Quite a few games have found fantastic success on Kickstarter. Popular games like Yooka-Laylee and Friday the 13th: The Game wouldn’t exist without Kickstarter. Another fantastic game found success thanks to the charity of individuals: Blasphemous. This Kickstarter project asked for $50,000 and 9,869 people pledged $333,246 to bring this project alive. Not only did people meet the goal, but they also reached 17 stretch goals. These are goals set by the developers where extra content is added if the goals are reached. You can check out the success that is the Blasphemous Kickstarter, as well as some behind-the-scenes information, here.

This 2D action-adventure platformer breathes life, and death, into a wonderfully constructed world that brings horrific fantasy to life. Like the sound of that? Check out the trailer:

The World

Orthodoxia is a dark world where religion rules and corruption thrives. As soon as the player opens the menu, Blasphemous has a grim feel. To start a game, the player must select “Pilgrimage.” Religion is prominent even before the player begins.

When starting a new game, the player wakes as The Penitent One atop a mass grave. The foreboding tone is already set, and it is apparent that Blasphemous will not be an easy journey for the player. Behind the grave is a large Jesus-like statue (it is possible it is also a massive dead body). It is clear that this grave is inside of a gothic, cathedral-like building.

Blasphemous does a fantastic job with its environmental storytelling. A lot of information can be gleaned simply by looking at the world. There are massive structures and unique enemies in certain areas that make the world feel alive, and out to kill you.

The world is unsettling. Everything is eery, and the people doubly so. Many of the enemies are seem to be religious extremists. Acolytes and flagellants try to stop you in every way they can. Many things are unnaturally large, and usually quite dangerous.

The world feels unsafe. Every step must be taken carefully, every save carefully considered. Tactics are everything because one wrong step could cost you your life.

Combat

Right off the bat, The Penitent One comes face-to-face with The Warden of the Silent Sorrow, a massive humanoid creature that immediately tries to murder you with what looks to be a chandelier. This encounter takes place about a minute or two into gameplay and is the first of many brutal encounters The Penitent One will face.

Once the player defeats The Warden of the Silent Sorrow, they are welcomed into the hellish world that is Orthodoxia. Here most everything wants you dead, and most everything else wants your help. There are many unique enemy designs and every type has a specific weakness: timing.

Fighting in Blasphemous is a lot of trial and error. Each enemy type attacks in a very specific way with a very specific pattern. In order to succeed, the player must learn and memorize these patterns. Doing so makes combat more manageable, but not necessarily easier.

Fighting one enemy type is fine, but once the player encounters various enemies of different types all at once, things become hectic. There is a careful dance the player must do in order to block, dodge, and strike successfully. Remember: it is okay to run away sometimes.

There is one massive kicker when it comes to enemies: saving. Anytime the player prays at a shrine that allows them to save the game, enemies respawn. There is some backtracking in Blasphemous, especially if you look for secrets. So, deciding when to save becomes a tactical strategy itself. I save quite often, and in doing so, had to face some of the same enemies many times. This helps understand their combat patterns but can be tedious, or deadly.

When the player dies a piece of them is left at the site of their decease. The player has an ability meter that fills when they slay enemies but is inhibited as the player dies. The Penitent One is no longer whole after death and recovering their essence is vital. If the player does not do this, then the journey ahead becomes more difficult. It is possible to find places where your essence can be saved, but more often than not you are going to go back the way you died.

Overall, Blasphemous is wonderfully grim and gory with some great elements. The pixel art style is fantastic. The sense of scale is superb. The environments are wonderful. However, having to fight some of the same enemies over and over while backtracking through the same areas you’ve seen before can begin to feel repetitive. The game punishes you for saving, but this mechanic can also improve your combat prowess. The enemies are unique and the boss battles grand. If you are looking for a punishing 2D platformer, this is the game for you.