Throwback Thursday - Guacamelee

Welcome to another Throwback Thursday, our weekly look into my Top 100 games and general nostalgia.  Up to the plate this week: The game of dimensional shifts and brutal fists that is Guacamelee.

Released in the US on April 9th, 2013, Guacamelee is a unique action platformer / brawler with heavy influences of the Metroidvania exploration and upgrade mechanics.  In fact, even the statues in which your luchador busts open for new abilities are referred to as Chozo statues, a direct reference to the Metroid series.  Guacamelee features many references and throwbacks to games of old, proud to display the rich history that has helped shape this game into what it is today.  However, with a unique blend of game mechanics, a colorful and lively art direction inspired from Mexican culture and folklore, some delicious fresh beats and tunes, and a delightfully silly sense of humor, Guacamelee is able to stand out as a creatively ambitious game of its own.

Playing as a simple agave farmer, Juan, who dawns a mysterious mask transforming him into a powerful luchador, players will travel across many colorful landscapes and ancient ruins as they fight to stop an evil skeleton lord, Carlos, from taking over both the land of the living and the dead.  Throughout the game, players will learn new skills and abilities allowing for new combat and navigation opportunities.  The coolest of these mechanics would be the ability to jump between the lands of the living and the dead at the press of a button.  Suddenly, the possibilities of this game have doubled.  There is twice as much to explore and twice as much to consider while exploring, sometimes hopping back and forth between dimensions in order to chain together effective wall jumps.  Even combat takes place between multiple dimensions at once, with the shadows of enemies in the other dimension throwing attacks into your dimension.  The dynamics of this game are pushed to its full potential and with fantastic results.

The fantastic chicken of Guacamelee.

If that's not enough to convince you to try this game out, it also supports drop-in cooperative gameplay, so there's no need to wrestle waves of skeleton armies alone.  And the game features most glorious chickens, which at a certain point in the game you'll have the pleasure of playing as.  What could be better?  Only more chickens, which is possible thanks to co-op play.  Fantastico!