Arise, Penitent One, and bear witness to the Miracle. Back from The Game Kitchen and Team17, Blasphemous 2 brings players to a strange world, where a great heart descended from the heavens to bring about the return of the Miracle, a curse that plagues the lands. The player is tasked as The Penitent One to rise from their grave and to put an end to this, slaughtering anyone that stands in their way. It is a bloody, grueling, twisted crusade and it is well worth it.
Blasphemous 2 once again boasts a beautifully hand-crafted gothic world, inspired by Roman Catholicism notably from the Spanish regions of Europe, and you can tell that The Game Kitchen put a lot of heart and soul into making it. The level of detail and intricacies in the art while still being a primarily pixel-art game is staggering. The game’s settings feel carved from stone, huge leviathans and behemoths in terms of scale. The characters, both the player and enemies on the other hand, all feel alive, breathing, and fluid in their movements, a fantastic juxtaposition accomplished solely through the art.
One could go on and on about the art, how its mute, drab world is often countered with bright reds, greens, and golds of Catholic origins, or how the enemies all boast truly horrifying, yet beautiful appearances, but that would be tantamount to sin if the gameplay wasn’t also praised. Blasphemous 2 took an incredible gameplay loop and polished it, expanded it, and made it better. Players are given a much larger world to explore, and with not just one, not just two, but three main weapons to explore it with. The player can start off with their classic sword from the first game, or they can select a rapier/dagger combo, or the hefty chain-mace that can be ignited to deal fire damage. Each weapon is unique in both combat and exploration, as each weapon is used with a particular platforming mechanic. For example, the regular sword, when plunging downwards, can create a shockwave that destroys special barriers that other weapons cannot. However, only the chain-mace can interact with a great bell that unlocks certain doors and can even create platforms to traverse on.
What makes this go the extra mile, however, is the player is given a choice at the beginning of the game on what weapon of the three they wish to start with. Blasphemous 2 has a world that feels truly non-linear in its creation, and the player can go as far as they want in certain areas, depending on whether or not they have the right items, very similar to many other metroidvanias. With the player selecting their weapon at the start, certain pathways are opened to the player to explore right away, while others will be locked until they find the correct weapon to unlock them. This choice makes the replay value of Blasphemous 2 skyrocket, as taking a different weapon leads to different paths for them to take, which makes the game feel like a brand-new experience as a whole. While this non-linearity, for the most part, is a fantastic addition, this also leads to a complication in the gameplay. Often, with no linear path other than “find these guys,” it is easy to get lost, and to not know how to reach certain areas, leading the player to wander around, back-tracking until they find the one room they can enter. Nevertheless, despite this, the game’s rewarding combat and fluid platforming don’t make this a chore, but more akin to treasure-hunting, with the reward being advancement in the quest.
All in all, Blasphemous 2 does an incredible job at taking what worked with the first game and cranking it up even further, adding more customization to the player’s playstyle, and keeping the game fluid and fun. Despite its difficulty, the game’s truly awe-inspiring art and incredible story keeps you engaged for hours on end. This game cannot be recommended enough. The team at The Game Kitchen and Team17 have done an incredible job at producing such a work of art.
SCORE: 10/10
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Related: Reviews by Matthew White
An avid gamer, Matthew is also an aspiring game developer. Because of this, Matthew knows not only what makes a game great, but also the hard work and artistry required to craft such a phenomenal experience.
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