Water, like Lava, is a fluid. It is a basic need of many animals, and is found in large quantities in certain areas of the Spelunky series.
Universal Properties[]
Entities cannot drown in water and can remain within indefinitely. When submerged in water, items and entities move substantially slower. This is able to prevent certain items like Pots from breaking when they fall in water, as well as stop thrown items from harming entities submerged within.
Certain creatures interact with water in special ways, such as the Fire Frog. If one makes contact with water, they will transform back into a normal Frog. This will occur even if they are primed and about to explode, making throwing them into water a viable option if one wants to avoid their blast.
Players and entities will not take fall damage if they land in water, and are even able to safely descend into spikes that are completely submerged in water.
Players that are making contact with any form of water are unable to stomp enemies and take damage for attempting to do so, forcing them to use their Whip or another weapon underwater. The no-stomp rule applies even if the player is affected by water momentarily flowing past them.
Firing the Freeze Ray at an instance of water will turn it into a destructible ice cube. All ice cubes generated by the Freeze Ray are buoyant, and will float up to the water's surface, even if an entity is encased within. Unfortunately, this makes the Freeze Ray a practically useless weapon underwater, as it will only freeze the water in front of the user as soon as it is fired.
Spelunky HD[]
A body of water seen in Spelunky HD's Jungle.
Water in Spelunky HD is simple, and does not flow throughout the level if disturbed, instead falling downwards and instantly evaporating upon hitting the ground.
Fish, Piranhas, and Old Bitey rely on water to survive, and will instantly die if deprived of it.
Spelunky 2[]
Water appears in Tide Pool, Abzu, Tiamat's Throne, Sunken City, and the Eggplant World. Unlike their original incantation in Spelunky HD that deleted itself if a crucial tile keeping it in place was removed, water in Spelunky 2 will flow around a level if allowed to. Many fountains are found around Tide Pool, Abzu, and the Eggplant World, which will dispense the water given to it by a nearby grate that collects water.
In the Sunken City, the gravity of water is reversed, and it will fall upwards instead.
A upside-down pool of water in the Sunken City.
In the Eggplant World, water is colored purple due to dilution with the nearby flora.
Water seen in the Eggplant World. Despite its coloration, it still functions identically.
Interaction with Entities[]
Flying Fish, Tadpoles, Great Humphead, and certain aquatic critters rely on water to thrive. A beached Flying Fish will lie motionless, occasionally flopping around in a desperate bid to reenter water. They may be picked up and used as a throwing object in this state. Tadpoles will act identically, although they are still able to harm the player when out of water and cannot be picked up.
As Great Humphead was never intended to exit the Great Lake he lies in, he will simply freeze in place if out of water.
Becoming Soaked in Water[]
Entities that make contact with water will become wet, and will remain so for 5 seconds. Being wet will make the player immune to fire damage. For example, a player that is wet would only take 10 damage from an explosion, as they will not take the extra 1 fire damage.
Although the player becomes immune to fire damage while wet, they may be still be stunned by fire-based attacks, and although being wet does not protect any flammable pack items that the player may be wearing (eg; Jetpack) from exploding, being underwater will.
Being wet or underwater also protects the player from the blinding ink that Octopy spit.
Other Properties[]
Instances of water that are not united with at least one other instance will delete itself. The exit door to a level will slowly delete water that is on it over time.
The only place where lava and water interact is in 4-3 of Tide Pool. There, water will instantly evaporate when making contact with the massive lava lake at the bottom of the level.