Developer/Publisher: Drinkbox Studios Released: April 2013

Played on: PS3 & Vita (also available on Windows & Mac)

The first 15 minutes of Guacamelee! are a delightful romp through a small Mexican village. You play as Juan the farmer who has a thing for El Presidente’s daughter, but on your way to see her she is kidnapped by a skeleton-man who kills you. Questions of the afterlife remain unanswered however, as you are returned to the land of the living as a Mexican wrestler tasked with stopping Carlos Calaca, the Skeleton Charros, from sacrificing El Presidente’s daughter and taking over the world. VIDEOGAMES!

In Mutant Blobs Attack, developer Drinkbox Studios showed off their charmingly detailed art direction inspired by 1950’s sci-fi B-movies. Guacamelee! sees the studio double down on a Mexican themed game full of luchadors, charros, panicked chickens and a healthy dose of the Day of the Dead. All the environments and character models adhere to a distinct design aesthetic that, when accompanied by an endlessly listenable Mexican-inspired soundtrack, create one of the most unique and holistic game worlds seen in 2013. The game’s persistent sense of humour shines through its minimal but effective dialogue and the dozens of references to other games, films, pop-culture and internet memes that litter the environment.

Behind the charm and art design is an outstanding metroidvania brawler. Along with the side-scrolling brain-bashing goodness is the ability to switch between the land of the living and the dead, an ability slightly underused in the game but the basis of some of its more challenging puzzles and a total tonal revamp of the game’s environments and NPCs. Juan explores the world to unlock new abilities to help him get further, and this Metroid-inspired design is explicitly referenced in the game’s “Choozo Statues” that provide your powerups, much like the “Chozo Statues” in the Metroid series. However when you smash a Choozo Statue in Guacamelee!, an angry goat berates you. This goat has been your guide throughout the game, but it doesn’t mean he’s happy to let you go around smashing his statues up.

The game is reasonably short, around 5 or 6 hours to complete a playthrough, but as a budget game with perfectly tight level design, it’s preferable to a more bloated or padded package. The game paces out its puzzles and difficulty perfectly, and although the levels can be labyrinthine you are always given hints as to where to go next.

The one anomaly in an otherwise well structured game is the sudden difficulty spike in the encounter with Jaguar Javier, the noble but misguided villain. The battle is late in the game, but requires moves and reactions that the player hasn’t quite been trained to accomplish, or at least reminded of their importance. This only stands out because it was the single frustration in an otherwise smoothly progressing game.

Buying this from Sony gets you a copy on PS3 & Vita, and while being able to resume the game on the Vita is a nice feature, Guacamelee! is best played on a nice big screen where you can take in this beautifully designed game while executing a satisfying variety of fight moves on your way to rescue El Presidente’s daughter.

Verdict: Tightly designed side-scrolling brawler with unique art design and more fun than you can shake a chicken at.

Should Bradley play this: Yes, if you have a controller. Should’ve picked it up in the recent Humble Indie Bundle!!