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Eaten

The Worm emerging from the wall.

The Worm is a secret level that can be reached from the Jungle or the Ice Caves via the tongue on the wall. The level is very narrow and very tall, three times the length of a normal level. It is the only place where the powerful Crysknife can be found.

Although the Worm did not reappear in Spelunky 2, the Sunken City contains spiritual successors to the Worm Eggs and Regenerating Blocks originally found in this level.

Entering the Worm[]

While in the Jungle (2-1 only) or Ice Caves (3-1 only), a pink, fleshy, sticky mass will be seen somewhere on the level's wall. This is the Worm's tongue. 

Sticking the body of a Damsel to it — dead or alive — will cause the screen shake before the Worm itself appears a few seconds later and swallows it. If the player is consumed with the Damsel, they will progress into the next level, being the Worm.

GettingtoWorm-640x290

An example of how the Worm level is reached. Note the Damsel stuck to the tongue with the player character.

Notes[]

  • Exiting the Worm will bring the player to the last level of the area they originally entered it from (2-4 or 3-4). This means that entering the worm from the Jungle will make it impossible to reach the Black Market and entering from Ice Caves will force the player to miss the Moai.
    • The Moai can still be accessed after entering the Worm through the Ice Caves if the player also completes The Mothership, as the second 3-4 the player encounters after completing the level will contain it, still allowing the player to obtain the Hedjet.
  • If the player visited the Worm in the Jungle, the Worm Tongue will not spawn in the Ice Caves.
  • The Worm will NOT appear if the player is holding the Damsel attached to its tongue. The easiest way to enter is to jump onto the tongue while holding the Damsel, release them, then wait for the Worm to arrive.
  • If a living Damsel is successfully consumed by the Worm, they will still be found in the level transition screen to heal the player for 1 HP.
    • This even applies if the player feeds the Damsel to the Worm and exits the level through the normal exit, making the Worm's tongue a good place to leave a Damsel behind if the player does not intend to be consumed by it and instead wishes to progress normally.
    • If the Damsel is dead when the Worm triggers, its body will be left behind on the level and the Damsel will not appear in the Level Transition screen. This may be useful when entering the Worm but not gaining health is desired, for example in a Max Low% speedrun.
  • Sticking the Damsel to the bottom of the tongue is not recommended, as it is likely to free itself from its sticky grasp — players should stick the Damsel to the middle or top of the tongue to have it swallowed by the Worm easily.
  • It is possible, by moving left and right repeatedly, to shake the Damsel off the worm tongue. Doing this after the Worm is triggered but before the Damsel is swallowed by the Worm may be useful when entering the Worm but not gaining health is desired.
  • Once the player has been swallowed, it's still possible to use the Action button to whip or use other items. This will look like a floating whip or shotgun bullets coming out of the wall.
  • If a Hired Hand is swallowed by the Worm, the player will be taken into it too, regardless of whether they were swallowed or not with the Hired Hand.
  • The Worm's tongue will not appear on 2-1 if the level has the Restless Dead Level Feeling.

The Crysknife[]

Crysknife Pool HD

The Crysknife seen in the massive pool of Acid.

Once inside the Worm, a large pool of acid can be found halfway through the level. An odd-looking knife is seen at the bottom of it; this is the Crysknife, a unique item found nowhere else in the game.

Although the Crysknife may be obtained without taking damage from the acid by a nimble player as it takes time for acid to deal damage, it is easier to throw or stick a bomb into the bottom of the pool, draining it entirely.

Unlike every other weapon in the game, the Crysknife does not take up the player's held item slot and instead replaces their whip. Because of this, the Crysknife effectively frees up the players hands while simultaneously being capable of one-hit killing every enemy in the game that can be damaged by hitting it.

Dangers[]

All Monsters and Traps (besides The Ghost and typical enemies from its host world) that can be harmful/hostile in The Worm:

Special Features[]

The Worm has many unique enemies. Green egg sacs (Worm Eggs) explode and release three to four Worm Babies. These are quite a threat considering these egg sacs are found frequently in the level and are often close together. Jump on or whip an egg before it opens, it and its contents will be destroyed. (This releases a lot of blood, which is useful in conjunction with a Kapala.)

Worm Level

A full worm level

The Worm also contains a great number of Bacteria inside, with each immune to most conventional methods of attack. This makes them very difficult to get past during the first half of the Worm, where the player must typically rely on avoiding them with timed jumps, backtracking or damaging them to impede their movement for a moment. In the second half of the Worm however, Bacterium are significantly less of a threat due to the Crysknife being capable of killing them in a single swing. Do note that when Bacterium hurt the player, they kill themselves in the process.

Every once in a while a patch of Regenerating Blocks can be found that disappear when hit, then reappear a few seconds later. If any item or entity is where one used to be, it will (in most cases) instantly crush and destroy it as it regenerates. Do keep in mind that if the regenerating blocks are destroyed by a UFO's beam, they will not regenerate.

In addition to the native enemies found in the Worm, the player will also find other monsters the worm has swallowed from the area you entered from. When entering the Worm from a Jungle level, you will find Jungle enemies such as Frogs and Snails. When entering from the Ice Caves, you will instead see Yetis and UFOs.

Notes:[]

  • The Meat Boy Spelunker can by unlocked in the Worm by breaking him out of a green fleshy sac found near the bottom of the level.
    • Be careful though, as unlike with the whip, one hit from the Crysknife will kill Meat Boy, but he will remain unlocked.
  • The Ghost does not appear in the Worm after enough time has passed, giving the player much more time to complete the level.
    • The Ghost will only appear as a punishment for destroying three or more Altars if the player brings the Ball and Chain from the previous level.
  • Shopkeepers will only appear if the player is wanted by the Shopkeepers before entering the Worm.
  • It's possible to go on the right side of the Worm by using the teleporter; no blocks spawn there, but enemies can spawn at the floor at the bottom. This can be especially useful during speedruns, as long as the player has a way to prevent fall damage, uses a rope before falling, or stomps on an enemy before hitting the floor.

Trivia[]

The Crysknife, the method of entering the Worm, and the Worm itself are all references to Dune. In Dune, giant sandworms will swallow people when summoned by rhythmic movement such as people walking - as the Damsel does in its animation while waiting to be eaten by the Worm.

Spelunky HD Places
Area 1 The Mines
Area 2 JungleHaunted CastleBlack MarketWorm
Area 3 Ice CavesWormMothership
Area 4 TempleCity of GoldOlmec's Lair
Area 5 HellYama's Throne
Miscellaneous Entrance
See also Level Feelings
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