Played and completed the trial, and I thought the game was really good. As soon as I saw the ghost, though, this game turned into an instant non-purchase.

I loathe games that punish you for wanting to take your time when exploring, and even more than that I despise invincible enemies that you just have to run from. Combine the two, and I'm just going to have to pass. It's a darn shame, as the game itself seems like a lot of fun.

Anyone else decide to skip this because of the ghost?

---

[edit] As an update, the ghost isn't much of an issue anymore. After spending more time with the trial version, I think I'm going to pass just because of how downright brutal and cruel this game can be. Examples from my play-throughs:

Have a hard time finding the end of a level, taking too much time, ghost appears and I finally find the way out, but have to skip the damsel who was otherwise very close to the exit. This is what started my initial ghost rant. I was never trying to 100% each level, or whatever other crazy conclusions some of you jumped to. But as said, ghosts are far less of an issue than I originally thought.

Spiders who are above the top of the screen dropping on you without warning.

Arrow trap at floor level, facing inward towards shop. I trigger it with a rope, arrow does not kill shop owner, who then blames ME for the situation. Apparently I was just supposed to never step foot in that shop, and instead ignore it entirely.

Boulder trap trashing a shop that was FAR away from the trap itself, and that I hadn't even seen yet. Boulder doesn't kill the shop owner, and shop owner instantly knows that it was ME who is to blame.

Automatically dropping my shotgun because I mistakenly started the animation to hang off a ledge.

And my personal favorite, hanging off a ledge with a rock in my hand, which made me automatically throw the rock at the wall next to me, which then dropped the rock on my head, and sent me falling to my death.

Seriously, you can jump and hang off a ledge, but you can't hang off one from the top without you stupidly throwing away whatever is in your hands? Whose stupid design decision was that?

The ghost really bothered me when I saw it in the QL as well.

Never not running. Pick up the pace, pokey. ;)

The levels are not that complicated, not that rewarding to explore, and you're just going to die and lose everything before you can spend all that gold. It's about survival by progression.

It sort of ruins the fun of being able to explore and do everything on a level. I understand why it's there, but it should be a feature and not necessarily locked in, in my opinion.

I'm surprised they didn't add an option/means to disable the ghost, it does really sound like it detracts from the exploration aspect and forces the player to critical path if it appears as quickly as you're all making it sound; unfortunately, I haven't had the ability to play it myself to have the experience to know whether or not the timing to its appearance is really that bad.

The game isn't about getting everything, it's about moving froward. Learn the rules, get to the tunnel guy and make a shortcut. Learn to let go, man.

It encourage you to learn, and become better. I understand it being a turnoff, but look up some playthroughs of the old pc version, and you'll see eventually the ghost becomes a non issue.

I feel the same way somewhat. Though it doesn't seem the type of game where you really explore so much.

I think it could be that kind of game with a few tweaks, but it isn't trying to be. More of a frantic survival thing. What you have to consider is that the game really takes like 15 minutes or so to beat as is.

Looking forward to trying it still.

EDIT: I'd imagine without the ghost you'd make this more of a metroidvania style game... but yeah that's not what it is aiming for.

From what I got from the quick look the game has more of a survival rather than heavy exploration vibe. The game would look very boring if you could just inch your way and take your time, the ghost adds a bit of necessary pressure imo.

I played the PC version for 2 years before I even saw the ghost. You can explore the entire level with no problem, just don't move at the pace of a man with no legs.

Also you won't even have the bombs/ropes to explore everything in a level.

There are invincible ememies? At first I thought the big spiders were but eventually they will die.

@SJSchmidt93: the ghost is invincible

@SamStrife said:

The ghost really bothered me when I saw it in the QL as well.

Yep. Don't think I'll buy it as a result.

Risk-reward, dude. The ghost appears after 2 minutes if i'm not mistaken, and if he passes by a gem, it turns into a diamond. So... Explore at your own risk. The game's pretty fun and you should get it.

sounds like the same thing that ruined silent hill 4 for me.

I don't get the huge appeal for this game. A shame since it feels and plays great. Guess this is because I hated dark souls too.

@mrtroy said:

@SJSchmidt93: the ghost is invincible

Oh, I see. But it's not an "enemy" per se, it's a time limit.... in most games you would just drop dead but at least they give you a little leeway.

