Info about Guacamelee! 2:

Official game description:
Brawling has never been more beautiful! The long-awaited sequel to the smash hit action-platformer is here: _Guacamelee! 2_ brings luchador Juan Aguacate out of retirement for a stunning new Metroidvania-style adventure.  
Explore a huge, hand-crafted world inspired by Mexican culture and folklore, filled with sassy new villains and weirdos (and a few old friends!). Learn a deep repertoire of bone-crunching moves to fend off the skeletal hordes and overcome a multitude of platforming challenges.
...and who said anything about a Chicken Illuminati? Certainly not us!
Key Features:
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*   New moves like Eagle Boost, Pollo Shot and more add to Juan’s arsenal of combat and platforming abilities.
*   New powers for Juan’s chicken form! Ridiculous chicken-based platforming, combat and exploration. More chicken than you’ll be able to handle (probably).
*   An epic adventure through the worlds of the living and the dead, across rifts in time and space -- more gorgeous than ever thanks to a fancy new rendering engine.
*   Bigger maps, twice as many enemy types as the first game, and a roster of eccentric new bosses.
*   Discover “trainers” from around the world, defeat their challenges, and upgrade your abilities.
*   Soundtrack featuring new music from the composers of the original Guacamelee! OST, plus tracks from special guests Mariachi Entertainment System!
*   Drop-in / drop-out 4-player local co-op through the entire story.

Release date: Aug 21, 2018

Categories: Metroidvania, Beat 'em up, Action Platformer, 2D Platformer, Cooperative Multiplayer, Local Multiplayer, Combo-based Combat, Skill Tree Progression System

Feature scans:
- MTX: score 35; verdict: Aggressive DLC model; summary: 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.
- Steam Deck: score 75; verdict: Broken Controls - Unplayable; summary: 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.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $10.00 - $20.00
  - Reasoning: Reviews consistently recommend waiting for a sale, citing a sale price under $10, while also acknowledging the game is worth full price. This indicates the base price is higher than $10 but still considered fair by those willing to pay full price. The affordable discount price suggests the base price is reasonable but not excessive, aligning with typical Metroidvania pricing. The community sentiment points to a base price range that justifies sale value and full-price purchase, likely between $15 and $20.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 17.0h
  - Story completion: 10.0h
  - Session length: N/A
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The 17-hour claim directly supports game completion time for the good ending (collecting all key pieces). The 7-12 hour range and the 10-hour average both support story completion, with 10 hours being a common estimate from multiple reviews.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: Guacamelee 2 starts fun with its abilities and humor, but combat and exploration become repetitive by mid-game, reducing enjoyment for many players.
  - Stance: Fun then drops
  - Anchor: Mid-game combat repetition
  - Time to anchor: N/A
  - Friction: N/A
  - Unlock drivers: N/A
  - Conditions: N/A
- Player Archetypes:
  - Series Veterans (buy)
    - Motivation: To experience more of the same luchador metroidvania with improved mechanics and humor
    - Playstyle: Uses skills from the first game, explores thoroughly, completes side content, often aims for 100%
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: Guacamelee 1
  - Co-op Enthusiasts (buy)
    - Motivation: To enjoy chaotic fun with friends in local multiplayer
    - Playstyle: Plays cooperatively, shares lives, revives teammates, tackles challenges together
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Hardcore Platforming Fans (sale)
    - Motivation: To overcome difficult platforming and combat challenges
    - Playstyle: Plays solo, methodical, seeks precision, often aims for full completion and achievements
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: N/A


