Mariachi Legends, an indie beat ’em up platformer inspired by Mexican folklore from developer Halberd Studios and publisher Freedom Games, has officially launched a campaign on Kickstarter today. About half of the goal has been pledged at this time.

In Mariachi Legends, players are a detective chosen by Lady Death to retrieve a powerful amulet. You’ll need the supernatural powers of a Mariachi suit to explore and survive the underworld. You can use recipes from Mexican cuisine to upgrade your abilities, or modifiers to adjust your playstyle.

Mariachi Legends is currently aiming for a 2024 release. It will be available on PC via Steam, with no word on other platform versions. Here’s the Kickstarter announcement tweet from Halberd Studios, which includes a gameplay trailer:

We are live on Kickstarter! 🪅https://t.co/5mfTfCpI1M

Play as Detective Pablo Cruz and wield the power of Death as his heroic alter-ego La Sombra in the battle against the supernatural criminal organization of the Mariachi Legends.💀 #MariachiLegends #Pixelart #Gamedev… pic.twitter.com/4DluhBYqRi

— HALBERD STUDIOS – Mariachi Legends (@HALBERDSTUDIOS) November 7, 2023

Halberd Studios is an indie dev team based in Guadalajara, and given mi familia, I can’t help but form an immediate connection with this game. However, Mariachi Legends’ trailer is an objectively extraordinary display of style, both confident and packed with culture.

The cinematic warrants a greenlit season, to be sure. But the in-game art design of Mariachi Legends is also phenomenal. There’s a distinct passion and authenticity in its world, full of vibrant colors and tiny, rewarding details throughout. The lighting and polished graphics also create a weirdly immersive sense of depth.

The trailer features a variety of environments and characters that are each distinct and interesting. So, there is clearly much to explore. And although the action and platforming look relatively straightforward, they’re also delightfully pulpy.

They’ll undoubtedly be driven by the lore, which appears to be very expansive and unique. As a result, the enemy designs and obstacles look equally novel.

Mariachi Legends could easily become one of the most accessible, yet culturally charged games in any genre. The purity of its splashy, arcade attitude and mechanics promises to be fun, first and foremost.

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