear items and Anubis' Scepter]]. The same applies for getting [[spoiler:Excalibur]] from the Tide Pool, [[spoiler:as you can pick up the sword as long as you have either the Crown or Hedjet]].
** Expanding upon this, while the steps towards getting to this game's secret final levels, [[spoiler:the Sunken City and the Cosmic Ocean]], are [[GuideDangIt mind-bogglingly cryptic and require a VERY specific sequence of actions be taken throughout the entire game]], it is still possible to reach both no matter which branch of levels you take, as you can acquire the [[spoiler:Tablet of Destiny]] either by [[spoiler:killing Osiris in Duat, which is reached by sacrificing yourself at the altar with the Ankh in the City of Gold]], or by [[spoiler:killing Kingu in Abzu after resurrecting from or somehow evading the trapped lava room in 4-3 of the Tide Pool]].
** Cavemen might pick up random items they find on the floor, even booby-trapped Golden Idols, but will ignore Ghost Pots - it would be impossible to retrieve something so fragile from their hands without destroying it. Ghost pots can also withstand flamethrowers of Volcana's firebugs while regular pots would break.
** On each level, with the exception of boss fights and Cosmic Ocean, a Ghost Jar is to be found somewhere. In Ice Caves and Neo-Babylon, which feature [[StuffBlowingUp UFOs, mines]] and electric traps that knock around Yetis/Olmites in their path, the levels are designed to have safe places with pre-programmed Ghost Jar placement: Wet Fur backlayer in 5-1, behind a forcefield and in a nook right next to level start in 6-1, Ushabti backlayer in 6-2 and in the basement of Madam Tusks Palace of Pleasure in 6-3. Ghost Jars could easily be destroyed by chaos of these levels and then player would be forced to rush through very dangerous terrain while being chased by the Ghost. In a similar vein, the Volcana level which holds Vlad's Castle and the drill will always generate the Ghost Jar inside Vlad's treasury, safe from the drill. Level generation might put a shop below the drill, it might put Kali Altar below the drill, it might put both of them and Ana's little dog too below the drill, but never Ghost Pot.
** Items required for getting to [[spoiler: Cosmic Ocean]] are not contingent on accepting Tun's challenges. Skipping out on challenges will certainly lock you out of the Elixir, Clone Gun and that bag with 24 bombs and 24 ropes, but [[spoiler: the Bow and Light Arrow]] are always in there for you to grab, though you will need to spend bombs to at least remove the forcefields she usually opens for you.

* ArrowsOnFire: From arrow traps in dark Dwelling stages, from throwing or firing stone arrows across torches or whipping them with the Power Pack. Vampires have a weakness to flaming arrows similarly to regular metal arrows. Your jetpack has a weakness to them too.

* BulletproofHumanShield: The Spelunker can reliably protect themself from arrows (including those fired by angered NPCs such as Yang or Tun) by holding a body - whether living or a corpse, whether enemy such as Caveman or Mole or friend like a Hired Hand, a pet or maybe even a shopkeeper. Stone arrows will break, steel arrows will bounce off and the force of the impact will knock that shield out of Spelunker's hands, but they'll be unharmed. Doesn't really work with Horned Lizards or protect against actual bullets. In a similar vein, you can protect yourself from the flies released by Mummies by holding a corpse too, but flies don't knock out the corpse from your grip.

* DamageSpongeBoss: Kingu. She has more health than Tiamat, Quillback, [[spoiler:Osiris, both versions of Anubis and Hundun's heads]] combined, and that is without counting the shell it's hidden below. The intended and easiest way to defeat her is with the Excalibur from two levels before. Without it, your other options is: spending whopping 10 bombs to break the shell (AND you need to time them because bombs fall through the plaftorm on her back while paste bombs don't stick to the shell) then whip the crack in the shell 200 times; or luck out and find a Plasma Gun in a backlayer shop, as the natural spawn for it is in the next level, then you still need to bother with hitting enemies that sit on the shelf on her back because the shot doesn't collide with the unbroken shell. Her offensive capabilites are limited to [[FlunkyBoss spawning low level enemies]] you'll probably dispose of with the Excalibur while wailing on her anyway.

