Wait, what? I haven't played the last DLC, but I'd say that this game barely has 1/5th of the content of HK. Even at a slow pace, you can see EVERYTHING that's in it in less than 20 hours.
Still, the game is worth it even for the art alone.
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KickStarter Blasphemous - gorgeous looking religious horror metroidvania
- Thread starter Mynon
- Start date
Still, the game is worth it even for the art alone.
randir14
Augur
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2012
- Messages
- 762
Yes, amazing art style and music.
Curratum
Guest
My Steam review of Blasphemous:
A mediocre metroidvania with relatively poor controls where difficulty comes from the fact that all your actions have huge committal and recovery frames, while even early game enemies are very fast and even simple trash mobs are a massive chore to deal with.
The game's level design so far (4 hours in) is also very bland and the platforming and levels are pretty boring too. The only thing it really has going for it is the graphics and style, but that can't really save an otherwise mediocre experience.
I really don't care if the game "really opens up" and becomes "a lot better" another 4 hours in. I've spent nearly 4 hours in it and it's been a dull and mostly miserable experience. It's like the developer only read reviews of Dark Souls and added arbitrary "hard" elements and limited fast travel without understanding how and why any of it worked in the Dark Souls games.
A mediocre metroidvania with relatively poor controls where difficulty comes from the fact that all your actions have huge committal and recovery frames, while even early game enemies are very fast and even simple trash mobs are a massive chore to deal with.
The game's level design so far (4 hours in) is also very bland and the platforming and levels are pretty boring too. The only thing it really has going for it is the graphics and style, but that can't really save an otherwise mediocre experience.
I really don't care if the game "really opens up" and becomes "a lot better" another 4 hours in. I've spent nearly 4 hours in it and it's been a dull and mostly miserable experience. It's like the developer only read reviews of Dark Souls and added arbitrary "hard" elements and limited fast travel without understanding how and why any of it worked in the Dark Souls games.
toughasnails
Guest
So is there anything you actually enjoy playing? You are easily one of the most negative people I have encountered here and that's telling something.
Curratum
Guest
I've posted positive reviews for the following games over the past 12 months:
Streets of Rage 4
Car Mechanic Simulator 2021
Tank Mechanic Simulator
MX VS ATV All Out
Tannenberg
Insurgency
Escape Simulator
Northern Journey
RaceRoom Racing Experience
Project Cars 2
Mini Motorways
SpaceHulk Deathwing EE
MXGP 2020
BallisticNG
Granted, I've posted more negative reviews over the same period of time, but that should answer your question of what I like.
Oh yeah it does. These games - beat'em'ups, racing, simulators, military, shooters - are about as far from typical Codex tastes as the Earth is from the Sun. No wonder you're sour on RPGs, metrodvanias and shit like that.
Tom Selleck
Arcane
- Joined
- May 6, 2013
- Messages
- 1,223
Too bad there wasn't a BundleFodderCodex.net forum.
3 others
Augur
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2015
- Messages
- 262
Finished this over the springtime and had some leftover thoughts about it written in Notepad++ in tab new 27 so it's about time to post them since the successor game is out and all...
While it's a competent non-linear platformer (I refuse to use the wretched MV word for this genre), Blasphemous would be totally unremarkable were it not for its top-notch aesthetics, which I guess is an indicator of the glut of solid+ 2D platform games we're being flooded with these days. HAAK, Batbarian, Dead Cells, Vigil... 15 years ago this would have been a modern classic, now it's just one among many. "The one with the sick graphics", though.
Let's air some grievances first, because once you get past the novelty of playing as a walking traffic cone who refills his health bar by facepalming, it's notable how uninspired Blasphemous' game design is. My eyes were glazing over after the first visit in Albero where every damn retard had some collectibles to pimp. Oh here's a upgrade tree for the sword with all the appropriate downslashes, hit combos etc. available. Oh here are some rosary beads for switchable stat boosts. Oh could you bring some spices(!?) when taking a break from your heretic-bashing. Oh if you come across any remains of Brother Torremolinos of Goatse-infested Opulence can you bring them back here we're missing a thigh bone I think. Oh would you mind picking up any random holy relics you can get your hands on, I'm keeping a catalogue here. Oh by the way the currency we use here is calle FOR FUCKS SAKE LET ME GET ON WITH THE GAME.
