The Game Kitchen is based in Seville, famed for its Holy Week procession... which explains a lotresult is a fantasy setting which feels
much fresher than your standard world
of dungeons and dragons. You’ll fight
enemies dragging marble angels like
crucifixes over their shoulders, seek
help from crying statues, kneel at
candlelit shrines held aloft by a dozen
tiny figures.
This is not a game which is subtle
about its influences – apparently
developer The Game Kitchen skipped
over the Eighth Commandment, “Thou
Shalt Not Steal” – and that goes for
other games as much as it does
religious artefacts. Blasphemous is
a solid modern metroidvania, with
all the joys of finding secret areas
behind smashable walls, and opening
up shortcuts which let you bypass a
tricky encounter.
Say your prayers
Blasphemous also incorporates many
of the twists to the metroidvania
formula introduced by Dark
Souls. Prie Dieu shrines are this
game’s equivalent of Bonfires, the
checkpoints that heal you and
resurrect all enemies in the world,
while Biliary Flasks replace the healing
Estus Flasks. Rosary Beads work much
like Hollow Knight’s Charms: small
boosts to your abilities which can be
equipped a few at a time. These might
not be the most original ideas in the
world, but they work nicely.
The game does have one invention
of its own, though, called (what else?)
Guilt. Whenever the Penitent One falls,
he leaves behind a Guilt Fragment.
While it sits there, a mocking
reminder of your failures, it’s harder
to accumulate Tears Of Atonement,
the game’s currency, and your Fervor
bar, used to unleash special attacks,
becomes overgrown with thorns
that reduce its capacity. Multiple
Fragments can be dropped, reducing
your power until you make your way
back to them. It’s a nice twist on theway death and progression are linked
in a Souls game.
Most of Blasphemous’ finest
inventions come in the form of
its setting. There’s always a fresh
surprise to delight you, pulling at
some half-forgotten memory of
visiting a church then twisting that
image into something perverse.
Catholic guilt never felt this good. QCASTLE(VANIA)
CRASHERS
Metroidvania games
have seen something
of a resurgence of
late. Originally named
for the combination of
Castlevania and
Metroid – two games
that are pretty much
ancient at this point- the genre has been
given a new lease of
life since Dark Souls’
3D reinvention of the
concept, with many
indie developers
taking those ideas
back to a traditional
2D incarnation. In
recent years, Xbox
has been blessed
with the Steamworld
games, Ori And The
Blind Forest and, king
of them all, Team
Cherry’s magnificent
Hollow Knight.
“In Blasphemous
every body is
just a bag of
blood waiting to
be exploded”
FAR LEFT
Environments
are as beautiful
as they are
haunting.
RIGHT The
Penitent One’s
idle power
stance is really
something.OXM VERDICT
Dark, bold and
satisfying. Like all
the best sins,
Blasphemous is
bloody good fun.8
LEFT Use a good
old-fashioned
parry attack to
do away with
these shielded
grunts.More Xbox news at gamesradar.com/oxm THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 083REVIEW