Blasphemous

Story: It's easy to create a story based on religion. It takes great creativity and skill to make it feel like a homage, like a confession and like a collective memory. The language may be a bit difficult to understand sometimes, but granted, if you listen carefully, all your questions will be answered and you will be satisfied with the amount of lore behind every sentence.
Sound: Music is absolutely breathtaking, it quickly became one of my favourite OSTs of all time. Hits very deep. Sounds are satisfying and immersive.
Gameplay: Spikes are the biggest boss of this game. Every other obstacle in the game can be deafeated or at least you can find a good way to avoid it, but insta death spikes will follow you until the end game and I HATE THEM. I love the combat, though not very complicated, it's solid and simply fun. Game is pretty ruthless and after dying a couple of times forces you to think about your build so you can explore other items and tactics. I did get sad after beating the bosses in 3 attempts max, but when I found out about the no heal challenge achievement, I spent much more time with them and it was more fun!
Overall feelings: I was born into a catholic family and many cutscenes and dialogues reminded me of how confused I was as a child when they made me repeat "my fault, my fault, my greatest fault" in the church. I'm not religious anymore, but the confusion came back when I played the game - what is even that fault? What are we repenting? Why being a martyr is the greatest thing that can happen to you in the eyes of God? I am completely fascinated when it comes to religion and thanatology, and Blasphemous checks out all the boxes for me. I can't wait to 100% this one and then go straight into Blasphemous 2.

A Solid Metroidvania With Souslike Elements
This review is from the perspective of someone who 100%s games on Steam
Blasphemous is by all means a good game. It has a great interconnected world that opens up as you upgrade, a solid combat system, a decent story, and some of the most metal enemy designs I have ever seen in a video game. Simply put… there is no one area of Blasphemous I would say is bad or falling behind. Unfortunately though, this game also has a lot of areas that I feel are so close to greatness, but find themselves falling a little bit short. As a certified yapper I will be breaking down all of it. The good and the bad.
Again, I would like to highlight that I think this game is good and worth your time. While my review will be fairly balanced between good parts and bad parts, I would give this game overall an 8.5 / 10. Anyways… I will now go in-depth on several different aspects of the game including Story, Gameplay, MISC, and the Completion Experience. There will be minor spoilers for what the game contains, but I will not go into any specifics that would ruin your experience.
Story
I think the story and lore of Blasphemous is something that could be quite polarizing. There is a lot of lore to the world of Custoida, but unfortunately so much of it is hidden behind cryptic dialogue and item descriptions. I don’t like to make comparisons, but I think saying it is similar to Dark Souls 1 is probably the best way to help you understand what you are getting into. At the same time though, I honestly felt Dark Souls 1 had an easier plot to follow, at least on the surface level.
So yeah, the story is a bit of a mixed bag for me. After beating the game I felt like I knew little of the overall lore and I personally did not enjoy that. After watching some lore videos though I can confidently say there is a rich world here, it just requires a bit more brain power then most games. Thankfully, this is probably something you already know if you personally find it to be a dealbreaker or not. My last point is that this game can easily be enjoyed without knowing the lore.
Gameplay
There are two elements of gameplay I want to touch upon in this review; those being combat and world design. Let's start with combat.
Combat in Blasphemous is a good time. You only have one weapon throughout the game, but you do slowly unlock new skills and “prayers”, which allow you to customize a couple of your moves. For the most part I think this system works. The one weapon is well designed and feels good to use, and the couple of things you can unlock / customize allow for some slight build variety. I do think there could have been more here though. Maybe having different weapons you could choose from or a more fleshed out skill tree is the solution, but as of right now, I just feel that your combat options don’t grow as much as they could.
The other part of combat though is what you are fighting. Enemy variety is strong, with each enemy feeling unique and well-designed. The boss roster is solid, but I also think the game doesn’t have anything that really blew my socks off. The final boss is also, in my opinion, the worst boss in the game. There is one thing going for all the enemies / bosses in the game though, and that is their art design. Like damn did this team cook. I won’t go into too much detail so as to not spoil, but if you are into some messed up designs then this is the game for you.
Moving onto world design.. It's great and I think I would deem this Blasphemous’ strongest trait. The world is fun to explore and it is interconnected in ways that you don’t seem often in video games. Smashing through a wall or dropping down a ladder to reach somewhere you’ve already been is a special feeling, and this game is full of moments like those. You can also access most of the map right away if you know where to go. This makes repeat playthrus a joy as you mess around with ways to sequence break. I do have one complaint though and that is with the relic system. Relics are what allow you to reach areas you couldn’t previously reach. Since this game doesn’t have anything that changes your movement mechanics, the game instead had you equip these relics to shift the world around you and open up new paths. It's a cool system, but unfortunately it has one issue, which is that you can only equip 3 of these relics at a time. I understand what they were going for, but all this results in is having you have to go into the menu to shift around which relics you have equipped whenever you reach a certain puzzle or area. It just is not engaging. For the most part though, the world design slaps.
MISC
I can not emphasis how much the art direction here slaps. Yes, I used slaps two sentences in a row, but simply put… some parts of this game do slap. The soundtrack is also worth mentioning. Its good!
Completion Perspective
It took me around 25 hours to get 100% achievements. This game does require a fair amount to earn that blue badge including: at least 2 playthrus, collecting 100% of various different collectible items, exploring the entire map, completing some pretty complex npc questlines which can be failed, and 2 “challenge run” type achievements.
Most of these are pretty doable, though I would recommend looking up a guide on your second playthru to ensure you progress the npc quests right. The two challenge runs require you to beat the first half of the game in less than 3 hours and beat all the original (no dlc) bosses without healing. I would recommend going for the no healing one first, as it is good prep for the speedrun one when you pursue that. I will say that the speedrun time is fairly forgiving.
Overall, not a bad completion unless you refuse to use a guide.
Final Thoughts
Blasphemous is a solid metroidvania. It gets so much right for a first game and if the sequel can just improve a little bit on this solid foundation, I might view it as one of the all-time greats. Anyways, I hope you enjoy your journey with Blasphemous!
P.S Feel free to friend request me on Steam if you want to keep up on my completionist journey!

