$19.99Guacamelee! 2 Lucha, laughter and four-player mayhem
A retired luchador grapples, uppercuts and shapeshifts through a colorful Metroidvania where friends can drop in at any moment.
Is Guacamelee! 2 worth it?
Guacamelee! 2 is worth it if…
- you want a Metroidvania where the fighting feels as good as the exploring
- you like games that are genuinely funny and not afraid to be silly
- you have friends on the couch and want a co-op game anyone can join mid-story
- you enjoy platforming that starts fair and gets seriously demanding late on
- you love bright, hand-drawn worlds full of color and Mexican folklore
Screenshots
A luchador moveset with real weight
Combat here is wrestling, plain and simple: you grab, throw and uppercut skeletons across the screen, and the moves chain together fast. New abilities like Eagle Boost and Pollo Shot join the arsenal as you go, and each one opens up both fights and platforming routes you couldn't touch before. That is the Metroidvania loop done well: a wall that stopped you an hour ago becomes a doorway once you learn the right move.
You also hunt down trainers from around the world, beat their challenges and spend the rewards on upgrades. It means your Juan at the end plays nothing like the stiff beginner who first put the mask on.
The chicken is not a joke (okay, it is, but it matters)
Juan can transform into a chicken, and the sequel gives that form a whole set of new powers of its own. Chicken platforming, chicken combat, chicken exploration: entire sections ask you to be a bird, and the game leans into it completely. There is even a secret chicken society whose existence the game officially denies, complete with its own clucking theme music.
It sounds like a gag, and it is, but it also doubles the ways you can move through the world. Some of the best secrets and shortcuts only open when you stop thinking like a luchador and start thinking like poultry.
Couch co-op, drop in whenever
The whole story is playable with up to four players on one screen, and anyone can drop in or leave at any moment. No menus, no lobby setup: a friend wanders in, picks up a controller, and suddenly the brawling is a group activity.
It changes the feel of the game. Fights get messier, platforming gets funnier when someone misses a jump in front of everyone, and the jokes land better with people next to you to laugh at them. The game is built to be chaotic in company, and it does not mind if your team's plan falls apart mid-fight. That is half the fun.
Do you need to play the first game?
Do you need to play the first Guacamelee! first?
It helps, but it is not required. This is a direct continuation of the first game's story, so returning players get more out of the plot and its references. As a game, though, it stands on its own: you start from scratch, learn the moves as you go, and nothing assumes you know the original. If you only play one, this one works fine. If you can play both, play them in order.
Can you play it solo?
Yes. The co-op is entirely optional local multiplayer; the full story works as a singleplayer adventure, and that is how plenty of people play it. Solo you get the cleanest read on the combat and platforming, and the difficulty is tuned around one luchador. Friends joining just adds chaos on top.
What makes it different from other Metroidvanias?
Three things. First, the combat is wrestling-based: throws, grapples and uppercuts instead of the usual sword swings. Second, the world shifts between the living and the dead, and later across timelines, so the same area can change under you. Third, the tone: it is openly funny, packed with jokes, references and weirdos, where most games in the genre play it grim. Add the chicken form and it is unlike anything else in the genre.