** The only way to enter the secret world [[spoiler:Duat is by sacrificing yourself on the Kali altar in the city of gold with the Ankh and one royal headgear equipped]]. Averted by mistake for its counterpart secret world, [[spoiler:Abzu, that in theory requires you to let yourself get killed and revived with the Ankh as well, but this can by circumvented by knowledge and ''very'' careful gameplay]].
* DiscountCard: Wearing the Crown causes shopkeepers to [[PrincessForADay recognize you as royalty]] and [[HospitalityForHeroes give you a discount]][[note]]the Crown's counterpart, the Hedjet, lacks this benefit, but instead regains its vision-enhancing properties from ''Spelunky Classic''[[/note]]. Shopkeepers also reward you with a discount on future purchases if you buy out all the items in one of their shops.

* DowsingDevice: The glasses, Eye of Udjat, and Hedjet all have the ability to make you see gems and items that are hidden in the wall.

*** Later on, in Neo Babylon, there is a hidden room containing dozens upon dozens of doll-like funeral statues with minor differences in shape, color, intactness, and the symbols on them. You have to [[spoiler:read the journal entry for the Tablet of Destiny, which randomly picks from these attributes every time you pick it up and describes the specific statue you need to carry with you to the next level. Choosing the correct statue causes Qilin, a mount with infinite flight capability, to spawn from the statue when dropped on the ground in the next level]]. You then have to [[spoiler:ride Qilin to Queen Tiamat's throne room and fly up past the ceiling of the boss room through several difficult-to-avoid timed laser gates, at the end of which is the entrance to the Sunken City.]]
*** And to reach the [[spoiler:Cosmic Ocean]] requires ''even more'' steps prior to all of this. You have to acquire Hou Yi's Bow from the Moon challenge in either of the second areas, which at first appears to be just a slightly-fancier crossbow, and [[spoiler:take it to a secret chamber in Olmec's boss room, which contains an [=NPC=] named Waddler who stores it for you for later]]. After reaching [[spoiler:the Sunken City]], you then have to [[spoiler:complete the Sun challenge there, which rewards you with an [[SacredBowsAndArrows Arrow of Light]]. After retrieving Hou Yi's Bow from Waddler, you have to defeat the TrueFinalBoss, Hundun, and then shoot the Arrow of Light into his eye]]. Needless to say, the chance that the average player would stumble their way through this insane sequence of events to get to either of these places is astronomically low.

* KillItWithFire: Fire damage instantly kills Mantraps and the whip powered up with the Powerpack goes around the whip immunity of stunned enemies or naturally whip resistant enemies such as Yetis because of that additional fire component.

* LavaIsBoilingKoolAid: Averted! Lava flows very viscously in ''2'', making it one of the few games that does so.

** Most prominent in the Eggplant Quest: you need both a Kali Altar and a Present Box to start out. Presents cannot be moved through level exits or even through the backlayer entrances - Black Market presents will just tantalize you. Your best bet is killing the Humpback in Tide Pool 4-2 for its guaranteed present drop. You need to go for the Sunken City quest chain as well since the Eggplant quest concludes in there, so don't get ahead of yourself and sacrifice the Hired Hand too - you will need his help to carry both the Excalibur and the eggplant for at least two levels.

** If you pick the Tide Pool route after Olmec, you'll have the option of fighting Kingu, while if you pick the Temple of Anubis, you'll have the option of fighting Osiris, either of which is required if you choose to go to [[spoiler:the Sunken City to fight Hundun]].

