Unleashing the Divine: Blasphemous 2 Must Embrace the Spirit of Hollow Knight

Highlights

Blasphemous 2 introduces three starting weapons, which adds a strategic element to combat and affects accessibility to certain areas.

The pixel art style of the map in Blasphemous 2 makes it challenging to read and locate points of interest, hindering the player's ability. In contrast, Hollow Knight offers a more versatile and user-friendly map. It includes clear markers and a helpful item that reveals collectible grub critters, which would have been beneficial for finding the cherubs in Blasphemous 2.

Blasphemous 2 instantly sets itself apart from its predecessor by offering players three different starting weapons to choose from. This decision has significant implications for combat, as well as determining which areas of the game will be accessible. However, despite some improvements, the sequel's map still struggles to accurately represent points of interest, which is a missed opportunity.

The map's difficulty lies in its retention of Blasphemous' signature pixel art style. This makes it challenging to interpret the map's geometry, as it is rigid and often obscures the few markers that are present. The only way to determine if a room or passage connects to another is by identifying a small notched space on one side, but this logic is contradicted by secret rooms and hidden walls. Additionally, the map's markers are too arbitrary and sparse to effectively serve their intended purpose, with the cherubs in Blasphemous 2 being the biggest offender.

Hollow Knight’s Grubs Become Easier to Track Thanks to the Collector's Map

In many ways, Hollow Knight shares similarities with Blasphemous, which speaks to the high quality of both games as Metroidvania/Soulslike titles. While Hollow Knight also adopts a 2D format like Blasphemous, it distinguishes itself with a unique art style that allows for more freedom in creating diverse and dynamically shaped environments. The map of Hollow Knight's Hallownest can feature rigid and geometric outlines, as well as rounded and varied shapes depending on the specific landscape.

Furthermore, Hollow Knight provides players with a legend to help them identify important points of interest on the map, and they even have the option to place custom markers. This feature proves extremely useful for navigation, although some players may initially struggle to locate hidden grubs.

These adorable green critters,

Blasphemous’ Cherubs Can Be a Chore to Backtrack to and Find

In both Blasphemous and Blasphemous 2, there are angelic cherubs that can be freed by players. These cherubs serve two different purposes and offer unique rewards, much like the grubs in Hollow Knight. Just like with the grubs, players can revisit an NPC who will reward them based on the number of cherubs they have freed. However, finding these cherubs can be equally challenging as they are hidden in the deepest corners and crevices of the map.

Searching for the last few cherubs in the game becomes tedious for players nearing completion. It would be helpful if The Game Kitchen added a Collector's Map in Blasphemous 2 to locate these remaining cherubs, relieving players of the burden of backtracking and searching online guides. Many games include such quality-of-life features, and it's unfortunate that Blasphemous 2, like its predecessor, did not include one. However, considering Blasphemous' post-launch DLC and updates, there is hope that Blasphemous 2 will address this issue in future updates.

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