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Fun and dynamic combat (weight 0.44): 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 (weight 0.41): 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 (weight 0.4): 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 (weight 0.36): 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 (weight 0.35): 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.
- Excellent graphics and music (weight 0.26): The visual design is vibrant, charming, and unique, while the soundtrack and sound effects are exceptional. Together, they create an immersive and appealing audio-visual experience.
- Four-player cooperative mode (weight 0.26): The game supports local and remote four-player co-op, including drop-in/drop-out functionality, allowing up to three friends to join. This feature is well-received and enhances the multiplayer experience.
- Rewarding optional challenges (weight 0.18): Optional content provides satisfying and rewarding challenges that test player skill, despite their difficulty. These tasks add replay value and a sense of accomplishment for completing them.
- New impactful abilities (weight 0.17): Players enjoy the many new abilities and powers, each feeling impactful and adding fresh gameplay mechanics. These abilities integrate smoothly with the game’s systems and enhance the overall experience.
- Challenging hard mode (weight 0.1): A hard mode unlocked after beating the game offers increased difficulty beyond simple stat changes, providing a greater challenge for skilled players. This is appreciated for its depth and fairness.

Common complaints:
- Frustrating platforming difficulty (weight 0.79): 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 (weight 0.61): 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 (weight 0.56): 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 (weight 0.48): 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 (weight 0.45): 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.
- Disappointing bosses (weight 0.31): Boss fights are widely considered inferior to the first game, being too few, too easy, or lacking memorability and challenge, with some noting the final boss is especially underwhelming.
- DLC locked content (weight 0.31): A significant criticism is that achievements, costumes, and challenge levels are locked behind paid DLCs, making full completion feel like a cash grab that withholds content from the base game.
- Exploration is too linear (weight 0.26): The game's progression is criticized for being too linear, with little room for exploration or discovery, and a map that often shows everything, reducing the sense of adventure.
- Performance and visual issues (weight 0.25): Some players experienced performance problems, lack of 4K support, and visual quirks like dark graphics, motion blur that can't be disabled, and ambiguous foreground/background elements.
- Missing features and modes (weight 0.25): Players noted the absence of features from the first game, such as the Intense mode, Steam Workshop, online multiplayer, and resolution/ultra-widescreen support, as a downgrade.
- Combat feels bland and repetitive (weight 0.24): Combat is described as unsatisfying, repetitive, and lacking depth, with few new moves and overpowered abilities that reduce challenge, especially when compared to the first game.
- 100% completion too tedious (weight 0.22): Achieving 100% completion requires excessive backtracking, challenging optional content, and DLC purchases, which many found to be a chore rather than enjoyable.
- Backtracking and map issues (weight 0.22): The map has few teleport points and poor placement, leading to tedious backtracking for collectibles and objectives, which feels like wasted time rather than enjoyable exploration.
- Instant death mechanics overused (weight 0.22): Many reviews express frustration with the excessive use of instant-death traps and spikes, which feel unfair and ruin the flow of gameplay, especially in platforming sections.
- Slow start to game (weight 0.2): The beginning of the game is frequently criticized for being slow, exposition-heavy, and offering limited abilities or interesting content, which can deter early engagement.
- Local co-op only, no online (weight 0.16): The lack of online multiplayer co-op is a disappointment for many, especially since the first game had online support, limiting the game's accessibility for remote play.
- Game is too short for price (weight 0.15): Some players felt the main story is relatively short (7-15 hours) and lacks replay value, making the game seem overpriced compared to other indie titles in the genre.
- Hard mode locked at start (weight 0.09): Hard mode is not available from the beginning, forcing players to play through the game on normal first, which veterans found restrictive and disappointing.

Gameplay feedback:
- Metroidvania with ability gating (weight 0.51): 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 (weight 0.39): 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 (weight 0.32): 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 (weight 0.27): 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 (weight 0.23): Abilities serve both combat and platforming, with mechanics like world-switching between life and death dimensions affecting both puzzles and enemy encounters.
- Mexican cultural theme (weight 0.16): The Metroidvania setting draws heavily from Mexican and Spanish culture, including luchador themes and folklore, which adds unique flavor to the world and gameplay.
- Combo-based combat system (weight 0.13): Combat is combo-driven and fast-paced, with a focus on brawler-style moves like wrestling throws and chicken form attacks. Players enjoy the fluid, action-oriented fighting.
- Local cooperative multiplayer (weight 0.13): The game supports local drop-in co-op for up to four players, enhancing replayability. This feature is noted as a strong social element.
- Skill tree progression (weight 0.1): A skill tree with upgrades requiring gold and specific usage is available, allowing players to customize their abilities and combat style over time.
- Balanced moderate difficulty (weight 0.1): Difficulty is described as moderate and balanced, neither too easy nor overly frustrating, making it accessible to a wide range of players.
- Special good ending requirement (weight 0.09): A chicken dance mechanic and a special key/door are needed for the true ending, adding a layer of hidden objectives for completionists.