* SkippableBoss:

** Quillback, Olmec, Vlad, [[spoiler:both versions of]] Anubis, [[spoiler:Osiris]], and [[spoiler:Kingu]] can all be avoided if you're just going for a regular ending. Additionally, [[spoiler:Queen Tiamat]] doesn't need to be fought if one has the requirements to go to [[spoiler:the Sunken City]]. [[spoiler:Tiamat]] is the only mandatory boss you have to defeat to complete a run normally. To get the GoldenEnding, however, [[spoiler:you need to kill every optional boss listed above if you encounter them, sans Quillback and Vlad, to be able to reach the Sunken City and Hundun]], although you may spare [[spoiler:Queen Tiamat by simply ignoring her and flying up to the top of her boss arena]].

** Stone arrows can do something the silver arrows do not: they can be [[ArrowsOnFire set on fire]], most prominently by being shot through lit torches. This adds another point of damage. For this reason, a crossbow loaded with a stone arrow is present in the Stars challenge.

* VariableMix: Gone is the three themes for each area and instead there's a single variable theme, most notably in the Dwelling where there's an initial swell at the beginning of the run, the music will calm down if you've stopped moving then kick back into action once you're going again. It'll fade out into the "beating of drums" when you reach Quillback, background areas will heavily muffle the foreground theme unless that area contains a unique track of its own, and even those are variable (e.g. Vlad's Castle will have an initial organ drone as you climb up before the theme starts).

* TreasureIsBiggerInFiction: Those gold bars look to be bigger than the Spelunker, and the CrystalSkull is bigger than his own head!

* CrateExpectations: Store some useful stuff.

* CurbStompBattle: The player with the Sceptre (10-damage weapon in a game where the majority of entities have single-digit HP) or Shotgun (4 damage per bullet, 6 bullets). Neither is limited by ammo

* AntiFrustrationFeatures: The game deposits a rock, skull, or pot right at the start next to your newly-arrived spelunker, ensuring he has something expendable to toss down ahead as a trigger if he immediately encounters an arrow trap.

* AntiFrustrationFeatures: Despite this game featuring branching paths, it is still possible to reach the City of Gold no matter which set of levels you end up going to after the first four, assuming you [[spoiler:choose to enter the Temple after the encounter with Olmec]]. In the Jungle, [[spoiler:you can still find the Black Market with the Udjat Eye just as in the first game, which contains the Hedjet for sale instead of the Ankh (the Ankh is a prize for beating Olmec now)]]. If you choose to go to Volcana instead, [[spoiler:finding the Crown item within Vlad's secret area also counts towards unlocking the door to the City of Gold]]. In addition, the step involving the [[spoiler:Ankh and the Moai heads]] is omitted and not necessary to find the City of Gold this time around[[note]]the Ankh is instead used to find the Tablet of Destiny[[/note]] — all you need are [[spoiler:one of the royal headgear items and Anubis' Scepter]]. The same applies for getting [[spoiler:Excalibur]] from the Tide Pool, [[spoiler:as you can pick up the sword as long as you have either the Crown or Hedjet]].

** Cavemen might pick up random items they find on the floor, even booby-trapped Golden Idols, but will ignore Ghost Pots - it would be impossible to retrieve something so fragile from their hands without destroying it. Ghost pots can also withstand flamethrowers of Volcana's firebugs.

* ArtificialStupidity: They are also extremely aggressive, and will recklessly attack anything around them. They're a liability around anything destructible and have difficulty fighting more than one enemy at a time.

* AwesomeButImpractical: Most of the mounts, with the exception of the turkey and ''maybe'' the Rock Dog, are way more trouble than they're worth. The axolotl has no damaging attacks, and, just like the Teleporter, it's ''very'' easy to accidentally TeleFrag yourself with it. The mech is extremely powerful, but it's incredibly slow, too big to fit in doorways (meaning you can't take it to the next stage), and risks blowing up the rider. The [[spoiler:Qilin shoots fireballs and has infinite flight]], but you'll only get to spend one entire level with it and can't be taken into the next area, serving only as a transport to TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon (which is ''possible'' without it, but very difficult). The Rock Dog's only major downside is that if you accidentally jump ''in front'' of them instead of ''on'' them trying to tame them, they tend to trap the player in a brutal CycleOfHurting or send them hurtling into lava.

