Guacamelee is a fun, stylish Metroidvania game where you play as Juan the Lucha Libre Wrestler Dude, trying to save your kidnapped girlfriend from Calaca the Skeleton Bad Guy.

The progression is almost entirely straightforward, and as an Old Fart Gamer, I respect it. Unlike the Metroid games of old where you'd spend hours wandering around thinking "Where the heck am I supposed to go now?", this game has a map that tells you exactly where your next stop is.

Some of the platforming sections are downright brutal; but the extremely-forgiving checkpointing system will quickly put you right back into the game.

As you progress, you collect various attack/traversal upgrades from statues that look a whole lot like the upgrade statues in Metroid. Additionally, stat boost upgrades can be purchased from currency that you get mostly from killing enemies. Without grinding, I managed to fully upgrade my character by the end of the game.

Around the midpoint of the game, you encounter an area (that's possible to totally miss), where you can complete various time trial, horde mode, tough platforming, and other challenges. Trying to get Gold Medals on all of these is not for the squeamish. And there's also at least one ability (that I never collected) you can get based on your performance in these trials.

Lots of referential humor is scattered around the game. Humor that didn't so much make me laugh, but mostly made me say, "hey, I recognize that Internet / videogame thing".

Overall, Guacamelee a fun game that can satisfy casual gamers like me, with the option for masochists to do insane trials and replay the game on a stupid-hard mode after they complete it. I give it four burritos out of five.

For a game with Mexican wrestlers it is expected to have some good and satisfying combat. Combat itself is something that holds this game together as you will spend a lot of time beating up same kind of enemies. But it works, as the variety lies in different attacks you acquire and dynamic level design of the "rooms" you take fight in. Throwing enemies around and delivering heavy punches always felt satisfying. Playing this game in local coop is especially great. I think it really shines when you can share the satisfaction of beating up a difficult enemy.

There are some great ideas in the level design. Especially switching between death world and world of the living. The result is great platforming and also tight and exciting combat situations.

Although it is at its core a Metroidvania, the game is linear; always showing you where to go next. That is not necessary a bad thing though, as many find the hard-to-navigate aspect of Metroidvania genre rather frustrating. But because of straightforward objectives, I wasn't very interested in exploring the potential hidden paths around the world. I wasn't very interested in side quests either. They are a nice addition but they are rather simplistic and don't provide much fun.

The art style is nice and colorful. The music is also great. For me it is definitely one of the better local coop games. Also It is rather funny how much of the character's move set is almost exactly the same as in Hollow Knight.

Inspired by Mexican culture in its art, sound and setting, Guacamelee is a certainly unique game. Mechanically, it combines platforming and full-on 2D combat (with combos, powerups and such). I like the clever combination of fighting moves with standard platforming tricks, which is a core part of the gameplay. So you'd do something like a run, jump and then use a mid-air fighting move to clear that last stretch.

The story is very straightforward, but the game doesn't take itself too seriously and that makes everything fun. Highlights include 'Sorry Luchador, but your princess is in another castle', being turned into a chicken for a brief stint, and destroying a power-up statue only to be told that there's no power in that particular statue (complete with a 'No Power' achievement screen).

The game feels polished and plays really well. Checkpoints are frequent and generous, for the most part. The game does have difficulty spikes here and there, so it's possible to zip through most of an area and then find yourself stuck on a certain platforming puzzle or a combat section.

I completed the main story and then decided to go in search of the game's secrets. There are plenty of things to be discovered, but these hidden trials ramp up the difficulty to insane levels. I don't feel compelled to grind and clear these trials, so this is the part where I step off this ride.

P.S: The 'Super Turbo Championship Edition' on Steam comes with the soundtrack. Look in the game directory for the files. :-)

This title is a stylish, high-energy Metroidvania that blends colorful worldbuilding, tight combat, and clever platforming into a uniquely charming package. Set in a cartoonish world inspired by Mexican folklore, the game immediately stands out with its bold color palette, expressive characters, and smooth animations. Everything, from the towns you visit to the supernatural landscapes you explore, feels handcrafted and full of personality, giving the adventure a lively and memorable identity. This is truly one of the most unique games when it comes to it's art-style, we sometimes take it for granted when we experience content inspired by other cultures. But this one is a big standout, not just because this is not a very well explored culture, but also when it comes to the overall quality and presentation, even when compared to more traditionally explored cultures such as the japanese/asian ones.

Combat is both fast and satisfying, the MC is called Juan, a humble agave farmer turned luchador, and the moveset reflects that wrestling theme with hard-hitting throws, slams, and special attacks. The combo system encourages experimentation, letting you juggle enemies, switch targets mid-air, and weave in special abilities for extra power. As you progress, you unlock new moves that not only expand your offensive options but also serve as keys to explore previously inaccessible areas. This creates a rewarding loop of discovering upgrades, backtracking, and uncovering secrets that enrich the world. And despite it not being a hard game in general, it is still a very satisfying combat, with a lot of enemy variety and a balanced combo system, similar to even something like Devil May Cry or God of War.

