Guacamelee! 2 is another steaming-hot serving if indie-infused metroidvania action. There’s been a lot of those games lately, but few are as slick (or silly) as Guacamelee! 2. After saving the day in the previous game, our hero Juan returns to a quiet life in the Mexiverse — until an elder from another timeline stops by, requesting your help. Before long, you’re wearing the magical luchador mask and body-slamming skeletons in the “Darkest Timeline”, or the worst possible ending.
Guacamelee! 2 is a stylish combination of tight platforming, combat, and chicken-transformation. Oh, and memes. There are so, so many memes, references, and Easter eggs in this game. If you can stomach the silliness, this is an easy game to recommend for platforming purists that want a little challenge in their exploration. I’m going to break down 5 simple secrets you should probably know when you’re digging into Juan’s second quest. It’s for the good of the entire Mexiverse.
More Guacamelee! 2 guides on Gameranx:
5 Spicy Tips You Should Know | Beginner’s Guide
#1: Your Lucha Punches Are Also Your Movement Abilities
Guacamelee! 2 is all about three things — fighting, combat, and exploration. When you’re a Luchador, it’s all rolled up in a single set of super-punches. As you progress through the game, you’ll unlock uppercuts, big punches, and other abilities you can use in combat. Well, these aren’t just for fighting, mijo. Your punches can also help you reach areas you couldn’t reach before.
And I’m not just talking about breaking through blue or red barriers. You’ll need to use punches to give our hero Juan a little extra height on his jumps, or a little more horizontal length to his leaps. Learning how to combine your combat abilities with platforming and exploration is how Guacamelee! 2 works.
#2: You Can Play With Four Players – Or Play As One Of Four Different Characters
Co-op is even bigger and better in Guacamelee! 2. Now you can play with up to four friends all at the same time. All those extra punches should make any combat a breeze, but what’s even better is that you can play as multiple characters. Juan is your standard Luchador hero — you’ll also be able to play as two other female characters that kick just as much butt.
To swap characters, you just need to reach a save point and access the costume switch ability. You’ll keep everything you’ve unlocked. The only thing you change is how you look in the gameplay. The extra characters (and Juan) can even get bonus costumes. Explore every inch of the map, and return to areas you’ve already checked out to find lots of challenges that might reward you with an awesome character skin.
#3: Unlock Peso Pesado To Start Earning More Coins Right Away
As fight your way through the Mexiverse, you’ll unlock new skill trees from the various trainers you’ll encounter. For a price (paid in gold) you can unlock bonuses and abilities — you can get regenerating health, more stamina, and lots of other goodies. One of the best skills to unlock early is in the starting trainer skill set; the Peso Pesado skill.
This skill, found under the Chamoya Fitness trainer, lets you earn more gold for every enemy you defeat. More gold means more skills, which means more power to Juan. Not that it’s really required. No matter what, you’ll always earn enough gold to unlock every single skill in the game, if you stick around and keep playing long enough. But, this little skill will give you those gold coins faster. It can’t hurt, right?
#4: After Getting New Abilities, Scour Previous Areas (Or Give Old Challenges A Try)
Guacamelee! 2 is a true Metroidvania. If you’re questioning the game’s Metroid bona fides, just look at the Choozo statues — they look suspiciously similar to Super Metroid’s Chozo Statues. These statues, like a certain other namesake, give you fresh abilities that you can use to complete challenges all over the map.
Challenges are everywhere, and optional fights or secrets are hidden throughout the dungeons or free roam fields. There are nooks and crannies everywhere, and the only way to unlock full health or stamina or find all the collectibles is to search areas you’ve completed already.
Returning to old areas isn’t just about breaking through those yellow walls you couldn’t touch before. With more stamina, you might be able to complete some of the trickier platforming challenges.
#5: The Chicken Illuminati Is Real, And The Key To The Good Ending
Like the previous game, there are two different endings. The good ending is partially hidden, and if you want to unlock it, you’ll need to discover the Chicken Illuminati. That means you’ll need to finish every Chicken Challenge, and there are lots of Chicken Challenges in Guacamelee! 2.
- NOTE: Endings are not missable. You’ll always get a chance to complete everything on the map.
You can transform into a chicken whenever you want, and their abilities have been greatly expanded. Chickens naturally move faster than Juan (or any human-sized hero) and can fit in tight spaces. They can also fight enemies, or bounce of purple blocks like a pinpall. Being a chicken is way more complicated now, so you’ll need to finish all those gold temples if you want a true ending.
Got your own Guacamelee! 2 tips and tricks? Let us know what we missed in the comments!