** The Tide Pool's Clone Gun, which can clone up to three objects before breaking, was unanimously seen as better than the Temple's nigh-useless Elixir, whose benefits (health and status effect removal) would be useless and/or lost almost immediately if attempting a [[spoiler:Sunken City]] run, so a later patch gave the Elixir several buffs to make it a more viable alternative. The main change was to make it also grant a beneficial status effect, denoted by your character turning purple; in this state, you receive double health from all healing, and the next poison or curse status will be negated at the cost of losing the health buff. Additionally, the buff will not be removed [[ObviousRulePatch under one specific circumstance]] tied to the above spoiler: [[spoiler:sacrificing yourself in the City of Gold to reach Duat]].

* BearTrap: A new, dangerous obstacle found in the Jungle and beyond. While opened up, anything that steps on it gets [[OneHitKill chunked into]] [[ChunkySalsaRule fine giblets]] instantly. Careful enough players can use this to their advantage, as closed bear traps can be picked up and thrown down, which rearms them.

* DamageSpongeBoss: Kingu's whole difficulty. She has more health than Tiamat, [[spoiler:Osiris, both versions of Anubis and Hundun's heads]] combined, and that is without counting the shell it's hidden below. The intended and easiest way to defeat her is with the Excalibur from two levels before. Without it, your other options is: spending whopping 10 bombs to break the shell (AND you need to time them because bombs fall through the plaftorm on her back while paste bombs don't stick to the shell) then whip the crack in the shell 200 times; or luck out and find a Plasma Gun in a backlayer shop, as the natural spawn for it is in the next level, then you still need to bother with hitting enemies that sit on her shelf because the shot doesn't collide with the shell before it breaks. Her offensive capabilites are limited to [[FlunkyBoss Jiangshi of both versions and Octopi jumping out from behind her shell]].

** Also the [[spoiler:Scepter]] in the remake. It's an inescapable homing wall-ignoring one-hit-kill ranged weapon[[note]]technically, the Scepter "only" does 10 damage, but there are ''very'' few enemies with more than 10 HP, and you have to be playing ''very'' well to have more than 10 HP yourself[[/note]], but you are ''not'' immune to its blasts, which lethally combine initial zippy-fast ricocheting speed with a lingering dispersal around whatever target they end up at.

* BoringYetPractical: Rocks do two ([[{{Nerf}} one in the remake]]) damage per hit, are reusable, are good for triggering traps safely, cannot be destroyed except by being crushed or falling in lava, and can be thrown a pretty good distance. With a little practice you can destroy most enemies long before they become a threat and finish off those you've already knocked down without having to wait for them to wake up from the stun and lose their MercyInvicibility against your whips. The only downside is that you need to be careful not to [[HoistByHisOwnPetard hit yourself on the rebound]].

* CurbStompBattle: The player with the Sceptre (10-damage weapon in a game where the majority of entities have single-digit HP) or Shotgun (4 damage per bullet, 6 bullets, unlimited ammo).

* LuckBasedMission: As mentioned in the UnintentionallyUnwinnable example below, the level generator doesn't always keep up to snuff with path creation. This often results in long, unavoidable falls in certain areas, "dead ends" that force you to spend bombs removing obstacles or ropes to climb over said obstacles, or arrow traps that you have no choice but to get damaged by.[[note]]This last one can usually be averted by always, ''always'' carrying something you can drop down ahead of you.[[/note]] Don't have enough hit points? Sorry pal, it's [[{{Permadeath}} back to square one]]. However, you can throw a bomb or drop a rope in front of you and trigger the trap or deflect it with your whip.

* DoomedPredecessor: The Tutorial stars Yang, an Asian explorer with a white color scheme who is not otherwise playable or unlockable. It's framed as an ApocalypticLog, and going by how you find no trace of him anywhere else, it seems unlikely he made it. [[spoiler:If you beat Yama, you'll find him alive and well in the treasure room, unlocking him for further play.]]

