I was never into religion myself, but I find the concept of religion itself quite fascinating. Blasphemous is a game that explores religion in its own way, through its intricately woven lore.
Blasphemous is set in a town called Cvstodia, where a mysterious God called The Miracle has corrupted the land and its inhabitants. You play as The Penitent One, a silent warrior who wears a metal helmet shaped like a crown of thorns. Your mission is to free Cvstodia from The Miracle by slaying its grotesque manifestations and uncovering its secrets. The story actually runs quite deep if you want to dig in, but it's up to you how much importance you wish to give to the plot. If you wish to delve deeper, I would suggest watching this video.
As you progress further along the storyline, you discover shortcuts back to places you have visited before. There is some backtracking, but the tediousness is outweighed by the sheer beauty of the pixel art.
The combat is the only area in the game that I felt needed some improvement. For the most part, you only have one move, some combos and a dash. The combat is still pretty good, but this game would have been a 5/5 if the movement was a bit more fluid and dynamic.
The bosses present a difficult but fair challenge. Every boss has a different moveset and most look quite different from the others. The NPCs and bosses are all grotesque in their own right, and I would venture to say the game pulls off the "ugly" art style excellently. For around $20, Blasphemous is absolutely worth the money and is a must play.
Very good game. I like. 4/5.
Back to top