I'm an enthusiast of 2D platformers. I've always enjoyed playing them on a number of different systems, and the metroidvania subgenre became particularly appealing to me. The perspective works nicely, in my opinion — it allows for ample exploration and engaging combat mechanics, and it rarely poses difficulties for camera framing and movement. Even with all the positive reviews, I bought this one alongside a few other titles while not expecting much of it, and I'm glad to say that my experience playing it was satisfying, despite a few minor flaws. If you share the same predilection for simple platformers, Blasphemous certainly warrants at least one playthrough. Let's talk a bit about it.

The visuals of this game are probably its most striking feature. I'm not an expert on art, but it's obvious to me that the artists made a marvelous job here, given the task at hand. The portrayal of a grim, violent and downtrodden world marked by suffering and despair necessitaded the creation of a pixel art that is rich in details, animations and colors. Blasphemous is inspired by catholic dogmas and gothic architecture, and its graphics effectively depict buildings, characters and creatures with a distinct, imponent and morbid quality that resembles the stuff you'd see in surrealistic paintings. All assets came together to form a unique world that constantly defied my expectations, and I have to applaud the artists for their imagination.

Not delving into specific details, the story of Blasphemous occurs in Cvstodia, a world cursed and punished by the presence and will of a supernatural entity named The Miracle. This force has warped the inhabitants of the land, transforming them into hideous creatures, each according to a specific sin or penance. The protagonist is a warrior of some religious order who embarks on a pilgrimage to hunt and kill the papal figure of a church. The storyline is kept vague and obscure, but can be pieced together somewhat by talking to friendly NPCs and reading the descriptions of most itens and collectibles found in the game. To complete the main objective, the player will face a horde of minions and battle numerous grotesque and giant bosses. I gotta say that I wasn't bored by the enemy department — there's no lack of variety here. Moreover, optional sidequests can also be pursued for additional story bits.

Given that this is a metroidvania, exploration is a significant element of gameplay. Most areas of the game are connected to at least two others, forming a sprawling maze of rooms, paths and corridors. The player has a certain level of freedom to visit these places in the order they prefer, and beating a set of levels eventually gives access to a new set of locations. Secrets and collectibles abound in all areas and serve as good reasons for backtracking because they can actually provide useful boons for the player. Many of these secondary places are initially inaccessible and require special itens to be reached, so checking and marking the worldmap with waypoints may quickly become a frequent procedure. Exploration is not straightforward, however, which brings us to the issue of traversal.

Movement in Blasphemous is rather slow and the game's environments are heavily structured as platforming segments. To arrive at your intended destination, you'll have to cross multiple rooms at a slow pace, jumping over numerous platforms, avoiding countless pits, while also fighting pesky foes. I felt that the occasional shortcuts found between certain areas didn't help much in this endeavor. There is a fast travel system in place, but it doesn't offer many portals, so one will still have to walk quite a bit after teleporting. Some vertical levels can be frustrating if the player screws up — get hit by an enemy or a gust of wind at the wrong time and you'll fall all the way down to the bottom of the mountain. Traveling through the lands of Cvstodia is a penance, indeed. You will visit varied locations, though, which is quite nice.

Combat is rather simplistic, but it does work reasonably well. Players have access to a sword as the primary means of killing foes, alongside a number of spells that either inflict damage or provide temporary buffs. The sword can be improved in terms of damage potential and variety of techniques by finding large altars in the world, while the spells may be looted from specific rooms. There are no wearable armor pieces, but the player may discover and insert into a rosary magical beads which confer small bonuses. The health and mana bars can be improved by certain upgrades, and a few relics will activate special abilities required to reach elusive places. Don't expect to find a deep customization system here a la Dark Souls, as there is no way to construct elaborate builds in Blasphemous. Action revolves around hacking and slashing with your sword and casting some spells for added effect, with the occasional parry and slide to avoid enemy attacks. Completing sidequests is important because they offer many of the upgrades, itens and spells used to fortify the protagonist.

While most common enemies are nothing but a minor hassle to deal with, the bosses battled in this game can be moderately challenging, especially if you refrain from improving your sword and health bar. I have some experience with platformers, so it didn't take long for me to dispatch them. With a bit of practice and preparation, spells become unnecessary and the sword is all you'll need to beat Blasphemous. This might be disappointing for those seeking some variety of gameplay, but I found the swinging and killing to be visceral and satisfying. I must commend the developers again for their creativity in designing their bosses. You'll find a bunch of weirdly entertaining creatures in Cvstodia, and they'll all demand some degree of adaptation. A NG+ playthrough is required to face them all, though.

To end my text, I guess the sound effects were decent enough, but I'm no audio expert to provide an educated opinion about them. I didn't notice anything major missing, at least. The voice acting seemed fitting for the game's setting and tone, with characters using archaic grammar and vocabulary. I did enjoy some of the soundtracks, but most of the songs were forgettable. Finally, if you are a completionist, Blasphemous may offer some tricky achievements to unlock, but none of them are time consuming. With some practice, however, they're perfectly feasible for the average player.