* LateCharacterSyndrome: Vlad's Cape seems useful on paper, as it grants you a double jump and the ability to glide, and both moves can be refreshed by wall-grabbing with the Climbing Gloves. The problem is that it only shows up in [[spoiler:5-1, the first stage of Hell]], by which point you've probably already found the much more useful and BoringButPractical Jetpack. In the sequel, [[spoiler:Vlad's Cape can be acquired from a secret vampire area in the alternate second level, Volcana, making it available much earlier and giving it more practicality]].

* LiterallyShatteredLives: The Freeze Ray can freeze almost anything, including Shopkeepers, [[LogicalWeakness Magma men]], snakes, spiders, and of course, [[YetAnotherStupidDeath yourself]]. The last one can only happen if a mammoth, a Shopkeeper, or a terrible friend shoots you, though.

* BossInMookClothing: Lavamanders can only spawn in at least 2 tile deep lava pools in Volcana, are still rare spawns even with that condition fulfilled, are invincible when heated by lava and even out of it are still immune to bombs. All that lava they love to soak in is [[OneHitKill obviously lethal]] and they splash you with huge waves of it when they feel bothered by the spelunker. They don't even spawn in [[spoiler:Cosmic Ocean]], so most players will probably have more kills of the final boss or the secret boss than Lavamander kills. Thankfully, you can simply ignore them.

** Golden Scarabs now give significantly less money, now only giving 125% the value of an Emerald ($1000 for a Scarab and $800 for an Emerald in the Dwelling), unlike in ''HD'' where a Scarab's value was identical to that of a naturally-occuring Diamond, with both being 625% higher than an Emerald ($5000 for Diamonds and Scarabs and $800 for an Emerald in the Mines).

** Speaking of parachutes, sometimes the parachute (whether your or from an alien) deploys as a golden parachute, which rains gold while you descend.

* BoringYetPractical: Rocks do two ([[{{Nerf}} one in the remake]]) damage per hit, are reusable, are good for triggering traps safely, cannot be destroyed except by being crushed or falling in lava, and can be thrown a pretty good distance. With a little practice you can destroy most enemies long before they become a threat. The only downside is that you need to be careful not to [[HoistByHisOwnPetard hit yourself on the rebound]].

* ConspicuousElectricObstacle: In ''2'', there are present in Neo-Babylon.
** One type is a pair of floor-mounted nodes that either have permanent or on/off lightning.
** Second type are nodes which have electric sparks orbiting around them.

* ChunkySalsaRule: Falling from the top of the level to the bottom or getting caught in an explosion causes tremendous damage, but can be survived if you've got an unnaturally huge amount of health. Getting squished ([[IndyEscape by a boulder, for example]]), getting [[HumanPopsicle frozen]] and smashed to pieces, falling onto {{spikes|OfDoom}} or into {{lava|Pit}}, or getting eaten by a man-eating plant, however, kills you instantly no matter how many hit points you've got. Also, a sufficiently long fall (roughly 28 tiles in the original or 32 tiles in the sequel) will cause 99 damage, which is ''technically'' not an instant kill, but that is enough damage to bring your health from the {{cap}} all the way down to 0.

* CurbStompBattle: The player with the Sceptre (10-damage weapon in a game where the majority of entities have single-digit HP) or Shotgun (4 damage per bullet, 6 bullets).

* LastDitchMove: Fire frogs and flying saucers will explode.

** One remake-only enemy in Area 4 teleports whenever they are about to be hit. Fortunately, they often end up telefragging themselves.

* UselessUsefulSpell: The teleporter. On the one hand, you can teleport four or so tiles in near any direction, and as such can occasionally avoid using bombs to blow open walls. On the other hand, it's possible to teleport ''inside a wall'', [[{{Telefrag}} killing you instantly]]. Or in front of an arrow trap. Or into a pit, leading to a death fall.

* HumanPopsicle: Occasionally found in Area 3.

