Godot's Games of the Year Review pt2. Guacamelee

[Godot]

I wanted to talk about some of the games I put on my "runner up" list that deserve some spotlight. Today I want to talk about an Idie game I played this year. Its called...

Guacamelee!

by DrinkBox Studios

Genres:

Beat-Them-Up/Hack and Slash

Side Scroller

Metroid-Vania

Platformer

Do you like Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, No More Heroes, or God of War? How about Super Metroid, Metroid Fusion, Symphony of the NIght, or Dawn of Sorrows? Or mayhaps you are a Megaman fan? You'll love this game if you enjoyed any of the following games!

Guacamelee not only Builds off from the following games, but plays homage to some of them! This game also celebrates Mexican Culture using Luchadors and Dia de los Muertos themes which is what initially attracted me to the game.

Lets start the review!

The Story

The game is about a nobody farmer named Juan Agate. He always wanted to be something to aspire, but never had the opportunity nor the ability to live up to his dream. One day an evil Matador or Bull Fighter rolls into town and kidnaps El Presidente's daughter. Juan who secretly loves her (of course) tries to save her... He fails miserably =(

Juan then Discovers a magical Luchador mask that gives him the power to travel between the worlds of the living and the dead.

Overall the story is generic and nothing new, but it is how it is told that makes it interesting. You have an alternate ending you can receive by finding all of these collectible mask artifacts. However I personally really enjoyed the "bad" ending to the game, it fit the theme of the game really well. It was also something that most stories should try telling, not just video games could learn from this game's "bad" ending.

The Characters

we have two characters to cover, the Protagonist and the Villian.

The Protagonist is Juan Agate. I told you his backstory, but now how does he perform as the Heroine? He is a Silent protagonist with a pretty simple likable design, but when your a Luchador punching Zombie Skeleton monsters in the face. You don't need a major personality really.

The Villian is called Carlos Calica. He is a man who literally cheated the Devil and plans on taking over the world. He is a pretty generic villain, but his design also makes up for it.

The Presentation

For a 2D Indie game, it looks amazing and very lively! Fans of the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis Era of Graphics will fall in love with Guacamelee's art style! Its colorful and full of flavor. The difference between the Living and the Dead worlds are also enjoyable to look at.

The music isn't half bad at as well. When I first heard it, i thought it was a bit bland, but as I listened more to it, I found it quite captivating. It also got better as you played more in the game... here is an example

The Gameplay

The Gameplay is obviously the highlight of this game. There is alot of emphasis in it's Platforming, Combat, and Exploration.

The Platforming is some of the most clever platforming I have ever played ever. I will probably be flamed for this... but games such as Mario and Sonic don't hold a candle to this game XD. Juan controls similar to how X does in the Megaman X games and has to surpass various traps and obstacles using his mobility, smash bros style dodges, and his ability to travel between the world of the living and the dead. You actively use all 3 mechanics to pass through the different platforming section and you will be surprised with how clever the developers, Drinkbox got with this game

The Combat is very compo happy like most modern Hack and Slash or Beat-Them-Up games like Devil May Cry, but you will have some Super Smash Brother Vibes coming out of this game. Juan has Tilts and B special moves, just like how the characters in Smash do. One thing that i give Drinkbox props for is varying the different battles you encounter in the game. Enemies get diverse and Arenas get more clever as you play through the game, Towards the end the game even forces you to make use of your world traveling powers to make the game more challenging in some very intelligent ways.

Final element of discussion is the Exploration. You will get lots of Metroid Vibes off of this part of the game. The game even makes reference to this! You will explore different parts of the overworld finding and collecting Power Ups to increase your health and stamina. Every now and then you will find rare Choozo Statues (haha get it? Choozo, Chozo? i give up) to gain new powers and skills that make Juan even more powerful of a hero. These skill aren't only useful in combat, but used in your platforming sequences as well.

The Verdict

Though the Story and Character Traits are Generic, the theme and clever game design make up for it Tenfold! I loved playing Guacamelee, my only real nitpick with the game is the length... the game was disappointingly short. If Drinkbox ever made a sequel, I would grab it Day 1. These developers struck gold with this new IP and I won't be forgetting this game anytime soon, That is why it is placed 3rd on my Game of the Year list...

I deem the game an overall score of...

B+ 8.8

Disappointingly short, but hella fun to play. The game might have scored higher for me if there was more game to play, the DLC so far has been severely lame. There is Co-Op... but fuck that noise, I was happy with the Single player as it was...

This is Glorious Godot, the Superior GG, Signing out!