Last year, in 2014, one game came out that exploded in popularity and won over the hearts and minds of many. That game was called Shovel Knight, and many reviewers gave it high scores and declared it among their list of favourite games of all time.  And I will tell you something, I love this game too. It’s a 2D side-scroller hack and slash that pays homage to games like Ducktales, Mega Man, and so many others. It has great controls, a memorable soundtrack, one of the best stories in video gaming, and had a great amount of replayability. There is so much to love and gush over.

But here’s the thing. Over one year before that, a different game came out a similar way and gave me a much similar reaction. And the overall reception among others was mostly a glance. To be honest, I wasn’t sure why, but today, it gets the recognition it deserves. This game was called Guacamelee. It was developed by a Toronto independent company called Drinkbox Studios. Guacamelee was a Metroidvania style platformer beat-em-up that had influences from games like Super Metroid, and I’ve made it public knowledge that my favourite game of all time is Super Metroid. Guacamelee also has some amazing visuals, incredible music and gameplay that I came back to over and over again. And dare I say it, I loved this game just as much as today’s reviewers who loved Shovel Knight. In fact, and this is no joke, Guacamelee became among my list of my favourite games of all time. And yet somehow, when the game came out, I didn’t know how to put that love and desire into words for a review at the time. And now, I need to rectify this, right now. Submitted for the approval of the Review A Great Game Day 2015 society, this is an open love letter for Guacamelee! Continue reading →