Blasphemous

Why ask forgiveness when you can just murder god?

Why

Why Not

Impressions

I cannot overemphasize the degree to which this feels like a Souls game but side-scrolling. The Game Kitchen nailed everything FromSoft's games do from the looping paths & shortcuts to the atmosphere and difficulty. Managing this while also making the game a great Metroidvania is even more impressive, and results in one of the few Dark Souls inspired games which match or exceed FromSoft's offerings.

More than the difficulty they're most famous for, FromSoft's games are amazing at immersing you in the world and making you feel something with it. In the Souls series this world is usually pretty fantasy-coded, but Blasphemous (as you might guess from the title) takes inspiration from religious iconography instead. Biomes, backgrounds, enemies and upgrades all adhere religiously to this theme, with the visual design of bosses being an absolute standout. That's not to say Blasphemous is easy; you'll become just as familiar with 'Exemplaris Excomunicationis' as 'You Died' over the course of the game.

My one gripe is how many of these deaths come from clunky platforming over instakill spike pits or drops. I'm pretty opposed to insta-kill drops in general since they feel so frustrating, and placing them as obstacles under ladders or walls which require finnicky directional input to latch onto does not improve my opinion. The ease with which you can be knocked back by enemies, even on a successful parry, and the placement of ranged enemies who'll do this right on the edge of said insta-kill pits also does not enhance the experience. With this relatively minor issue out of the way though, the gameplay is pretty excellent.

Stamina seems to be the dimension lost from 3D to 2D, and the reliance on parrying is more Sekiro than Souls-like, but overall the combat should feel familiar to both Souls and Metroidvania veterans. Each enemy (especially bosses) has their patterns to learn, and becomes much easier once you do. There are no levels or stats, replaced by the Metroidvania approach of finding upgrades and charms (rosaries here) to make you stronger or unlock new possibilities. Careful exploration (and frequently whacking random walls) is a must to discover these, though enough are given through story progression to provide some sense of improvement.

There's quite a bit of customisation & optimisation to do, enabled by everything except sword hearts being swappable on the fly. Regardless of upgrades or alterations though, you'll spend the whole game bonking enemies with your sword and casting an occasional flashy miracle with the fervour generated by said bonking. Definitely not as much potential for playstyle customisation as something like Silksong or even Mio but that's fine since the core gameplay is solid and satisfying.

Overall a pretty spectacular combination of genres; I'll definitely pick up the sequel at some point to see if they made platforming less frustrating for a near-perfect experience. Well worth the original price, let alone the ~250yen it's frequently on sale for these days.