Your favorite Luchador is back to save the Mexiverse once again!
What Is It? Guacamelee is a melee-based Metroidvania. The game leans heavily on a color-coded attack system with four different special moves each being linked to a specific color. The uppercut is red, for example. Enemies and environmental blocks will show up in these colors, signifying you need to use a specific attack to break a shield or barrier. There are platforming challenges, bosses, a story, etc… to round things out.
The original game is a lot of fun. It is a relatively short game in one of my favorite genres. It has a nice, lighthearted sense of humor throughout along with a unique art style to tie together the great gameplay.
Guacamelee 2 picks up where the original left off with the same core gameplay, art, and humor intact. The game adds to the formula in two specific places: platforming/movement and the chicken abilities.
The game introduces a hook launch mechanic that is used constantly throughout to increase the challenge of the platforming sections. A common pattern in the same is something like this: Jump (X button), double jump (X), hook and launch yourself (Triangle), switch timelines (R2), uppercut (up + circle), hook/launch again (Triangle), dash (right + circle). This isn’t a particularly difficult sequence, it is something you will have to master if you want to make it through the game. There are also interesting and difficult sections of needing to move/jump and switch between timelines in quick succession. These mechanics were hinted at in the first game but are really blown up here, shifting the core focus of the game more towards platforming as opposed to the heavy melee combat focus of the original.
You can play up to four players with couch or online co-op. I had already beaten this game multiple times when I set down to play co-op with my nine year old. It was a blast. Some of the platforming sections requiring the timeline shifts were too confusing to have multiple people trying them at once, but once player can safely stow away in a bubble at any point. We would take turns trying particularly tough sections.
The game can be beaten in under 10 hours, with the platinum requiring a second playthrough on Hard mode, but absolutely being worth it for me. There are many treasure rooms with difficult platforming challenges to conquer if you choose, as well as some super hidden chicken challenges. Boss fights are all fun, with some challenging moments but nothing too tough for veterans of the genre.
The Best Part: Expanding the chicken moveset. In the first game, you can turn into a chicken mostly just to fit into small spaces. In Guacamelee 2, the chicken is a first class character. It is given two different attacks along with a glide and a couple other location-specific moves. You will need to use the chicken in many fights to break shields, and the game makes it fun to do so with quick, responsive controls that have you quickly dashing over the screen causing havoc on the enemies.
The Worst Part: The final boss fight is a bit weak. It is relatively easy and doesn’t incorporate much of the robust movement/platforming that is featured throughout most of the game. It’s a fairly straightforward fight with the color-coded barriers constantly showing up. It is far from bad, but my nine year old said it best after we beat it: “that can’t be the final boss, there has to be another phase!”
The Verdict: A good Metroidvania typically shines in either combat or platforming. A great Metroidvania does both. Guacamelee 2 is firmly in the latter category. The expanded chicken moveset adds enough to the combat to keep it fresh while the heightened emphasis on platforming, through the numerous new obstacles and moves, elevates that aspect considerably.
Guacamelee 2 stands as one of my favorite games in one of my favorite genres. It lands as kind of a comfort food Metroidvania for me as it is never brutally difficult and is wrapped in a lot of jokes and a nice, soothing art style. It is always a fun time to take control of Juan and bash-and-dash your way through the Mexiverse.
How to Play: PlayStation 4*, Switch, Xbox One, PC
*console played on for this review
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