Platforming is another highlight, and the game uses its mechanics in inventive ways. One of the most distinctive features is the ability to switch between the “living” and “dead” dimensions, often in the middle of tricky jumps or enemy encounters. This mechanic keeps the platforming fresh and forces you to stay alert, especially in later stages where timing becomes crucial. It may not sound like a standout feature but, when you start playing while using this, you start to notice the game becomes much more complex overall, not just when it comes to the combat, but especially the platforming. Another standout to this mechanic is the fact that, similar to the SOTN Inverted Castle, the development team had to recreate the entire game map due to the implementation of this mechanic, which is an incredible task. Puzzles are generally fair, with a good balance between reflex-based challenges and thoughtful navigation, they are as enjoyable as the combat or the platforming.

The humor throughout the game is lighthearted and self-aware, full of puns, visual jokes, and nods to video game culture. You can even notice some old memes from back in the day, immortalized on this piece of videogame, which is a nice nostalgia trip. NPCs frequently break the fourth wall, and the world is peppered with posters, signs, and side characters that add comedic flavor without feeling forced. It helps that the tone never takes itself too seriously; the story is simple but engaging, built around rescuing El Presidente’s daughter and defeating the skeletal villain Carlos Calaca. And since I live very close to Mexico I had a fond connection to this game's culture because I experienced it in other places such as my childhood cartoons for example, I loved "¡Mucha Lucha!" as a kid.

This game improves on the original release by adding new areas, new enemy types, and additional difficulty options, making this version feel more complete and refined. It also supports local co-op, which turns the adventure into a fun, chaotic shared experience where teamwork actually enhances the platforming and combat. I played this with a friend for the first time, but we only reached half the game progress, then I decided to replay it from the beginning, alone, and almost 100% it. While the game still leans on repeated combat arenas and isn’t as long as some other Metroidvanias, its pacing remains brisk, and its mechanics stay entertaining from start to finish. I recommend trying to 100% this game, it has some amazing late-game content which enhances the experience. Since the overall journey is not really a hard one, the optional contents makes up for this with some platforming, combat and puzzle sections that are very challenging, even for veterans of the genre.

Not to mention the classical secrets that makes up for the 100% factor, trying to find everything and do every side-quest feels like the intended way of experiencing this, similar to other titles of the same genre. Overall, this game is a polished, spirited, and highly enjoyable action-platformer. Its humor, art direction, and combat depth set it apart, while its clever level design and dimension-shifting mechanics keep the gameplay consistently engaging. Whether you’re a fan of Metroidvanias or just looking for a distinctive and energetic adventure, it remains one of the standout indie titles of its era. I consider this one of the best indie Metroidvanias that I've ever played, despite it's age.

I enjoyed Guacamelee, the game had a well ingrained sense of fun and a very stylized luchadore presentation. In normal mode playing alone the combat is not too difficult, the platforming is generally moderately challenging with a few very irritating parts. To complete a basic run of the game it took me seven hours and forty-five minutes which for the most part was an enjoyable experience.

Notably combat while not difficult is quite fun, you can dodge, perform a variety of throws, combo, and air combo your enemies. You gradually unlock a variety of special attacks which can contribute to your combos and the game's platforming. The end result feels like the game has a very light beat em' up or fighting game bolted onto it. Boss fights are alright, some a little tedious but nothing challenging enough to stop a player from progressing.

The game world is decent, looking fairly interesting if a little simple. Each level has living and dead version of it, which you eventually gain the ability to switch between. The living and dead versions of the Temple of War was a particular stand-out for me in visual design. Levels have a variety of secrets and areas which unlock as you acquire special attacks and abilities. Perhaps the most distinctive element of the platforming puzzles was how much variety there was, even up to the end i was still encountering puzzles which had new elements to offer. Some of these puzzles were annoying but at least didn't overstay their welcome most of the time. The controls could be a little overwhelming and unwieldy for me on a controller some of the time but that could vary on a player to player basis.

The story is functional if a little simple. While character designs were visually distinctive most characters were otherwise unremarkable. Some of the humour didn't land for me but for the most part it was okay. Character interactions are relatively few and far between.

I experienced a few bugs during my playthrough that required me to reload, notably enemies ending up off-screen in arenas where i was required to defeat them to move on. Luckily the game is extremely generous (maybe too generous) with it's checkpoints and I never lost much progress due to this. For the most part the game was bug-free.

I recommend Guacamelee for anyone looking for a light metroidvania with beat-em up elements. It has a few blemishes but for the most part is a ruckus.