Guacamelee! 2 is a type of action-adventure video game created and released by DrinkBox Studios. It is a follow-up to the first Guacamelee! game. The game was made available for PlayStation 4 and Windows in August 2018. The Nintendo Switch version came out on December 10, and the Xbox One version was released on January 18, 2019. After its release, the game received mostly good reviews from players and critics.

Gameplay

Guacamelee! 2 is a Metroidvania platform game. The player controls Juan Aguacate, a wrestler who uses punches, kicks, and grappling moves to fight. Throughout the game, Juan regains powers from the first game, which help in fighting and moving around. For example, the Rooster Uppercut allows Juan to jump upward while attacking enemies and breaking obstacles of the same color. Each special move is linked to a color that surrounds Juan when he uses it. The Rooster Uppercut is connected to red, so Juan’s outline becomes red when he performs it. Juan also learns new skills by completing challenges set by trainers, such as stronger attacks or extra health. A major change is the chicken transformation, which now includes its own set of fighting moves instead of just helping Juan move through narrow spaces. The game includes challenge rooms for players to explore. It can be played alone or with up to three other players. Compared to the first game, Guacamelee! 2 has more types of enemies, new abilities, and larger maps.

Story

The game starts with a simpler version of the first game's final battle against the powerful enemy, Calaca. This leads to the true ending, where the wrestler Juan saves the life of El Presidente's Daughter, Lupita. Seven years later, Juan and Lupita are married and have two children. However, Juan has become less physically fit. Dark clouds appear over the village, and Juan's mentor, Uay Chivo, warns him that the entire "Mexiverse" is in danger. Uay Chivo takes Juan through a portal to "The Darkest Timeline," where the source of the problem is found. In this timeline, Juan and Lupita were killed by Calaca, who was defeated by another wrestler named Salvador. Over the past seven years, Salvador has been corrupted by his mask's power and now seeks to collect three relics with his helpers: a cold-hearted musician and playwright named El Muneco, a cruel, human-like dog-skeleton named Uay Pek, and a very smart vulture and cactus named Zope and Cactuardo. Salvador plans to use the Sacred Guacamole in the realm of El Otromundo to gain unlimited power. However, collecting the relics has caused the timelines to become unstable, which could destroy all timelines if Salvador is not stopped.

Juan reunites with Tostada, the Guardian of the Mask, to regain his strength. Together, they travel to stop Salvador and his helpers from collecting the relics, but they fail. Salvador reaches the Sacred Guacamole and gains power. However, Juan defeats Salvador, destroying his mask and ending his life. The timelines are restored, and the Mexiverse is saved. However, this prevents Juan from returning to his own timeline. Remembering a previous conversation about El Otromundo connecting all timelines, Juan jumps back into El Otromundo before the portal closes, looking out at many similar-looking portals.

In the normal ending, Juan's family waits for his return for many years before he finally arrives. In the true ending, if the player completes the Chicken Illuminati's crucible and meets the Holy Hen, Juan recalls her advice, removes his mask, identifies the correct portal, and returns to his family immediately.

Downloadable Content

The first downloadable content, called Three Enemigos Pack, was released on November 27, 2018. It includes three new character costumes: El Muñeco, Uay Pek, and Jaguar Javier. These characters also appear as bosses in the main game. Each costume gives players new abilities but also has disadvantages to keep the game balanced. El Muñeco heals faster while in chicken form but heals more slowly in human form. Uay Pek can steal health from enemies in the spirit world after each hit but takes more damage in the living world. Jaguar Javier increases damage with each successful dodge of an enemy attack, but damage drops sharply if a dodge fails. The DLC also adds new trophies/achievements.

The second DLC, called The Proving Grounds, was released on December 7, 2018. It includes 15 challenge levels. Players can earn bronze, silver, or gold medals by meeting specific requirements, such as completing a level in a set time, surviving a certain number of rounds, or maintaining a combo. The levels are divided into five groups of three, with each group featuring a trainer who is also a boss in the main game. Players who earn gold medals for all challenges in a group receive the trainer’s costume. If a player earns gold medals for all 15 challenges, they unlock the Salvador costume and can play as the main antagonist of the game.

Eliot Osage of Bonus Stage described the challenges as "punishing" and noted that they require players to use all their skill, strategy, and patience developed during the game. He called The Proving Grounds "a truly challenging bonus world with tantalizing rewards." Like the Three Enemigos Pack, this DLC also includes new trophies/achievements. All previously released DLC was later included in Guacamelee 2! Complete Edition.

Development

The game was created by DrinkBox Studios. It was not released for the PlayStation Vita, as the studio chose to use the PlayStation 4 as the main platform to take advantage of its new rendering engine. The team tested different moves for Juan. However, they decided to keep all the moves from the original game because they believed the original moves were easier to understand than the new ones. With Guacamelee! 2, the studio had the chance to revisit ideas that were not used in the first game and add more to the existing mechanics and systems.

The game was announced by Sony Interactive Entertainment at Paris Games Week in October 2017. It was released for PlayStation 4 and Windows on August 21, 2018. DrinkBox released the Nintendo Switch version on December 10, 2018.

Reception

The game received mostly positive reviews from the Metacritic website, which collects reviews from many sources. It was nominated for two awards: "Control Design, 2D or Limited 3D" and "Game, Franchise Action" at the National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards.