How to Beat Calaca, the Final Boss in Guacamelee

Drinkbox Studios’ Guacamelee, the 2D beat-em up/Metroidvania starring agave farmer turned legendary luchador Juan Aguacate culminates in a final battle with the game’s main antagonist Carlos Calaca. In classic final boss fashion, Calaca has two different forms with unique attacks that require the player to use techniques learned throughout their journey. 

This Guy’s Been Asking For a Beating Since The First Cutscene

In the first phase of the battle against Calaca, the skeleton has a protective aura surrounding him that, depending on the color, requires a different move to break. The colors of Calaca’s shield correspond to the special moves Juan learned throughout the game.

• Red: Use the Rooster Uppercut
• Blue: Use the Dashing Derpderp
• Green: Use the Frog Slam
• Yellow: Use the Olmec’s Headbutt

Make sure to switch between dimensions whenever Calaca shows up as a black or white silhouette, or your attacks will do no damage. Calaca also utilizes two different moves in this portion of the fight: a dashing slice and a vertical drop that produces a shockwave to his left and right. The slice can be avoided by rolling or double jumping over Calaca.

The vertical drop can be avoided by running away or rolling too but that doesn’t leave much time to counter-attack before Calaca disappears. The preferred method for avoiding Calaca’s vertical drop is to double jump so you avoid the shockwave and avoid Calaca’s trajectory. 

After avoiding either attack move quickly to counterattack with the proper move based on the color of Calaca’s shield. Also make sure to always keep moving during this part of the fight. Adopting a hit-and-run strategy is essential since Calaca moves pretty fast, teleporting all over the stage and attacking with little warning.

Calaca’s Final Form is Similar to, and Simpler Than His First

Calaca’s second and final form may be more intimidating but it’s actually easier to fight than his earlier, more nimble form. He now relies on four attacks that are, in my opinion, simple to avoid. Calaca’s larger and more brutish “god” form is slower and telegraphs its attacks with exaggerated movements and audio cues.

Calaca’s first attack has him summon pillars of lava that either stand vertically parallel or form an “X” shape with enough space for you to stand in-between the two lava beams. Both attacks leave enough space between lava beams for Juan to stand and remain unharmed. Calaca summons these lava beams by raising his palms to the sky and they first appear as thin pillars before expanding to their full size.

This phase of the battle also has chunks of rock falling periodically that can be caught and thrown at Calaca to either break down his white shield or damage him when he has no shield.

Another fire-based attack that Calaca has in this form is the ability to breathe a horizontal beam of fire that covers a large portion of the screen. You’ll see Calaca pull back and inhale before firing this one off. The easiest way to avoid this attack is to either duck or turn into Juan’s chicken form, since it’s just short enough to avoid the beam of fire’s reach. Do whatever works best for you. 

Calaca’s third attack in his new arsenal is a barrage of chunks of blue energy fired from his mouth. If you see Calaca inhale and his mouth turn bright blue then this attack is coming. It can be avoided in two ways. The first and safest way is to roll. The second method of evasion, if timed right, is to catch and throw one of the falling rocks right when Calaca’s projectiles are about to hit. Juan’s animation for throwing the rocks makes him invincible for a moment, which can be enough to avoid the attack.

The last attack in Calaca’s arsenal is a two-fisted slam that produces a wave of lava on the ground. This one is made obvious by Calaca raising his fists and growling before slamming them on the floor. The easiest way to avoid this attack is to make sure you’re nowhere near Calaca when he brings his fists down and to double-jump to avoid the lava. If you mess up the timing and think you’ll hit the ground before the lava disappears you can also use the Rooster Uppercut to get more airtime. 

With a careful strategy in the first half of the fight, and accurate reading of Calaca’s body language in the second half, you can defeat him pretty easily. After Calaca’s death enjoy the ending cutscene and go back to play through New Game Plus if you didn’t earn the “good ending.” This game is well worth another run through.