Rob reviews Blasphemous 2 on Xbox Series X…
Blasphemous 2 is the reality of all those childish nightmares about monsters under the bed. It’s a surreal dream-like experience that’s filled with enough horrors that’ll make Clive Barker, and Guillermo del Torro blush. Whether it’s the Penitent One, or one of the games many terrors, The Game Kitchen have turned the often cute art of pixel imagery into a hellish collection. While the same can also be attributed to the original Blasphemous, here The Game Kitchen have taken their art to the next level. Inspired by the folklore, architecture, and iconography of the Spanish and Andalusian cultures, the developer have created a high gothic landscape that’s steeped in its own illustrious history, as well as it’s hideous present.
On every aspect that took the shine off of the original, The Game Kitchen have made considerable improvements. While Blasphemous 2 retains the great mix of Metroidvania and Soulslike that made the first game a hit - it almost feels like a whole new franchise. Combat has now been vastly expanded, with the Penitent One having access to more weapons and advanced combos. Likewise, traversal elements have been refined, and while spike traps and bottomless pits still exist, there’s greater ways to avoid making a perilous turn. That being said, these improvements don’t necessarily make Blasphemous 2 an easy ride. It’s still just as difficult as the original, but is also just as rewarding.
Much like before, the narrative to Blasphemous 2 is pretty obscure. Not a lot of what’s going on in Cvestodia is directly conveyed to you. Instead you’ll have to rely on small bits on information scattered across its environment, and the descriptions to the games many items. While many, many YouTube channels cover the in-depth lore, and history of Cvestodia, I’ll try and piece my own understanding here. While I’ll be avoiding big spoilers, there may be minor spoilers.
Here we go…
Taking place after the Wounds of Eventide DLC, Blasphemous 2 sees the return of The Miracle to Cvestodia. The Miracle, being the omnipotent force behind the lands suffering is also prophesied to birth a child called “The Miracle Child”. Meanwhile, the Penitent One - who’s since retreated to his eternal rest - is awakened once more and sets off on yet another quest to slay the machinations of The Miracle. Obviously there’s a lot more to the story, and for a full understanding you do need to really delve into all the nooks and crannies that The Game Kitchen have provided. Much like Dark Souls/Elden Ring, how you interpret these events is entirely up to you, and you can simply play the game without worrying too much. But please do scratch that surface as you’ll soon find a deeply engrossing lore that’ll take you to some very interesting places. It’s also a testament to the games designers who’ve managed to expand their already impressive lore into plenty of new horizons.
Once The Penitent One has awoken, you’ll soon come to the games first tough choice. Unlike Blasphemous which kept to a single weapon, Blasphemous 2 ups this arsenal with a choice of three. Much like other titles, these weapons all fall into established traits. You’ve got the slow yet powerful Veredicto, the balanced Ruego Al Alba, and the nimble Sarmiento & Centella. While you do eventually get access to all three, picking the right choice at this point does dictate how much of a challenge the first few hours will be. The Veredicto takes on the form of a giant flail. It’s big and cumbersome, but does have a pretty far reach. What this translates to is that for the most part you don’t have to get near your foes to hit them. However, it’s actions are pretty slow to perform, and can quickly become outperformed by the more paced enemies. The Ruego Al Alba is a jack of all trades. It’s attack animations are balanced, and it’s blocks and parry’s don’t need to be timed to perfection to be effective. Finally the duo of Sarmiento & Centella represent the quick and nimble play style. Sacrificing raw damage for quickness, this deadly duo allow for some pretty quick strikes of things get too personal. However, regardless of what weapon you choose, you’ll be able to unlock the other two as the journey progresses.