There's just too much of this stuff. Maybe I've just grown lazy with the autofilling journals of our time but the sidequests in Blasphemous are a total mess. You pick up a bunch of lookalike relics from the levels and chat with the Albero retards everytime you pass through town, and sometimes an item you have triggers something, sometimes not.
That's a big problem with the game. Another one is uneven level design where you are likely to end up in situations where you can't properly see where the instakill spikes are down below. I mean, a Kierkegaardian leap of faith is thematically fitting in Blasphemous, but still. C'mon.
Now, why did I and millions of others play through this via-dolorosa-as-vidya-game? Because the aesthetics are so good, simple as. Take a look at this:
That's a throwaway enemy from the game, one of the very first you see. That's some brilliant animation work. The massive angel statue seems to weigh down on every damn pixel it renders on your computer screen. The impact of the hit, the dent on the ground, the arduousness of her every movement... astonishing. Not all characters or animations are of such high quality, but I think Blasphemous has this distinct look where it's just pure 2D pixel artistry, no outlines, no shaders, nothing superfluous. When you see a screenshot of Blasphemous in action, you recognize it, even if ol' conehead isn't in it.
And it's not just about the pixel animation that sets Blasphemous apart, but the complete thematic and artistic direction in it. The game successfully sells the player character, El Penitente, as being this heretical agent of destruction rampaging through the twisted world of Cvstodia. By the end - at the Crisanta fight to be exact - it feels like YOU are the apocalyptic aggressor and she's the last line of defense, trying to keep you at bay with her desperate yet unwavering attacks. Lots of elements combine to make plenty of memorable scenes throughout the game. They really nailed the overall theme of Catholic horror (although the Grievous Miracle at the core of it behaves more like a capricious djinn than God). I'm not sure if the player character, El Penitente, is intended to be an all-destroying heretic or merely one of many agents acting out the will of the Grievous Miracle in one wicked way or another. The Spanish voiceover is really solid, and adds to the mystique of the game for an illiterate pleb like yours truly. MISTERIOOSOS SONOS LAS STRADAS DE MILAAGROOO-O.
One aspect that gets lost in praise of the graphics is the other side of the audiovisual coin. The level background tracks are generally unremarkable with the occasional flair of a nice flamenco lick but damn, the boss music tracks are something else. There's this very recognizable, distinct drone in all of them that creates an unsettling melancholy mood to these fights. Digging deeper for some lore, the audio designer apparently attempted to build (or print) a hurdy-gurdy himself but it didn't turn out exactly correct so it has this odd tone that's somewhere between a classic hurdy-gurdy and bagpipes. Nevertheless, the devs thankfully went through with it and we got an album's worth of solid doom metal out of it. When the music and visuals both hit the mark at the same time, Blasphemous is nothing short of glorious. The high point came at the Melquiades fight where the cheekily named boss concept, animation, and music track combine to a very memorable mercykilling of a long-dead archbishop and his eternal funeral procession.
While it's a competent non-linear platformer (I refuse to use the wretched MV word for this genre), Blasphemous would be totally unremarkable were it not for its top-notch aesthetics, which I guess is an indicator of the glut of solid+ 2D platform games we're being flooded with these days. HAAK, Batbarian, Dead Cells, Vigil... 15 years ago this would have been a modern classic, now it's just one among many. "The one with the sick graphics", though.
Let's air some grievances first, because once you get past the novelty of playing as a walking traffic cone who refills his health bar by facepalming, it's notable how uninspired Blasphemous' game design is. My eyes were glazing over after the first visit in Albero where every damn retard had some collectibles to pimp. Oh here's a upgrade tree for the sword with all the appropriate downslashes, hit combos etc. available. Oh here are some rosary beads for switchable stat boosts. Oh could you bring some spices(!?) when taking a break from your heretic-bashing. Oh if you come across any remains of Brother Torremolinos of Goatse-infested Opulence can you bring them back here we're missing a thigh bone I think. Oh would you mind picking up any random holy relics you can get your hands on, I'm keeping a catalogue here. Oh by the way the currency we use here is calle FOR FUCKS SAKE LET ME GET ON WITH THE GAME.
