There are usually only two genres of games that I’ll verbally abuse my TV over, those being souls-like and metroidvania. So, when those very two genres collide to make up Blasphemous 2 there are a lot of “old man yells at clouds” moments. A lot… The two genres, in which I will crown the new genre named souls-roid-vania, will incite a plethora of familiar, but (good) rage.
Souls-like games will get you flustered over losing to the same boss fifteen time in a row. Losing progress can be even more devastating when you leave a heap of upgrade currency (souls, or whatever the game might call them) on the table.
Metroidvania games on the other hand generally require more precision platforming or long escape sequences that make the experience difficult, more so than the combat itself. Sometimes the head scratching dead ends or that obvious but not-so-obvious puzzle will be what leaves you groaning in dismay.
Blasphemous 2 is a Blast
Regardless of what gets players riled up between the genres, there are a few pillars that are crucial to making these games flourish. The game must be fair, it can’t waste someone’s time, and when success happens, it must feel earned. Blasphemous 2 builds its foundation on all three of these principles while exceeding at a handful of others. Simply put, the game is really good, and if you like souls-like, metroidvania, or the newly coined ‘soulsroidvania’ genres, you’re in for a bona fide treat.
Blasphemous 2 has a ton of uniform style in its presentation. The art direction is gorgeous, but darkly Victorian and the game’s score that accompanies it is hauntingly bleak. You awake as the Penitent One and get to choose a weapon. Once you’ve made your choice, the other two weapons vanish and you’re ushered onward to some valuable learning experiences. After getting smacked around a bit you’ll get your sea legs under control, there will be a few unanswered questions but a lot of freedom as to how you decide to proceed.
While the beginning hours of Blasphemous 2 can be directionally vague, it’s designed this way intentionally and fully embraces the show don’t tell approach to its presentation. Influenced by Fromsoft’s design philosophy, the story is cryptic, combat is fully understood with time, and there’s going to be a few quest items in your inventory at the end of the game that you’re still wondering what the hell they were supposed to be for. While this might frustrate some people, the viola moments that connect various aspects of the game together are so much more exciting and surprising than simply checking things off of a laundry list. Trust me, stay away from guides for as long as the OCD allows because the payoffs are worth wandering in the dark.
Combat Fluency
There are a bunch of diverse environments that the Penitent One will need to carve through that house various enemy types and eventually unlockable abilities as well. Each enemy type will generally have a specific weapon that it’s ‘weak’ to, making encounters a sort of rock, paper, scissors experiment of poking and prodding until success is achieved. There will be a few enemies that you dread fighting time and time again until you finally find the secret recipe to disposing of them, whether that be a move set that is unlocked for a certain weapon or even a gimmicky strategy that I shamelessly abused at times. Alongside combat fluency are abilities that will eventually be found throughout the world that will not only allow you to simply proceed to previously impassable areas, but also break your combat playbook wide open. Where at one point you felt mobility to be a strenuous exercise such as swimming with your clothes on, the dexterous elevation like that of a hummingbird will feel undeniably swift.
This is an absolute necessity, because enemies in Blasphemous 2 will hit like a truck, and the boss encounters will downright wipe the floor with you if your complete arsenal isn’t being fully utilized. It cannot be stressed enough how important exploration is when it comes to acquiring health and magic expansion, defensive and offensive items, and even some other secrets that I don’t want to spoil. Entering certain boss fights had me quickly hightailing it right back out the door I’d just entered after getting God smacked across the stage. Only returning a while later with my own theme song, six pack abs, and sunglasses on was I able to hang with some of Blasphemous 2’s hardest bosses, figuratively speaking of course.
Boss Me Around
It is here where Blasphemous 2 truly shines, and while the interconnected levels are incredibly cool, it’s all about the boss battles. I can’t explain how much it impresses me when I enter a boss encounter thinking, “how on earth is this even possible?” only to leave triumphant with a sliver of health left nearly every, single, time. The amount of playtesting and tweaking of each boss must have taken a significant amount of time and cannot be understated how good squeaking out victory feels. While I’m by no means able to channel the mountain dew chugging ‘pro gamer’ skill level of my teenage years, it at times took every ounce of caffeine and sweaty palmed motivation to come out the other side. Boss phases are a visual spectacle, the move sets are creative and keep you on your toes, and then… you just have to execute your gameplan while intermittently insulting stationary objects. It’s the masochistic kind of fun, but fun none the less.
Like Dredge and Dave the Diver before it, Blasphemous 2 joins the ranks as one of the best indie games of 2023 without question. It’s the complete package in nearly every regard. Its atmosphere knows exactly what it wants to look and sound like, and what emotions to convey. The design philosophy that encourages independent thought and exploration with minimal hand-holding respects player intelligence and agency despite being a primarily linear experience. Blasphemous 2 can be ferocious at times, but as Ildan once said, “A victory won without struggle is an honourless victory” and this couldn’t be more true for your journey with the Penitent One.
