I said this quite a few times in the past, but video game sequels are pretty hard to make. The main problem with making sequels isn’t trying to innovate and expand on what the first game couldn’t achieve. No, that isn’t always the case because sometimes what you may end up with is a sequel that differentiates itself from the original so much that it ditches what made the first game great. Sometimes the problem isn’t even fixing the flaws the first had. That may sound like a silly statement, but there are games out there that have very few fatal faults and trying to fix it is impossible. How do you even fix a game that isn’t broken in the first game? The true problem with sequels isn’t fixing flaws and expanding, but rather the expectations to deliver a game that is much greater. Sequels are usually ambitious, and when you don’t live up to the ambitions then you fail to deliver a serviceable sequel. It didn’t live up to the hype or attempt to be better. That’s why so many game franchises suffer from sequelitis.
For me I try to just take the sequel for what it is. I don’t really care if the sequel improves or serves as a good follow-up to the previous entry. I just keep my expectations low and enjoy what it has to offer. That’s how I avoid the feeling of disappointment and upsetment many others would feel. Dishonored 2 got a bit of flack for failing to innovate and delivering what was basically the same game with modern graphics, but I didn’t mind that because it was more of something I enjoyed. Plus I don’t think people acknowledge how the level and mission ideas were more varied, and the more threatening enemies pushed you to think more than the first. I still believe Horizon Zero Dawn is better than Horizon Forbidden West, but acknowledge how the new additions to the combat were nice and the leveling system was more akin to an actual RPG. Dark Souls 2 is still a good game, and that game has some of the worst design decisions and bosses the Souls series has ever seen. Basically, I’m someone who tries to stay optimistic. I have criticisms, but I don’t beat these games with bat.
I’ve been stalling for quite a bit. Today’s topic is Guacamelee! 2, the sequel to the 2013 hit indie metroidvania inspired by Spanish culture and traditions. We covered the first game previously on the site, so go read the first review before moving on with this one because this review will be treading over info we already covered. Anyways, work on the sequel began straight after the developers Drinkbox Studios finished and published their last project Severed. They decided to utilize the next generation hardware of the Playstation 4 rather than the Playstation Vita like the first game, because they wanted to use a more advanced engine to generate more detailed and complex environments. They also wanted to take the risk and change-up the protagonist’s moveset, but eventually they chose not to. Reason why was because the team realized there was nothing wrong with the moveset and changing it up will lead them to one of the main problems with sequelitis. That it was fine from the beginning and it didn't need fixing. In the end they decided to deliver a sequel that just served more of the first.
Guacamelee! 2 came out in 2018 and was both ambitious and not ambitious at the same time. It aimed to deliver more Guacamelee, but it didn’t do much to innovate or expand. Did it mean it was a terrible sequel? Hell no. Guacamelee! 2 followed the same route Dishonored 2 went in that if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. The exciting combat, exploration, and charming humor was all still there. The level design was more expansive, and we got to learn more of what happened to the characters after their last adventure. Guacamelee! 2 was an outstanding sequel and received quite a bit of praise from critics for delivering more of what we barely see from the industry. It was just a good game all around. I finished Guacamelee! 2 recently and just like the first game I achieved the true ending before writing this review. I can confidently say this game has entered the ranks of being one of the best sequels ever. It sits alongside Psychonauts 2, Dishonored 2, and Divinity: Original Sin 2 for being a pure example. Today we’ll be talking about why I loved Guacamelee! 2 and why it deserves your attention.
Story
Our story takes place seven years after the events of the first game. Spoilers for anyone who hasn’t played the first game yet. Lupita, the president’s daughter, was kidnapped by the sinister Calaca and Juan put on an epic mask that granted him luchador superpowers to fight against his forces. Juan accumulates new powers overtime, defeats Calaca’s greatest allies, and makes his way to an altar where Calaca planned to sacrifice Lupita to combine the living and undead world together. Juan defeats a mutated Calaca in an epic fight, and canonically manages to collect these sacred orbs hidden throughout the world that allows him to resurrect Lupita in exchange for shattering the mask. The world is saved, they both get married, and have two kids. Flash forward to present day and we now find Juan attending to his family. However, the fit body he once had is now lost due to him being lazy over the years. That doesn’t matter though, because at least he has his loving family. One he can come home to.
