When comparing Borderlands vs Spelunky, the Slant community recommends Spelunky for most people. In the question“What are the best 4-player local multiplayer games on Steam?” Spelunky is ranked 27th while Borderlands is ranked 29th. The most important reason people chose Spelunky is:
Spelunky features 4 player local co-op where players share the same screen, which can get a bit hectic.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Addictive loot based gameplay
The loot in Borderlands is color coded to signal which loot is the most rare. This system of loot based collecting allows the user to always be on the hunt for more rare items, which can be addicting in the way it has been designed.
Pro Fun dungeon boss fights
Players can team up against dungeon bosses that are often large in scale and power making for fun tasks to complete that are separate from the main story tree.
Pro The character customization is great
In Borderlands, once you reach a certain level, you begin to acquire talent points. Each point can be spent in several different ways that will enhance your characters power, and there are quite a few paths to take. For example, one character can power up his melee attacks, his ability to take hits, or his explosive capabilities (specifically with rocket launchers). Of course, as you gain more levels, even if you completely fill out one of those trees, you can start to gain points in another, and your talents begin to interact in interesting ways.
Pro A great mix of first person shooter and RPG
Borderlands provides the feel of a first person shooter in the rich, story-driven world of an RPG.
Pro A great sense of humor
The entire Borderlands series takes comedy pretty seriously. More accurately, it doesn't. There's a lot of cheap, light-hearted jokes in the game that really keep you smiling while you're blowing your enemies to tiny bits.
Pro Up to 4 player local co-op
Spelunky features 4 player local co-op where players share the same screen, which can get a bit hectic.
Pro Provides an interesting challenge by heavily relying on increasing your skill
Spelunky gives the player everything needed to succeed from the start so it is only when the players skills get better will they advance.
Pro Quick sessions so you can play in short bursts
Being that Spelunky is at its heart a roguelike the gameplay sessions can tend to be quick as the player will die quite often. This makes for something that can be played in quick bursts throughout the day. The convenient saving also lends to this as a game that is still ongoing can be quickly saved in order to be picked up at a later time.
Pro Expanded gameplay through mods to improve replayability
Ranging from Mega Man to Metroid, there are a tone of great mods for Spelunky all of which make for a new experience in the game which vastly expands the replayability.
Cons
Con No mini-map on screen
User will have to open the menu often in order to get their bearings as to where things are as there is no on-screen map, it is only in the menu. Having to pull up the menu so often for the map can be frustrating an immersion breaking.
Con Co-op is boring and confusing
In co-op this game is very confusing with little instruction on how to play. With little to spice up the game play, it gets boring quickly.
Con Difficult to the point of frustration
Spelunky is pretty difficult and some could say abusive, but with practice and a desire for masochism the game can be mastered.