The ability to boil down a game's premise to an elevator pitch can easily do it a disservice. Guacamelee has been called Metroid-vania with luchadors, a description Drinkbox hasn't exactly shied away from. But that description, and its pun-y title, make the game seem more like a gag, and gags don't have longevity by definition. They're an object of fleeting fun, and the game is much more inventive and lasting than this glib explanation would suggest.
Guacamelee takes place in a vibrant, stylized version of Mexico, rife with references to pop culture and video games. This is a world in which a luchador named Juan can have superpowers and goat changelings chew him out for destroying a beloved statue, before grudgingly giving away a new power anyway. Plenty of games attempt magical realism, but the setting of Guacamelee is such a radical departure from the norm that it truly feels like anything can happen. The game is also genuinely funny. Its dialogue and nods to other games often surprised me by eliciting actual laughter, a rare feat for games in general.
Guacamelee takes place in a vibrant, stylized version of Mexico, rife with references to pop culture and video games. This is a world in which a luchador named Juan can have superpowers and goat changelings chew him out for destroying a beloved statue, before grudgingly giving away a new power anyway. Plenty of games attempt magical realism, but the setting of Guacamelee is such a radical departure from the norm that it truly feels like anything can happen. The game is also genuinely funny. Its dialogue and nods to other games often surprised me by eliciting actual laughter, a rare feat for games in general.