Ludography
81/100
Players130 ratings
86/100
Critics6 reviews
More scores
Metacriticcritics
80/100
Metacritic usersuser score
72/100
GameFAQsJust Right-Tough
3.91/5
Player reviews
93% positive2,649 reviews
Steam Deck
Verified
Runs on
Windows
Price
US$3.74

Where to get it

Guacamelee! cover

2013 · Expanded edition · Drinkbox Studios · Action · Adventure

Guacamelee!

Expanded edition

Guacamelee! STCE is an enhanced version of Guacamelee! Gold Edition that adds in two huge new levels, an explosive new ‘Intenso’ power mode, 4-player local co-op support and more. You’ll need to use every bit of your skill and power to defeat STCE’s new challenges (including a scheming new boss- El Trio de la Muerte), in addition to everything the original game's sprawling world has to throw at you.

Released
9 April 2013
Platforms
LinuxNintendo SwitchPlayStation 3PlayStation 4PlayStation VitaWii UWindowsXbox 360Xbox OnemacOS
Genres
ActionAdventureBeat 'em upIndieMetroidvaniaPlatformer
Developers
Drinkbox Studios
Publishers
Drinkbox Studios
Series
Guacamelee!
Modes
Co-opSingle-player
Perspective
Side view
Themes
ActionFantasyComedy
Country
Canada
Age ratings
CLASS_IND 10GRAC 15+PEGI 12USK 12ACB PGESRB E10+
Languages
English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Spanish (Spain)
Entry
#1 in Guacamelee!
Time to beat
7hmain story12hwith extras13hcompletionist
Composers
Rom Di Prisco

About

Guacamelee! is a Metroidvania action platforming video game developed and published by DrinkBox Studios, initially launched in April 2013 for platforms PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita and was later ported to Windows in August and to OS X and Linux in February 2014. The enhanced Super Turbo Championship Edition was released for Wii U, Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Xbox 360 in July 2014 and later on the Nintendo Switch in October 2018. The game is inspired by traditional Mexican culture and folklore, like alebrijes and Day of the Dead.

A sequel, Guacamelee! 2, which includes four-player co-operative gameplay, was released on August 21, 2018.

›Story

"Carlos Calaca has kidnapped El Presidente's Daughter, and he plans to sacrifice her in order to merge the World of the Living with the World of the Dead.

Juan Aguacate, an agave farmer who stumbles upon a Legendary Luchador mask, must find the strength and courage to become the Hero he's always dreamed of being and put a stop to this."

Players say

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Guacamelee! is a hybrid 2D Metroidvania-style action platform and brawler. Players control the luchador Juan and explore an open, non-linear world to complete the central story objectives while collecting necessary character upgrades and battling enemies. Coins collected from defeated enemies are used to buy new skills at shops, which also double as checkpoints. The game features drop-in co-op play, with the second player assuming the role of Tostada, Guardian of the Mask.

As players progress through the game, Juan breaks open "Choozo statues", a direct reference to Metroid's "Chozo statues", to gain new abilities. Some abilities give Juan new combat options with each move's color corresponding to similarly colored obstacles in the world, requiring Juan to learn specific moves before accessing certain areas. Other abilities include movement upgrades, such as a double jump, a chicken transformation to traverse small corridors, and the ability to cross between the world of the living and the world of the dead to access areas and combat enemies that reside in one plane.

Story

Just outside the small Mexican village of Pueblucho, Juan Aguacate is a humble agave farmer. On the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), he goes into town to meet with his childhood friend and love interest, El Presidente's daughter, Lupita. An evil charro skeleton named Carlos Calaca attacks the village and kidnaps her from el Presidente's Mansion. Juan confronts Carlos but is no match and is killed.

He is sent to the land of the dead, a parallel world where the dead reside. There, Juan finds a mysterious luchadora named Tostada. She gives Juan a mystical mask that transforms him into a powerful luchador and brings him back to the world of the living. The game then follows Juan's battle to rescue his beloved and to stop Calaca's plan to sacrifice her in a ritual that would unite the worlds of living and dead under his rule.

Development

The idea of the Mexican theme was originally proposed by the animator. Former IGN editor Colin Moriarty is credited with advising DrinkBox to add D-pad movement to the control scheme, earning a special thanks in the game's end credits.

Reception

Guacamelee! was selected as a nominee at Indiecade in August 2012. The game was also nominated for the 2013 Independent Games Festival for Excellence in Visual Art. IGN gave the game a 9.0, citing that the game's only misfire was the short length.

The Super Turbo Championship Edition of the game received additional reviews when it was released in July 2014. Switch Player's review called this edition of the game "the best way to experience DrinkBox Studios’ best game.", giving it a 4.5 out stars out of 5.

Legacy

Juan and Tostada are playable guest star characters in the Wii U game Runbow. Juan appears in Indivisible as a guest character. Juan also appears as a playable character in the fighting game Brawlout. He was added to Dead Cells.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Wii U1 July 2014North America · Worldwide 2 July 2014 · Europe 2 July 2014
Xbox One2 July 2014Worldwide · North America 2 July 2014
Xbox 3602 July 2014Worldwide
PlayStation 42 July 2014Worldwide
Windows21 August 2014Worldwide
Nintendo Switch8 October 2018Worldwide

Editions and related releases

Included in
Guacamelee! One-Two Punch Collection
Part of
Guacamelee!: Gold Edition
Expanded edition of
Guacamelee!: Gold Edition
Followed by
Guacamelee! 2

In the same series

Games like this

Collections8 collections

Years

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.