Blasphemous is a great 2D souls-like metroidvania with a lot of gruesomeness. It takes place in a heavily religious place with a lot of Spanish inspiration. The art style and combat are the stars of the game. The pixelated areas look great, and the enemies and animations are polished. Combat is actually simple, but it’s so satisfying. You can even execute enemies for a Mortal Kombat-style finisher. You can also find upgrades hidden throughout the map and customize your character a bit.
Speaking of the map, it has a metroidvania layout with lots of interconnected areas and shortcuts to open; however, the metroidvania elements are a bit lackluster. It lacks new abilities that allow you to progress in a previous area. Some items have a similar effect, but they’re only used to access optional items. Also, for some reason, you can only equip 3 of those items at a time. I still consider it a metroidvania; it just lacks a bit.
Platforming options are also limited. You don’t get fancy stuff like a double-jump, for example. It has some stuff, but it’s not a highlight of the game. Once again, the focus is on the combat. I especially enjoyed the boss battles. They all have unique, gruesome designs, and it’s so satisfying when you beat them. Because the game isn’t easy. It’s also not super hard, but it’s challenging.
The story is okay, but I found it a bit confusing, especially because it uses a lot of religious words. Besides the main story, there are also NPCs you can help by doing sidequests. However, progress tracking is mostly absent. The music is good; it fits the ambient, and some boss tracks are epic.
Over time, Blasphemous received 3 major free updates (for some reason they call it DLC) that added a lot of content. The first one is, in my opinion, the biggest one. It adds a New Game + where you can modify how the game plays in 3 different ways, forcing you to try new playstyles. It also added a lot of quality-of-life features that you unlock. And most notably, a new side story with 5 amazing new bosses with an awesome track.
The second one most notably added a boss rush mode and platforming challenges that, given this game isn’t focused on platforming, were really annoying to complete and my least enjoyable part of the entire package. They felt out of place.
The third and final update added a new big questline that ends up with a new, canonical ending that also ties with its sequel, Blasphemous II, since it also ends on a cliffhanger. But at least it also explains some of the story a bit better. This questline also has new bosses, but unfortunately, it’s easy to miss. You can’t even access it with a completed save because it has 2 points where you get locked out if you don’t meet the conditions, and one of them is at the middle point of the game. That’s my only complaint about this last update.
The game has a lot of secrets to find and achievements to unlock, but unfortunately, they’re only tied to the original version. Despite all the extra content the updates added, no new achievements were added, which feels like a missed opportunity.
But overall, it was a game I enjoyed fully completing to 150%. It’s more of a souls-like than a metroidvania, but still manages to integrate both genres well enough. You can see it was made with a lot of passion, and I can recommend it on sale if you enjoy either genre.

Blasphemous is an awe-inspiring Metroidvania that captivates with its relentless challenge and hauntingly intricate world. As the Penitent One, you delve into the macabre, gothic landscapes of Cvstodia, teeming with grotesque monstrosities and meticulously designed platforming trials. The combat is visceral and unforgiving, demanding impeccable precision and skill, while the breathtaking pixel art and evocative soundtrack envelop you in a chilling tapestry of religious fervor and despair. The rich, enigmatic lore is seamlessly interwoven into the environment, rewarding meticulous exploration and curiosity. Despite its punishing difficulty, Blasphemous delivers a profoundly satisfying and unforgettable journey, making it an essential experience for aficionados of dark fantasy and rigorous action-platformers. Highly recommended!

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☑ Beautiful
☐ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS
---{ Gameplay }---
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't
---{ Audio }---
☑ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf
---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ Grandma
---{ PC Requirements }---
☑ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☐ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer
---{ Game Size }---
☑ Floppy Disk
☐ Old Fashioned
☐ Workable
☐ Big
☐ Will eat 10% of your 1TB hard drive
☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it
☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data
---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☑ Dark Souls
---{ Grind }---
☑ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding
---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☑ Good
☐ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life
---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☑ Average
☐ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond
---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☑ Worth the price
☐ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money
---{ Bugs }---
☐ Never heard of
☑ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs
---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☐ 8
☑ 9
☐ 10
---{ Author }---
☑

The game’s dark and challenging portrayal of religion, combined with its disturbing atmosphere, offers a profound and critical perspective on themes of faith and fanaticism, providing a powerful experience for those interested in contemplating religious themes... You can feel how exhausting and draining religious beliefs can be in every second of the game... While the game’s unsettling dark aesthetic is something I find admirable, I believe it may not appeal to everyone....

In just 5 hours I had 3 suicide attempts irl because of this game, The Game Kitchen really outdid themselves this time
10/10 cant wait till I open the game and it ruins my day again