I haven't had much of an issue with the ghost granted I am still stuck in the mines.

The ghost is ultimately not a big deal, the levels are too small for that kind of exploration to really be rewarding.

I'd buy it if not for the ghost really, I just don't like such things.
 
He's going through walls and can really just block you off, no thanks.

The ghost isn't really a problem so long as you're aware that he's there.  The levels are small, and exploring them would just be a waste of time.
 
It's a balance mechanic to stop you from obsessing about getting every little thing in a level.  It's honestly not a problem  in the slightest if you understand going in that you will need to leave some things behind.  Hoarding is not the fun in roguelikes, anyway.
 
Also, if you're on the fence about buying it, just download the free PC version.  It can run on a toaster, and it's pretty much the same game sans multiplayer and with a simpler graphical style.

The idea of the game seems less about exploring and more about getting to the exit as quick as possible without dieing. 
I'm still not sure if i'm into it. I played the PC game several years ago and I didn't really like it. It's one of those games that I don't think is for me. 
 
The quick look was a lot of fun to watch though haha

If this game allowed you to infinitely explore, it'd be way easier. I'm 100% pro-ghost.

This isn't Skyrim. Grab what you can, and get to the exit.

You guys don't seem to understand what this game is. You gotta keep moving, inch your way downwards, pick up what you can and use items when they are useful. The whole point of the game would be lost if the ghost wasn't there.

I would probably hate this game if I played it like you. This game is about choices and having the ghost forces you to make those choices. The way I look at it, you should never be able to get 100% of the stuff in a stage

I've played the game for a couple hours and haven't seen the ghost once. What the hell are you guys doing all that time?

You're playing the game wrong.

Even grabbing everything I can, I still hardly ever see the ghost. I never have enough ropes or bombs to get everything. Being hasty has killed vastly more people than the ghost.

I don't need to recap what's been already said but you have to keep in mind that games like Spelunky works on a Risk versus Reward mentality. Besides, the amount of time before he appears is rather generous anyway and it's not like the environments are terribly complex. My advice is to just buy it (or get the free PC version) and enjoy it.

The game itself is supposed to make you feel like you need to grab what you can and hurry. If the ghost turns you off of a purchase of a game, that's fine, it just isn't the game you're looking for.

The reasoning behind the decision to get the ghost, I think, is to make you feel a desperate need to make great decisions on a whim. Some of the achievements are based on time (one is complete the game in 8 minutes) so you can obviously detect the game is mean't for speed and mechanics rather than slow exploration.

Again, it sucks if the ghost really turns you off of a game, but it's a core part of the experience that makes Spelunky what it is. It's an intended game mechanic that changes the game from a simple exploration plat-former, to a rogue-like survival game of "How can I get to the end the quickest with the most stuff."

As an update, the ghost isn't much of an issue anymore. After spending more time with the trial version, I think I'm going to pass just because of how downright brutal and cruel this game can be. Examples from my play-throughs:

Have a hard time finding the end of a level, taking too much time, ghost appears and I finally find the way out, but have to skip the damsel who was otherwise very close to the exit. This is what started my initial ghost rant. I was never trying to 100% each level, or whatever other crazy conclusions some of you jumped to. But as said, ghosts are far less of an issue than I originally thought.

Spiders who are above the top of the screen dropping on you without warning.

Arrow trap at floor level, facing inward towards shop. I trigger it with a rope, arrow does not kill shop owner, who then blames ME for the situation. Apparently I was just supposed to never step foot in that shop, and instead ignore it entirely.

Boulder trap trashing a shop that was FAR away from the trap itself, and that I hadn't even seen yet. Boulder doesn't kill the shop owner, and shop owner instantly knows that it was ME who is to blame.

Automatically dropping my shotgun because I mistakenly started the animation to hang off a ledge.

And my personal favorite, hanging off a ledge with a rock in my hand, which made me automatically throw the rock at the wall next to me, which then dropped the rock on my head, and sent me falling to my death.

Seriously, you can jump and hang off a ledge, but you can't hang off one from the top without you stupidly throwing away whatever is in your hands? Whose stupid design decision was that?

Playing the PC version but the ghost will make it more challenging and that will make it more fun.

If the ghost is a legitimate problem for you, you're probably just playing the game wrong.

