Guacamelee Review

Fiesta Smack Down

I grabbed Guacamelee: Super Turbo Championship Edition for free during one of Xbox's "Games with Gold" events. I had seen it occasionally mentioned around the internet, usually in good regard and I had been tempted by it during a few Steam sales. I feel stupid for not grabbing this game sooner than I did and part of me wishes I had actually paid money for it, it's really that good. Guacamelee has come in on the wave on indie games of the last few years, a select few of which have given gamers the kind of platforming goodness usually only offered up by Nintendo titles. It plays like the old games of your youth but looks like one of the crazy and wacky games that have been popping up from indie devs since the start of the decade.

This game never takes itself seriously.

 You play as Juan a very average man who for some reason the Presidents daughter has a thing for. As anyone would have guessed the Presidents daughter is kidnapped and only you can save her, after gaining the powers of a luchador of course. The one you love has been stolen by an evil skeleton man from the underworld who plans to sacrifice her so he can merge the worlds of the living and the dead together. Along the way you must battle plenty of his henchmen and even a few of his more powerful allies, it's the standard platforming "save the princess" affair that has been around for decades. It may be a cliche but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad thing. While playing I felt even though I enjoyed the interactions between characters, a heavier story focused would of just been a bad thing for a game like this, as if the rest of the game would of started to suffocate underneath it. And going back to the character interactions, that are all brilliant and well written. Each character is full of wit and charm with a subtle hint of sadness, just enough to give them all a little bit of depth so you can better understand their actions. 

 The gameplay is Gucamelee is by far it's greatest asset, the controls are tight, the platforming is superb and the abilities are easy to use but sometimes difficult to master. Throughout your adventure you will come across a goat-man who will grant you new abilities such as an uppercut or a headbutt. These new abilities are not just for fighting enemies however, but also offer new ways of getting around the map and reaching new areas like the Metroidvania games of old. There aren't really any actual puzzles in this game that require the kind of problem solving you'd expect from a videogame; instead the platforming itself is the challenge presented to you and your abilities are tools you use to overcome them. As you unlock more abilities you must use them together to navigate the world, which becomes more and more difficult as the game progresses, but not once did I find it unfair. The learning curve is probably one of the best I have seen in any game. Some of Guacamelee's gameplay is heavily inspired by other famous platformers from its previously mentioned Metroidvania map design to even some Super Meat Boy influenced wall jumping puzzles.

Timing is key.

The platforming is mixed in with battling enemies, usually in small arena-like areas. The game has a simple combo system for combat, punches, aerial attacks and your special abilities all flow smoothly. Later enemies who can only be hurt by certain attacks mix things up nicely, especially when multiple of them are thrown in at the same time, these moments can be pretty hectic. Building up your combos will also grant you the ability to gain super strength for a short time which comes in handy late in the game when you find yourself trapped into a corner. You also earn coins from defeating enemies, these can be spent at the store to upgrade your various combat moves and add various bonuses to attacks. I didn't really find these upgrades to be very important at all and they really didn't change much gameplay wise. You could easily play through the entire game without upgrading once, which was a little disappointing. I only really had two other gripes with the combat, the first of which was that the enemy arenas appeared more frequently near the end of the game and started to feel they were nothing more than a little game padding. The second being the boss fights were never really challenging. The final boss kicked my butt a couple of times but then I ended up defeating him without taking damage. Which was more to do with my patience rather than my skill.

The basic re-colored enemies are harder.

 One of the main aspects of the game is the ability to switch between the world of the living and the world of the dead. This opens up new paths and can make platforms and walls solid as many only exist in one world. This part of the platforming was probably my favorite, especially later in the game when switching worlds between jumps and moves required quick and precise timing and was a good way to bring the hectic feel of the combat over to the platforming side of the game. The world switching is also used when battling enemies as some will exist only in one world, but will still have a shadow in yours that can attack you. Deciding when to switch worlds and deal with them while fighting off other enemies can mean the difference between life and death. Switching between the worlds of the living and dead are also used in the hub towns where you can carry out small side quests for the residents, which will reward you with heart and stamina pieces to make you stronger. The contrast between the bright and lively towns of the, well living and the derelict and dark towns of the dead are brilliant. I often went around the towns switching between the worlds just to see how things change and check for any secrets that might be hidden away.

 Guacamelee is not just one of the best games I have played in recent years but is also one of the best platforming games I have played, period. Every part of the game blends together so well and complement eachother in ways many other games fail to. While the game didn't take long to beat, it's so enjoyable that you can easily replay it and still have a blast. It's a game that I walked in from work and could just pick up and play for a couple of hours at a time. If you enjoy the hectic side scrolling platformers of old then I highly recommend picking up this game as soon as you can.