Impressions from Guacamelee’s downloadable Costume Pack

Recently everyone’s favorite Metroidvania + luchador simulator was granted its first batch of downloadable content in the form of a costume pack. It’s a little too minuscule for a full review, but since I loved the hell out of Guacamelee and we were fortunate enough to receive a voucher for said content, the worst I could do was post some brief impressions. Straight from the press release, here’s what Guacamelee’s costume pack entails:  

POLLO LUCHADOR: Players will love the soothing caress of an always-regenerating health meter just as much as the soothing caress of their full-body chicken suit. Is that velvet? Just try to ignore the fact that stamina doesn’t regenerate as quickly.

SKELETON: Undead luchador not undead enough for combatants? Become even MORE undead! Gamers can tear through enemies with the implacable stamina of an angry, brittle bone-person, but don’t expect much help from health pickups.

IDENTITY SWAP: Cats are barking and dogs meowing! Tostada is dressed as a brawny wrestler! Juan is spooky and bandage-wrapped! These alternate forms of the main characters have tougher punches, but can’t throw for beans. 

More than simple aesthetic changes, each outfit has a risk/reward by noticeable altering Juan or Tostada’s base stats. The chicken suit (Pollo Luchador) borrows the stamina meter’s regenerative properties while slowing that stamina meter. Likewise, Skeleton insanely boosts the stamina meter at the cost of efficient health pickups. Swapping identities, as the name implies, puts an rewards brawling more so than grappling.

This is all well and good, but the costume pack also boasts new trophies. It doesn’t actually include any new content, just additional challenges in existing levels, but it provides a nice incentive to return to a game I 100%’d a few months ago.

It’s not a lot of content, but for $1.99 it doesn’t really have to be. If you enjoyed Guacamelee and need the slightest provocation to return to its world (or can’t deny the compulsion to restore your trophy percentage to 100%), the costume pack’s got you covered. 

 

Eric Layman is available to resolve all perceived conflicts by 1v1'ing in Virtual On through the Sega Saturn's state-of-the-art NetLink modem.