Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition Review: To death and back

Many might think that Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition is just an updated version of an already available game, but the truth is that this new version actually packs in the El Infierno DLC, as well as whole new areas and a new boss.

It's no secret that we loved the original Guacamelee! and it's take on the Metroidvania genre. There are some really welcome tweaks here that make the game even better. For one, every enemy now has a floating healthbar, which makes fights less of a guessing and more about tactics. It also negates confusion when you're switching between many enemies. You also get awarded Silver Coins, which can be used to purchase many of the game's various costumes for Juan and his co-op partner.

The new area and boss are actually woven into the main narrative in such a way that you might even not realize that anything's different. It's so masterfully integrated that it feels like it's been in there the whole time.

Excerpt from our original review by David Sanchez:

You don the wrestling mask of Juan, an agave farmer who lived a simple life before being killed by the vile Carlos Calaca and returning from the dead as a luchador. Juan sets out to search for El Presidente’s Daughter, a lovely young lady who’s been kidnapped by Calaca so the evil charro can go through with a wicked ritual in an attempt to rule over the worlds of the living and dead. While you could certainly take these themes and build a serious tone around them, Drinkbox decided to go in a completely different direction, starring a cast of hilarious villains who always have plenty of comical quips to throw your way.

As a luchador, Juan has a nice arsenal of moves that can be employed to dispose of Calaca’s beastly and undead minions. In addition to punching your enemies senseless, you can also toss weakened foes across the screen and even knock dudes into each other. As you brawl your way through waves of bad guys, you earn money that can be used to purchase upgrades at Day of the Dead save altars. While you begin with a few basic attacks, it doesn’t take long for you to earn enough cash to buy pulverizing piledrivers, suplexes, and punt kicks. Pulling off these moves drains your stamina meter, but throughout your adventure you’ll come across health and stamina upgrades, a few of which can be purchased.

The game still features the same great combat with various grapples to finish your enemies off with, but a new addition to this version is Intenso Mode. This mode essentially allows you to turn invincible and deal a crazy amount of damage for a short duration. Purists might be put off by the inclusion of this mode, since it does make some of the harder encounters a lot easier, especially since you can upgrade the duration of it.

Even if you've already played through Guacamelee! when it first made its rounds on the PS3 and Vita, the Super Turbo Championship Edition is packed with enough new content and tweaks, that it more than begs you to dive right back in and bust some skulls.