A dramatic step-up from it's predecessor, Blasphemous II set out to address every possible complaint about the first game with few caveats.
Most notably, the world just feels good to traverse. My largest issue with the first game was that the only method of fast travel were a handful of portals around the map which weren't enough to make backtracking feel anything more than a chore. This game has those portals too, but it also features some upgrades which allow you to get around much more easily, the earliest of which is a prayer which allows you to fast travel back to the central city at any time. You have your slide and normal jump to start off with as well, but as with all Metroidvania's you unlock more movement options as you progress through the game to reach more and more secrets and become more manoeuvrable in combat. I enjoyed it so much that I even set out to 100% the game and see all endings.
Another major new feature of this game is that you start the game with one of three weapons to choose from: a standard sword, a giant flail/hammer, and quick dual blades; each with their own gimmick and speed to adapt to different players' preferences. You eventually do get all of them throughout the course of the game too and can freely cycle through them, and what's more is they both offer some manner of exploration ability which means different players who take different weapons first will have different hidden paths open to them right away.
In general, I think the best way I can describe the game is that it is less oppressive. Spike pits no longer instantly kill you, the music is more upbeat, and for the most part, the game is easier. The last point isn't necessarily a great thing but overall I find the experience to be a nice compliment to the first game and one I overall spent more time playing. One more minor complaint is that the cutscenes are fully animated by a third-party studio, which is a shame because the ones in the first game were quite striking in the pixel art style. Still, there aren't many of them so it's hardly a massive detractor.
Overall, if you like Metroidvanias then Blasphemous II is absolutely worth your time. While the first game is still worth experiencing (at least a little bit), feel free to jump right into this one. Try out the spanish dub too!
Most notably, the world just feels good to traverse. My largest issue with the first game was that the only method of fast travel were a handful of portals around the map which weren't enough to make backtracking feel anything more than a chore. This game has those portals too, but it also features some upgrades which allow you to get around much more easily, the earliest of which is a prayer which allows you to fast travel back to the central city at any time. You have your slide and normal jump to start off with as well, but as with all Metroidvania's you unlock more movement options as you progress through the game to reach more and more secrets and become more manoeuvrable in combat. I enjoyed it so much that I even set out to 100% the game and see all endings.
Another major new feature of this game is that you start the game with one of three weapons to choose from: a standard sword, a giant flail/hammer, and quick dual blades; each with their own gimmick and speed to adapt to different players' preferences. You eventually do get all of them throughout the course of the game too and can freely cycle through them, and what's more is they both offer some manner of exploration ability which means different players who take different weapons first will have different hidden paths open to them right away.
In general, I think the best way I can describe the game is that it is less oppressive. Spike pits no longer instantly kill you, the music is more upbeat, and for the most part, the game is easier. The last point isn't necessarily a great thing but overall I find the experience to be a nice compliment to the first game and one I overall spent more time playing. One more minor complaint is that the cutscenes are fully animated by a third-party studio, which is a shame because the ones in the first game were quite striking in the pixel art style. Still, there aren't many of them so it's hardly a massive detractor.
Overall, if you like Metroidvanias then Blasphemous II is absolutely worth your time. While the first game is still worth experiencing (at least a little bit), feel free to jump right into this one. Try out the spanish dub too!