History YMMV / Spelunky

** The BlackoutBasement style levels make the game much more frustrating than it already is. In a game where you absolutely need to be aware of your surroundings at all times, your visibility is very limited, and using the torch provided for you at the start of said levels is almost a necessity… at the expense of having to leave an item you're carrying behind at least temporarily, if not forever. Even though the traps are lit, it's only a small amount of help. And Kali help you if you're trying to get everything you want in the stage and the Ghost shows up… [[AntiFrustrationFeatures The one saving grace is that they won't appear if you completed the previous level in under 20 seconds, so they won't screw up your]] {{Speedrun}} [[AntiFrustrationFeatures attempts]].

** Mummy vomit counts as blood for the sake of the Kapala. Lure a mummy to a ledge, hang down under him, and [[http://youtu.be/SYt2DEqzbN4?t=6m1s drink the delicious substance to recover health!]]

** The dog damsel is called Monty by LetsPlay/{{Northernlion}} (which was [[{{ascended meme}} adopted]] in ''Spelunky 2''), Rufus by [[https://www.youtube.com/user/BaerTaffy Baertaffy]], and Major Stupid by [[https://www.youtube.com/user/unilateralUlulations Israel Blargh!]].

** The fat teal Spelunker is sometimes called the Chub Scout as a pub on "Cub Scout" (possibly because his coffin only generates in tiki villages in the Jungle).

** Also in ''2'' the Shotgun without a power pack and the [[spoiler:Plasma Cannon]] can become this thanks to their recoil now knocking you off of ropes or other climbing surfaces, alongside the greater prevalence of enemies and surfaces that can send your projectiles right back at you and the chance that firing could destroy the ghost pot offscreen it's sometimes safer to go without a firearm. Really any weapon or tool that you manually hold can become impractical if you're going for the hard or special endings given you'll need to carry several quest items through levels, though this can be mitigated by Waddler allowing you to store items for later use.

** Also in 2 the Shotgun without a power pack and the [[spoiler:Plasma Cannon]] can become this thanks to their recoil now knocking you off of ropes or other climbing surfaces, alongside the greater prevalence of enemies and surfaces that can send your projectiles right back at you and the chance that firing could destroy the ghost pot offscreen it's sometimes safer to go without a firearm. Really any weapon or tool that you manually hold can become impractical if you're going for the hard or special endings given you'll need to carry several quest items through levels, though this can be mitigated by Waddler allowing you to store items for later use.

** Every shooting item in 2 is this. While all of Shotgun, Freeze Ray, [[spoiler:Plasma Cannon and Anubis's Scepter]] are incredibly effective and awesome to use, not only are they very dangerous due to their recoil, but also, if you're going for hard or special ending, you'll need to carry vital quest items most of the time, leaving no space for said shooting items.

* AwesomeButImpractical: A downplayed example comes in ''2'', in the form of the various "Pack" items; when a "Pack" item either takes a ton of damage in rapid succession (usually if it gets shot with a Shotgun), or is hit by fire, it will explode, dealing 10 damage... Even if it's on the spelunker's back — at which point you'll be forced to tank 10 HP worth of damage, which for most cases, is effectively a OHKO. Be it the weapons pack, the hoverpack, the telepack, and yes, even the jetpack of ''HD'' fame got hit with this, if it has "pack" in the name, odds are, you'll need to be careful lest it blows up in your face, literally.

* ScrappyMechanic: The BlackoutBasement style levels make the game much more frustrating than it already is. In a game where you absolutely need to be aware of your surroundings at all times, your visibility is very limited, and using the torch provided for you at the start of said levels is almost a necessity… at the expense of having to leave an item you're carrying behind at least temporarily, if not forever. Even though the traps are lit, it's only a small amount of help. And Kali help you if you're trying to get everything you want in the stage and the Ghost shows up… [[AntiFrustrationFeatures The one saving grace is that they won't appear if you completed the previous level in under 20 seconds, so they won't screw up your]] {{Speedrun}} [[AntiFrustrationFeatures attempts]].

* AwesomeButImpractical: A downplayed example comes in ''2'', in the form of the various "Pack" items; when a "Pack" item either takes a ton of damage in rapid succession (usually if it gets shot with a Shotgun), or is hit by fire, it will explode, dealing 10 damage... Even if it's on the spelunker's back--at which point you'll be forced to tank 10 HP worth of damage, which for most cases, is effectively a OHKO. Be it the weapons pack, the hoverpack, the telepack, and yes, even the jetpack of ''HD'' fame got hit with this, if it has "pack" in the name, odds are, you'll need to be careful lest it blows up in your face, literally.
* BreatherLevel: Tide Pool in ''Spelunky 2''. It takes a little to get used to, but after that it becomes the easiest level in the entire game. Yes, easier than any level before it.

** Likewise in ''2'', Tide Pool is overly preferred over The Temple for a long list of reasons. Tide Pool is just easier than the The Temple by a long shot, [[spoiler:and unlike The Temple, it's possible to [[SequenceBreaking exploit the lava trap in 4-3]] in order to keep the Ankh, while being able to get to the secret exit and defeat its secret boss to get the Tablet of Destiny, and thus get access to Qilin to reach the Sunken City]]. Not only that, but Tun's reward from her Stars Challenge in The Temple is significantly worse. [[spoiler:The Elixir, while one of only three possible ways to remove the Curse status effect (the others being dying with an Ankh, and standing on a Kali Altar and getting any reward after the first), can quickly become pointless if you're trying to reach Duat; reaching that location requires dying with the Ankh, which will remove your Curse anyway, and if you aren't cursed, all the health gained from drinking the Elixir will be lost as soon as you sacrifice yourself to Kali in the City of Gold. Not only that, if you already have a Kapala, The Temple also has the Mummies which will be more than happy to help you reach 99 health, thus making its healing properties pointless in comparison! The Clone Gun you can gain in Tide Pool, on the other hand, provides many overpowered strategies, such as obtaining up to 3 extra Kapalas in co-op runs, being able to get Qilin to the Sunken City and the Cosmic Ocean, getting 99 bombs and ropes from cloning the Corpse Bag from the Sun Challenge, and much, much more]]. Because of this, the only reason you would want to get to The Temple willingly would be for scorerunning, or to get the Scepter (see GameBreaker below) and use it to trivialize getting the regular ending.