Mariachi Legends strums through its Kickstarter campaign

Mariachi Legends is a combat-focused Metroidvania from Mexico's Halberd Studios. It will head to Switch and Steam after finding instant success on Kickstarter once development wraps toward the end of 2024 (but feel free to join in with a month of the campaign to go!) 

Update: The campaign is complete and Mariachi Legends made it through all of its stretch goals to deliver the what should be an awesome release late 2024. 

It is easy to see why people want the game, mixing swordplay, Mexican food, Metroids, the world of the undead and music. I haven't even looked at Kickstarters for the best part of a year, (let me know if I missed anything!) but Mariachi leaps out as a must-play (for me). 

Set in the heart of Mexico, the Mariachi Legends are a notorious and violent gang taking over the town of Santa Mascota. As local detective Pablo Cruz, who has taken a novel approach to his work by signing a deal with Death herself, he's now more than your average gumshoe. 

Death has given Pablo the ability to transform into the mighty La Sombra, giving him a more even chance against the gang, and a neat mechanic for some excellent moves and combos. And everything changes by day and night as the undead rise! 

In return, Pablo has promised Lady Death the immortal boss of the gang, Cacique, so that'll be a tough end-of-game enemy then! With superb pixel visuals, music and great characterisation, it will be another one along the lines of TimeSpinner, Chasm and many other slices of perfect portable gaming!

Backing the digital edition costs around £20 while a physical LE should be £37, and likely well worth the extra. Higher tiers include having your name on a headstone in the town's graveyard - a neat touch! 

 

Halberd's first game, 9 Years of Shadows, looked good on Steam, but there's some strong evolution with Mariachi. There's some great character art too... and if you were a fan of Guacamelee, then this should be right up your calle.