Spelunky 2 poison cure: How to cure poison in Spelunky 2

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Exploring mystical new worlds is exciting, but it's all over in seconds if you fail to find a Spelunky 2 poison cure. Getting poisoned is just one of the many new dangers introduced in this delightful sequel, and wandering into a hermit crab's bubbles, or grazing yourself on a poison arrow is a rough way to go.

When you begin playing, it's easy to get poisoned by a pesky creature. Poison isn't an effect that simply wears off with time, though. If you choose to ignore it, you'll be hitting that 'quick restart' button earlier than you hoped. Let's cover how poison works, and how you can quickly find the Spelunky 2 poison cure.

How poison works in Spelunky 2

Spelunky 2 introduces several animals that have the ability to poison you, as well as a few traps. Hermit crabs will blow out little green bubbles which will poison you if you stand too close, and the Pangxie armored guards in the Tide Pool zone will send bubbles your way if you spend too long standing directly above them. Poison arrows are similar to the ammunition you find in regular arrow traps, but the tip of the arrow head is covered in green gunk.

While poisoned, your character will don an unhealthy green glow, and their hearts in the top-left of the screen will adopt a similar hue. This effect will continue draining health over time, gobbling up one heart every 30 seconds. This gives you a finite amount of time to heal up, depending on how many hearts you have.

Is there a Spelunky 2 poison cure?

So, we can all agree that getting poisoned in Spelunky 2 sucks, but thankfully there's a simple cure. Your beloved pets Monty the pug, Percy the cat, and Poochi the hamster can free you of your poison-induced woes. Not only will these adorable balls of fluff grant you an extra heart when you carry them all the way to the end of a level, they'll also give you a healing lick before you enter the next.

It's best to carry your pet to the exit to avoid them getting hurt along the way. You want to remove the poison as quickly as possible, so listen out for your pet's squeaks, and hurry to the exit doorway once you've found them. You'll have to endure a second or two of guilt as you watch them turn green while they heal you, but treasure hunting comes at a price.

As PC Gamer's guides writer, Emma is usually juggling several games at once. She loves competitive first-person shooters like CS:GO and Call of Duty, but she always has time for a few rounds of Hearthstone. She's happiest when she's rescuing pugs in Spelunky 2.