Guacamelee! 2 Review Summary

Dynamic combat and outstanding platforming elevate this improved sequel, but frustrating difficulty, poor controls, and a lack of innovation hold it back.

Fun and dynamic combat: Combat is described as fun, flashy, satisfying, and fast-paced, with fluid combos and good feedback. The system is competent, responsive, and integrates well with platforming, making encounters enjoyable.

Improved sequel maintains quality: Players widely agree that this game improves upon the first title, offering a more complete and refined experience while keeping all the brilliant elements that made the original great. It is seen as a worthy continuation that surpasses its predecessor.

Outstanding platforming mechanics: Platforming is consistently praised for being tight, precise, ambitious, and satisfying, with well-designed puzzles and challenges. The high quality and variety make it a standout feature that pushes player abilities to the limit while remaining fair.

Witty and funny writing: The game’s writing is genuinely witty and humorous, with smart jokes, silly situations, and a lighthearted tone. Humor is a highlight that complements the gameplay and story effectively.

Enhanced chicken form abilities: The chicken form has been greatly improved with new moves, abilities, and special moves, making it viable and useful for gameplay. Players appreciate the expanded mechanics and focus on this form.

Frustrating platforming difficulty: Numerous reviews highlight frustrating platforming sections with tight precision, high difficulty, and instant-death traps, often requiring memorization and trial-and-error, which many found obnoxious.

Poor controls and input issues: Players reported numerous control problems such as input lag, dropped inputs, imprecise movements, and uncomfortable button layouts, especially on keyboard, making precision sections frustrating.

Lack of innovation: Many players found the game too similar to its predecessor, with reused content, abilities, and gimmicks, leading to a feeling of déjà vu and little originality.

Not a true metroidvania: A consistent complaint is that the game is linear and lacks exploration, feeling more like a corridor-based platformer than a metroidvania, with gated progression and minimal interconnectivity.

Weak story and humor: The narrative is often described as paltry, forgettable, or boring, with too many memes and meta jokes that detract from the experience rather than enhancing it.

Metroidvania with ability gating: The game is frequently described as a Metroidvania with progression upgrades, ability gating, backtracking, and exploration. Players note the combination of platforming, combat, and puzzle elements that define the genre.

Hybrid brawler and Metroidvania: A mashup of beat-em-up and Metroidvania genres is highlighted, with many reviews emphasizing the blend of sidescrolling brawler combat with Metroidvania progression and platforming.

Chicken transformation abilities: The chicken form is a key gameplay mechanic, offering new moves, traversal options like grapple and dash, and enhanced combat. Players mention various abilities tied to this transformation.

Challenging platforming and combat: The game is noted for its difficult but rewarding platforming and combat, with precise jumps, traps, and enemy weaknesses. Players find the challenge balanced and engaging.

Dual-purpose abilities: Abilities serve both combat and platforming, with mechanics like world-switching between life and death dimensions affecting both puzzles and enemy encounters.

Performance is good on low/medium hardware.: Users report stable frame rates above 40 FPS with modest hardware, such as a GeForce 840M at 1600x900 resolution, and no significant slowdowns during gameplay.

Fan of original required: The game is strongly recommended for players who enjoyed the first Guacamelee. Many reviews state that fans of the first game will love this sequel, while those who disliked the first should skip it.

Play first game first: A significant number of reviewers insist on playing the first Guacamelee before this one, citing story continuity, mechanical familiarity, and avoiding spoilers. Some even suggest playing the first instead of this sequel.

Strong platforming challenge: The game features intense, precision-based platforming that appeals to skilled platformer fans. However, it is not recommended for those who dislike difficult jump sequences, instant deaths, or challenging movement.

Great for metroidvania fans: The game is highly praised as a top-tier metroidvania, recommended for fans of the genre and even as an entry point for beginners. It is considered a must-play among metroidvania enthusiasts.

Casual players beware: Multiple reviews warn that the difficulty, especially in platforming and later challenges, makes the game unsuitable for casual players or those with poor hand-eye coordination. Several suggest playing only the main story for a lighter experience.

Community fair range: $10.00 - $20.00.

Game completion: 17.0h.

Story completion: 10.0h.

Guacamelee 2 starts fun with its abilities and humor, but combat and exploration become repetitive by mid-game, reducing enjoyment for many players.

Series Veterans: Uses skills from the first game, explores thoroughly, completes side content, often aims for 100%. Motivation: To experience more of the same luchador metroidvania with improved mechanics and humor. Stance: buy.

Co-op Enthusiasts: Plays cooperatively, shares lives, revives teammates, tackles challenges together. Motivation: To enjoy chaotic fun with friends in local multiplayer. Stance: buy.

Hardcore Platforming Fans: Plays solo, methodical, seeks precision, often aims for full completion and achievements. Motivation: To overcome difficult platforming and combat challenges. Stance: sale.

Steam Deck: The most impactful user feedback indicates severe control issues leading to frequent deaths, making the game unplayable. The controls are described as unpredictable and unjustifiable, pointing to a broken experience on Steam Deck.

Monetization: The game requires additional purchases to access challenge levels, character costumes, and associated achievements, which users see as deliberate content fragmentation. While no pay-to-win or currency obfuscation exists, the paid DLC locks meaningful gameplay progression.