Performance notes:
- Performance is good on low/medium hardware. (weight 0.08): 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.

Recommendations:
- Fan of original required (weight 0.51): 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 (weight 0.33): 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 (weight 0.33): 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 (weight 0.3): 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 (weight 0.24): 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.
- Good for genre newcomers (weight 0.23): The game is recommended as an excellent entry point for players new to metroidvanias or platformers, offering a polished experience that is accessible yet deep.
- High initial recommendation (weight 0.18): Many reviews give a generic but strong recommendation, calling the game a must-have or excellent without specific caveats. This indicates broad positive consensus.
- Good value full price (weight 0.16): The game is considered worth its full price, with some quoting €20 or noting good value for the main story and achievements. However, a few mention waiting for a sale due to short length.
- Fun writing and style (weight 0.15): The game's writing, art direction, and Mexican-themed humor are widely praised, making the experience enjoyable despite some mechanical flaws.
- Sequel improves on original (weight 0.15): The game is seen as a fantastic sequel that builds upon the first with better visuals and mechanics. Some even recommend newcomers start with this one for its polish and lower difficulty.
- Not for Castlevania fans (weight 0.14): The game is explicitly not recommended for fans of Castlevania, suggesting it does not meet the same metroidvania expectations. It may disappoint those seeking a darker exploration style.
- Better than first? (weight 0.14): Opinions are mixed on whether the sequel surpasses the original. While many prefer the first game, others find this one equally good or better, especially in co-op.
- Frustration with 100% (weight 0.13): Completing the game fully is described as frustrating and not fun, with poor checkpointing and extreme challenges. The 100% content is only for dedicated completionists or experts.
- Not for general audience (weight 0.1): The game is considered niche and not recommended for a broad audience, only for those who already enjoy the genre or the series. Several reviews explicitly state this.
- Co-op enhances experience (weight 0.1): Playing in co-op significantly improves the game, making it more fun and accessible. It is recommended for fans of the genre looking for a multiplayer experience.
- Slight performance issues (weight 0.08): Some reviews mention minor technical hitches or design flaws, such as cluttered writing or constant dialogue interruptions, but these are not deal-breakers for most.
- Avoid if awful checkpoint (weight 0.08): Poor checkpointing is a notable negative, making difficult sections even more punishing. This is a specific warning for those who dislike retrying long sections.
- Controller recommended (weight 0.07): Reviewers strongly advise using a controller, as keyboard controls are said to triple the difficulty. The game is optimized for gamepad play.
- Korean localization good (weight 0.03): One review highlights excellent Korean localization, which may be relevant for Korean-speaking players seeking a smooth, translated experience.

