Blasphemous 2 PROS CONS Quick, responsive, and varied combat Favoritism of weapons was apparent for my playthrough Brutal and weighty animation Handful of weapon upgrades felt useless Enemy variety and bosses Some bosses felt unusually strong Bosses are fun, challenging and varied Final boss is pretty easy Satisfying map tools Give me more finishers! Bugs and Issues Specs [*]N/A [*]PLAYED MAINLY ON STEAM DECK [*]AMD Ryzen 9 3900X [*]ASUS TUF RTX 4070Ti [*]32 GB 3600MHz RAM [*]2TB PCIe 4.0 SSD [*]1440p Settings Content and Replay Value Blasphemous 2, like any metroidvania has its troupes. Travel to certain sections, retrieve a power up, use the power-up to explore a new section. Blasphemous 2 excels in building a story, atmosphere and looks good when playing. Thereās plenty to uncover to keep you in the world. But also appeals to the speed runner if youāre looking for a challenge given the unique bosses and map architecture Should you get it? I believe the fact that I wrote a review for this game before is an indication of how I feel about this series. But just in case that wasnāt enough, Blasphemous 2 is deservedly in the pantheon of great indie developed games. The care and beauty put into this sequel is apparent. Developers, The Game Kitchen, did an amazing job of building on what was already good and adding to what makes the game great. Overall Verdict 8.5/10. Iāll be honest. Blasphemous 2 does not do anything to revolutionize the metroidvania genre. This isnāt a knock on it though. The Game Kitchen builds on the story of Blasphemous and adds new features that make it more of a joy to play. The story is easier to digest this time around, but hopefully youāre good at your Elizabethan English. In the end I ran credits with all the secret endings at ~24 hours. Setting & Writing: Like the previous installation in the series, Blasphemous takes place in the land of Cvstodia. The game leans heavy into Christian symbolism, specifically of the catholic variety. Taking place after the āWounds of Eventideā ending of Blasphemous, you play again as the penitent one. You awaken and receive the task of stopping the birth of āThe Miracleā. This is where understanding some Elizabethan English comes in because the whole story is delivered as such. My interpretation is as follows: The Miracle is the returning āantagonistā. It returned as the answered prayer of the people but distorted. In its distortion the people of Cvstodia were subjected to horrible outcomes. This was the design of the Miracle to have its people believe in it more and rediscover its existence which in turn powers The Miracle. The Miracle feeds on the prayer and supplication of the people and receives it by cursing its people unbeknownst to them. As the Penitent One, you are tasked to end this cycle and free the people of Cvstodia. To do so you must bring down its tower from up high and defeat the guards that protect its rebirth. Gameplay system & Bosses: This is where Blasphemous 2 shines. The metroidvania is tried, true, and doesnāt lean off its formula. But developers, The Game Kitchen know how to give this game the right amount of weight when it comes to combat. The combat in this series is some of the best combat found in metroidvanias. Parrying is satisfying and weighty. Kill animations although limited are brutal. Skills and power-ups are as essential in world discovery as they are in battle. Unlike the last game, Penitent One is given more of an arsenal that helps vary your combat and is also key to you making it to your destination and completing your mission. Throughout your journey you will accumulate three unique weapons with distinct playstyles. The Verdicto is a slow, wide arcing, fire mace that deals good damage. Ruego Al Alba which is akin to the Mea Culpa from the first game. Itās a sword with average attack speed, the ability to deal mystic damage at the cost of giving up a little of your health, and giving you access to a parry. Lastly, thereās Sarmiento and Centella, a rapier-dagger combo where speed is the name of the game. If you accumulate enough hits with Sarmiento and Centella itāll enter an electric mode where it does extra damage if you donāt get hit. Sarmiento and Centella has access to a parry as well. All three of these weapons have specific platforming capabilities as well. Blasphemous 2 allows you to build the Penitent one around your choice of combat style with various upgrades in the form of (the returning) rosary beads and the new addition of altar pieces. Utilizing all these tools is vital for the games most fun, the boss fights. The bosses are varied, challenging and memorable (even some for the wrong reasons). Learning about each boss was challenging, but not to the point of frustration. Once defeated each led to a satisfying sigh of relief and excitement to face the next one. Quest, Mini-games & Challenges: The quest is laid out neatly before you with markers on the map to point you in the general direction. The fun is the journey and less of how it was delivered. Blasphemous 2 offers plenty of collectibles that are attainable in the traditional metroidvania fashion. This includes but isnāt limited to retracing your steps when you acquire new abilities, hidden walls, platforming challenges, and arena challenges. Even though these are āpar for the courseā in a metroidvania, it feels good doing them. That is a feat. Obtaining and doing these extra tasks reward the Penitent One with upgrades to its arsenal which make getting through the game a little more manageable. Collection and completion of other things even have the potential of rewarding the player with secret story endings. Miscellaneous (art, music, etc.): This is another area where the game stands out. Not often do I feel the need to rave about art or music direction. Blasphemous 2, like its predecessor, is an exception. Each zone that you go to tells a distinct story of what the Miracle bestowed on the area. Tragic āmonkey pawā like curses that ravaged towns, cities, and structures. Youāll find people who were disturbingly distorted by the curse as punishment for the sins they committed or carried. These visuals are striking and somewhat disturbing. But in the end tells gives you an idea of what the Miracle truly is. This is all to the backdrop of wonderfully played, somber Spanish strings. This gives the feeling of medieval era. Then boss fights ramp up the pace of those strings and they even become electric at times, giving you the energy needed to take down the adversary that dares to face you.
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