I’ve wanted these little guys for a long time now. But I hadn’t played the game when I first saw them. Spelunky is one of those games where everyone (and their dog, cat, and kitchen sink) told me I should play it. And when I did, I was instantly smitten. So when these figures were restocked – and with a new series to boot – I had to jump on them.
The Spelunky figurines are cute little molds reminiscent of the ingame proportions. They are sold in random boxes from Attract Mode and Fangamer, or as complete sets. I’ll discuss the quality of the figures, and take a close look at each individual piece.
QUALITY
These are small, PVC figurines all of roughly the same size category. Figures are light, but solid. The construction seems very sturdy, though admittedly I’m not putting them through any kind of rigorous stress test ;).
In terms of accuracy, the figures are very accurate to their ingame analogs. The art direction of Spelunky translates well into the realm of miniatures. The paint/colour seems mostly well executed. Some attention is paid to the backs of the figures as well. While the backs are certainly more plain, some figurines have additional details there and everything indicates that 3D space was carefully considered when bringing these characters to life.
In terms of a value proposition you can get a blind box or buy the entire line. Purchasing the entire line will ensure you get one of each character and you get a bit of a break on the cost of series. If you are really into Spelunky, you’ll want to score these as entire sets. But blind boxes are a pretty solid proposition as well – these figurines are well done so the general quality of the product helps if you are going to go random.
Care is evident through and through, even the packaging is really well done. It features art of the characters of that particular series. The figurines fit snuggly in these little boxes, and they’re attractive so you will want to hold onto them.
THE FIGURES
I’ll talk briefly about each figure and show them from a [generally] anterior and posterior perspective where applicable.
~~~SERIES 1~~~
SPELUNKY GUY
For the protagonist, we have a pretty solid sculpt. Colours are solid, with the only faults being where the hands meet the pants – though that’s not visible here and wouldn’t be visible on display. Given the range of colours, it’s pretty spot on really. And where it counts – his nose and ears, it’s flawless. The figure is free standing, the brim of the hat doesn’t lead to any balance issues. The seams are only really obvious if you’re looking for them.
DAMSEL
The Damsel does not have any colour bleeding as far as I can see. She is comprised of fewer colours than some of the figurines but they are strong colours and as such she stands out. She has a seam along the sides of her hair, though it is very faint and does not detract from the sculpt at all. Further, she stands with zero issues, so display will be easy.
TUNNEL MAN
There are no colour bleeding issues at all with this Tunnel Man figurine. He is equipped with a shovel, to help Spelunky Guy access later areas with less difficulty, and this shovel seems to assist in balancing the figure when standing. There is some seaming in the hair, though you would have to be looking awfully close to find it. There’s a lot of hair up there but he’s actually around the same size as the other human characters. Great figure, terrific expression and sculpt.
SHOPKEEPER
The Shopkeeper looks sour, and his expression is only guaranteed to take a turn for the worse. This is one of my favourites in Series 1, actually. There is a fair range of colour here, and with so many elements I’m surprised there are no major colour issues. The expression is great, is shotgun is present, the apron looks good, the seaming along the sides is not super obvious, figure stands well. All in all, one of the best.
CAVE MAN
The eponymous Cave Men of the caves. My Cave Man has some colour issues around his eyes, though this doesn’t exist in other pics I’ve seen so I’ll take it as an individual instance. It’s not really noticeable in person, though the belt line seam is – probably the most noticeable in the Cave Man than any other figure in the Series. The sculpt is solid, the navel protrudes and in general he’s a happy little guy that’s accurate to the Cave Men in the game.
IDOL AND SNAKE
Sort of a twofer? Threefer? Features the golden idol found throughout the game, a snake, and an altar for the two to rest upon. I like this figure a lot because of that snake’s expression – you can tell it’s up to no good. 🙂 There’s no colour bleeding between any of the three elements and I’m even impressed that there is detail in the Idol’s backside that I wouldn’t have seen in the game. Along with the stressed stone of the altar, there is a surprising amount of detail in this piece.
YETI
The Yeti has a simple palette, and accurate. Sometimes these are the most difficult to make look interesting, but the expression and sculpt pull it off. Rather than just be a monochrome blob, there is some sculpting to the figure’s figure – you can see where its belly and rump and back curve beneath the fur. Some of the white bleeds into the blue at the cuffs, but it’s not very noticeable. The “seam” is also pretty faint on this one.