It's like saying "I'd love to play Super Mario Bros, if only it didn't have time limits on stages." The ghost is just a more interesting time limit system that actually gives you a chance instead of simply saying "Time's up!" It's a brutal element for sure, especially in some stages, but the game itself is all about that brutality and difficult risk and reward. So, give it a try and experience the game before just writing it off because of this.

I've played for maybe 10 hours now. Some runs I'm rushing to the exit, sometimes I'm checking everything out. I've run into the ghost maybe twice. Getting all the gold in a level is pointless. You need to worry about your health and items, that's it. I love the exploration of the game and I don't feel held back at all. In a few levels I managed to get 40K gold without any sign of a ghost. I guess it'll be less of an issue once you learn the game.

The ghost doesn't spawn for 2.5 minutes. That's plenty of time to get out of a level or die, most of the time. You usually don't have enough resources to fully search a level anyway. Just get what you can reach and keep moving.

As for the edit about how brutal the game is, yeah. It's awesome if you're into that sort of thing. If not, I think it's a good idea not to pick up the game.

@SpaceInsomniac said:

And my personal favorite, hanging off a ledge with a rock in my hand, which made me automatically throw the rock at the wall next to me, which then dropped the rock on my head, and sent me falling to my death.

Seriously, you can jump and hang off a ledge, but you can't hang off one from the top without you stupidly throwing away whatever is in your hands? Whose stupid design decision was that?

That actually felt weird to me in the HD version. In original if you crawl to a ledge with an item you drop it almost straight down and you can not hit yourself doing that. At least when I tested with rock in different situations. The change is a bit annoying because dropping stuff from ledge that way was one of the safest ways of getting your important items below. Now I have had to master the movement of walking down the ledge and then on the air gripping the ledge keeping hold of whatever item I'm carrying.

This is such a perfect example of just personal preference. I know those were all complaints, but I'm reading @SpaceInsomniac's list (from above) and to me they all sound like fun experiences I want to have, and actual selling points for the game. It's like **emergent gameplay** coming from a simple 2D platformer, very nifty.

Spelunky is much more of an arcade game than it appears, but just like Binding of Isaac, when you have all these awesome items and powerups, the natural tendency is to want to control all of them at once and crush every stage. As it stands, I was just reading about some of the hidden stages and coming to grips with the fact I'll likely never see everything in this game...

Obviously they intentionally added that to increase the challenge and encourage a certain type of play style. The game just isn't for you then, simple as that...

The ghost honestly isn't that bad. I've only ever actually seen it twice from my 100+ plays of it. I've cleared rooms completely without seeing him turn up.

I've never had a

I've had some fun caused by the ghost.

Me and a few friends were playing earlier, I ended up having to carry my teammates using a jetpack over the ghost to reach the exit. It felt pretty incredible.

I'm having fun with the game but I understand some of your other issues. I had a run where I stole the artifact in the mines and when I got to the end of the level realized that large boulder rolled to a stop at the exit door which didn't allow me to finish the level or do anything for that matter until the ghost came and killed me.

Also, sometimes the shop keeper will go hostile when he's multiple screens away without you doing a single thing and there goes that run...

I have only ever seen the ghost during the "The Dead are Restless" event in the 2nd world, and only when I pick up the idol that always spawns him, and I am in world 4 trying to down the final boss, with shortcuts all the way to world 4.

I don't feel as though I rush the stages, I just am not afraid to constantly hold down run, even if some people strongly don't recommend it. I've had no issue with it, feels just like Meatboy so easy to handle due to practice.

Im pro ghost, had a moment today where i was juggling the damsel and the idol from the top of the level to the bottom. I had secured the damsel and was going back for the idol when the ghost showed up. Instead of running straight back to the exit I grabbed my treasure, juked the ghost and made away with my prize, made me feel like a badass.

You need the ghost in this game. It adds to the risk/reward of trying to grab that item or damsel. I am in love with this game.

But the point about Spelunky isn't exploring, it is about survival, and you can dodge the ghost for a while. If it wasn't there then you would never need to make a quick decision - since you would have unlimited time - which also wouldn't play too nice with the Kappala.

Go play a baby game that holds your hand

I've rarely seen the ghost on the PC version so I don't really have an issue with that, it's the random cheap bullshit that I have a problem with.