When comparing Mark of the Ninja vs Spelunky, the Slant community recommends Mark of the Ninja for most people. In the question“What are the best 2D games on Steam?” Mark of the Ninja is ranked 15th while Spelunky is ranked 31st. The most important reason people chose Mark of the Ninja is:
The art was done by the same team that did the Shank series, which is known for great art. It is clean, yet well illustrated, and it shows a lot of polish.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Great art
The art was done by the same team that did the Shank series, which is known for great art. It is clean, yet well illustrated, and it shows a lot of polish.
Pro Lets you choose your own gameplay style
Whether you want to stealthily evade everyone, silently kill everything, or stab everyone in the face, you can play how you want. The game doesn't tell you how it should be played; the choice is up to you.
Pro Pure stealth gameplay
Mark of the Ninja requires stealth throughout the whole game, getting spotted will get the player killed pretty much instantly.
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 Some parts can be really slow and it can take a few deaths to figure out how some things work, yet it's most straightforward
Con Puzzle stages mid-game feel out of place
About midway through the game, users will run into puzzle-platforming sections. These feel as if they were added to add longevity to the game and seem out of place compared to the rest of the game.
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.