One day Juan is sent to town to fetch vegetables for a family dinner, but a bunch of dimensional tears begin to open in the sky that emit corrupted black energy. The tears are appearing in large numbers and grow with each passing hour. Uay Chivo, an old man who assisted Juan by giving him powers to fight against Calaca, appears out of nowhere through a portal and states the stability of the universe has been disrupted. He tells Juan to follow him through the portal as they’ll travel to an alternate timeline where the disruption originated. This is where Juan learns of the Mexiverse and that he is one of the very few Juans out there to successfully defeat Calaca and survive. Juan is taken to a timeline where both him and Lupita died, but another luchador with a superpowered mask by the name of Salvador came and defeated Calaca. However, a dark energy began to emit from the mask and Salvador has grown ill. Salvador was told tales of a guacamole created by the god of time, and when consumed can give him godly powers. He believes this guacamole can cure the condition he has, but to obtain it he has to find three ancient relics that allows him to open a portal to the realm the guacamole lies. This is when the balance of each timeline became disrupted.
Juan is taken to a giant tree containing multiple Uay Chivos, and is told he must stop Salvador and save the entirety of the Mexiverse. He’ll be assisted by an alternate version of Tostada, the guardian of the mask who helped him on his previous journey, and with her comes another mask to grant Juan the superpowers he once had before. By putting the mask on all the fat accumulated over the years disappears and his strength returns. Juan gets to feel like the hero once again, but he has to reclaim his powers as they were forgotten. Salvador also has a bunch of wacky followers he sent out to find the relics and stop anyone who opposes him. A magical showman, a skeleton witch, and a duo consisting of a living cactus and talking bird. Juan will have to take each one down, claim each relic, and defeat Salvador before the entire Mexiverse collapses.
Gameplay
If you played the first Guacamelee then you should feel right at home with the second, because it’s more of the same. More of that interconnected metroidvania exploration with a fun combat system that demands you use every tool the game hands you. Head towards where the next objective lies, fight baddies, pick up upgrades, and use them to open up shortcuts and new routes. Any metroidvania player like myself should know how this works. If you read my previous review then skip this section, because it’s literally going to be a retelling of how this game works with a few differences. If you haven’t read it then stick around for this section of the review.
What makes Guacamelee! unique from most metroidvania titles is its superpowers. Not only are upgrades keys to open pathways, but they are utilized for challenging platforming sections and combat. This game is demanding as certain enemies cannot be damaged unless you hit them with certain attacks or with combos. You have your basic punches, grabs to launch enemies around the room, and a couple of midair attacks. Then you have your superpowers which are powerful but use energy. When all your energy is used then you must wait for it to regenerate to use more of these superpowered attacks. You have an uppercut, a body slam, headbutt, and charge punch which lunges you forward. Sometimes you’ll need to use the uppercut to reach higher ground, or the charge punch to get across a long distance. These attacks are color coordinated and this is where certain enemy defenses come into play. Enemies will occasionally spawn in with colored shields and you must break them with an attack of the same color to do actual damage to their health bars. If not they'll soak up each hit.
Enemies come in a variety of flavors. Skeletons, giant skeletons with hammers, even bigger skeletons with spiked maces, those who throw spinning bones and molotov cocktails, those who slash at you, teleport around, flying bats, giant bats, knight skeletons, exploding bat orbs, killer crocs, and much more. A majority of attacks can be dodged through using your dodge roll, but some enemies may have attacks that can’t be dodged through or you’ll have to take them down as quickly as possible before other enemies spawn in and overwhelm you. When you do kill enemies you obtain a small health refill, so it’s an encouraging factor that gets you to fight as aggressively and actively as possible. Standing still is a death wish and you have places to be.
Other powers include the double jump, wall jump, wall run, and this flying ability. One of the most unique powers though is the world switching mechanic. You flip between the world of the living and the dead, and this can make certain surfaces and enemies pop in and out. You’ll need to utilize this mechanic often to platform your way around hazards, or be able to attack enemies who only live in one realm but not in the other. There’s also the chicken power where you can transform into a chicken to fit through small gaps, but it has received a massive overhaul since the last game. The chicken’s attack powers and combos have now been boosted, and there’s a couple of new tricks that make you utilize chicken form more often. There’s a hover ability to glide over long distances, a dash to go either upward or downward, and a slide ability to hit anything along the ground. Much like your superpowers you’ll occasionally want to use those chicken powers during combat as certain enemy defense can’t be broken unless you do. The chicken dash to break pink shields, and the slide to break through orange ones.
As you explore the world you’ll uncover new areas, treasure chests which may contain fragments to upgrade for your maximum health and energy, fast travel points, and townships. What’s new this time around are the trainers. You have a skill tree which you can open up in the menu, and new skill tree types are unlocked as you discover more trainers. Each trainer specializes in a different field, but ultimately they will improve your fighting capabilities. One skill tree will increase the damage of your superpowers, and another may offer quirks for when you keep up a long combo. One may improve the power of grab attacks, and another may improve your chicken powers. Some skills cannot be unlocked unless you purchase other skills and meet certain requirements. You purchase skills using the money you accumulated from combat or breaking certain chests found throughout the world. We’ll touch more on why this fixes the flawed economy of the first game during the conclusion. Besides that there isn’t much else to talk about. Hopefully Juan can save the Mexiverse and make it home back to his family.
