Mariachi Legends: Dark Metroidvania for 2026
Perhaps one of the most attractive indie projects launching next year: Mariachi Legends presents itself as a dark metroidvania heavily inspired by Mexican folklore, which, while it contains plenty of regionalisms, has also been widely spread through movies, series, and videogames. Classics like Coco (2017) from Disney – PIXAR, just to mention at least one title, have had a very wide international reach, allowing people all over the world to learn a lot about the culture, tradition, and identity of Mexico.
In this case, we are talking about the second videogame from the indie developer Halberd Studios, who had already taken a first stab at the metroidvania genre with its first title, 9 Years of Shadows (2023). Now, their current proposal reminds us quite a bit of some icons of the same genre, within the “reverse horror” style, like Carrion (2020), just to mention one. A very well used pixel art visual style, hand drawn animations, and the typical colors of Mexican folklore, promise an adventure that will hook us for many hours, where we will see the dead come back to life! Here is what the Mariachi Legends Trailer looks like, courtesy of GameTrailers on YouTube:
Welcome to Santa Mascota
Santa Mascota is a small town known for its lively streets, its inhabitants full of life and, more recently, a streak of bad luck wrapped in danger. Someone has to bring good fortune back to Santa Mascota, and it turns out we are exactly the ones for the job, considering our personal track record… Mariachi Legends is a brutal pixel art metroidvania, focused on combat, set in the heart of Mexico.
Here we play as Pablo Cruz, a detective who has made a deal with Death herself. She has granted Pablo the ability to transform into the powerful La Sombra, allowing him to take on the criminals threatening his hometown. In return, Pablo has promised to deliver to Madre Catrina the only thing that has escaped her: the man who defied her power and became immortal.
Mariachi Legends puts us in the shoes of a peculiar antihero, and it reminds us of the best representatives of the metroidvania genre. Without trying too hard, we can recall some of the most iconic Castlevania games, like Symphony of the Night (1997), because of the agility of its protagonist, or the gore in some executions, which, without a doubt, at least for me personally, still reminds me of Carrion. But don’t worry, beyond the similarities, Mariachi Legends stands on its own thanks to several characteristics.
Its combat style puts our reflexes to the test with a unique combat system where we customize our offensive and defensive abilities, enjoying spectacular powers and finishers. On top of that, our detective skills help us find abandoned corpses, interrogate suspects, and solve the mystery behind the deaths that haunt the town.
Despite being a side scrolling game, Santa Mascota offers us a huge map, packed with the living, the dead, and countless characters to interact with, many of whom give us access to side quests. The wide range of weapons and sub weapons we have access to also lets us customize our playstyle, making exploring the streets and alleys of the city a dynamic and colorful experience.
As if all of that were not enough, we also experience a Day, Night, and Full Moon system, which gives us numerous and different opportunities to revisit places, each time with unique changes that benefit and redefine each area. And if we also find the Sun and Moon Doors, we can interact with them at the right moment to unlock hidden areas and valuable collectibles, but we must watch out for the nocturnal creatures, which give new life to territories we have already conquered.
So…
You have probably already noticed, but just in case, here we go: Mariachi Legends has several of the best features of more than one genre, which makes it a unique combo. The character progression of good RPGs, the agility of the most iconic metroidvanias, and the gore of reverse horror games we have gotten to know over the last few years. And on top of all that, it adds a deep story, loaded with the folklore and Mexican traditions that all of us already find so attractive.
Mariachi Legends will launch during Q2 2026, and it will be available for Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series, PS5, and PC via Steam. As usual, below you will find the link to its page on Valve’s platform, so you can add it to your Wishlist right now. And since we have time, it would be awesome if you drop by the comments and tell us what you think about this awesome proposal from Halberd Studios. You know gamer, we’ll be reading you! 😉
Images Source: GameTrailers Official YouTube Channel, Mariachi Legends on Steam
