Guacamelee PS3, PS Vita review

[Lebowski]

This took me by suprise heard very little about it but it is excellent. You play a Mexican wrestler who is killed and crosses back over into the land of the living to save the governers daughter. it plays like a cross between a metroidvania style platformer and a scrolling beat em up with a really well thought out combo system. it doles out new wrestling moves and like metroid these moves give you access to new areas and build up your combo ability in a really organic way.

It's not a push over either there are some fiendish platfoming sections, some fantastic boss fights and loads of humour and in jokes that pay homage to video games and popular culture, its well worth a play. I really wish Sony would make all there psn games have demos as it seems this will get forgotten and buried as psn stuff can be a real gamble, where as my Xbox is full of arcade games, because of the try before you buy mechanic. If like me you where let down recently by deadlights failure to deliver a new and intresting metroidvania style experience then this may be for you.

[hush]

I really like it and have been playing on both the PS3 and Vita its really been the only game i've played since it come out. There is so much fun in this can and plus it Cross-Buy and the Cloud save's work really well for me.

[Synthesthesia]

I haven't played this since I first got it because I've had lots of other things going on, but it's an awesome game. Really, really good. Well worth the price of entry. I've been playing it between my Vita and my PS3 and think I prefer it on my Vita for some reason. Controls seem better suited to it to me.

Are other people like me and just haven't commented on this thread or is this game really this under appreciated here? If so that's a crime, buy it!

[danholo]

I just got this last night after hearing about it all over the place. This game has gone viral. I wouldn't have heard about it unless for some gaming podcasts and this review right here.

[ItsThere]

I got this the other day and just to add, Like Mutant Blobs Attack, this is awesome.

[laruso]

finished it last night. took about 2 hours of repeated attempts to do the last 2 bosses. but unlike GOWAscension, i found this fun! Great game, and some really clever, fiendish platform puzzles that require some crazy dexterity (which is why im as surprised as anyone that i managed to finish it!)

[capcom_suicide]

I haven't purchased as I don't understand what type of game it is. Anyone care to give me some idea of what it's about, and what the gameplay entails? 1st poster mentioned metroidvania.. Need a bit more detail please

[EvilBoris]

I've been dying to play this, but I've lost all USB cables that fit the PS3 pad and the battery is dead...

[fuse]

It's very much metroidvania, all of the combat is up close and personal though. The combo system is fairly tidy, and there's a big emphasis on stunning things so that you can then grab 'em and chuck them into other enemies (aimed using the analogue stick). Lots of new abilities to learn and so on, and some fairly fun puzzles and platforming challenges as well as v pleasant combat.

My only gripe is that it seems quite short - don't think I'm even at 5 hours yet and I've done all of the side quests and just have the last dungeon to clear up by the looks of it.

It's very pretty, funny, and enjoyable too though. Can't recommend it enough - the cross buy/save stuff is magnificent too.

[EvilBoris]

Found my cable, in the front USB socket dangling out *facepalm*

Downloading now!



Edit

Played about an hour of this and I like!
So far I'd say that calling it a Metrovania style game is stretching it a little bit, it's 2D platformer where you can unlock abilities, It's about as much of a Metroidvania as Rayman Origins is.
The combat is pretty fun, it's all about juggling as you would expect, it reminds me of Dust and of The Dishwasher in this respect, although perhaps not quite as snappy as those 2.

It also seems to me that the developers had been playing quite a lot of Super Meat Boy as there is a lot of Wall Jumping Or Goat Jumping as it's called because "it wasn't quite goaty enough" and sliding involved.

There are portals that you hop into, that take to the world of the dead where there are platforms that were't there before and there are quite a few screens of puzzles involving these.

The visuals are beautiful the character style reminds me a little of Samurai Jack. There are loads of references to old games all over the world, which are fun to see and the script is pretty amusing too.


So far, not the stone cold classic I was hoping it would be, but certainly a solid Platformer with a really unique style.

[Lebowski]

theirs a fair bit of exploration and optional backtracking as the game progresses and once a new move unlocks new areas that would be completely imposable to reach become accessible. Ive found that the game world opens up the more ability's you get and though it never makes you back track you will find yourself revisiting area and playing them completely differently. The portal aspect you mention gets a lot trickier later on once you get a certain new ability too. i think I'm quite near the end but have gone back to clear areas 100% and see what i missed the first time round. still really enjoying it.

[Family Fry]

This alone made it a GOTY contender.
Don't scan if you want to be spoiled!


Been really enjoying this, have put a few hours into it now and I like a good ole bit of backtracking using different abilities to open new areas, they are very clearly marked though.
Always nice to play a decent PSN exclusive, makes it more than worthwhile owning the system for stuff like this.

[MonkeyJuggleDX]

Finished this yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it, apart from the odd little niggle.

As a huge fan of 'Metroidvania' style games and scrolling fighters, this ticked all the right boxes. Almost.

Graphically it's great. I love the style and the difference between worlds is brilliant. So many nice nods to other games and popular culture(Casa Crashers anyone?) The main theme that plays through the game has been stuck in my head for the last week or so as well. It's too damn catchy!

The only problems I had with the game were the HUGE difficulty spikes in a couple of places. I breezed through most of the game on hard, but the way it went from enjoyable, to sheer frustration - especially when facing Jaguar Javier - just boiled my piss. Then the opposite happened and the last boss turned out to be incredibly easy once you learn his patterns. I also found on occasion, that the controls weren't as responsive as I'd have liked, especially when you have a boss trapped in a corner and need to turn around to land a special.

Overall, a great effort. Not perfect, but a lot of fun and yet another winner for PS+.

[BaronSqwelch]

I gave up playing the vita version due to the controls...the jump/uppercut jump/wall jump/warp combos were too fiddley when It mattered most.

But I was enjoying it so much I am going to play it on PS3. The dual shock should cure all my issues.

[hudson]

Cracking little game this. Can't believe I left it this long to give it a go. Didn't know it was metroidvania-ish. Which I love.

Just saw a chozo statue in the game LOL. Awesome