Blasphemous

 Switch
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 208 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 153 out of 208
  2. Mixed: 28 out of 208
  3. Negative: 27 out of 208
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  1. JAG7
    Sep 6, 2023
    7
    This game is great. I enjoyed many aspects of the exploration and adventure. The combat is awkward and cheap at times. It could be very punishing if you start at the “snow” level. The plataforming is not so good. I didn’t enjoyed it . You simply can’t jump accurately sometimes. The music and graphics are excellent. The art and backgrounds are beautiful. The story is interesting and dark.This game is great. I enjoyed many aspects of the exploration and adventure. The combat is awkward and cheap at times. It could be very punishing if you start at the “snow” level. The plataforming is not so good. I didn’t enjoyed it . You simply can’t jump accurately sometimes. The music and graphics are excellent. The art and backgrounds are beautiful. The story is interesting and dark. This was definitely a work of love with a couple of execution issues: plataforming, combat.
    Update: In the DLC is almost impossible to kill the bosses and you have to do NG+ and do a specific quest order to see the true ending even if you killed the DLC’s bosses. I’m not playing again just for that . That really was very disappointing    … Expand
  2. Mattersend
    Aug 25, 2023
    3
    As someone whole absolutely loved hollow knight and defeated radiance I cannot recommend this game. The art and ambience is great but the gameplay is simply not fun. Movement is sluggish and to confound frustration the game requires you to play it a certain way, I.e. slowly. Each enemy is a puzzle and should be defeated a specific way. There is absolutely no “flow” to the movement orAs someone whole absolutely loved hollow knight and defeated radiance I cannot recommend this game. The art and ambience is great but the gameplay is simply not fun. Movement is sluggish and to confound frustration the game requires you to play it a certain way, I.e. slowly. Each enemy is a puzzle and should be defeated a specific way. There is absolutely no “flow” to the movement or platforming. You are regularly punished in unfair ways because you did not approach the enemy or situation the way the game expects you to. In order to have a shot at the last boss you have to do a ton of backtracking to fully upgrade your sword, otherwise expect to never beat the final boss. That backtracking is extremely tedious due to how not-fun the movement and platformibg is. To sum it up I’ll put it like this: whereas in HK I enjoyed every second of the two days it took to beat the white palace and radiance, Blasphemous feels like a chore the whole way through - it’s just not fun.… Expand
  3. fanmadeendings
    Jul 23, 2023
    10
    What a game. What a deeply flawed, yet absolutely breathtaking game: From the graphics to the atmosphere to the boss fights, this is absolutely incredible and I'm lucky to have found it so late, as it has a bunch more content, is way more polished and the sequel is right on the way!
  4. tangerine_dream
    Jun 23, 2023
    4
    This game took like the worst aspects of metroidvania/platformer games and souls-like titles and slapped it together lol.

    Controls are clunky, one shot spikes deaths are annoying, there's certain lack of check points and portals, so the playthrough is artificially longer since you have to rerun the whole thing often because of that random off-screen-pushed-to-pit death, or you have to    This game took like the worst aspects of metroidvania/platformer games and souls-like titles and slapped it together lol.

    Controls are clunky, one shot spikes deaths are annoying, there's certain lack of check points and portals, so the playthrough is artificially longer since you have to rerun the whole thing often because of that random off-screen-pushed-to-pit death, or you have to backtrack A LOT just because... why not?

    Some enemies are hella annoying, and most of them are just hit sponges, there's nothing hard about them really it just takes 5-10 shots to kill them. Some enemies don't care if you block or dodge their attacks, or even pass through them, they damage you anyway.
    There are barely any RPG elements though, compared to idk Dead Cells let's say, these songs or w/e they are called don't have any significant impact, and you have to swap them constantly in inventory menus. Like, wtf?
    I like the aesthetics and graphics though, story-telling is... weird I guess.

