Part of the reason Spelunky works is that death isn't an ending. When you die, you can instantly reload to be given a brand new level to play; similar in theme, but totally different to the last. So naturally, the upcoming Steam version is getting an exclusive Daily Challenge mode, in which you can only play the featured level once, ever . While it might sound at odds with the point of the game, there's a reason why it could make the PC release of Nu-Spelunky the best version available: everyone else gets to play the same level, but only once, ever .
Every day, the game will host a new level, accessible to all players. You'll each have one chance to run through this level - if (when) you die, you'll need to wait until the next day, for the next challenge to begin.
This is a pretty great idea - and an actual meaningful metric for competitive Spelunking. While the upgraded edition has competitive arena deathmatch, it's a lightweight offering, and not really what the game's about. And, of course, any leaderboard boasting through the main game is skewed by its random nature. The Daily Challenge may ultimately prove who is the best at Spelunky. Unfortunately for all of us, it's probably going to be Tom Francis .
Spelunky is due out on August 8th.
