Blasphemous 2 Revolutionizes Soulslikes with Game-Changing Innovations

Highlights

Blasphemous 2 is a fulfilling Metroidvania and Soulslike game that builds upon its predecessor with fluid platforming and a wider arsenal of weapons.

The gameplay in Blasphemous 2 is enriched by its distinct dark fantasy Catholicism theme, offering players various combat options through prayers and rosary beads.

In Blasphemous 2, the true challenge lies not in the exceptionally difficult bosses, but rather in maneuvering through challenging rooms and confronting enemies in order to reach them. This aspect makes returning to previous locations more demanding.

Blasphemous 2 may have fallen behind in players' gaming queues last week due to the influx of new game releases and the early access period of Starfield. However, this sequel has successfully embraced its role as a Metroidvania and Soulslike game, surpassing its predecessor. Blasphemous 2 primarily leans towards the Metroidvania genre, offering smoother platforming mechanics, while still retaining the fantastic elements of the original game.

One of the key aspects that sets Blasphemous apart is its incorporation of dark fantasy Catholicism, which is skillfully integrated into features such as rosary beads and prayers. This allows players to have numerous options during thrilling combat encounters. Unlike the first game, which only had the Mea Culpa sword as the sole weapon, Blasphemous 2 introduces three distinct weapons that players can acquire over time. Despite the expanded arsenal, the game maintains its distinguishing feature from FromSoftware's games and other Soulslikes: the bosses themselves may not be overly challenging, but the real difficulty lies in reaching them.

FromSoftware’s Bosses are Its Pinnacle of Difficulty

In FromSoftware's lineup of Souls-esque games, it has become a customary practice for the bosses to take center stage. The remarkable world-building and level design by FromSoftware lead players on an exploration journey that ultimately culminates in confronting a boss, who serves as the guardian of a specific area. Overcoming these formidable opponents grants access to new territories, and it is these boss encounters that commonly pose the greatest challenge in these types of games.

Boss fights are often portrayed as grand spectacles, where FromSoftware and other developers of Soulslike games unleash their creative brilliance in art design. Navigating the intricate worlds of these games and discovering these bosses can prove to be a challenging task, as players' familiarity with the region plays a crucial role. Nevertheless, players typically have the ability to avoid most enemies on their path towards facing a boss.

Getting to Bosses is When Blasphemous is Most Difficult

These ‘run-backs’ can be quite tedious as players often face defeat against a boss and are required to make their way back to the fog gate each time. However, this repetitive process serves the purpose of helping players become familiar with the area and discover the most efficient routes to navigate through that particular part of the game. The underlying concept is that players will undoubtedly perish numerous times while attempting to defeat a boss, but at least the journey back to them is relatively painless.

In Blasphemous 2, the roles are reversed, as bosses can be easily telegraphed or exploited, especially with the numerous new combat options available to the Penitent One. However, the rooms that must be traversed to reach these bosses can be extremely bothersome.

Rooms preceding bosses in Blasphemous are consistently filled with enemies strategically placed to challenge players. This design choice, influenced by the game's 2D geometry, often requires late-game abilities to bypass certain adversaries and makes maneuvering through blocked passageways a recurring task. While Blasphemous 2 improves on its predecessor's platforming difficulties, most rooms remain a challenging ordeal.

Fortunately, The Game Kitchen provides a refreshing twist compared to other Soulslike games by making the bosses in Blasphemous relatively easier to defeat. This approach balances the game, making the runs back to bosses more exhausting and arduous. However, players may not have to endure frequent demoralizing treks while revisiting areas for collectibles and questline progression, which is a separate concern altogether.

Blasphemous 2 is out now for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.