    Game looks fun at first, but more you're playing more you're getting bored because of the same actions over and over again. Not the best Metroidvania nor Souls game to be honest, and that mixture makes sense only for die-hard fans of both genres.    … Expand
  5. fruitbat1015
    May 26, 2023
    10
    This game should be a perfect 10. By far one of the best MV's of all time! The only complaints I had was the lack of a short hop, and it's hard to grab the ladders when jumping from left or right. Amazing game!
    h
  6. Gerdo
    May 6, 2023
    10
    Incredible. It starts slow and gets you frustrated. Once you get the hang of it, it becomes a really awesome game with a gloomy/religious aesthetics. Totally recommended.
  7. Jerg4n
    Apr 8, 2023
    8
    Fun exploration, good bosses and the art style is both gorgeous and disgusting.
  8. Roland_Ninja
    Mar 6, 2023
    7
    The story is to religious, to pretencious and full of meanigless, hard to understand, enigmatic words in old english, however the design of the world and gory art style do the job.
  9. Daige
    Jan 10, 2023
    3
    This game has SERIOUS control issues! I'm a longtime gamer who is VERY familiar with platformers, Metroidvanias and I can handle really difficult games but this game just makes me rage.
  10. EternalAR58
    Jan 2, 2023
    10
    Me encanta, un juego hecho por hispano hablantes, con el lore cristiano a flor de piel, ese acercamiento 2D al souls like, con misterios y muchos lugares por descubrir, pocas experiencias me han gustado tanto, siempre con ganas de volverlo a jugar.
  11. IamSquid
    Jan 2, 2023
    10
    This game is everything I want from a Metroidvania, and the aesthetic is incredible. If there's a downside to it, I'd say that the game developer's should have bitten the bullet and instead of making the game about a made-up religion that resembles medieval Roman Catholicism, they should have actually made it about medieval Roman Catholicism - THAT would be blasphemous.
  12. no_one2
    Dec 29, 2022
    1
    first impressions is great, feels fine, when attacks hit feels/sound great, i don't really look around the story. so i have nothing to say about that. what matters the most is the gameplay.

    and after playing for hours i started to hate the game more and more. - like enemies in the edge of the screen hitting you, before you can even react, knocking you off of the platform - death pits    first impressions is great, feels fine, when attacks hit feels/sound great, i don't really look around the story. so i have nothing to say about that. what matters the most is the gameplay.

    and after playing for hours i started to hate the game more and more.
    - like enemies in the edge of the screen hitting you, before you can even react, knocking you off of the platform
    - death pits and spikes that i can't see because i'm so high up,
    - fast travel is non existant save points being so far apart from one another.
    - questionable bell hit boxes in the castle
    - started feeling the char walk to dang slow, making going through the game feels like a slog.
    - so many, and i MEAN SO MANY ANNOYING ENEMIES.
    - dodges feels so sluggish. due to the cooldown that shouldn't exist.
    - that one enemy boss in the bridge, where i have problems looking at the animations. because the start of the attack animations is the same as his other 9 atk animations, and i just have to quess which one's which, why am i playing a guessing game here.

    i've played so many metroidvanias, and most of the time when i lost to something i can see what's the problem and not do it again in the future.
    but this is by far the most annoying game i've ever played out of every one of em. i quit,come back, quit,come back,quit come back again and again and everytime i tried coming back to the game, every death, every damage that i got from the game, feels like i'm not at fault.

    my biggest problem is how **** the mobility of the character feels and that's the biggest reason i gave it a 1/10    … Expand
  13. bonsai
    Nov 17, 2022
    8
    Very fun game, 100% worth his price.
    50% metroidvania 50% soulslike, with a lore that really got me hooked in and searching for YouTube videos to explain it.
    The overall experience is a 8/10 imo, it would've been a 9 but the platforming and backtranking can ruin the pace and fun of the game sometime.
  14. Bravelilengine
    Sep 29, 2022
    8
    Played on Switch Lite.

    This game has the best pixel graphics I have ever seen. It feels like you are playing through a work of art that is grim, dark, and beautiful. Blasphemous instantly got my attention the first time I saw it in the eshop it was the one of the first games I bought after receiving my switch. The atmosphere, and lore was so interesting it looked like a 2d Dark Souls so    Played on Switch Lite.

    This game has the best pixel graphics I have ever seen. It feels like you are playing through a work of art that is grim, dark, and beautiful.

