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Blasphemous - Switch Review - preliminary

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https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/blasphemous-switch/

 

Any review I do I will try to keep short and sweet.

Got Blasphemous for the switch. Now this is a mixed bag for me as I love harder, dark, brooding, lore based games but do actually tremendously DESPISE metroidvania games, at least in the 2d sense. I LOVE the souls borne series and while those "could" classify as metroidvania, in a 3d world its really just not the same and this comparison becomes uncanny since, as with EVERYTHING out since dark souls 1 (why demons souls is always ignored is beyond me), its compared to the souls series. 2d takes on souls games seem to be big business and while I started salt n sanctuary and quit after the first boss I MIGHT actually see myself finishing this one as I did Hollow Knight. I started it last night, passed the first boss and ended up in some area that appeared to be underground with a ton of platforms that needed activating. Not sure how else I could describe it. The only reason I stopped was because my guy literally got locked into a pixel after a glitched jump and I was too frustrated to do everything again. It's going to suck going back over everything I already did to collect my "guilt".  I see two things in this game I'm still trying to decipher. Tears, which seem to be currency for "something" and guilt which builds upon death. I guess with each death if you don't go recollect your guilt (which is a ghost image of yourself left at your place of death) it will build upon itself making the game harder (?). You can collect this guilt like you would your souls or blood puddle or find this games version of an absolver to cleanse your guilt for tears. I have yet to find anyone to give tears to though. I've also not gotten to any point where I can upgrade my stats/skills or get new equipment, if this even exists. I have however found items I can equip on my "rosary" which will give you certain buffs and skills and prayer scrolls which would be this games magic.

update/edit: So tears are used for upgrades to your moveset. I found a shortcut in the zone I was in last night and was able to backtrack to where I was in the beginning at some tower I suppose is supposed to be a hub of some sort, like the Nexus in Demons Souls. There on the bottom left I found a room to offer tears to for upgrades. I must have went right past it in the first run. I then found out guilt affects your prayer "magic" meter. Each death makes it shorter and shorter. I have yet to actually use my one prayer though. I really should try them. Paying a statue "somewhere" tears also clears your guilt for you if you can't or just don't feel like going back for your ghosty thing after death. One really good and fair aspect of Blasphemous is the fact you do not lose your tears on death, only your guilt. This could make for some good farming later when using an item I have that lets you receive more tears for each kill.

Pros:

great controls: While SaltnSanct's controls to me were lumbering and slow this games has some really tight controls. The combat is much faster, on par I'd say with Hollow Knight. Attacking is swift and powerful. Like Souls games ripostes are a big part of combat as well with a properly landed ripo occasionally leaving the opponent open for heavier damage. I find jumping to be swift, making the platforming actually bearable. There is a slide move you can supposedly use to avoid attacks but I don't think I've gotten the timing out for that quite yet. I'm sure if I did I could probably avoid more battles making for quicker traversing.

Great atmosphere: The world in this game is grim..... like really grim. It's borderline depressing just to look at. The art style is very fitting and the voice overs are perfect. The enemies so far seem pretty out there and varied with each one seemingly inflicted with some repentance based torture, which is obviously the underlying theme of the game.

cons:

2d: I hate metroidvania 2d style games. I hate looking at a world where you can literally only see 22ft in any direction. The thing that makes the Souls games so wonderful is being able to see where you really want to go. I truly makes trekking places (before fast travel opens) more enjoyable and pass by so much faster. In this 2d world it just feels like it takes SOOOOOO LONG to get anywhere. Death drops you back at your last save point, which are luckily pretty leniently spaced out right now but even a few screens to regain your lost "guilt" (I guess this games souls or humanity, I haven't figured it out yet) after death just feels tedious. Personally I think fast travel right from the beginning in 2d games should be a must. I'm technically in a zone that I'm not sure I should be and getting back to the start just seems like it will take FOREVER. In a 3d environment you can usually rush back to the previous zone just avoiding enemies but in a 2d world you are literally stuck at 90% of enemies like a wall forced into re fighting them to proceed. Maybe this could be avoided if I perfected the slide though, not sure yet. It's almost forcing me to keep going until I will most definitely hit a boss I am not leveled up enough to fight yet. In Hollow knight this was actually not a horrible issue as fast travel points opened fairly early and the platforming was so swift you could travel around fairly easily or even take bosses on early. I ended up beating most of the game (up to tower defenders) without ever upgrading my nail and didn't know it. Mantis lords were actually one of the first bosses I fought and beat relatively easily but again, I'm used to FROM games now. Though the movement is swift in this, it's not unbelievably swift. It's meant to more replicate movement of an actual person, not an insect who can leap around like..... well and insect. It would be nice to even have something like a dark sign that I could use to just go back to a previous save spot. I also feel like, even though there is a map, an atrocious map, it's going to be VERY hard to navigate this world. More playing will see.

 

I'd actually go out on a limb and say 22$ for this on switch is worth it if you really like depressing, dark shit and 2d style metroidvania. Definitely already better than Salt n Sanctuary.