Worst still, some enemy placements seem to be designed to knock you off platforms, which may result in a frustrating insta-kill death. Despite this, enemy encounters are mostly fair, with some exceptions although certain places can contain overwhelming clusters of enemies, which will result in taking multiple near-unavoidable hits. However, when you first encounter an enemy, it’s not always clear what can be dodged and what can be parried, so it can result in some initial trial and error. The ‘hero’ feels very satisfying to control, and you’ll rarely die due to mechanics not working properly. One important thing to note is that the platforming and fighting mechanics are tight. This can function as a dodge in combat, which works well with your parry move to help you get one over on your opponent. Not air dash, mind you, just normal sliding dashes. The Penitent One cannot double jump, but he is able to attach his sword into certain surfaces in order to climb walls, and he is able to dash. There are also hardly any ability upgrades, bar a couple of very minor ones, so you’ll be fighting and traversing in pretty much the same way throughout your 15-20 hour journey. The main thing that stands out with Blasphemous compared to other games in the Metroidvania genre is that your starting weapon, the Mea Culpa, is the only weapon you will get through the game. That’s not entirely untrue, but I also believe that to be a lazy comparison as it also strays away from both of these genres in many ways. You’ve probably heard already that this game is effectively a Soulsbourne Metroidvania. It’s all capped off with a sublime soundtrack that is both catchy and appropriate to each setting, and certainly helps reinforce the dreary religious setting. There’s so much life and colour in this world, despite Cvstodia being such a drab and depressing setting. Just when you think the game can’t surprise you any more with its visuals, you’ll suddenly stumble across a robed skeleton chilling out on top of some massive hands. The bosses are the true stars of the show, however, as the majority are behemoths that are both horrifying and beautiful at the same time. The animation present here is absolutely jaw-dropping. Near the start of the game, you will encounter an almost naked lady carrying a concrete statue of an angel, which she will swing around to smack you in the chops with. The Penitent One looks great, sure, but that’s nothing compared to the world and the enemies that you come across. Despite being reminiscent of the 16 bit era, this game offers an amazing level of detail that wouldn’t have been possible on those consoles: heck, I don’t even think the mighty Sega Saturn would have been able to produce this level of beauty. The first of which is just how gorgeous the spritework is. Right from the off, there are two things that will become immediately apparent. Despite that, the world is immensely compelling, and you’ll always want to see what’s lurking around the next corner. What’s even worse though is that those aforementioned NPC quests don’t get logged either, meaning you will inevitably forget who wants what and where the hell you found them in the first place. Mysteriousness tends to merge into cluelessness pretty often too, particularly as your objective after proving your worth isn’t especially clear. Heck, outside of the bosses, there’s no way of finding out the name’s of the enemies in game. It never really gives a full picture though, mainly due to a baffling lack of a bestiary. Everything is all very mysterious as there’s segments of lore that you can find out by speaking to NPCs who need help, as well as items you can collect. Modelled on Spanish Catholicism, predominantly from the Andalusian region, there’s lots of adapted lore here that has been twisted into this hellish world of pain and misery. If the story sounds slightly confusing, that’s because it is.
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