NO. 11 IN THE INDEX · METROIDVANIA · SOULSLIKE · ACTION
Blasphemous
Penance, pixel art and a sword made of guilt.
By the editorial desk · The Game Kitchen, 2019 · Steam version
Bannered
Tier B · 82/100
THE VERDICT
A fever dream worth fifteen hours. Great.
A 2D soulslike Metroidvania steeped in Andalusian religious imagery. Grotesque, beautiful and unlike anything else in the codex.
The ledger
- Developer
- The Game Kitchen
- Publisher
- Team17
- Released
- 10 September 2019
- Steam builds
- Windows, macOS, Linux
- Steam Deck
- Verified
- Modes
- Single-player
- Steam price
- $24.99
- Typical playtime
- ~15 hours
- Cost per hour
- ≈ $1.67
The world
The land of Cvstodia suffers under the Miracle, a curse that turns guilt into flesh. You are the Penitent One, last of a silent brotherhood, on a pilgrimage of blood. The pixel art and the cathedral-heavy soundtrack make every screen look like a painting from a darker century.
Blasphemous key art
The fight
Weighty sword combat with parries, executions and prayers. It is solid rather than deep, and the brutal animations do as much work as the mechanics.
The build
Rosary beads, relics and prayers allow small adjustments; this is not a build game.
The trial
Platforming hazards that kill instantly and a few tough bosses make it demanding, though far more forgiving than a 3D soulslike.
The port
Light on hardware and native on all three desktop systems. Verified on Steam Deck, where it looks wonderful.
Worthy
- Art direction with no equal in the genre
- A soundtrack that sounds like a cathedral burning
- Short enough to finish, dense enough to remember
- Perfect on Steam Deck
Unworthy
- Instant-death spikes feel cheap
- Shallow build options
- Backtracking without enough fast travel
Who should enter
Metroidvania fans and anyone drawn to its imagery. If 2D platforming frustrates you, try Darkest Dungeon for your gothic fix.
How the score was reached
- Combat 25%
- 82
- World & lore 25%
- 92
- Builds & systems 20%
- 72
- Fair challenge 15%
- 78
- PC port 15%
- 92
Highest art direction relative to price.
Kindred worlds
Chosen for how they feel to play, not just the genre tag.
