Leftover Avocados
Success requires only one good idea. One idea can launch you into the limelight, and from there, you only need to update and edit it for more success. Call of Duty, Pokémon, Mountain Dew, Flex Tape, the flu: all of them had one original concept, and the revisions and sequels have maintained their popularity. The trick is to convince people that they’re buying something unique.
To do this, you must balance the old with the new. If your sequel veers too far off the path, you could alienate your fan base (looking at you, Paper Mario). Conversely, if the game doesn’t experiment with the formula, you’ll struggle to convince your audience to purchase what is essentially the same product (unless it’s Madden or an iPhone). Guacamelee! 2 falls into this latter category. It reinvents so little that it comes off as a player mod of the original, and even fans may be hard-pressed to buy what they’ve already played.
What is it?
Guacamelee! 2 begins with the final fight from the original, acknowledging that our hero, Juan, has saved the day once before. Then, the story jumps several years into the future to a new villain who not only threatens the lands of the living and the dead but the whole fabric of the Mexiverse. Dios mío, indeed. Unlike DrinkBox Studios’ other game, Severed, Guacamelee! 2 wants to maintain a light tone, offering dead memes, video game satire, and chicken-related gags.
In true Metroidvania fashion, Juan (and up to three others playing cooperatively) will traverse across dimensions, securing upgrades which allow him access to new areas. Most of these upgrades will come in the form of attacks which increase your maneuverability, such as the Rooster Uppercut which bashes enemies up into the air while allowing you to reach higher platforms. Stringing together combos is not only necessary to dispatching enemies but in overcoming tricky platforming sections. On top of this, your luchador has the ability to shift between the living and dead worlds, and he will phase through certain enemies or the ground if he isn’t in the same world as those entities.
Apart from the story and the new locations, chicken combat makes up the main difference between the two Guacamelee!s. In the first, your character could become a chicken (a la the morph ball in Metroid), which allowed access to small openings. In this second rendition, the chicken has its own moveset, enabling combat and platforming as complex as that which you would find as a non-chicken creature. Entire dungeons are destined only for pollo play, robbing you of your ability to become human once more.
What’s good?
- Combat continues to be the highlight of the series. Almost half of the game is devoted to it, forcing you into rooms which require you to clear all enemies before you can progress. You’ll face basic waves of enemies most of the time, but in several instances, traps and enemy positioning will require you to dispatch them in a certain order or way to succeed. Dodging, connecting special moves, and throwing monsters into each other requires a finesse, and once you find the flow, the experience is extremely gratifying. You’ll also have the opportunity to buy combat upgrades to further enhance your battles.
- Characteristic of any Drinkbox Studios game, the presentation is impeccable. The art style takes its influence from Mexican folklore while the music interweaves traditional Mexican music with typical video game beats to create a wholly unique soundtrack. Although the meme references will wear away at some gamers, Guacamelee! 2’s overall writing is witty and irreverent. That said, the story is pretty brainless, missing the darker and more touching themes of death and loss found in the first’s plot.
- Guacamelee! 2 offers a difficult adventure to those who want it. Stay on the beaten path, and you’ll face a little challenge, most often presented by the spectacular boss fights. If you wish to seek out every key piece (needed for the “true” ending), you’ll have to be a platformer champion to overcome quite a few nasty obstacle courses. Unfortunately, some of these challenges may come off as unfair, especially when dealing with the inconsistent hitboxes of spikes.
What’s bad?
- Guacamelee! 2 is Guacamelee!’s identical twin but is the less successful one who still wants to wear matching clothing so they can be mistaken for the better sibling. Almost all of the enemies are the same; the platforming challenges seem recycled; and the upgrades haven’t changed. The developers admitted that they stuck with the original’s upgrades and fighting moves because their other ideas didn’t feel as intuitive, but this isn’t an excuse for why the rest of the game feels so similar. More of the same may be a plus for you, but “déjà vu” isn’t exactly the reaction I want from video games.
- Vegetarians beware: Guacamelee! 2 force feeds you chicken. Although the chicken has expanded capabilities, the chicken challenges play about as well as the wolf sections in Zelda’s Twilight Princess: they’re competent but play second-fiddle to the normal gameplay. Both platforming and combat feel less precise, resulting in deaths which induce frustration rather than that “one-more-go” attitude. It offers something different from the first game, but it also plays like a spin-off of Guacamelee! rather than an innovation for a sequel.
- The developer has locked two highlights from the original – alternate costumes which offered different stats/playstyles and a set of challenge levels – behind DLC. They did the same with first game, and Wii U owners were spoiled by the “Super Turbo Championship Edition” which included the DLC free-of-charge. Regardless, the game has a short runtime (around 10 hours), so it’s disappointing that we have to shell out extra cash for what feels like should be the full game.
What’s the verdict?
Despite my gripes, Guacamelee! 2 still has the blood of the luchador which made the first so appealing, and fans of the original may enjoy wearing Juan’s mask once more. Newcomers will have a better time diving into the first game. If you’ve done that, check out Severed, another beautiful game by Drinkbox Studios which offers a radically different approach to combat and a darker story. If you’ve dabbled in both and have already exhausted the Switch’s extensive library of fantastic Metroidvanias, then go play outside and get some vitamin D for once. Then, you can check out if Guacamelee! 2 is for you.
Arbitrary Statistics:
- Score: 7.5
- Time Played: Over 10 hours
- Number of Players: 1-4
- Games Like It on Switch: Hollow Knight; Axiom Verge