Part of Spooky Season 2023.
Blasphemous is a Metroidvania that borrows many elements from the Dark Souls series. Coming to this game with primarily Metroid experience makes it easy to see the impact the Soulslike influence has on the Metroidvania genre. This combination of genres is one that definitely works, though as someone with far more experience with Metroidvanias than Soulslikes, certain issues I have with Blasphemous mainly boil down to my preferences regarding how a Metroidvania should be structured rather than problems Blasphemous actually has (though the game does have some problems). Blasphemous as a whole is very good, but it’s also very demanding of the player in a way that may turn people off. In fact, “demanding” is the key word to approach this game with. It can be cryptic, cruel, and extremely frustrating at times, but it’s also a challenge that’s immensely satisfying to conquer.
The world of Blasphemous is far more open compared to the other Metroidvanias I’ve played. Aside from a portion of the map that’s only accessible in the later half of the game once you’ve completed certain objectives, the entire world is open for you to explore from the get go. The only problem with this is that certain areas can be rather difficult to traverse early in the game without upgrades. You may wander into an area where the enemies are particularly difficult to kill and also kill you very quickly. This can make the early hours of the game very frustrating, and it makes the world feel more linear than it actually is. Once you’ve gotten some upgrades, the world opens up more and more and becomes very satisfying to explore.
There is one major thing about exploration that I greatly dislike however: the game has instant kill bottomless pits/spikes. Most Metroidvanias I’ve played don’t have these. You can fall into hazards that can be difficult to escape from and can potentially shave a huge amount of your health off very quickly, but nothing is an instant death. I don’t think hazards like this suit a Metroidvania. It makes platforming and backtracking through certain locations an absolute chore, especially if you happen to die and you need to go through an area with a lot of these instant kill spots over and over again.
Nothing in Blasphemous is given to you for free. Nothing. The game really makes you work for any and all items and upgrades you can acquire. Whereas some Metroidvanias titles would throw you a bone and leave some upgrades in easy to reach places along the primary path you need to take, Blasphemous is almost always placing items beyond either tricky platforming sections, strong enemy encounters, or just completely out of the way in spots that are difficult to get to or easy to miss. You need to be extremely thorough when exploring the world, as items and upgrades are vital to your survival. Given how open the world is and how easy it is to wander into areas where you can die frequently and easily, I do wish that the game was just a little bit more generous with upgrade distribution. Not too generous, just a couple of upgrades that you don’t necessarily have to work super hard for.
Whereas other Metroidvanias usually provide you with new weapons or powers that can dramatically affect your ability to traverse and explore the world, Blasphemous instead primarily provides you with upgrades to base stats such as health or damage. You do get unique magic attacks you can perform, but they’re mostly used during boss fights or to give yourself some space if you’re in a room with a large amount of enemies. There’s no Shinespark or Screw Attack or Soul of Bat or anything like that. You don’t even get the ability to double jump. This isn’t inherently a bad thing, but if you have experience with other Metroidvanias, it’s noticeable and can make platforming feel a little stale the more you play the game.
I really enjoyed the game’s boss fights. They’re surprisingly easier than I had anticipated them to be. Given the nature of the Dark Souls influence, I expected them to be intensely challenging gauntlets that I’d have to constantly throw myself at over and over again. While that was the case for certain bosses, there were some I was actually able to beat on my first try, albeit by the skin of my teeth. Every fight managed to be fun, nail biting tests of my reflexes and execution.
My biggest issue with Blasphemous is how cryptic the requirements for completing both primary and secondary objectives are, especially when it comes to figuring out how to get the good and true endings of the game. Completing certain side quests, as well as unlocking the alternate endings all require their own specific series of steps that are barely communicated to the player. I can’t imagine most people would ever figure out the steps for either the side quests or the endings playing the game naturally, and it can lead to you missing out on pretty significant items, upgrades, and even entire sections of the map, in addition to defaulting to the bad ending. I myself got the bad ending, and while it does make me want to eventually replay the game in New Game Plus, after looking it up, I don’t feel like I would’ve ever figured out how to get the alternate endings without using a guide. The steps for the true ending (which was added as post launch DLC) are particularly specific, and not properly following those steps can lead to you getting locked out of significant amounts of content. I don’t typically mind when a game has alternate endings that require you to do very specific things to unlock them when the most you miss out on is just the endings. It's easy to look those up on YouTube if you really want to, but missing out on big chunks of content really rubs me the wrong way.
Finally, it’s almost impossible to talk about Blasphemous without mentioning its hauntingly gorgeous presentation. The game has easily the best pixel art I’ve seen in the past decade, maybe even longer than that. Its art direction is also extremely unique and executed perfectly. I don’t typically see Spanish culture represented in media very frequently. I have very little knowledge of it, and I think that allowed the game to frequently surprise, terrify and fascinate me with the design of just about every npc and enemy in the game. The art is complemented by the somber and eerie soundtrack, which you can hear the Spanish influence in as well.
Blasphemous can be a very taxing game. In order to see all that it has to offer, it expects a lot out of the player, and in some ways, it can be a bit unreasonable with those expectations. I honestly recommend using a guide if you want to play this game, simply because of how easy it can be to miss out on factors that quite frankly are crucial to enjoying this game. As a Metroidvania, I wouldn’t say I prefer it to the majority of other titles in the genre that I’ve played, but the game is still a truly one-of-a-kind experience that really sticks with you. It has its problems, but I still recommend it. Looking forward to getting around to New Game Plus as well as the sequel.