* HornetHole: {{Downplayed|Trope}}: Sometimes a Jungle level will have a beehive area, containing some honey patches that cause items to stick, a number of [[http://spelunky.wikia.com/wiki/Killer_Bee giant bees]], and a [[http://spelunky.wikia.com/wiki/Queen_Bee queen bee]]. The queen drops royal jelly when killed, which is the second-most potent source of healing in the game.
* HumanPopsicle: The mammoths in area 3 can turn ''you'' into this. As you could probably guess, getting smashed in this form is a OneHitKill. Also, you'll occasionally find a caveman pre-frozen in a chunk of ice, who revives if you free him.

* LiterallyShatteredLives: The Freeze Ray can cause anyone to be frozen and shattered, including mammoths, Shopkeepers, snakes, spiders, and of course, [[YetAnotherStupidDeath yourself]]. The last one can only happen if a mammoth, a Shopkeeper, or a terrible friend shoots you, though.
* LordBritishPostulate: The Ghost can be killed; either via prolonged ScratchDamage in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt6mDAQ8tFU lava]] (there is no death animation) or by [[https://youtu.be/Oq75v1EJ6k0?t=28m30s luring it]] into [[BottomlessPits the Abyss.]] This will send it away for the rest of the level. It will be back for the next level, though. Another technical way to kill it are UFO laser blasts. The Ghost has 9999 technical health and UFO laser blasts deal only 1 damage. Streamer and game speedrunner Bananasuarus Rex was the first to kill the ghost in 2013.

* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: The Shield will not only leave you invulnerable to frontal attacks, but you can crush enemies against walls with it. Be careful — you can also crush Damsels and items.

** On each level, with the exception of boss fights and Cosmic Ocean, a Ghost Jar is to be found somewhere. In Ice Caves and Neo-Babylon, which feature [[StuffBlowingUp UFOs]], the levels are designed to have safe places with pre-programmed Ghost Jar placement: Wet Fur backlayer in 5-1, behind a forcefield and in a nook right next to level start in 6-1, Ushabti backlayer in 6-2 and in the basement of Madam Tusks Palace of Pleasure in 6-3. Ghost Jars could easily be destroyed by chaos of these levels and then player would be forced to rush through very dangerous terrain while being chased by the Ghost. In a similar vein, the Volcana level which holds Vlad's Castle and the drill will always generate the Ghost Jar inside Vlad's treasury, safe from the drill. Level generation might put a shop below the drill, it might put Kali Altar below the drill, it might put both of them and Ana's little dog too below the drill, but never Ghost Pot.

** In the final secret area [[spoiler:The Cosmic Ocean]], getting the temple theme will allow a rare chance of a crushing trap to spawn right above/below the entrance. Don't let your guard down or risk becoming a paste.

* MoneyMauling: Golden and Diamond [[spoiler:and the Tusk]] Idols are just as good at pummeling your opponents with as any rock.

* ISeeDeadPeople: One small benefit to being cursed is that you can see "Ghists", smaller, slower ghosts (but they still kill you in one shot if angered [so does everything else when you're cursed anyway]). Some of them are even shopkeepers.

** Ghostrunning. If the Ghost passes through a gem [no(not the tiny ones), it will be transformed into a Diamond worth $5,000. This is the most valuable pickup-able treasure, topped only by the Golden Idol, Crystal Skull, Golden Scarabs, and endgame treasures. Of course, if you do this, you still have to deal with [[OneHitKO the Ghost]].

* InstakillMook: Coming into contact with a Mantrap or the Ghost kills you instantly. While Mantraps can themselves be killed or knocked out, [[ChasedByTheClock the Ghost cannot]], and [[ImplacableMan constantly chases you down]] until you leave the current floor. If it shows up, your best bet is to bolt.

** Also the [[spoiler:Scepter]] in the remake. It's an inescapable self-targeting one-hit-kill ranged weapon[[note]]technically, the Scepter "only" does 10 damage, but there are ''very'' few enemies with more than 10 HP, and you have to be playing ''very'' well to have more than 10 HP yourself[[/note]], but you are ''not'' immune to its blasts, which lethally combine initial zippy-fast ricocheting speed with a lingering dispersal around whatever target they end up at.