As you begin to explore the map, you’ll start to come across various items that’ll enhance The Penitent One’s skill. These come in the forms of rosary beads, and prayers. Rosary beads are items that are found in the world that when equipped offer various buffs such as improved resistance, or dealing more damage. Prayers take the same role as they did in the original - however they’re now far more useful in combat. These magic attacks come in all shapes and sizes, and the inclusion of a shrine teleport for me was a literal life saver. With Prayers it also seems that The Game Kitchen have given them a slight boost to damage, they now hit harder, and are definitely a worthy addition to the combat system.
The improvements don’t end there though. With introducing three weapons The Game Kitchen has also given each their own skill tree too. This then allows you to mix up fighting styles when necessary and gives The Penitent One some pretty flashy combos. Add in a whole system attributed to performing spells and you’ve got a pretty robust combat system. Knowing when to utilise your own arsenal is only one half of the battle. Across Cvestodia there’s a menagerie of fiendish enemies that only wish to send you back to the nearest shine. Whether it’s a nimble assassin waiting to strike from the shadows, or a Pontiff sweeping a giant javelin down from his floating Pugh, each enemy is capable of dealing some serious damage to an unprepared Penitent One. While death is never too far away, combat never feels punishing or unfair. Each enemy attacks with crystal clear animations, and with a bit of patience each move can be predicted. Knowing when to back off, block or to strike then brings a great sense of swordplay to the game as you’ll soon make the local area your playground.
Naturally the biggest draw to Blasphemous 2 is its boss fights, and knowing what came before in Blasphemous - I was highly anticipating my first encounter. While I won’t go into details it didn’t disappoint. Through the encounter I was never under the impression that I was the tougher out of the two characters. My foe would take advantage of any opening I gave them as I was looking to do the same to them. The tension definitely builds as you attempt to memorise attack sequences, while simultaneously keeping your own defences up. Boss encounters are also varied with some seeing you having to rely on your own cunning, and others keeping you mobile with plenty of platforming and unblockable attacks. Much like the rest of the combat, these fights never felt unfair. While a couple of bosses did see me loose my rag, I never felt cheated out of dying, and was often my own stupidity. Blasphemous 2 ultimately give you a good lesson in not being the hero as doing so will see you quickly respawn at the last visited shrine. Take the time to learn each encounter - and a little patience is definitely the way forward. But you knew that already?
Blasphemous 2 wouldn’t be what it is without showing off it’s platforming prowess. The game is very effective in lulling you into a false sense of security, as it’s opening “puzzles” and challenges are pretty simple. However in taking a leaf out of Metroid’s playbook, The Penitent One soon gets more traversal options that’ll then need to be chained together. These new skills are also reflected within the sandbox and The Game Kitchen have really pulled no punches in creating some devious assault courses packed full of “dumb ways to die”. Likewise, its Castlevania homage is also on point with plenty of locked areas that’ll require you to revisit them once you’ve got a certain skill or weapon.
Vendors also make their welcomed return with each eagerly looking to peddle their goods and upgrades. Likewise, the often handy teleport gates also make their return which aids in some quick traversal methods. This is also the games weakest point as there’s not really any quick-travel option in the game. With various vendors situated in every corner of the vast map, it does become a chore when you have to visit them. While I understand that being able to travel to any unlocked shrine would make the game a lot easier, placing something near the vendors would of saved a lot of time.
Overall and Blasphemous 2 the definitive Metroidvania on the market. For newcomers, or grizzled veterans, The Game Kitchen have developed an accessible action-platformer that improves on the original formula in every way possible. Cvestodia has never looked so good, and with three new and distinct weapon types, various skill combinations, and plenty of enemies, Blasphemous 2 is a worthy addition to anyone’s game library. In fact it’s one game I’d say is a must buy!
Rating: 9.5/10
A code was kindly provided for this review
Blasphemous 2 is out now and can be purchased for Xbox Series X|S on the Microsoft store. (Also available on PS5, Switch, and PC)
Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow us on X/Facebook @GeekCultureRev, TikTok/YouTube @Geekculturereviews, and BlueSky @geekculturereviews.bsky.social
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