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A beautiful and ruthless adventure in a world dominated by a distorted religion.
Blasphemous's most vital characteristic is its pixel art, which blends gothic art and the brutal style of the game. The scenes, although simple, are captivating. They are beautiful and often frightening, showing entities with a macabre appearance and other mysterious creatures whose appearance can be uncomfortable. Spanish culture inspires blasphemous's settings, the Middle Ages and Catholicism, represented by locations, enemies, symbols and more. These elements create a disconcerting but exciting universe.
"For twisted are, were, and will be, the paths of the miracle."
The world is fascinating to explore, with its stone cathedrals, its leprosy-stricken village and its lost mountain-top convent. The artist's gory and morbid imagery considers violent Catholic iconography and Dolorism, a doctrine that exhorts to "suffer to atone for one's sins."
Just like waking hallucinations, some moments are so striking and unique; they're almost enough to motivate the continuation of your journey, to see what crazy visions are in store for you next.
"Make my chest hurt with regret. Forge your punishment and nail it deep."
The level design is well-developed, with several shortcuts and secret passages. Something that might be a bother is the platforming sections, which often become tedious and frustrating because of instant-death thorns or bottomless abysses, forcing you back to the latest save point and requiring a lot of back-and-forth travel; it gets tiring after a while. Most of the time, exploration is a well-balanced challenge. The distance from save points forces you to progress step by step, concentrating on each confrontation to avoid fatal errors. From these moments comes a sense of achievement commensurate with the effort made and great satisfaction at opening shortcuts, which are plentiful throughout the levels; these mark coherent design thought as whole and intelligently connected parts; the game knows how to change things up by alternating between vertical rooms that focus on combat and horizontal areas more conducive to platforming. Exploration is an absolute pleasure in most of the game.
"Go fearlessly, Penitent One."
As for combat, it is functional. Its action palette remains simple and is in its entirety from the start (only a few special moves remain to be unlocked). Besides a simple sword strike, you can parry (in the right tempo), dodge and jump over inevitable blows. Giving three responses to opposing attacks to each enemy corresponds to an ideal response, which will be learned through experience. However, some bosses' battles offer natural resistance and can only be defeated by learning their attack patterns.
The game's combat and exploration mechanics are simple in their execution. It is complex regarding its inventory system - with several options that affect gameplay. An excellent example is the passive skill items that can be gained, called Rosary Beads. Some objects protect against poisoning, and things that allow them to deal more damage or gain energy by breaking items in the scenario. There are also Relics, which grant the ability to see hidden platforms and hear voices from specific statues; Prayers are spells within this game; Hearts of Mea culpa add buffs to the sword through items found during our journey; Quest Items are abundant because of the several side quests available throughout the game; finally, there are Key Items which serve specific purposes like opening doors or unlocking treasure chests.
"Sorrowful be the heart, Penitent One, full of clemency."
Death is inevitable, but luckily the penalty is forgiving. Your Fervour bar, which is used for special techniques, will become capped more and more with each death. You will also receive a penalty to gain Tears (In-game currency). This can be undone by returning to the place of death or visiting a particular location.