The Game Kitchen has cooked up a sequel to their 2019 title, Blasphemous. Simply titled Blasphemous II, we pick up after the events of the DLC of the previous game. The plot that drives us through the world this time around, The Miracle is about to give birth. This is happening inside the great beating heart among the clouds in the sky, floating above the city resting atop three giant statues. With that, the Penitent One reawakens.
Blasphemous II is a hack-and-slash 2D Metroidvania. The art direction is made up of beautiful sprite work. This art style takes inspiration from Catholic imagery and Spanish culture around Catholicism and Christianity. The background, enemy and boss designs are a joy for the eyes to witness as you explore the map. It is so easy to get lost as you traverse the world crafted by the team at The Game Kitchen. At times to help progress the story, fully and beautifully animated cinematics are in place too, to help tell the tale of Blasphemous II.
Cast thine eyes upon thy creation
If the art direction was the bread, it is paired with the wine, which is the sound design. The score weaves in and out as you uncover the map of Blasphemous II. It changes as you find new areas and locations, perfectly matching the environment. This has you get lost in the sights and sounds. Transitioning to a new screen and being met with a dead silence engulfing the music always puts you on edge, wondering what is about to be revealed as the screen slides with each step of the Penitent One as they move forward.
Each weapon hits with a satisfying crunch as it connects with an enemy. The weight of each weapon is felt as you hear it swing through the air. This gives each weapon its own personality. Each enemy that disintegrates into a pile of destroyed pile of flesh and bone is paired with the wet gorey sounds of defeat.
Listen to the word, Penitent One
The voice direction of the NPCs is amazing. The direction given to the actors as they recorded their dialogue shines through, as all interactions fit like a piece of a puzzle into the score and visuals, never feeling out of place or wondering “was that the best take?” As amazing as the voice direction is, I have to personally recommend playing Blasphemous II with the Spanish voice performances.
If the music, environment and story of the game had you gripped, the Spanish audio will have you forever trapped, never wanting to return to the English. If the English was a puzzle piece that fits with the other pieces, the Spanish V/O is the box it comes in and keeps it all together, it’s just that good.
Gameplay-wise, it’s Blasphemous but improved. The Penitent One now has a choice of three weapons to wield throughout their adventure instead of just the singular Mea Culpa;
- The heavy-hitting mace can be set ablaze for more damage. The downside is you sacrifice the ability to block and parry.
- The all-rounder, balanced Sword has the ability to sacrifice a small portion of health. This will allow you to perform additional moves and extra damage.
- Then there are the low-damage and fast-slicing dual rapiers. With the ability to attack in all directions and channel the elements to their attacks.
Thou shalt kill, over and over again
The game begins with the choice of these three weapons, picking how you wish to begin your adventure and how you will traverse the map, as each weapon also grants access past certain gates and barriers in the world, with the latter two being placed in the map to be discovered. Your choice does matter, as starting with the mace for example gives the Penitent One access to areas containing the holy bells to ring and create floating platforms but a player starting with the dual rapiers will have access to the teleporting angelic mirrors. Each choice lends to a slightly different playthrough for the player.
The game is tough but only if you allow it to be. If you try to speedrun the halls and walkways, avoiding enemies and trying to jump and dodge past them you will be killed. Getting killed in this game teleports you back to your last save point. It also respawns all enemies and fills you with some guilt. Guilt will cut off a portion of your magic meter giving you fewer uses of your spells of weapon alt-attacks. Returning to where you died and collecting the symbol left behind will absolve you of that guilt but dying again along the way will just burden you further with more.
Back to the toughness of the game, as I mentioned, it’s only tough if you allow it to be. Learning the patterns of each foe and playing with all the tools at your disposal will lead to success. The rush of landing a perfect parry, followed up by a counterattack with the sword never got old.
Should I convert to the franchise?
I’m not going to ruin any of the surprises or bosses that Blasphemous II has. If you enjoy challenging Metroidvanias, with sidequests, mystery, and absolutely jaw-droppingly gorgeous, beautiful and sometimes horrific imagery, Blasphemous II is a no-brainer to purchase. This is an easy buy for fans of the first instalment. If you never played the first one you will not be lost playing the sequel. It can easily be played as its own standalone game. My only complaint is, the game is a month out from release and I currently have no one to gush about this game with and discuss it with.
Blasphemous II releases digitally on August 24th for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and PC. Physical editions release on September 15th.
These sinful words have been brought to you by Lewis Magee.
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