    Blasphemous instantly got my attention the first time I saw it in the eshop it was the one of the first games I bought after receiving my switch. The atmosphere, and lore was so interesting it looked like a 2d Dark Souls so I just had to have it.

    Now while the graphics, and atmosphere is a solid 10/10 some areas have room for improvement. To be honest I stopped playing this game shortly after buying it. Playing it at first was great, but a few hours in I was annoyed by the mechanics it just put a bad taste in my mouth. I recently picked it back up when all the free dlc came out I thought I would finally try again, and very glade I did. While it still has issues it was a fun ride that most people will love.

    Read past Pros, and Cons for detailed thoughts.

    Pros:
    -Breath taking graphic style, and atmosphere.
    -Fluid, and fun combat.
    -Lots of lore.
    -Smooth fps (maybe 5 secs of lag in one area other then that smooth to the end).
    -Great world design, dense map there was so much to do, and unlock.
    -The right amount of difficulty (not to hard, but not easy either).

    Cons:
    -Dodgy platforming
    -Frustrating bugs
    -Lack luster upgrade system for sword.
    -Repetitive back tracking.
    -Slow movement speed for said back tracking (wish there was some kind of movement upgrade when out of combat).
    -Some bosses had annoying mechanics.
    -Button inputs not responding occasionally.

    The platforming in this game isn’t really that great. First of all the automatic ledge grabbing is frustrating I can’t count how many times I simply wanted to just drop down, but would just continuously grab a ledge.

    I learned that you can only jump on a platform if you are above it or on the same level. I have made jumps that looked like they were going to land, but fell right through just because the platform was slightly above the other one.

    I also had issues with some enemies just always seem to hit me even if I dodged the hit boxes feel a bit off. There are no eye frames when being knocked down I have been juggled by enemies, and bosses to death because of no time to recover.

    The game bugged out a few times causing a restart. Enemies would get stuck on screen instead of dieing in segments where you need to kill all enemies to proceed this happened a few time, and a single crash which is the only time I ever dealt with a crash on switch btw. One other bug was my guilt (what drops upon death) was on top one hit kill spikes.

    Upgrading the sword was so lack luster I never used half the stuff I upgraded the only things that felt worth it was the lunge attack, and the combo finishers. I had like 16k points by the end of the game cause I just didn’t need the other upgrades.

    Even with all these problems I still very much enjoyed the game, and would recommend you give it a go. Maybe the 2nd installment will fix most of these issues either way I will be looking forward to more from these developers.


    Even with all these problems I still very much enjoyed the game, and would recommend you give it a go. Maybe the 2nd installment will fix most of these issues either way I will be looking forward to more from these developers.    … Expand
  15. TronicG
    Aug 7, 2022
    6
    Setting and aesthetics are amazing. Great lore. Combat is decent. Punishing difficulty, seems unfair at times. Cryptic side quests, no clear direction in story. No way of keeping track of quests nor story. Stupid amount of backtracking. Most of the time I found myself wondering around with no clear direction or goal. It could have been a great game if it wasn’t for it’s game design. A bigSetting and aesthetics are amazing. Great lore. Combat is decent. Punishing difficulty, seems unfair at times. Cryptic side quests, no clear direction in story. No way of keeping track of quests nor story. Stupid amount of backtracking. Most of the time I found myself wondering around with no clear direction or goal. It could have been a great game if it wasn’t for it’s game design. A big shame.… Expand
  16. appledinger
    Jul 1, 2022
    0
    2 hours in, 3 game breaking bugs. cool.

    Since it's making me type more, the game makes you retrace your steps a lot if you die, and it's less of a challenge and more of a "try not to get bored and lose focus" challenge. Once you know where enemies are, you can robotically repeat the same strategies to get past them without using your brain, so it's just burning time. it's like dark    2 hours in, 3 game breaking bugs. cool.

