Blasphemous

Blasphemous might be derivative, but it's one of the best, if not the best Metroid-like I've played this year. Not only is it downright gorgeous, but the gameplay is uniformly excellent and hunting for its many secrets make it a puzzle well worth exploring.

Having a subtractive design at its core, Blasphemous doesn't fiddle with the tried-and-true Metroidvania formula. Instead, it keeps things simple and grabs the player's attention with its despondent imagery and its riveting atmosphere and world building.

Blasphemous is a twisted take on religion and Metroidvanias, providing great combat, fantastic visuals and a world that’s soaked in both blood and well-written lore.

Blasphemous is a twisted take on religion and Metroidvanias, providing great combat, fantastic visuals and a world that’s soaked in both blood and well-written lore.

Blasphemous exudes quality throughout its entire playable and narrative proposal. A game taken care of to the smallest detail. A superb metroidvania.

Despite being a bit tedious, Blasphemous offers many satisfying moments like being able to find a shortcut or a shrine when you most need it. Some of the quests are really interesting and even if they're not mandatory to finish the game, I would strongly recommend trying to finish as many of them as possible. The way the story is told (or rather discovered), the amazing artwork, and the fast-paced combat are aspects of the game that grabbed me throughout my playthrough. You'll indeed have to do a lot of backtracking if you want to complete as much as the game as possible, but the rewards are worth it.

You will hate this game and you will love it. It won’t stop torturing you and fraying your nerves, but at the same time, it’s glorious fun.

Just one more Metroidvania? Not really. Blasphemous has its own thing, with its grim, gloomy atmosphere and tight combats. We could have used some more save points though.

Blasphemous is a Metroidvania with gorgeous pixelated graphics and simple, yet satisfying combat. Tedious sidequests and some minor design flaws hold back this 2D from shining even more.

All in all, I would have liked a bit more narrative narrative and a more level-focused skill design that would not let me search the needle in a haystack in the vast world alone.

The beautiful depiction of the grotesque and nightmarish religious world of Cvstodia is a good enough reason to visit it. If only its simplistic gameplay and almost non-existent progression of the character could match the high quality of its detailed pixel art, then we could be talking about a truly original masterpiece of the genre.

You will enjoy with the epic battles from Blasphemous and its amazing retro art style, but this metroidvania action game doesn't reach its best version because a simple combat system and an irregular level design.

Blasphemous is a successful mix of two landmark series which already have previous and recent masterworks in common. Visually striking and delivering some of this year´s best pixel art, its shortcomings relate to both the combat and control schemes, which somewhat overshadow some really good sense of exploration in many of ithe game´s zones. Otherwise, this is a pretty good metroidvania / souls, very enjoyable from start to finish.

Besides the astonishing art design and the rich and imaginative dark-fantasy world, Blasphemous doesn't know how to mix perfectly the different genres it belongs to.

A gore-laden feast for the most barbaric among us, Blasphemous truly is a punishing game in the best possible way. I just wish it had a more gripping story to go with it.

Blasphemous is a truly unforgettable experience that stands out in the Metroidvania genre.

Lack of depth and variety, and some platforming missteps, stain an otherwise great, oppressive experience.

Visually striking and filled with a lot of interesting lore bits, Blasphemous is a competent action/platform with a pinch of souls-like and metroidvania mechanics. A brutal and well executed adventure with some flaws gameplaywise and a quality level with several ups and downs.

Though it can be frustrating that its core gameplay never evolves past the often one-note rhythm of hacking and jumping across different levels, keeping it from reaching greater heights, I still came away impressed with how much Blasphemous stuck close to its haunting, dark storyline. To that end, playing through this send-up to metroidvania games was a satisfying trial to overcome in its own right.