DrinkBox Studios built Guacamelee! around a simple joke that keeps paying off: a dead agave farmer who becomes a luchador. The studio released the Metroidvania action platformer in April 2013 for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita, then ported it to Windows in August and to OS X and Linux in February 2014. It earns an 8.4 out of 10.
Trailer, via DrinkboxStudios.
Juan Aguacate and the Legendary Mask
The setup is folklore, not filler. On Dia de los Muertos, Juan walks into the village of Pueblucho to meet Lupita, El Presidente’s daughter. Carlos Calaca, an evil charro skeleton, attacks and kidnaps her. Juan confronts him, loses, and dies. In the land of the dead he meets Tostada, Guardian of the Mask, who gives him a mystical mask that turns him into a powerful luchador and sends him back.
Travel through a mystical and mysterious Mexican world as a Luchador using the power of your two fists to battle evil.
Choozo Statues and Dimension Swap
The combat and the platforming share the same moves, which is the smartest thing here. Juan breaks open “Choozo statues,” a direct nod to Metroid’s “Chozo statues,” to gain abilities. Each move’s color matches obstacles of the same color, so a new punch opens a new route. Other upgrades include:
- A double jump
- A chicken transformation for small corridors
- The ability to cross between the world of the living and the world of the dead
Coins from defeated enemies buy new skills at shops, which double as checkpoints. A second player can drop in as Tostada for the whole story.
Carlos Calaca’s Rodeo Past
The world draws on alebrijes and Day of the Dead, and the game treats Mexican culture as a setting rather than a costume. The back half sags when Calaca’s lieutenants take the spotlight. X’tabay reforms after her fight and explains that Calaca was a rodeo man who broke his arm before a competition, sold his soul to the Devil to heal it, won, and was dragged to hell anyway. That is a better villain than the opening suggests, delivered too late.
The Super Turbo Championship Edition
The 2014 Super Turbo Championship Edition added an expanded story, two new areas, and a new boss, then reached Nintendo Switch in October 2018. A sequel, Guacamelee! 2, arrived on August 21, 2018, with four-player co-op. The original still holds up on its own terms. Its melee combat has weight, the dimension swapping stays clever, and the co-op is generous rather than tacked on.
That is the part worth keeping. Guacamelee! is a tight, funny game that understands why Metroidvanias work and then punches the formula in the chest.
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