Blasphemous is a Metroidvania that borrows many elements from the Dark Souls series. Coming to this game with primarily Metroid experience makes it easy to see the impact the Soulslike influence has on the Metroidvania genre. This combination of genres is one that definitely works, though as someone with far more experience with Metroidvanias than Soulslikes, certain issues I have with Blasphemous mainly boil down to my preferences regarding how a Metroidvania should be structured rather than problems Blasphemous actually has (though the game does have some problems). Blasphemous as a whole is very good, but it’s also very demanding of the player in a way that may turn people off. In fact, “demanding” is the key word to approach this game with. It can be cryptic, cruel, and extremely frustrating at times, but it’s also a challenge that’s immensely satisfying to conquer.
The world of Blasphemous is far more open compared to the other Metroidvanias I’ve played. Aside from a portion of the map that’s only accessible in the later half of the game once you’ve completed certain objectives, the entire world is open for you to explore from the get go. The only problem with this is that certain areas can be rather difficult to traverse early in the game without upgrades. You may wander into an area where the enemies are particularly difficult to kill and also kill you very quickly. This can make the early hours of the game very frustrating, and it makes the world feel more linear than it actually is. Once you’ve gotten some upgrades, the world opens up more and more and becomes very satisfying to explore.
There is one major thing about exploration that I greatly dislike however: the game has instant kill bottomless pits/spikes. Most Metroidvanias I’ve played don’t have these. You can fall into hazards that can be difficult to escape from and can potentially shave a huge amount of your health off very quickly, but nothing is an instant death. I don’t think hazards like this suit a Metroidvania. It makes platforming and backtracking through certain locations an absolute chore, especially if you happen to die and you need to go through an area with a lot of these instant kill spots over and over again.
Nothing in Blasphemous is given to you for free. Nothing. The game really makes you work for any and all items and upgrades you can acquire. Whereas some Metroidvanias titles would throw you a bone and leave some upgrades in easy to reach places along the primary path you need to take, Blasphemous is almost always placing items beyond either tricky platforming sections, strong enemy encounters, or just completely out of the way in spots that are difficult to get to or easy to miss. You need to be extremely thorough when exploring the world, as items and upgrades are vital to your survival. Given how open the world is and how easy it is to wander into areas where you can die frequently and easily, I do wish that the game was just a little bit more generous with upgrade distribution. Not too generous, just a couple of upgrades that you don’t necessarily have to work super hard for.
Whereas other Metroidvanias usually provide you with new weapons or powers that can dramatically affect your ability to traverse and explore the world, Blasphemous instead primarily provides you with upgrades to base stats such as health or damage. You do get unique magic attacks you can perform, but they’re mostly used during boss fights or to give yourself some space if you’re in a room with a large amount of enemies. There’s no Shinespark or Screw Attack or Soul of Bat or anything like that. You don’t even get the ability to double jump. This isn’t inherently a bad thing, but if you have experience with other Metroidvanias, it’s noticeable and can make platforming feel a little stale the more you play the game.
I really enjoyed the game’s boss fights. They’re surprisingly easier than I had anticipated them to be. Given the nature of the Dark Souls influence, I expected them to be intensely challenging gauntlets that I’d have to constantly throw myself at over and over again. While that was the case for certain bosses, there were some I was actually able to beat on my first try, albeit by the skin of my teeth. Every fight managed to be fun, nail biting tests of my reflexes and execution.
My biggest issue with Blasphemous is how cryptic the requirements for completing both primary and secondary objectives are, especially when it comes to figuring out how to get the good and true endings of the game. Completing certain side quests, as well as unlocking the alternate endings all require their own specific series of steps that are barely communicated to the player. I can’t imagine most people would ever figure out the steps for either the side quests or the endings playing the game naturally, and it can lead to you missing out on pretty significant items, upgrades, and even entire sections of the map, in addition to defaulting to the bad ending. I myself got the bad ending, and while it does make me want to eventually replay the game in New Game Plus, after looking it up, I don’t feel like I would’ve ever figured out how to get the alternate endings without using a guide. The steps for the true ending (which was added as post launch DLC) are particularly specific, and not properly following those steps can lead to you getting locked out of significant amounts of content. I don’t typically mind when a game has alternate endings that require you to do very specific things to unlock them when the most you miss out on is just the endings. It's easy to look those up on YouTube if you really want to, but missing out on big chunks of content really rubs me the wrong way.
Finally, it’s almost impossible to talk about Blasphemous without mentioning its hauntingly gorgeous presentation. The game has easily the best pixel art I’ve seen in the past decade, maybe even longer than that. Its art direction is also extremely unique and executed perfectly. I don’t typically see Spanish culture represented in media very frequently. I have very little knowledge of it, and I think that allowed the game to frequently surprise, terrify and fascinate me with the design of just about every npc and enemy in the game. The art is complemented by the somber and eerie soundtrack, which you can hear the Spanish influence in as well.
Blasphemous can be a very taxing game. In order to see all that it has to offer, it expects a lot out of the player, and in some ways, it can be a bit unreasonable with those expectations. I honestly recommend using a guide if you want to play this game, simply because of how easy it can be to miss out on factors that quite frankly are crucial to enjoying this game. As a Metroidvania, I wouldn’t say I prefer it to the majority of other titles in the genre that I’ve played, but the game is still a truly one-of-a-kind experience that really sticks with you. It has its problems, but I still recommend it. Looking forward to getting around to New Game Plus as well as the sequel.