Mariachi Legends

Release Date: 2025

Action, platformers, 2D, metroidvania, crowdfunding, indie games, side-scroll, action adventure, singleplayer

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An action platformer metroidvania. Mariachi Legends is set in a Mexican town and has us playing as a detective, hired by Death to reclaim a magical amulet capable of shaking the worlds of the living and the dead.

Plot
Mechanics
Technical aspects

Mariachi Legends is a metroidvania action platformer. It was developed by Halberd Studios, an indie Mexican team also known for 9 Years of Shadows. The game was succesfully crowdfunded on Kickstarter.

Plot

Mariachi Legends is set in the Mexican town of Santa Mascota, where the living and the dead co-exist. The main character - detective Pablo Cruz - was hired by Death itself. Under the guise of the titular mariachi, he must take back a mighty talisman from the evil mayor Emilio Obregon. If he fails, Don Obregon will awaken an undead army, shaking the world of the living and undermining Death's authority.

Mechanics

Mariachi Legends is a side-scroller. As we traverse haciendas, taverns, churches and ancient ruins, we must complete quests, gather clues and get to know the people of Santa Mascota. We'll also face numerous enemies inspired by Mexican and Aztec folklore.

The player must stay mobile, avoid and parry enemy attacks, fight them with our saber and counter their blows. The protagonist wields many abilities, such as La Sombra, which lets us vanish and appear unexpectedly to strike down our foes.

Good reflexes are needed not only in combat but also during exploration. As we wander around Santa Mascota we must jump on platforms, avoid obstacles and traps. All stages are connected and we must acquire specific abilities to reach specific places.

There are unlocked and upgraded through Tarot cards, gathered as we progress through the game. We can also make Cruz stronger by acquiring recipes and cooking meals. There are various modifiers we can use to adjust gameplay to our preferences.

In-between investigations and combat we can rest at our home, serving as our base of operations. As we progress, we collect antiques we can decorate its interior with.