Who he is

Explorer Guy rides a heavy mine cart and is dressed as an adventurer — the community wiki describes him as based on the Indiana Jones archetype. He was added to the game in 2011, in the same update that introduced rails.

He is the clearest example of a specialised character in the roster.

The ability: attach to rails

Holding the space bar lets the mine cart attach to rails. On a rail, the cart becomes fast, guided and genuinely stable — the opposite of almost every other vehicle in the game.

Off a rail, the cart is heavy, awkward and easy to tip. There is no middle ground.

Strengths

  • The best traversal in the game on rails. Nothing else moves like a cart on rails.
  • Speed without instability while attached.
  • Momentum. The cart carries speed well, so downhill and rail sections compound.

Weaknesses

  • Useless without rails. Whole categories of levels have no rails at all.
  • Heavy and unbalanced off rails. The cart tips more easily than it looks.
  • No jump, no boost, no flight. Nothing to compensate with.
  • Requires rails to be built by the level author. You cannot create the condition he needs.

How to actually play him

  1. Look for rails first. If a level has none, consider whether another character would be easier before you commit.
  2. Hold space early approaching a rail. Attaching is forgiving, but approaching slowly is not.
  3. Use the rail to skip sections. Rail routes often bypass the hazards the level placed for wheeled characters.
  4. Prepare to detach. Coming off a rail at speed into a tight space is the main way cart runs end.

Achievements connected to him

  • Adventure of a Lifetime — beat three featured levels with Explorer Guy.

Full list on the achievements page.

A note on images

This page has no screenshot, and that is deliberate. We could not confirm that any image in the official Steam gallery shows Explorer Guy specifically, so we have not attached one rather than captioning an unrelated picture as him.

  • Wheelchair Guy — the other character built around a specialist movement tool.
  • Santa Claus — the other character whose ability changes how you traverse the level.