Thoughts
Guacamelee! 2 is a fantastic sequel even though it’s just more of the same. However, it’s more of what worked brilliantly and in some cases I prefer this more than the first. I could just restate what I already love about Guacamelee, but rather just regurgitate what I already said we’ll just say what the sequel does differently and better this time.
I mentioned a few seconds ago the economy is much better than the first. Not just the economy, but encouraging players to spend the money they earn overtime. In the first game I accumulated a lot of wealth, but never spent a single penny on the upgrades they had available in the shop. It’s not that I was afraid, but rather what they offered wasn’t all that great. Some of it just felt really useless, and sticking to what the game gives you from smashing upgrade containers was enough to reach the final boss of the game. Now there’s a better reason to spend money on new skills. Rather than open up a list you instead open up a skill chart. Each trainer and what they teach you is explained clearly to the player, and you quickly understand what is what and what you may consider investing in.There’s also the fact some skills cannot be unlocked unless you pursue certain objectives, so this gets you to play better so you may unlock skills that improve your fighting power. I thought I could avoid the skill tree the entire playthrough, but eventually I had to pour money into it to stand a chance in later fights and the investment felt great. Like what I was actually getting stronger.
I like the chicken powers, the Pollo Powers, they introduce as it expands the types of challenges the player will face. New ways to approach combat and new ways to navigate the world. There have been redesigns for some of the skeletons' enemies, so that you can recognize what they are immediately and what attack they’ll perform. In the original the yellow, red, and green skeletons had the same design and I was wondering how colorblind players are going to be able to tell the difference between the skeleton that swipes close at you with blades and a skeleton that throws spinning bones. Now the red skeletons carry baskets containing the bones they throw, and the yellow skeletons are armed with the blades signaling they’ll swipe at you. They also removed the super charge meter the first game had where if you kill enough enemies you can initiate it to get a major strength boost. This could clear out large groups of enemies quickly, but at the same time it could trivialize a lot of combat scenarios. Here it’s just a pure test of skills and reflexes, and I like that more. I also want to say the boss battles and the spectacle of them have been improved. Some of the stuff that happens is crazy, and while I won’t spoil it, the final fight is a better final boss than the first game. An epic duel with someone who is of equal size and strength.
The story and humor are still great. I like how what’s driving Juan through his journey is not just the fate of the universe, but the family that waits for him at home. Making a promise that he will return home even when he is many dimensions away. I enjoyed meeting the alternate versions of characters from the first game, and I thought it was pretty funny how there are many versions of Uay Chivo and they all get into constant arguments. Like the recurring joke of smashing their upgrade statues are still here, but now they argue over who introduces each upgrade. The game doubles down on the references to other video games, and when I say they double down I mean they jack it up by a lot. There’s not just references to Metroid but Street Fighter, God of War, Metal Gear Solid, Limbo, Pac-Man, Final Fantasy, and Severed which was Drinkbox’s previous game. There are more jokes, more quips aimed towards making fun of certain game genres, and there’s even an area bloated with dank memes and negative reviews of the first game. There’s more humor, but I do think not everyone is going to like it. I can see a lot of gamers getting annoyed with how they doubled down and that this time they indulged too much on themselves, but I enjoy it and at least they are self aware.
The world is much bigger than before, there’s more content, and they even managed to improve the art style even though it was already great. More detailing, textures, patterns, and lighting to provide more varied environments. It took me roughly around eight hours to achieve the first ending, and another hour and a half to achieve the true ending which is a good runtime for this game. Guacamelee! 2 is as good and even better than the first. I do have one complaint that prevents me from giving this a perfect score. Both the normal and true ending are satisfying conclusions, but much like the first game the stuff you have to do for the true ending can either be cryptic or more frustrating than it should be. I would even argue the challenges you have to do this time around are much harder and just straight out unfair. The final one specifically feels like a Super Meat Boy level straight out of hell where it’s not about learning from each death but rather the chance of you succeeding. The true ending is good, but maybe don’t pursue it this time around. Overall I strongly recommend this game. I think it lives up to expectations and luckily avoids the problem a majority of sequels suffer from. Another top quality entry to the list of the best metroidvanias ever made. In the end I am going to give Guacamelee! 2 a 9.5/10 for excellence at best.
Comments