Blasphemous

Blasphemous is an indie action platformer by The Game Kitchen, also known for the warmly received episodic adventure game, The Last Door. The game was successfully crowdfunded on Kickstarter.

Plot

Blasphemous is set in a fantasy land of Cvstodia, dominated by religious fanaticism and superstition. The world is on the verge of the Age of Corruption, nearly all its inhabitants turned into deformed, bloodthirsty beasts as penance for their sins. The game's protagonist, The Penitent One, must face the dark forces taking over the place.

The way the story is told resembles the Souls series, as you don't learn it directly - it's conveyed through the environment, item descriptions and level designs. The player must pay attention to all the clues and threads, piecing the story together by themselves.

Mechanics

Blasphemous is a side-scroller. The player must explore vast, non-linear stages (including grim landscapes, dungeons and chilling temples), jumping across platforms and avoiding traps.

Real-time combat plays an important role as well, featuring diverse, creatively designed enemies and powerful bosses. Defeating them requires figuring out their attack patterns. The playable character wields melee weapons and relics enhancing his combat capabilities. Chaining attacks into combos eventually triggers Martyr's Excommunication, which makes us nearly invincible for a brief time.

The game also features RPG elements - our character grows stronger as we progress, mainly through acquiring increasingly more powerful gear.

Game modes

Blasphemous features several different game modes. One such mode is New Game Plus, increasing the game's replayability. There is also a boss rush and special weekly challenges with unique tasks and secrets.

Technical aspects

The pixel art visuals of Blasphemous are rather appealing, due to their detailed animations, grim art style and color palette. The soundtrack was composed by Carlos Viola, doing a lot to build the atmosphere.

Last updated on 17 July 2021