S&S Indie Review: Guacamelee!

Title: Guacamelee!
Format: PS3, PS Vita
Release Date: April 9, 2013
Publisher: DrinkBox Studios
Developer: Drinkbox Studios
Price: $15
ESRB Rating: T

Guacamelee! is one of the more eccentric PSN-exclusive titles we've ever gotten, and it's one you shouldn't miss.

Story and Presentation:
Gucamelee stars Juan, a simple agave farmer.  The story quickly takes a strange turn, as Juan gets murdered by a evil skeleton named Carlos Calaca.  He's later revived and given a special luchadore mask that grants him cool powers.  He uses his newly acquired powers to hunt down Carlos in order to rescue his love.  The story has a familiar foundation, but it does enough new to make it a completely new experience all it's own.  Since there's no voice, the game is told through text boxes, and it still manages to keep your interest.  The game isn't as dramatic as the story makes it out to be, in fact, it's actually very humorous.  I didn't believe a game's narrative that's told through text boxes would make me chuckle so many times, but Guacamelee manages to do just that.  Guacamelee is gorgeous, and that's really all I can say about the visuals.  The beautiful 2D art style is one to marvel at, and you'll become completely engrossed in your surroundings as soon run across the first vista.  The Mexican-themed soundtrack will live in your head long after you've put the game down, and this will probably go down as one of the best soundtracks of the year.

Core Gameplay and Multiplayer:
This game features a lot of comparisons from a lot of old school games, and the one that keeps coming to mind is Metroid.  The game is a 2D platformer that features a lot of combat, and that's just at it's core.  One thing that was a pleasant surprise was how open ended the game is, it encourages you to backtrack  with new skills and explore different areas that you couldn't explore before.  The platforming is solid, and that's all thanks to the great fluid animations and solid physics.  Given all of this, the game's combat is where the game shines.  It will take a bit of time to get a hang of the game's mechanics, but in the end, you'll really appreciate how deep the combat system is.  You have all your basic kicks and punches, but you'll quickly learn new moves including uppercuts, ground and pounds, grabs and tosses, and a lot more.  Some enemies will even require you to use different moves, forcing you to mix things up a bit.  There are some RPG elements sprinkled in as well.  Juan can find different chest that contain coins that you can use to buy new items and skills.  You can also find hearts to increase Juan's health.  The game has a lot of puzzle elements as well, which creates a whole new dynamic on it's own.

Final Thoughts: 
Guacamelee is a fantastic game, and the fact that you can get both the PS Vita and PS3 version for the price of one, makes it all the better.  The game features some of the best visuals on both systems, and the gameplay feels extremely polished.  This game should not be passed on.

S&S Rating: 9/10

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