There's just too much of this stuff. Maybe I've just grown lazy with the autofilling journals of our time but the sidequests in Blasphemous are a total mess. You pick up a bunch of lookalike relics from the levels and chat with the Albero retards everytime you pass through town, and sometimes an item you have triggers something, sometimes not.
That's a big problem with the game. Another one is uneven level design where you are likely to end up in situations where you can't properly see where the instakill spikes are down below. I mean, a Kierkegaardian leap of faith is thematically fitting in Blasphemous, but still. C'mon.
Now, why did I and millions of others play through this via-dolorosa-as-vidya-game? Because the aesthetics are so good, simple as. Take a look at this:
That's a throwaway enemy from the game, one of the very first you see. That's some brilliant animation work. The massive angel statue seems to weigh down on every damn pixel it renders on your computer screen. The impact of the hit, the dent on the ground, the arduousness of her every movement... astonishing. Not all characters or animations are of such high quality, but I think Blasphemous has this distinct look where it's just pure 2D pixel artistry, no outlines, no shaders, nothing superfluous. When you see a screenshot of Blasphemous in action, you recognize it, even if ol' conehead isn't in it.
And it's not just about the pixel animation that sets Blasphemous apart, but the complete thematic and artistic direction in it. The game successfully sells the player character, El Penitente, as being this heretical agent of destruction rampaging through the twisted world of Cvstodia. By the end - at the Crisanta fight to be exact - it feels like YOU are the apocalyptic aggressor and she's the last line of defense, trying to keep you at bay with her desperate yet unwavering attacks. Lots of elements combine to make plenty of memorable scenes throughout the game. They really nailed the overall theme of Catholic horror (although the Grievous Miracle at the core of it behaves more like a capricious djinn than God). I'm not sure if the player character, El Penitente, is intended to be an all-destroying heretic or merely one of many agents acting out the will of the Grievous Miracle in one wicked way or another. The Spanish voiceover is really solid, and adds to the mystique of the game for an illiterate pleb like yours truly. MISTERIOOSOS SONOS LAS STRADAS DE MILAAGROOO-O.
One aspect that gets lost in praise of the graphics is the other side of the audiovisual coin. The level background tracks are generally unremarkable with the occasional flair of a nice flamenco lick but damn, the boss music tracks are something else. There's this very recognizable, distinct drone in all of them that creates an unsettling melancholy mood to these fights. Digging deeper for some lore, the audio designer apparently attempted to build (or print) a hurdy-gurdy himself but it didn't turn out exactly correct so it has this odd tone that's somewhere between a classic hurdy-gurdy and bagpipes. Nevertheless, the devs thankfully went through with it and we got an album's worth of solid doom metal out of it. When the music and visuals both hit the mark at the same time, Blasphemous is nothing short of glorious. The high point came at the Melquiades fight where the cheekily named boss concept, animation, and music track combine to a very memorable mercykilling of a long-dead archbishop and his eternal funeral procession.
it's definitely carried it's visual and aesthethics. like it isn't a bad game at all, it's quite good but mechanics wise it just seemed pretty bare when compared to something like hollow knight, which badge system may sound simplistic at first, but became a pretty involved when you have a lot of option.
my main complain is how the level are designed. i can't put why, traversing the world just feel boring compared to HK, even if HK is twice as long.
my main complain is how the level are designed. i can't put why, traversing the world just feel boring compared to HK, even if HK is twice as long.
I grew to appreciate B1's gameplay and level design more when I played FIST and Death's Gambit. Those two games are truly average and B1 is better.
B2 already purchased, waiting for some free time to burn.
B2 already purchased, waiting for some free time to burn.
biffthestiff
Educated
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2021
- Messages
- 107
I can't remembered how this ended up in my GOG collection, but I recently finished this and would recommend it to fans of the genre.
