AfterSpelunky HDtook the world by storm, its successorSpelunky 2was well received by fans of the original and newcomers to the series. Providing a fun but very challenging roguelike experience,Spelunky 2even features side character questlines.
But beforeSpelunky 2or even what many think of as the first title, there was the originalSpelunky, now calledSpelunky Classic. A difficult game even by the standard of roguelikes, it struck a chord for many and, like many games of its ilk, developed a speedrunning community. The world record was established and held by BarryMode back in 2013, but that is no longer the case, and not for the usual reason.
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After thorough investigation from theSpelunky Classicspeedrunning community and questions from reporters at Waypoint, BarryMode admitted that the speedrun was fraudulent. Clocking in at two minutes and 30 seconds, the run was suspicious from the start for several reasons. First and foremost was BarryMode’s accuracy when choosing routes, always picking the fastest and least risky path to the exit. As it turns out, this is because BarryMode was using amod forSpelunky Classicthat allowed him to play the same levels over and over without them changing.
BarryMode took several choice runs of these levels and spliced them together to create the final run. In this way he eliminated the luck and necessity of starting over that are an integral part ofSpelunkyand anyone else’s speedrun of the game. Upon being confronted, BarryMode admitted to the cheating and apologized, taking down his video of the speedrun. His record has been stricken from the record books, but beyond that the speedrunning community has largely accepted his apology and moved on without hostility.Spelunkyis hard to beat without a guide, after all, and so long as he is no longer trying to make it look like he is a master at it, no one has any further beef with BarryMode.
Oddly enough, BarryMode had no real experience with video games prior to creating his YouTube channel, and faked the speedrun with the hope that his channel would blow up into a revenue source for his family. While it never happened, it also let him bow out of the scandal with much more grace than, say,Dream’s admission to cheating inMinecraft.
The discovery of the cheat is a testament to the dedication and perceptive nature ofSpelunky’s speedrunning community, and speedrunners in general. Speedrunning has become more and more entrenched in the gaming scene and the communities are usually welcoming to those who wish to try their hands. There are a lot ofgames new speedrunners can try to learn fast and look impressive, so provided there’s no cheating, just about anyone could become a new world record holder.
Spelunky 2is available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Switch.
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