Tastes Like Spelunky

Spelunky is a roguelike-platformer hybrid made by Derek Yu.

Tastes Like Spelunky is a modified version of Spelunky made by me!

In NO WAY am I taking all the credit here. This is still Derek's game, and 99% of the credit goes to him. But that little 1% makes all the difference!

In this version of the game, you play as a ManTrap. They are the man-eating plants that appeared in the second area of the original game. But you don't just play as one, you also have to live like one. At its core, this game still plays the same as the original, but I've introduced a new mechanic that changes things on a much grander scale.

Mechanic Changes

As a ManTrap, you are able to eat people! Each person you gulp down gives you 1 more HP. But there's a catch! For each person you eat, you have to wait 30 seconds for them to digest. And secondly, each time you swallow something, it will cost you 1 Bite. Bites are what I added to make this game unique. They're a new kind of resource that need to be budgeted just like everything else.

The second purpose Bites serve relates to the new limitations of being a plant-monstrosity. ManTraps cannot use items. They're essentially a big pile of vines with a flower-shaped head. They lack the capacity to make use of the game's many items beyond simply throwing them. But, if you use a Bite on an item, you'll swallow it and gain its abilities! Items never digest, and there are three different kinds you can carry at a time.

Weapon-type items replace your standard attack with something more powerful or unique. For example, swallowing a Shotgun will let you barf bullets in front of you. Swallowing a Bow lets you spit arrows. And so forth.

Active-type items enhance your physical abilities in some way. Eating Climbing Gloves will let you climb walls, eating Spring Shoes will let you jump higher, etc.

Passive-type items benefit you from behind the scenes. They don't change how the game plays in any way, but offer subtle conveniences to the player. For example, eating a Parachute will protect you from falling too far. Eating a Compass will show you the direction of the exit. None of them affect you physically.

But there's a catch with items, too. If you eat another item of the same type as one you have, it will replace that item. You can't stack them. You can only have one of each type at a time. Which ones you choose to keep will depend on your play style.

When deciding what items to keep or throw away, bear in mind that every item is part of at least one item combo. There are 25 different item combos in the game, and they enhance your abilities in new, powerful ways. You'll just have to experiment to find out what combinations there are.

Game World Changes

In Spelunky, you're a brave (foolhardy?) adventurer hellbent on raiding the colossal cave for every penny he can find. But what need has a ManTrap for trinkets and treasures? Man-eating plants think with their stomachs, so in this version, all you're looking to collect is food. That's right! Every treasure item from Spelunky has been replaced with some sort of meat product. Gold bars became hot dogs and cheeseburgers. Gems became meatballs. Cash became calories!

But what does this mean for the rest of the game? Well, for starters, you can't spend calories in a shop to buy items, but that's a nice segue into our next section. ManTraps have a different relationship with the people living in the cave. A hostile one.

Shopkeepers will not do deals with ManTraps. They will warn you when you enter their stores, and start firing their Shotguns if you get too close. You'll have to rob them if you want one of the items in their stock.

Likewise, the Damsel you used to save in Spelunky isn't going to cooperate with a plant that wants to eat her. She starts running away the moment she spots you. You can only carry her when she's stunned, so you have to hurt her to pick her up. If she makes it to the exit in one piece, you'll eat her for free on the way to the next level (without using a Bite or the usual digest time). If she doesn't make it, then meh. You can still eat her corpse.

And what of the Spelunker? The hero from the original version still has his place in this one. But that place is now as an enemy. Exactly once per attempt, the Spelunker will appear randomly on any floor of the game. You never know when you'll see him, but watch out when you do! He's a very dangerous foe! The Tunnel Man from the original is in the same boat. You'll see him once per attempt as well. Just watch out for his Mattock attack!

And So Much More...

There are many other things I changed in this version of Spelunky. Some items function differently, some things have been resprited, and there are dozens of little things in there that really make this mod stand out as something else.

I hope you all enjoy playing it as much as I did making it. It's finally finished! Get in there and mix it up!