Blasphemous 2 felt incredibly good to play despite its challenging nature and complex combat. It’s a great Soulslike 2D action-platformer that doesn’t rely on nonsense gimmicks that make the game artificially difficult for the sake of being punishing. Its exploration, art direction, and worldbuilding are unmatched in a sea of modern Metroidvanias released in 2023. If you’re down for a good challenge or path of penitence in a Roman Catholic-inspired 2D platformer, look no further. Like it or not, you will pay for your gameplay sins.
When I think of Soulslike games, I often think of FromSoftware titles that are punishing for the sake of being punishing, encouraging players to share their stories of pain and suffering with others around the water cooler at work or sharing clips on TikTok. Players are often exposed to dark fantasy-themed tales through environmental storytelling and inconsistent save points that only add to the stress and feelings of danger. Despite being visually distinct, Soulslike titles aren’t my cup of tea. I’ve said many times before that the “just dodge” style of gameplay mastery is less fun and more of a test of patience. I want to be challenged and feel good about being challenge.
Blasphemous 2 challenged the hell out of me, and it’s making me reconsider my stance on the Soulslike microgenre of game.
Blasphemous 2 is sort of a Soulslike. Sort of. It utilizes great combat difficulty without being punishing for the sake of being punishing. It’s an action-platformer that emphasizes complex combat and tight platforming to make the player feel like they’re good at video games, all wrapped up in a visually impressive and flat-out stunning Metroidvania.
If you’re like me and haven’t played The Game Kitchen’s initial 2019 entry in the Blasphemous series, worry not. Blasphemous 2 takes place immediately following the events of Blasphemous and gives the player the rundown of The Penitent One’s goal in Cvstodia and prevent an ancient curse from returning.
The Penitent One uses three weapons, each varying in power, range, and speed. The Ruego al Alba (sword) is balanced blend, the Veredicto (war censer) functions like a massive flaming mace and is slow but devastating, while the Sarmiento & Centella (sword and dagger) is less powerful but incredibly fast. While the Ruego al Alba lets me parry attacks, the Veredicto’s range and heavy-hitting charged attacks can make hitting enemies from a safe distance a breeze. The weapons are masterfully interwoven into the game’s traversal mechanics, too. Other than weapons, The Penitent One can also cast spells called Chants and Prayers, giving him additional power that can help dispose of Blasphemous 2’s gruesome and deadly enemies. While some of these spells felt quite powerful and made some boss battles a breeze, their Fervour (mana) consumption prevented me from spamming them and relying on them over the weapons I had on hand.
The game’s combat surprised me in all the right ways. It contains a delightful level of potential depth through its weapon management and upgrade system. Acquiring Marks of Martyrdom to upgrade my arsenal made meaningful changes to how I used the weapons, but I needed a greater push to encourage players to use the powers. Some of them lacked clear explanation, too; I had to look up how to correctly use some abilities.
Outside of weapon variety, Blasphemous 2 allows the player to customize The Penitent One’s passive power through the management of Altarpieces (wooden statues) and rosary beads. Rosary beads offer mainly defensive benefits while the Altarpieces can be mixed and matched to further specialize The Penitent One. Altarpieces felt really good to experiment with. At first glance they seemed like simple stat boosts, but combining specific statues resulted in surprising effects that encouraged me to seek out additional statues in the world just to see what happened when I combined them during the equipping process.
It’s rare when a game puts me through my paces without it being a frustrating experience. Blasphemous 2 absolutely destroyed me in that regard. From the first boss fight that occurred within the first minute of the game to its subsequent gauntlet of platforming, my patience and reaction times were tested. Indeed, Blasphemous 2 is a difficult and incredibly punishing game that relies on the player to keep track of enemies’ attack patterns, character management, and the ability to remain alive for long stretches of time.
If this sounds like a frustrating or unpleasant experience to you, then maybe, just maybe, you should reconsider Blasphemous 2. It’s one of the more difficult Metroidvanias I’ve reviewed in recent memory, up there with Aeterna Noctis and Rogue Legacy 2 in terms of its combat alone. My experience rubber-banded me from mild frustration to stunned stupor in the instances where I died to an enemy or I wasn’t being mindful of my health as I mindlessly hacked and slashed enemies into a bloody pulp.
For those familiar with Hollow Knight, you’ll find that the Blasphemous 2’s guilt system is reminiscent of the Hollow Knight seeking its shade upon death. Upon dying in Blasphemous 2, the Penitent One leaves behind a Guilt Fragment in his place. Until the player returns to the spot where he died and retrieve that Fragment, part of his Fervour gauge (mana bar) remains locked out. When the Fragment is obtained, most of the mana bar returns. If you want all of your guilt absolved, you’re to make your way back to the main city where an NPC in a confessional box literally absolves you of your sins. It’s thematically appropriate, innit?
