Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition

Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition is an expanded version of the metroidvania inspired by Mexican luchador folklore, released on Wii U as a downloadable title with all the content from previous DLC packs plus several new game modes. Playing as farmer Juan, who gains supernatural powers and a luchador mask after dying, the player runs through a colorful, humor-packed world inspired by Mexican mythology and the Day of the Dead, full of pop-culture nods as well as references to its own gaming classics. The game combines platforming exploration with a combat system drawing on beat 'em up classics and modern fighting games, where combining strikes, grabs, and throws decides survival in enclosed arenas full of enemies.

A key element is switching between the world of the living and the world of the dead, which opens new paths and reveals hidden platforms, placing the game squarely in the metroidvania tradition with gradually unlocked movement abilities such as a double jump, wall dash, or ground-pound attack. On Wii U the controls benefited from precisely landing jumps and combo attacks that require practiced rhythm, especially in two-player co-op on a single screen, where teamwork during fights against crowds of enemies is one of the game's greatest joys. The visual style, with a bold, saturated palette and detailed backgrounds, along with music built on Mexican motifs and mariachi instruments, give the game an unmistakable identity.

Both the original game and this expanded edition received acclaim for their originality, humor, and precision of the combat system, making Guacamelee! one of the most cited indie titles of its generation and inspiring its own sequel. Viewed today, the game still offers a fresh combination of comedic exaggeration and finely crafted action that holds up next to newer metroidvanias, and Super Turbo Championship Edition remains the most complete form of that experience.

Why play it: Thanks to the originality, humor, and precisely crafted combat system that made Guacamelee! one of the most cited indie titles of its generation, Super Turbo Championship Edition is its most complete form.