Other player notes:
No miscpoints

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.22): The primary causes of frustration are excessive difficulty in platforming sections, including instant-death mechanics, lack of checkpoints, and precise execution requirements. Additionally, tedious backtracking, forced memorization, and input issues such as dropped inputs and controller lag compound the negative experience.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.18): Players enjoy the vibrant art style, humor, and references, as well as the smooth combat and fluid movement. The chicken form abilities, co-op mode, and overall fun platforming and fighting contribute to a positive and engaging experience.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.16): Satisfaction stems from overcoming challenging platforming and combat encounters, which provide a sense of accomplishment after mastering abilities. The game's responsive combat, well-designed progression, and rewarding exploration also contribute to a fulfilling gameplay loop.
- Disappointment (weight 0.13): Disappointment arises from a perceived lack of innovation, with the sequel feeling too similar to its predecessor. Issues such as easy bosses, reduced exploration, unbalanced difficulty, weak story, and a short playtime diminish the overall experience, along with reliance on meme humor and poorly placed quick travel points.
- Excitement (weight 0.09): Excitement is generated by the improved chicken abilities, engaging combat, challenging platforming puzzles, and a compelling story with meta humor. The game is seen as a worthy sequel that expands content and mechanics, with dynamic visuals and enjoyable co-op gameplay.
- Amusement (weight 0.07): Amusement comes from the game's clever humor, pop culture references, and meta jokes, including memorable elements like the chicken form noise and RPG dimension. The self-aware comedy and absurd storylines provide consistent laughs and entertaining moments.
- Admiration (weight 0.04): Admiration is driven by the game's excellent art style, tight controls, and satisfying difficulty, which are praised as improvements over the first game. The overall design, iconic characters, and integration of music are seen as masterful, earning the game a top spot in the metroidvania genre.
- Appreciation (weight 0.03): Appreciation is expressed for the game's cultural representation, humor, and quality, reflecting the developers' dedication. Improvements over the original, such as co-op mechanics and a beautiful art style, are noted, along with the strong Mexican/Latin American atmosphere.
- Annoyance (weight 0.02): Annoyance is caused by recycled enemy designs, excessive reliance on meme humor, and intrusive references like the wonderwall meme. Control issues, such as accidental inputs and complex button combinations, along with DLC requirements for achievements, also irritate players.
- Joy (weight 0.02): Joy is experienced through the humorous story, smooth combat, and enjoyable co-op, with the goat humor and frequent homages eliciting laughter. The well-crafted gameplay and additional powers create a wonderful and fun overall experience.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.02): Nostalgia is felt due to the game being a continuation of the first, with familiar characteristics, references, and similar mechanics. Comparisons to the original evoke fond memories and a sense of returning to a beloved world.
- Boredom (weight 0.02): Boredom results from a bland story, repetitive gameplay, and overly easy boss fights, which fail to hold interest. The linear maps and lack of challenge for experienced players contribute to a tedious and unengaging experience.
- Fun (weight 0.02): Fun is derived from the overall entertaining gameplay, including challenges like the egg temple platforming. The funny moments, nice soundtrack, and cool combos, despite some frustrating sections, make the game extremely enjoyable.
- Love (weight 0.01): Players love the innovative gameplay, fun story, loveable characters, and excellent music and fighting. The game is described as beautiful, fluid, and humorous, with pop culture references adding to the appeal.
- Surprise (weight 0.01): Surprise comes from the game exceeding expectations, especially regarding the difficulty of the true ending and overall quality. Enjoying a metroidvania despite genre preferences and the game being better than anticipated are key factors.
- Gratitude (weight 0.01): Gratitude is expressed for the enjoyment of both games, with thankful regard to friends for gifting the game and helping combat boredom. The gratification from completing complex puzzles also contributes to this emotion.
- Anger (weight 0.01): Anger arises from the game being a linear experience disguised as a metroidvania, with platforming harder than Silksong and non-cancellable moves causing unfair damage. The Crucible chicken parkour room for the good ending and malicious level design further fuel this emotion.
- Happiness (weight 0.01): Happiness is achieved through the fun metroidvania gameplay and heartfelt story moments, such as Juan returning to his family. The sincere narrative and engaging platforming create a positive and joyful experience.
- Sadness (weight 0.01): Sadness is felt because the game is underrated and not popular, with a sense of failure compared to the first game. The emotional weight of the story, like Juan missing his kids, also evokes melancholy.
- Dislike (weight 0): Dislike is specifically directed at the floaty controls and sticky wall mechanics, which hinder the gameplay experience. These issues detract from the overall enjoyment and precision expected from a platformer.}