4/5 ★ – jk26's review of Blasphemous.

Oh Blasphemous, where to even begin... The ambience and art style of the game is just, "Chef's Kiss," So well done and unique, dark and gritty, with gothic religious overtones, it is just very my cup of tea. I read other reviews before playing the game and many commented at how hard the game was, I would not consider myself an expert at the metroidvania genre or gaming in general, I would not call this game overly difficult, it certainly has it's challenging moments but with some practice and learning what the game is requiring of you I was never overly frustrated or lost. I didn't obsess over 100%-ing all side quests and did turn to a game guide if I was truly stuck as opposed to beating my head into the wall, but I found the combat and all the bosses (save for the last one) fun and the perfect amount challenging. That last boss is just unoriginal and not overly engaging, a disappointing end to what is mostly an air tight and awesome experience. For reference I did get the bad ending, but I looked up the good ending and it was definitely more satisfying. However I don't see myself returning to this to do all of the random things required to get that ending. The lore is rich, deep and interesting. Every single item in the game has a lengthy backstory, ties into some other character, or ties into multiple other items and a character. It's just so fun discovering everything and reading about the crazy shit they came up with! It's also all so deliciously dark! The platforming is honestly the weakest part of the experience it doesn't do anything super interesting, but is really never overly challenging, but the combat was satisfying enough to hold my attention through the end. The DLC is nothing to write home about but it's free and that's great! All in all I loved Blasphemous, a beautiful and interesting art style and story that was just perfectly dark, this would be a great pick up to play before Halloween, and anyone who enjoys metroidvanias should enjoy this. It firmly cemented that I really like the genre, and it inspired me to explore other titles and dive into them now!