* BottomlessPits: The third major area of the caves is mostly platforms over a yawning abyss. The remake's death journals show that they're ''literally'' bottomless; the player character writes "[[OffscreenInertia Help, I'm still falling]]!"

** Ghostrunning. If the Ghost passes through a gem (not the tiny ones), it will be transformed into a Diamond worth $5,000. This is the most valuable pickup-able treasure, topped only by the Golden Idol, Crystal Skull, Golden Scarabs, and endgame treasures. Of course, if you do this, you still have to deal with [[OneHitKO the Ghost]].

* EjectorSeat: Some flying saucer pilots are able to deploy these when their ship is destroyed, allowing them to parachute down to the nearest ledge.

* TheGoomba: As mentioned above, the snake. All it does is slither slowly back and forth. It is perhaps the only enemy that does not actively respond to your presence or do anything to kill you besides continue its regular movement pattern. It has an UndergroundMonkey version in the remake called the Cobra, which spits venom in small intervals. It still retains its movement pattern, however.

** Throw the treasure chest! Throw the gold idol! [[FastballSpecial Throw the damsel you're rescuing!]] [[KleptomaniacHero Throw the die you stole from the betting parlor for some reason!]]

* InstakillMook: Coming into contact with a Mantrap or the Ghost kills you instantly. While Mantraps can themselves be killed or knocked out, [[InvincibleMinorMinion the Ghost cannot,]] and [[ImplacableMan constantly chases you down]] until you leave the current floor. If it shows up, your best bet is to bolt.

* LuckBasedMission: As mentioned in the UnintentionallyUnwinnable example below, the level generator doesn't always keep up to snuff with path creation. This often results in long, unavoidable falls in certain areas, "dead ends" that force you to spend bombs removing obstacles or ropes to climb over said obstacles, or arrow traps that you have no choice but to get damaged by.[[note]]This last one can usually be averted by always, ''always'' carrying something you can drop down ahead of you.[[/note]] Don't have enough hit points? Sorry pal, it's [[{{Permadeath}} back to square one]]. However, you can throw a bomb or drop a rope in front of you and trigger the trap.

* MakeMeWannaShout: The boss yeti emits a roar that causes ice blocks to crumble and fall.
* MercyInvincibility: It's there, but it's so short you may not even notice. If you accidentally fall next to an enemy, you will be stunned, and you will die. The ''enemies'', on the other hand, have a ''really long'' invincibility phase to your standard whip attack so you can't just whale on them.

* InfinityPlusOneSword and EleventhHourSuperpower: The scepter, obtained by killing a relatively easy guaranteed boss in the temple. It launches a homing attack that instantly kills any enemy it touches, and makes the final boss much easier. In the remake, it has been moved to a much harder boss and also nerfed by making it very capable of insta-killing ''you'', both before and after you acquire it.

** On each level, with the exception of boss fights and Cosmic Ocean, a Ghost Jar is to be found somewhere. In Ice Caves and Neo-Babylon, which feature [[StuffBlowingUp UFOs]], the levels are designed to have safe places with pre-programmed Ghost Jar placement: Wet Fur backlayer in 5-1, behind a forcefield and in a nook right next to level start in 6-1, Ushabti backlayer in 6-2 and in the basement of Madam Tusks Palace of Pleasure in 6-3. Ghost Jars could easily be destroyed by chaos of these levels and then player would be forced to navigate very dangerous terrain while being chased by the Ghost.

* AwesomeButImpractical: Most of the mounts, with the exception of the turkey and ''maybe'' the Rock Dog, are way more trouble than they're worth. The axolotl is very slow, has no damaging attacks, and, just like the Teleporter, it's ''very'' easy to accidentally TeleFrag yourself with it. The mech is extremely powerful, but it's incredibly slow, too big to fit in doorways (meaning you can't take it to the next stage), and risks blowing up the rider. The [[spoiler:Qilin shoots fireballs and has infinite flight]], but it's found at the very end of a level and can't be taken into the next level, serving only as a transport to TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon (which is ''possible'' without it, but very difficult). The Rock Dog's only major downside is that if you accidentally jump ''in front'' of them instead of ''on'' them trying to tame them, they tend to trap the player in a brutal CycleOfHurting or send them hurtling into lava.

