This is an amazing game. It has platforming, fighting, ability progression, all very well made. Its Metascore is well deserved.

I hate fighting games, and the platforming aspect of Guacamelee! is not shown well in the videos and screenshots, so I had very low expectations for it. Aaaaand it's one of my favorite games now.
So if you think it's kinda cool, get it and you will not be disappointed. Make sure to give it some time, because the beginning is indeed underwhelming.

If you're still hesitating, a description of the gameplay follows. Contains minor gameplay spoilers (like revealing what abilities await you before you unlock them).

In Guacamelee! you unlock various abilities as you progress. But there aren't separate "fighting abilities" and "movement abilities", because they're the same thing! At first you get an "uppercut" ability, which is also a poor-man's double jump. Later you get wall-jumping, dashes, smashes, etc. and eventually the actual double jump, and more yet. All these things are very pleasant to apply in combination to reach more and more places and solve (mostly optional) difficult platforming challenges.

The parts where you kill enemies are also a lot of fun. You can do combos... throw enemies into the air, punch the ♥♥♥♥ out of them, dash to the other side, punch some more, slam them down... that's one example.
In many games where you kill things I don't see the point in blocking or using different combos, because usually mashing one button and eventually doing that one overpowered combination will do.
Here, though, dodging is something you do a lot. You need to block other enemies' attacks while you're dealing with one or a few of them. It's intuitive and accompanied with nice subtle visual effects. It's fun to anticipate enemies' attacks and dodge projectiles just in time. And of course, different enemies need different strategies. Some of them have colored shields, which require you to use a particular special attack on them first. This doesn't sound that exciting but it really adds a lot to the game in combination with other small things.

There are many characters/costumes with different stats and traits that suit different situations and playstyles.

Local co-op multiplayer... that's very nice probably. But I haven't tried it.

Difficulty... Yes, Guacamelee! is quite difficult, although most of the difficult parts are optional, as I already said. If you have some experience with platformers, you will feel right at home: the game won't be very hard, but will still feel rewarding.

Controls are nice. You can do a ton of things with relatively few keys. Keyboard is redefinable.
But I played with a controller. Buttons are not redefinable, but the controller support seems very, very good, because my very old noname controller worked perfectly, while most games mirror the 4 buttons on it...

The duration of the first playthrough can vary wildly, depending on your pace and completion rate... let's say 6-14 hours.
To get all achievements you may need 15-22 hours. All achievements are fun to get, not grindy and not missable, but some of them may be too hard for the average player.

If you don't like the theme of the game, don't worry, at first I wasn't too fond of it either. But you get used to it and it's quite nice.
And if you don't like the main character, you can change it almost right away...

★★★★★★★★★★

[b]This is an amazing game. It has platforming, fighting, ability progression, all very well made. Its Metascore is well deserved.[/b] I hate fighting games, and the platforming aspect of [i]Guacamelee![/i] is not shown well in the videos and screenshots, so I had very low expectations for it. Aaaaand it's one of my favorite games now. So if you think it's kinda cool, get it and you will not be disappointed. Make sure to give it some time, because the beginning is indeed underwhelming. If you're still hesitating, a description of the gameplay follows. Contains minor gameplay spoilers (like revealing what abilities await you before you unlock them). In [i]Guacamelee![/i] you unlock various abilities as you progress. But there aren't separate "fighting abilities" and "movement abilities", because they're the same thing! At first you get an "uppercut" ability, which is also a poor-man's double jump. Later you get wall-jumping, dashes, smashes, etc. and eventually the actual double jump, and more yet. All these things are very pleasant to apply in combination to reach more and more places and solve (mostly optional) difficult platforming challenges. The parts where you kill enemies are also a lot of fun. You can do combos... throw enemies into the air, punch the shit out of them, dash to the other side, punch some more, slam them down... that's one example. In many games where you kill things I don't see the point in blocking or using different combos, because usually mashing one button and eventually doing that one overpowered combination will do. Here, though, dodging is something you do a lot. You need to block other enemies' attacks while you're dealing with one or a few of them. It's intuitive and accompanied with nice subtle visual effects. It's fun to anticipate enemies' attacks and dodge projectiles just in time. And of course, different enemies need different strategies. Some of them have colored shields, which require you to use a particular special attack on them first. This doesn't sound that exciting but it really adds a lot to the game in combination with other small things. There are many characters/costumes with different stats and traits that suit different situations and playstyles. Local co-op multiplayer... that's very nice probably. But I haven't tried it. Difficulty... Yes, [i]Guacamelee![/i] is quite difficult, although most of the difficult parts are optional, as I already said. If you have some experience with platformers, you will feel right at home: the game won't be very hard, but will still feel rewarding. Controls are nice. You can do a ton of things with relatively few keys. Keyboard is redefinable. But I played with a controller. Buttons are not redefinable, but the controller support seems very, very good, because my very old noname controller worked perfectly, while most games mirror the 4 buttons on it... The duration of the first playthrough can vary wildly, depending on your pace and completion rate... let's say 6-14 hours. To get all achievements you may need 15-22 hours. All achievements are fun to get, not grindy and not missable, but some of them may be too hard for the average player. If you don't like the theme of the game, don't worry, at first I wasn't too fond of it either. But you get used to it and it's quite nice. And if you don't like the main character, you can change it almost right away... ★★★★★★★★★★