I must confess to being a Guacamelee fanboy since it came out 5 years ago. From the moment luchador Juan donned his mask and I started exploring this great looking Mexican folklore inspired world, I knew this was going to be a hit. Guacamelee made heads turn and became a benchmark for future Metroidvania style games. A sequel – simply named Guacamelee! 2 – has now arrived and I can already tell you that DrinkBox Studios did an equally fantastic job on this one.
Save the Mexiverse
7 years after the events of the previous game, Gaucamelee! 2 starts with Juan reminiscing over his past heroic deeds when his wife asks him to perform an errand. Long gone seem the days of the luchador until he notices strange dark void-like shapes in the sky. Uay Chavo, his former mentor, explains that the Mexiverse is in danger and that troubles in different timelines caused these ripples. You need to go to “the darkest timeline” and put on the mask once agains to stop Salvador from stealing the sacred guacamole of the God of Time.
Start again
You start the game without your special moves and abilities from the previous game. Guacamelee! 2 is an open world but certain paths can only be reached throughout learning new abilities. Early on you’ll learn the rooster uppercut which propels you in the air while performing an uppercut. This can break certain red barriers to open up more areas to explore. There are many colored barriers each linked with a certain power. Once acquired, you can advance. This “re-learning” of the powers lets new players ease in the game without having to be overwhelmed with the many special moves.
Chicken powers and trainers.
Guacamelee! 2 lets you, once again, change in a chicken. This time your chicken form gets much more love than in the previous game. You’ll learn new “pollo powers” which makes for fun new ways to traverse areas or beat enemies. Also new in Guacamelee! 2 is the addition of “trainers”. This is essentially a skill tree system which allows you to spend money to improve certain skills. The damage upgrades for instance, can really help you out with the many battles you’ll face. Other upgrades let you earn more money, let your stamina fill up faster,… A nice addition to really help you cater to your own playstyle.
Great flow
What I like the most about Guacamelee! 2 is its flow. The whole game has a great feel to it. Getting to certain parts of the gameworld is by no means easy but the gracefulness at which you move makes it all so satisficing. The optional “platforming challenge rooms” where you need to execute almost impossible maneuvers, feel so fulfilling once you finally clear them. The rewards are often extra hearts or extra stamina so the many tries it often takes are well worth it.
Conclusion
Guacamelee! 2 looks stunning. The music fits with the theme and is always on point. The humor is great. The subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) references to pop culture are a really nice thing to look for in every new area. The game’s difficulty is always fair. You always feel like you’re the one to blame when you die and not the game mechanics. The 4-player co-op “drop-in, drop-out” mode is a bit too chaotic to my liking. Playing with maximum 2 people was quite enough to my opinion. Nevertheless, Guacamelee! 2 should be an instant buy if you like brawling, challenging platforming and exploring a whacky Mexican universe.