The Guilt system is meant to act as a high-risk, high-reward mechanism for those who are fine dying multiple times in succession. It’s also a persistent difficulty lever that the player is expected to be mindful of as they continue exploring. In exchange for lower defenses, you’re granted additional currency when killing enemies. The higher your guilt, the more money you gain and the more damage you take. My biggest complaint about Guilt isn’t that it’s unfair or whatnot; it’s that it’s hardly explained. Despite the sheer amount of complexity Blasphemous 2 implemented, some of its most critical systems such as guilt are left up to the player to hopefully figure out on their own.
The guilt system’s crown of thorns that granted me additional currency wasn’t significant enough for me to avoid seeking out the NPC to absolve me of my guilt. I was getting enough currency as it was to unlock what I wanted at a reasonable pace. If anything, the system acted as a persistent reminder that I should return to the city often to ensure that my defenses weren’t lower than they should as I was preparing to explore a new area or fight one of Blasphemous 2’s bosses. It also acted as a thorn in my side when I ended up dying to an enemy whose hitbox wasn’t entirely matched up with its attack animation or its weapon. The combination of the mild frustration from dying to an enemy and needing to return home out of my personal safety made my experience more perilous and frustrating than it should have been.
Luckily, I didn’t have to backtrack too often. Save point altars that refill the player’s health are scattered throughout the map and in critical areas. They’re just far enough apart to make each bout of exploration a small trek while also being close enough for you to encounter them on a regular cadence. Their positions are intentional and bless the player with enough confidence to continue exploring without worrying too much about needing to backtrack on a regular basis. In a Metroidvania, save points shouldn’t be too far apart, nor should they be sparse enough to discourage exploration and combat. Despite its difficulty and the near certainty of the player dying on a semi-regular basis, the save points in Blasphemous 2 relieve some of the pain that comes from dying and needing to start over a smidge.
On the topic of Blasphemous 2’s map – it’s gigantic, absolutely gigantic. Teleporter rooms ensured that, once I found them, I could very quickly and easily go to another part of the map in a quick pace. As I explored the world, I was constantly delighted by the secrets and smaller-form side quests that naturally emerged. Seeing the environments drastically shift on a biome-to-biome basis, including its enemy variety, felt like I was literally taking a pilgrimage of pain. The layouts avoided relying on reusing the same platforming sections, ensuring that biomes had a unique feel on the platforming side, too.
You’re probably familiar with the typical Metroidvania loop of exploration in which you go in one direction until you can’t, backtracking in another direction until you unlock a platforming upgrade that can allow you to return to places you were unable to explore on your first attempt. Blasphemous 2’s world opens up incredibly early by giving the player three main quests that can be completed in just about any order. Biomes are unable to be explored in their entirety at first, meaning that you’re expected to return often rather than treating each biome as a one-and-done affair.
This is all to say that Blasphemous 2 does a phenomenal job in literally letting the player explore as they wish and accomplish what they want to accomplish despite being gated by the lack of traversal powerups. Having this level of freedom is something very few Metroidvanias feature, let alone implement in a balanced fashion. Having that freedom to explore the world in a seemingly unfettered fashion felt good despite the constant threat of danger in every room. It’s a weird feeling to experience because of it being so unfamiliar – I wish that other Metroidvanias gave players this much freedom.
Blasphemous 2 is incredibly eye-catching. Its pixel art is highly detailed and appropriately shaded, leaning on Roman Catholic motifs and the Romanesque grandiosity one would find among Western European Catholicism. The Game Kitchen, who’s located in Spain, clearly drew from the Golden Age to create designs that emphasize Spanish illusionism and 16th Century religious figureheads. Its visually striking designs manifest in picturesque backgrounds, grotesque enemies that look like fallen deities, and uniquely designed NPCs that are fully realized and visually distinct. You would think that these designs’ vividness would clash or result in a visual business impacting gameplay readability – it doesn’t. It’s still possible to clearly see enemies and their projectiles on the screen.
Before I wrap this review up, I wanted to comment on Blasphemous 2’s incredible soundtrack. Its over-30 track collection of music comprises traditional Spanish instruments, adding to the already well-established thematic that emerges from its striking art style. The blend of string instruments with piano interludes and occasional castanets give each track a level of depth and movement that fits game’s ambiance. I loved the game’s soundtrack and highly encourage you to take a listen on your preferred streaming service. It’s skin-chillingly good.
Blasphemous 2 felt incredibly good to play despite its challenging nature and complex combat. It’s a great Soulslike 2D action-platformer that doesn’t rely on nonsense gimmicks that make the game artificially difficult for the sake of being punishing. Its exploration, art direction, and worldbuilding are unmatched in a sea of modern Metroidvanias released in 2023. If you’re down for a good challenge or path of penitence in a Roman Catholic-inspired 2D platformer, look no further. Like it or not, you will pay for your gameplay sins.
A copy was provided by the publisher for the sole purpose of this review.
