Just beat it. Final time was 9:40:21, and that includes collecting everything and 100% every area.
Will start on Hard Mode next.
Fantastic game all around. I honestly don't have many negatives or flaws with the game, only that I wish it was longer, or had more to unlock/find. Combat was one of the main highlights for me, and I felt it has some surprising variety. More than I expect from this genre, which tends to have straight forward, simple combat (use guns to shoot enemies, or use swords/whips to hit enemies). I had a great time just messing around and coming up with combo strings on the fly.
I have the bulk of the Trophies, and even though I'm not a big Trophy guy, since I only have 2 or three left, I might as well Platinum it when doing my hard playthrough (and I think one of the remaining Trophies is simply to beat it on hard mode).
Drinkbox won me over with the Tales from Space games, but Guacamelee has cemented them as an incredibly talented developer. Some of the puzzles and mixture of platforming/puzzles/powers was truly brilliant. They've really elevated their game (no pun intended) with this title. Mutant Blobs Attacks was clever and charming, and this is no different. Anyone on the fence about this title, just buy it if you have any love for platformers, puzzlers, Metroidvanias, and just well designed, polished games. I ran into one bug (the arena bug mentioned before). So what if it sits in your backlog for a few weeks. Just support this game and send the message that this is precisely the type of gaming experiences we want, and Drinkbox should be rewarded and commended.
I am eagerly awaiting what their next title is, but I have to say, I want Guacamelee to become a full blown franchise. This title was worth the $11.99 I paid for it, and it would have been worth it at $14.99. This genre has been so under-represented and I think this was a great reminder of how much fun these types of games can be.
I truly thank Drinkbox for crafting a fun, unique (the setting is truly inspired), charming, well designed entry in the Metroidvania genre. More please!
What do orbs do?
Gameplay-wise, I mean.
The orbs restore health.