Expectations surpassed: Blasphemous II

I try to avoid longwinded introductions in reviews, but I feel like a bit of backstory is necessary. The first Blasphemous, while ambitious and pretty, was a letdown. The gameplay loop was a tedious, uphill battle. Beautiful imagery just wasn’t enough to make up for the game’s shortcomings. I heard Blasphemous II was a major improvement, but I was skeptical. So much so that I picked up the game with the intention of casually blazing through it in a few days and returning it to the game store for a full refund. That didn’t happen. I was consumed by Blasphemous II the moment it began. “Improvement” is an understatement. I went through the game from top to bottom, filling in the entire map and doing everything possible. This is one of the best modern Metroidvanias out there.

The game picks up years after the events from the first game’s DLC campaign: Wounds of Eventide. I didn’t play this, but it was easy to piece together what happened: worship for the Miracle stopped and the people Cvstodia lived without the blessings/curses of the gods. Sadly, the curses outpaced the blessings. Prayers for the Miracle regathered. Enough power was gathered to create a massive, beating heart high in the sky. Now, the heart is protected by one of the Miracle’s most devout followers: Eviterno. Fortunately, the Miracle brought the Penitent One back to life. He is guided by an angelic woman named Anunciada. She tells him to, once again, put a stop to the Miracle. This time, he has to destroy the beating heart. Along with her guidance, the Penitent One will gain new allies, new weapons, and new powers to help him with this task.

One of the things I like about this story is that it’s more cohesive than the first. I had no idea why I was doing what I was supposed to in the first game. In Blasphemous II, there’s a clearer picture. The vague, Souls-like (that term — *sigh*) method of storytelling isn’t as prominent. Helping move the story forward are beautiful animation sequences that give more insight and information. The Penitent One doesn’t have anything to say, but the many faces he encounters will do enough talking for him. For those that really want to dig into the lore, every piece of inventory has paragraphs of story related information. It can be a lot to digest, but I always found myself getting excited to see what the new item did as well as the story behind it.

And let me tell you, there are plenty of goodies to discover in Blasphemous II. Once again, we have a 2D side-scrolling Metroidvania that takes place on a massive map filled with enemies, traps, and secrets. I was worried that the size of the map would be overwhelming, but it’s exponentially easier to get around now thanks to shortcuts, teleporters, and the ability to (eventually) warp between recovery points. When the game starts, you pick one of three weapons. The other two will be acquired through natural progression. These same weapons are also used to solve puzzles and traverse to new locations. I started with Sarmiento & Centella, a pair lightning infused short swords capable of quick attacks. The next weapon I found was Veredicto, a huge mace/club/morning star that can be ignited and swing in a massive arc. The last weapon was a long sword called Ruego Al Alba. This was the most similar to Blasphemous’ Mea Culpa.

Each weapon can be upgraded overtime via their skill trees to give The Penitent One a mighty arsenal of three. For passive abilities, The Penitent One can equip sculptures and up to five rosary beads. Finally, he can equip two Prayers (spells) at a time. There’s much more, too. All of this growth comes at a natural pace. It makes it feel like you’re growing alongside the protagonist. Players are still in for a difficult journey, but it’s nothing as unfair or ridiculous as the first game. I got far less game overs yet still found a solid challenge. In fact, there were many bosses that I was able to knockout on the first try. Learning a new ability to discover new areas is as thrilling as ever.

The presentation didn’t get much of an overhaul, but it didn’t need one. The soundtrack is wonderful. There’s a variety of solid tracks that range from ambient to energy-pounding. New and familiar areas from the first game look beautiful, haunting, and disturbing. As always, take the time to stop and stare at your surroundings once you finish massacring the multitude of unique enemies. There’s an endless level of exceptional detail that went into capturing the historic, Spanish Christianity theme. Enemies range in style from the grotesque to the intimidating. Bosses received even more stylizing. Seeing them fall usually results in a bloodbath of epic proportions.

Like I said in the introduction, my plan was to get through Blasphemous II quickly; something just to pass the time. The truth is that I finished everything I wanted, essentially earning 100 percent completion, with a little over 30 hours on the clock. I was sad to see it end. That leads to probably the biggest problem with Blasphemous II: replay ability. Once you’ve seen it all, there’s not much incentive for a replay. At least, not yet. The only game of this sub-genre I have replayed multiple times over the years is Symphony of the Night. Even then, those replays have been done over a span of many years. It’s tough to determine if Blasphemous II will get an eventual replay. But for the time it does last, it does what needs to be done and delivers an excellent adventure from start to end.

Overall, 8.5/10: The Game Kitchen cooked up a second serving ten times tastier than the first. Blasphemous II returns players to Cvstodia in a polished and powerful sequel.