Well, looks like a fun little holiday is right around the corner. That’s right, dia of the Dead. Halloween, that’s for children who go out and eat candy. But dia of the Dead, that’s a real man’s holiday. In all seriousness, I am far from being Mexican. I’m the whitest, pastiest motherfucker around. But I still really enjoy the skeleton designs and the history of dia of the Dead. And you know what else I love? Masked wrestling, which is mais commonly known as lucha libre. dia of the Dead and luchadores. It’s not a Lucha Underground game, everyone. It’s Guacamelee. The full edition, to be exact.



Guacamelee follows the story of Juan, a simple farmer and resident of a small town in Mexico. He is a big, strong man, but is no luchadore, which are respected in this town. But on this day, his childhood friend, El Presidente’s daughter Lupita is kidnapped por an evil skeleton named Carlos Calaca, who kills Juan and sends him to the Land of the Dead. There, he meets a luchador named torrada, "tostada" who grants him a mask, turning him into a powerful luchadore, restoring him to life, and sending him on his adventure to stop Calaca. So from the start of the game, I just want to say that I amor the art style. Heavily rooted in Mexican design and history, with all sorts of references to Mexican folklore, urban legends and the history of luchadores and the ancient history of the Aztecs. It’s nice to see a Mexican studio make a game that is considered a classic in the indie market por fans. But wait a second. Just like Grim Fandango, Guacamelee was made por a bunch a fucking gringos (Is it okay for us to say that?). The studio, DrinkBox Studios, is actually based in Toronto, Canada por a small team that was part of Pseudo Interactive which made Cel Damage, an underrated game that was a mass commercial failure but you can buy it on any modern console nowadays. After Pseudo closed down, three members formed DrinkBox, making games such as Tales from o espaço games before working on Guacamelee, which is where they managed to get most traction. And good for them, because Guacamelee is genuinely one of the best indie games out there.
Like I said in the anterior In-Indie, this game is a sort of Metroidvania, cause you get abilities that will allow you to explore new areas and find secrets to collect mais money and upgrades to your health and special meter. Such power ups include headbut to mover forward, an uppercut to mover up, a body slam to mover down, the ability to transcend from the living world to the Land of the Dead, my personal favorito ability that turns you into a chicken so you can go to lower areas but you can’t fight, a double jump which is always mandatory in these types of games, and a super dash that can feel really satisfying especially in the final area. And these moves aren’t just for progressing through the game. You can use them in combat as well. You can uppercut and body slam enemies with the best of them and can really cause some damage to them and bosses with these movies. Combat starts you out with just a series of punches and a few body slams. Grab the enemies, and throw them in any direction you aim with the D pad. Do it right and you can knock over some other enemies and get some damage in on them. Eventually, enemies get way mais difficult and have shields that require a certain special mover to break them, so you gotta manage which enemies to beat up and which to save for later, all while making your way through the map.
The game is also filled with a ton of side quests. I thought that this would be a simple game with just upgrades and moving from one level to the next, but no, this game goes the extra mile and has you doing quests for characters, some of them being combat related, others requiring you to go from the living world to the Land of the Dead to solve them in creative puzzles. Each side quest, while some can be ignored, are always worth your time as they can give you money and upgrades. I thought this would be a Hollow Knight situation where I would have way too much money por the end and have zero need for any money, but no, I only bought a quarter of the upgrades in the game por the time I reached the final area. There was still plenty of moves to unlock. You could go out and beat up enemies and grind for money, but I think it’s mais fun to attempt the side quests. I will say that one problem I have with Guacamelee is some of the map areas can be confusing. It could be because of my TV, but I was running around the segundo temple for twenty minutos because I couldn’t see this little platform that I could jump down on. But that is a nitpick, and the only one I can think of. The game’s story, while simple at first, is rooted in Mexican culture and has its own charm that it’s hard to criticize harshly. All of the characters are fun in their own way and have a unique design thanks to the art style that the team went with. The exploration and platforming are made mais fun thanks to the special abilities you unlock and the combat also benefits from the different abilities. Guacamelee is just a fun game.
Guacamelee, while not a massive seller, not exactly raking in GTA5 sales, was still successful enough to get a sequel in 2018, which I have, but have yet to play. Maybe I’ll review it on day. But for now, let’s embrulho, envoltório up this review. Guacamelee, despite coming out in 2013, still feels as fresh as it was six years ago. I implore anyone who loves the 2D metroidvania style of games to give Guacamelee a try if you haven’t. It is one of the best in my eyes.

Up next: You just don’t understand, dad