It started out well enough, with some simple combos and the inclusion of the grab mechanic to throw dudes around. The enemy variety was pretty satisfying, with flying enemies, ground-based melee enemies, and underground enemies. I was having good fun with it, and it complimented the Metroidvania-style exploration quite nicely. However, the moment the coloured shields came in to play, it was absolute havoc. Having to deal with 4 different types of shields on every kind of enemy makes dealing with even simple waves of enemies an absolute nightmare. Having to surface the underground enemies and then break their shields with a different move than what was required to bring them up, all while dealing with each of the other types of enemies who have their own shields that make them unkillable, it just isn't fun. The game is not spacing out the introductions of these new mechanics, given its short length, and just when I'm beginning to get a handle on how to efficiently deal with enemies, a new wrinkle is in the mix. I'm just not enjoying it. Every time an area turns into a combat arena, it becomes a frustrating guessing game of when it's safe to attack, or when an animation will be cut off by an enemy and ruin my combos.

I agree with you a bit, the game has some pretty harsh difficulty spikes in the back half of the game. I found a handful of the platforming sections to be the hardest part, where switching between the living and dead world mid air while wall jumping back and forth to be very frustrating.

Just wait until you get to the end boss, that was what broke me. I never did beat it. I don't think there's ever been a game that I've gotten all the way to the end boss and simply not been able to do it, besides this one. I even watched youtube videos on people breezing through it untouched, but not me and my old man reflexes.

It wasn't thard hard for me. I'm sorry for you guys. Let's hug.

Your second sentence is what pissed me off about the game and made me hate it for a while. The boss was actually pretty easy. It was only hard when you try to beat him without losing health. I think that was the trophy.

I thought Jaguar Javier was way more difficult than Carlos Calaca. His attacks just seemed a lot more unpredictable, whereas Carlos had patterns you could memorize.

Not sure what to say that could help. Are you dodging a lot? This game has one hell of a dodge which I found made the combat fairly easy for the most part. It might sound kind of obvious but I find sometimes I focus too much on the offensive aspects of combat in a game and need to take a step back and play a more balanced style.

Yeah I didn't like it either. It was too button mashy and throwing people wasn't particularly fun.

Man, people really coming out of the woodwork. Didn't realize the gameplay was so contentious in this game. Though yeah, I did get the sense it was a pretty by-the-numbers "Hey, we made a slightly different Metroidvania". Art sure looks cool.

Started this eons ago on PS3 and switched over to Vita just recently. Wouldn't have thought it works as well as it does on a smaller scale. Well, that is 'cept for some of those platforming scenes which caused a good chunck of F-*Cluster*bombs to fly all over the house. I'm almost at the final boss, but those goddamned priests...really nice from them to introduce new enemies this near to the end! Maybe I'll beat it eventually, but just a few moments ago I was ready to snap my Vita to half. Finall boss will probably be even more of a pain in the arse, but eh...

That being said, the combat is fine for me, even if frustrating at times.

Just wait until you see the treetop bonus area, I don't know how anybody can beat that.