** The only way to enter the secret world [[spoiler:Duat is by sacrificing yourself on the Kali altar in the city of gold with the Ankh and one royal headgear equipped]]. Averted by mistake for its counterpart secret world, [[spoiler:Abzu, that in theory requires you to let yourself get killed and revived with the Ankh as well, but this can by circumvented by ''very'' careful gameplay]].

* FloatingInABubble: Axolotls fire bubbles from their mouths, trapping players and enemies inside and carrying them upwards.

* InterchangeableAntimatterKeys: Played with: the Scarab Key only fits the corresponding Scarab Chest [[spoiler:and the door Mama Tunnel encounters when digging the shortcut to Ice Caves]], normal keys fit in all other doors, both of them exploding into scrap after being used. The Skeleton Key opens every door, but is not consumed and can be used multiple times. Then there is the secret door to the [[spoiler:City of Gold, where even the Skeleton key doesn't work and is only opened by Anubis's Scepter, [[MagicStaff unfortunately]] while being consumed]].

* ISeeDeadPeople: One small benefit to being cursed is that you can see "Ghist", smaller, slower ghosts (but they still kill you in one shot if angered). Some of them are even shopkeepers.

** "Ghosting" for high score is now significantly riskier. If the Ghost remains on the stage for too long, it will eventually split into two and get faster. Spend even more time and they'll split into ''four''. And then they'll start circling around you, eventually trapping you for a nigh-guaranteed kill.

* PromotedToPlayable: The TimeSkip has been quite kind to several [=NPCs=] from the previous titles, with familiar faces like the Tunnel Man and even the female Damsel becoming playable spelunkers. Although the opposite has also occurred for some, such as Van Horsing becoming a quest-essential [=NPC=] after being playable in ''HD''.

** The most secret shop of all is [[spoiler:the Ghost Market, which requires you to be cursed to enter, if you can even find the hidden entrance on 1-4. Besides selling a Sack containing huge amounts of bombs and ropes, he will always have a Present for sale]].

* TheStraightAndArrowPath: Crossbows can be found and used as a weapon. The blue arrow they come with doesn't break and creates an ImprovisedPlatform when it sticks to a wall, although they can also load and fire intact arrows that come from arrow traps. They are also [[spoiler:Yang's preferred weapon of choice, should you do something to provoke him. Tun has the same deal. Although both Yang and Tun have a coat of poison on their arrows. The bow and blue arrow from the Moon Challenge are also vital to getting to the Cosmic Ocean, though not in an immediately-obvious way.]]

* VariableMix: Gone is the three themes for each area and instead there's a single variable theme, most notably in the Dwelling where there's an initial swell at the beginning of the run, the music will seem to quiet down if you've stopped moving then return once you're going again or it'll fade out into the "beating of drums" when you reach Quillback, background areas will heavily muffle the foreground theme unless that area contains a unique track of its own, and even those are variable (e.g. Vlad's Castle will have an initial organ drone as you climb up before the theme starts).

* LavaPit: They appear in the Temple. In the remake, you can find ([[EleventhHourSuperpower in the ridiculously hard to reach true final level]]) an amulet that renders you immune to them! Better late than never?

* ArtificialStupidity: They are also extremely aggressive, and will recklessly attack anything around them. They're a liability around anything destructable and have difficulty fighting more than one enemy at a time.

* InterchangeableAntimatterKeys: Averted — the Scarab Key only fits the corresponding Scarab Chest, normal keys fit in all other doors. The Skeleton Key opens every door, but is not consumed and can be used multiple times. And then there is the secret door to the [[spoiler:City of Gold, where even the Skeleton key doesn't work and Anubis's Scepter is required]].