The Good:
The OK:
The Ugly:
Based on this game, I want to play Blasphemous 2. Can anyone tell me if the DLC updates for Blasphemous were free, or separate paid addons? My game had all DLCs included, if I buy B2 now will the future DLCs be free, or additional purchases? I'm a patient guy, I can wait a few years for a final edition.
The Good:
- The art
- The music. I just love that flamenco guitar soundtrack, half the songs remind me of Tristram from Diablo. And I loved how a gentle theme from earlier in the game was punched up to become an emotional boss theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3GwYNZcHAg . And the lovely theme that plays in those shitty DLC crystal platform challenges somehow made them tolerable.
- Well-designed map, gives you access to lots of areas to explore. If you get stuck, go somewhere else and get some improvements.
- Length is perfect, my save shows 27 hours and I think I did everything
The OK:
- The controls are serviceable Metroidvania
- Difficulty seemed perfectly-balanced. Probably too easy for genre veterans, but there's special challenges in NG+ for the turboautists. As a veteran but not to autistic degrees, I was able to beat most bosses on the 1st try, some of them took 2-3 tries. But I did run around upgrading what I could.
The Ugly:
- The writing is just up its own ass about being a dark edgy game. It's just an avalanche of obscure religious text with $10 words. I'm not impressed. The story was hard to understand without resorting to a wiki. Hopefully ChatGPT will help the devs write better dialog in future games.
- I'm just not a fan of the "player must piece together the story by reading 2 sentences from every item's description" Dark Souls style of story telling. I'm not gonna remember a tidbit from the description of an item I found 10 hours ago and connect the dots, some of us have work in the morning!
- You better be taking quest notes and writing markers on your map, because the game won't do it for you. If you take a break from this game and didn't take notes diligently, you're probably screwed.
Based on this game, I want to play Blasphemous 2. Can anyone tell me if the DLC updates for Blasphemous were free, or separate paid addons? My game had all DLCs included, if I buy B2 now will the future DLCs be free, or additional purchases? I'm a patient guy, I can wait a few years for a final edition.
There's a simple explanation why the cryptic stories in soulslikes/metroidvanias are so attractive for the devs - they hide how dull and uninspiring the plots really are. If you wrote them in a straightforward way everybody would be rolling their eyes. Instead there are lore videos with millions of views. Win-win.
Also yes, the DLCs for the first Blasphemous were all free.
Also yes, the DLCs for the first Blasphemous were all free.
To be fair, HK also used this style of minimalist storytelling, and did so pretty effectively imo. I think a lot of these other Metroidvanias devs now just subconsciously associate that style with the genre. The only recent one I’ve played that had a simple, straightforward story was F.I.S.T., and the less said about that game’s furry fanfic writing the better.
Elwro
Arcane
Guys, a question. I'm not enjoying the exhumed archbishop boss fight. Perhaps I have reached him with my sword being too weak: it's level 4. What's the sword level he's manageably fought at? [I have 6 flasks, upgraded once.] Perhaps I've missed some mea culpa shrines...
[fortunately I have the teleport, it's quite a time-saver...]
[fortunately I have the teleport, it's quite a time-saver...]
3 others
Augur
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2015
- Messages
- 262
I don't recall the archbishop being much of a roadblock, which was a shame because the music track is the best in Blasphemous.
It's not a methodical parryfest like the previous bossfight against that dude on the bridge where I got my ass kicked 50 times. It's more of a damage-dealing and health-boosting race, so I guess it can be frustrating if you're not geared up. There was some ranged special ability that was effective against the hands that keep Melquiades out of your reach, though.
It's not a methodical parryfest like the previous bossfight against that dude on the bridge where I got my ass kicked 50 times. It's more of a damage-dealing and health-boosting race, so I guess it can be frustrating if you're not geared up. There was some ranged special ability that was effective against the hands that keep Melquiades out of your reach, though.
Elwro
Arcane
Thx. I somehow managed to befriend the guy on the bridge so honestly the bosses have been easy up to this point.
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