    Since it's making me type more, the game makes you retrace your steps a lot if you die, and it's less of a challenge and more of a "try not to get bored and lose focus" challenge. Once you know where enemies are, you can robotically repeat the same strategies to get past them without using your brain, so it's just burning time.

    it's like dark souls except it forgot to be good.    … Expand
  17. Shajck
    May 22, 2022
    9
    Juego muy completo y entretenido a más no poder. La música, ambientación y las horas de juego son un puntazo para un juego que se disfruta desde el primer momento.
  18. Heimdall64
    Apr 29, 2022
    8
    Artísticamente es una obra maestra, se hubiera agradecido una mejor fluidez en los controles, y personalmente que hubiese sido un poco menos difícil los boss, aunque su dificultad es tolerable.
  19. jorgepc95
    Apr 17, 2022
    9
    One of the best indie games to date, one of the best metroidvanias ever made and one hell of a art-style and soundtrack. Kind of difficult if you don't pay enough attention to the mechanics and secrets of the game. A lot of collectibles, hidden stuff and replay value.

    Very recommended if you have knowledge of Catholicism and don't care a lot about the religion.
  20. Elite_Institute
    Mar 5, 2022
    9
    "Blasphemous is a very meaty game, with a lot of content available for your first playthrough and a lot more available after beating the game (NG+ contains stuff that you won’t encounter during your first completion!). Overall, the game is a visual treat and a delight to play. Its refusal to help you with your quests, the lack of bestiary, and having some areas that could have done with an"Blasphemous is a very meaty game, with a lot of content available for your first playthrough and a lot more available after beating the game (NG+ contains stuff that you won’t encounter during your first completion!). Overall, the game is a visual treat and a delight to play. Its refusal to help you with your quests, the lack of bestiary, and having some areas that could have done with an extra save area or shortcut, all prevent the game from being the masterpiece it deserves to be. However, it is still a great game that deserves to be played. It’s [thankfully] nowhere near as challenging as the likes of Dark Souls or Hollow Knight, but it’ll still provide a tough challenge for those who want to be punished."

    https://theeliteinstitute.net/2021/07/25/blasphemous/    … Expand
  21. Android
    Feb 20, 2022
    4
    This game looks and sounds great it's like a heavy metal album cover come to life. Unfortunately, it's also a compilation of the worst parts of NES-era Castlevania platforming and level design. If you enjoy gameplay that consists largely of jumping from one platform to another with no air control, to find an enemy appear on the ledge you're jumping on and hit you backwards into an instantThis game looks and sounds great it's like a heavy metal album cover come to life. Unfortunately, it's also a compilation of the worst parts of NES-era Castlevania platforming and level design. If you enjoy gameplay that consists largely of jumping from one platform to another with no air control, to find an enemy appear on the ledge you're jumping on and hit you backwards into an instant death pit or spikes, then this is the game for you. Otherwise, I'd look into the many other better Metroidvanias out there. The combat and boss design is also nothing to write home about.… Expand
  22. Ginger_Avenger
    Feb 15, 2022
    7
    I'm a fan of the genre, so this game was enjoyable. Well, enjoyable when I wasn't cursing up a storm at some of the challenges. Like similar fare in 2d or 3d, you just to have to learn to love dying a lot. I never felt the game was unfair, just quite tough for an old softy gamer like me. While the combat was good once I got used to it, I found the controls (I've only played this SwitchI'm a fan of the genre, so this game was enjoyable. Well, enjoyable when I wasn't cursing up a storm at some of the challenges. Like similar fare in 2d or 3d, you just to have to learn to love dying a lot. I never felt the game was unfair, just quite tough for an old softy gamer like me. While the combat was good once I got used to it, I found the controls (I've only played this Switch version) to be a bit janky at times (example - I guess I have a hard time getting analog sticks to go true north or south? this made me turn instead of face an enemy or not execute an upward slash) . Such gameplay issues are balanced by a very interesting and, to be honest, kind of creepy, world of religious imagery and beliefs. A long enough game to satisfy the exploration bug without too much tedium or padding. I don't go nuts in Metroidvanias generally, but I tried to get most of the items in this one and only a few times did I feel the reward wasn't worth the effort. That stated, once I finished, I felt like I was good with just completing the base game and not trying the DLC.… Expand
  23. TomMonday
    Jan 11, 2022
    7
    Ending is a bit flat, but the journey until then is engrossing. Feels a lot like Castlevania made by Trent Reznor. A few glitches on Switch, but otherwise smooth gameplay. If you like these kinds of games, you’ll like this one.
  24. Guzidi
    Dec 28, 2021
    9
    Great art style and theme, really interesting deep story! Addicting gameplay and progression with good build customisation available, although controls can be feel clunky and difficult at times but that is just part of the game to overcome.
  25. lailxd
    Dec 22, 2021
    10
    What I like about this game:
    dark ages religious atmosphere.
    challenging game play.
    characters design and dialogs. They are ridiculous and I love them.

