Spelunky Walkthrough – Defeating Olmec [Guide]

Read on to find a simple method to defeat Olmec, the final boss in Spelunky!

The final boss in Spelunky resides in the final Area, after Area 4. It is named simply The Giant Head, though the game’s coding sometimes refers to it as Olmec, and the stage is called Olmec’s Lair, so we will proceed to name it such, as well. The boss itself cannot be harmed, and thus has to be outsmarted by the players. Its movement pattern is as such:

Olmec will hop and smash down onto the ground. Should you be hit by that smash, or touch Olmec in any other way, you will instantly be killed. The goal is then to avoid the boss and lead him to his doom. You can stand on top of the boss – this lets you collect the treasure in the upper regions of the area without having to use a rope. Olmec will move towards your current position at all times, so be careful about getting too close for too long.

Another thing to keep an eye out for at this stage are the yellow orbs that get thrown around every single time the boss smashed down on the floor. These orbs create enemies around you, which provide you with more trouble while you work to avoid the boss.

An easy way to get rid of the boss, then, is to let him move towards you in such a way that you always have a tile to stand on while you coax more smashes out of him. As he makes his way through the ground, to avoid being crushed by the giant head, continuously move underneath him as he jumps. The game will calculate your position and, as you are underneath him, he will smash straight down. Use the remaining time you have to move back into your safe zone. You will get taken down along with the boss, use your rope so you can use to climb back up to the top of the level while Olmec effectively drops himself into the lava and is defeated. The yellow orbs he creates by smashing the floor will be sent above him, so you can ignore those enemies while you guide the giant head down into the lava, and you can work on defeating them separately when you reach the top again. Be careful, because there will be a good number of them as you’ve let them pile up by consecutive smashes by Olmec.

Remember that if you have trouble with this method of defeating Olmec, the way to destroy it is always to drop it in the lava underneath – you can do this just as well with bombs and other exploding items. The only true key to this battle is to make sure you have somewhere to go when Olmec jumps, and that you don’t accidentally run out of space. If you do happen to run out of space to avoid him – keep him in the center of the area as much as you can, and you will be fine.

The below video is courtesy of XBLAFans:

Guide written by Chris Bakker.