Guacamelee!

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Guacamelee! is a 2013 Metroidvania plataformer developed by DrinkBox Studios.

Juan Aguacate is just a common farmer in a small village in Mexico. One day, his childhood friend (only called in-game as "El Presidente's Daughter") returns to his village for the festival of Dia de Los Muertos. Just after Juan meets her again, the President's mansion is attacked by supernatural creatures, led by a living skeleton known as Carlos Calaca. When Juan enters the mansion, Calaca unceremoniously kills our hero.

But of course, that's not the end of the line. Inside the world of the dead, Juan meets Tostada, guardian of a magic mask that allows Juan to return to the world of the living and that has apparently chosen Juan as its wielder. Imbued with the powers given to him by the mask, Juan embarks on a quest to defeat Calaca's forces.

A sequel, Guacamelee 2, was announced in October 2017 .

Tropes used in Guacamelee! include:
  • Back from the Dead: The Mask allows Juan to be resurrected in the form a powerful luchador warrior.
  • Big Bad: Carlos Calaca, a living skeleton commanding an army of supernatural creatures, with sinister purposes in mind involving El Presidente's Daughter.
  • The Chooser of the One: Tostada's dialogue when meeting Juan implies the mask chose Juan because it has already seen the future and Juan's role in it.
  • The Chosen One: According to Tostada, The Mask had "chosen" to reveal itself to Juan, and that implies he has a "role" to play in future events.
  • Edible Theme Naming: Juam Aguacate (it means Avocado) and the Guardian Tostada.
  • Hopeless Boss Fight: Calaca immediately defeats Juan as soon as the first boss battle starts. In fact, it's more akin to a cutscene if it wasn't for the fact a boss battle-specific sequence happened before it.
  • Pro Wrestling Is Real: Calaca's dialogue before "fighting" Juan implies luchadores are more than athletic performers but real warriors in this world's universe.
  • Shipper on Deck: Fray Ayayay ships Juan and El President's Daughter hard.
  • Your Cheating Heart: Fray Ayayay comments that El Cabinet Minister's Wife had a case with El Ambassador's Son, who was apparently Juan's rival in love.