MANTRAP
The Mantrap is all smiles. This figure is really great, the bright red head really sets it off. There’s a bit of colour blemish around the teeth and the seam that runs along the mouth and petals stands out, but the body colours are really excellent and the sculpt is really solid. You can see how its body snakes down and along the ground, the corona of leaves/petals frames a vicious set of chompers. It’s simple but it works from a lot of angles.
JIANG SHI
Anyone who knows me knows I’m crazy about Jiang Shi (Phantom Fighter represent! Mr. Vampire represent!) so it’s no surprise that I instantly fell in love with these little guys and this figure. But even beyond that, the figure is simply one of the best of Series 1. Now, mine has a few little nicks in the hair that are inconsequential, what’s impressive is that with as many colours and elements as the Jiang Shi has there is very little bleeding. The expression is great, the colours are vibrant and interesting, and the sculpt is terrific from ponytail to talisman. The feet are more narrow than some of the other critters, but it stands without any issues at all. Fantastic.
FROGS
Spelunky has two varieties of frogs – vanilla and explosive. I think I would prefer the bottom frog to be red but where I’m a more recent inductee to the series I might be missing something there. The bottom frog has a seam running up its face, but it’s only really obvious if you’re looking for it. The frogs are as kawaii as they are ingame, with that droopy haughty expression. This is a fun figure to own because the sculpt is nice and frogs are pretty cool in general. The blue frog definitely stands out between the two, but it’s neat to have two in one.
~~~SERIES 2~~~
ANUBIS
Anubis is the tallest figure of the bunch and also one of the most complex. With so many elements, there’s not really any colour issues at all. The amount of detail is also impressive. The jackal head sculpt is spot on, and it’s all framed by the striped nemes. The ankh and the scepter look good, and even the asymmetrical colouring of his shorts works well. Anubis has sculpted musculature to show that this miniature is ripped, and even some notches on the back shoulders and the golden bottom layer of the nemes – possibly out of sight on display – show that all dimensions were considered. Inspite of being so big, such a different mold, and with so many details Anubis is just as sturdy as the rest of the figurines and has no trouble standing up. I could see it being the most sought after in the series.
OLD BITEY/MEGAMOUTH
This is probably the least accurate of all of the figures, in terms of sculpt and in terms of size but hey – it’s still a lot of fun and an interesting figure. As a miniature, it’s going to be miniaturized, naturally :). The colours are nice here, and the seam runs right down the middle – but it’s really faint. The thing about Old Bitey here is that it looks best at a 3/4 view, in my opinion anyhow. Where one side shows a vicious looking fish, the other shows some exposed battle damage. This bilateral asymmetry is really the selling point of the figure and the element that makes it interesting.
YETI KING
It smells like Wet Fur in here. A lot of the same caveats that apply to the Yeti apply to the Yeti King. Though colour seems better on the King in general. It stands a little taller than the standard Yeti, and has less definition under the fur. On the other hand, the King has a lot more detail in the front. Between his muzzle, his fangs. his nose and his nips there are more elements at play here that make both the Yeti and the King worth having each. They’re different enough. There’s a lot of character in his expression which is important given the spartan colour scheme of the Yetis.
ALIEN LORD
This psychic assailant is probably my favourite figurine of them all. It’s bold and beautiful. The green is really rich and the bumps really play well with light. The white of the eye is not broken by any other colours in the figure. The tubes/vents on the sides of the head, the texture of the head, the slight differences in the tendrils, really effective seam hiding… the sculpt is terrific, really. Expression even shines through here – the eye is open – bright, inquisitive, curious to study a puny human. The size is really similar to other figures, but the detail goes beyond a lot of them. Great stuff. Alien Lord and Jiang Shi BFF OTP.
All in all these figures are a treat for any Spelunky fan. They’re well sculpted, accurate to the source material, and just a lot of fun. My only real complaint is that I want a lot more! These series cover much of Spelunky Classic but there’s room for more, especially if it expands into a lot of Spelunky HD critters too. I’m really happy I could scoop these little buggers up and I’m even more glad they’re so perfectly suited to display. Now, I just need a kawaii mammoth minifig.