Platinum Medal #24: Guacamole! 2
Date Received: 18 November 2020
Dopamine Index:
You don’t often hear the Guacamelee series come up in discussions about the best Metroidvania games these days, but I think it deserves that recognition.
I love both of these luchador feats. Both are solidly designed, the controls are smooth, and the level of challenge feels just right.
The only thing I think you can really say against them is that maybe some of the comics are a little older, but there are very few shows that do this kind of Saturday morning cartoon style that I think they can get away with.
I reviewed the sequel, and even though it treads on the same ground as the original, the additions it makes are smart and expand things enough without making the action too heavy. It’s a great game.
Guacamelee 2 was released back in August 2018, and when the update was done I pretty much forgot about it, that’s the endless march of what’s next if you’re in a job like this.
I got a bunch of game medals while playing for the site; I probably could have gotten platinum sooner, but I went ahead and that was it.
It wasn’t until more than two years later that I returned to the game to polish the trophy list.
Any die-hard fans of Going Platinum should know that I don’t make a habit of replaying games these days, and one of the few trophies I had left was beating the game on Hard hardy. In other words, play it again, but everything is tight.
Another thing you should know about me: I’m a normal tough guy. Playing anything on hard difficulty is just not my style. I can’t think of another example of going overboard. Actually, I can think of one, but that’s for another time.
Anyway, the reason I went back to Guacamelee 2 was partly for the science, and partly for the Trophies.
Sony had just introduced a new Trophy level system, and I had it in my head that I could test how much platinum would increase my level, to try to understand the value.
The truth is that was a good thinly veiled excuse to add another one to my collection. With this so called exploration I remember going through my previous games looking for an almost complete Trophy list. Guacamelee 2 was the best I could do.
But yes, it would mean playing the entire game again on Hard mode, and picking up a straggle or two along the way.
I think it would be nice if I could learn about Trophy values in the new rating system while I’m at it.
What really happened was that I didn’t learn anything about that, and instead I just fell in love with the game again.
I love the vivid art style, the smart characters, the fast-paced combat, the range of abilities you unlock — it’s honestly one of my favorite Metroidvanias I’ve played.
The funny thing is that I don’t remember it that too hard on Hard? I mean I had already played it but that was years ago. There must have been some pain points but I can’t think of anything.
That’s the best, right? I was expecting the hard difficulty to be the hardest, but instead I just walked away from Guacamelee 2 with a lot of love.
Congratulations, Guacamelee 2.
Do you have the platinum Trophy for Guacamelee 2? Tell us in the comment section below.