    I think most of the early user reviews are lower since the game had a lot of bugs at the start, but most were ironed out at this point.

    I will forever rate this game as 10/10. can't wait for Blasphemous 2!
  26. ophone
    Nov 29, 2021
    7
    This game's extremely catholic atmosphere of the 16th century with its references to inquisition, sins and suffering had me involved right from the start.
    Its pixelated graphics are marvellous (most notably some backgrounds, its handful of huge bosses and the execution animations) perfectly accompanied by its moody Spanish guitar tunes. I needed to get used to the controls, although after    This game's extremely catholic atmosphere of the 16th century with its references to inquisition, sins and suffering had me involved right from the start.
    Its pixelated graphics are marvellous (most notably some backgrounds, its handful of huge bosses and the execution animations) perfectly accompanied by its moody Spanish guitar tunes. I needed to get used to the controls, although after a while I controlled the Penitent One rather smoothly.

    But finally after roughly 30 hours, having discovered 90% of the map and done almost 80% of completion I send Blasphemous back to the shelf. At that stage the game gives hints how to proceed extremely sparingly, taking from me all the enjoyment it gave me initially.
    I really wanted to love that game but now it feels like a chore when I start it.    … Expand
  27. jcboyer515
    Nov 24, 2021
    10
    I think this game is incredible & brutal. The art & voice work is excellent & the setting is haunting. This is my low effort review for a game that feels like it pulls off exactly what it was trying to do.
  28. ClarkKunt
    Nov 19, 2021
    6
    Absolutely horrendous controls. Game is fun and pretty, but these **** controls killed it for me.
  29. JoeyPL5
    Nov 16, 2021
    9
    Really good Metroidvania, but compared to Hollow Knight it's impossible to give this a 10.
  30. Applejackson75
    Nov 8, 2021
    5
    I'm only a couple minutes into the game but already I can see I won't be able to play it here on Switch because they didn't include in-game button mapping. Yes, I know you can remap system wide. That's the problem. I always have a & b swapped system-wide so that 'accept' and 'cancel' are where they're supposed to be, but now jump is A and attack is across the way at Y. That's gonna be aI'm only a couple minutes into the game but already I can see I won't be able to play it here on Switch because they didn't include in-game button mapping. Yes, I know you can remap system wide. That's the problem. I always have a & b swapped system-wide so that 'accept' and 'cancel' are where they're supposed to be, but now jump is A and attack is across the way at Y. That's gonna be a problem, I can tell. At least this is available elsewhere, unlike Metroid Dread. I realize I can swap every time I play the game, but I can also just play something else that doesn't require me to do that. Why every game doesn't have mappable buttons by now is beyond my understanding.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

27
#27 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 27
  3. Negative: 0 out of 27
  1. Gamers' Temple
    Apr 1, 2020
    97
    Blasphemous is a gothic horror masterpiece that can't be missed.
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  2. FNintendo
    Mar 26, 2020
    90
    Blasphemous is a marvelous work of the Metroidvania genre with an art style based on pixel art and which features exquisite combat mechanics and an eye-filling visual environment marked by gloom and desolation. This is without a doubt one of the richest and most defying Metroidvania adventures to reach the market in recent years and a fundamental game for everyone who enjoys a good gaming experience of this kind.
    Read full review
  3. IGN Japan
    Jan 28, 2020
    78
    Blasphemous is a high-difficulty metroidvania-like side-scroller. Its gory violence is not for everyone, but together with its grim yet beautiful background scenery, it delivers a well-crafted ominous world. Just like a splatter movie, this is the kind of game you might want to dive into if you’re looking for serious thrills.
    Read full review
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