2023-08-30 14:00:00
Analysis of Blasphemous 2 for Xbox Series X.
Personally, I believe that there is no video game that better represents Spanish folklore than Blasphemous. This metroidvania developed by The Game Kitchen It was released four years ago and won the hearts of millions of players, both inside and outside our country. Its success is due to a fascinating imagery inspired by the culture and myths of the Andalusia region. The title gave us a huge world to explore, where the Christian religion passed through a dark filter worthy of the works of Miyazaki. Although almost everything in Blasphemous was outstanding, the game suffered from small imperfections typical of a first installment. Now, the Seville studio has wanted to redeem its sins with Blasphemous 2a sequel that is much more polished in playability and with a sublime technical section.
Wake up Penitent again, because the Miracle is going to give birth to a new son
Years have passed since the events of the first game. The miracle is about to give birth to a new child and has erected a huge heart on the City of the Holy Name. This has made the Penitent has awakened from its slumber. Following the instructions of Announcedwe will have to deal with this scion now the Archconfraternitya group of penitents chosen to act as sentinels.
During our adventure through Cvstodia, we will come across many of the most extravagant characters who will send us additional tasks. In the same way, we will also face countless enemies and monsters that are the result of corruption or the most extreme devotion.
The holy trinity of weapons
One of the main what’s new in Blasphemous 2 is in combat, or rather in their weapons. Yes, I said “weapons” in the plural, because in this installment we will say goodbye to our loyal sword Mea Culpa to choose at the beginning of the adventure between three new combat tools:
I pray to the dawn: A balanced sword, more typical, although a bit lighter than the original.
Sarmiento and Centella: a pair of very fast swords in combat that do less damage. suitable for a build dexterity thanks to its versatility.
verdict: a giant censer. It is much slower than the other two, but makes up for it with much more powerful hits.
these three weapons have their own unique skill tree that we can improve to unlock new combos and special powers.
If you are thinking about which is the best of all or you are making a sketch to see which is the best for you, do not worry. Although in the early stages of the game we can carry only one, later we can get the other two. This is because weapons, in addition to defending ourselves, They will also serve to open hidden paths or to create platforms that help us reach new places. A mechanic that makes Blasphemous 2 feel even more metroidvania than the previous one.
Of course, they could not miss the prayers. The powerful magical attacks that used to mash enemies are back, but now they are divided into two types. On the one hand, we will have versesWhat are they fast attacks that consume little fervor, but don’t do much damage. And on the other the cornersWhat are they very powerful magical attacks, but therefore also consume much more fervor.
The only but that I have found related to combat is in the contact damage with enemies. On many occasions I have felt exposed or cornered by enemies that do not stop hurting me just by getting closer. You get trapped between two or between one of them and a wall. You are constantly being knocked down and hurt again when you get up again. So until, finally, you end up dying without remedy and with the feeling that it was an unfair situation.
Deliver us from evil
And it is that Blasphemous 2 is somewhat more open as far as exploration is concerned. From the first moment we can go for several objectives in the order we want. By unlocking new abilities for the Griever (which will now be fixed and not dependent on equippable items) we’ll also unlock the ability to jump higher or climb to get to places we couldn’t reach before. This is something that enhances the backtracking and it even allows us to plant ourselves in very advanced areas of the game practically from the beginning.
If we talk about motionin this second installment we will realize that much more polished. You only need to pick up the controller to realize that the Griever is now more agile and responds much more precisely. If we accompany this with new physics, the result is exquisite gameplay.
Can you do me a favor?
Another great novelty in this sequel are the “favors”. Upon reaching the city that will act as the central lobby of the whole adventure, we will find Martinez Montanesan Andalusian image maker who will make us a altarpiece where can we put some wooden figurines. We will find these statuettes in all areas of Cvstodia and they will help us to get passive skills. In addition, they can be combined by changing their position in each section of the altarpiece, even reaching create synergies between them. Something that will come in handy if we want to focus the action towards a specific style of play or weapon.
Does this mean that the rosary has disappeared? Well the answer is no. The rosary will continue to be very present and we will continue finding beads or knots to create it. The difference is that now its effects will be more focused on defense.
Blasphemous 2 and its miraculous technical section
I wanted to save the best for last, because if there is something that has fascinated me about Blasphemous 2 it is its audiovisual display. The franchise already started from the beginning with outstanding notes in the technical section. But as if it were a miracle, the people of The Game Kitchen have managed to raise one more level of perfection.
First of all, we have your classic pixel art graphic style. It seemed impossible to see it prettier than in the previous Blasphemous, but my mouth dropped open when I saw the high level of detail in each character and enemy, the very fluid animations of the Penitent or the effects of each attack and prayer. Similarly, all the settings maintain that perfection. They represent on several occasions almost in a traced way many iconic places in Andalusia such as the Alhambra in Granada, the Mosque-Cathedral in Córdoba and parts of the cathedral in Seville. The beautiful cinematics that take place at key moments in the game have also caught my attention. Designed by the Madrid studio Sunshine Animationthey recreate very cool scenes with a very elaborate 2D animation.
The dubbing, of course, is not far behind either.. This is something you will realize as soon as you start the game. You will remember that in Blasphemous 1 the Spanish dubbing was added as part of a free DLC in 2020, three years after its premiere. well in this time we will have him from the beginning, and its quality could not be higher. It should be said that the game is also in English, but the typical accents of the different regions of Spain that have certain characters are lost. The repertoire of voices that we will find is very varied and, to avoid spoilers, I will only tell you that many of them will be very familiar to you.
Definitely
Blasphemous 2 is the perfect example of overcoming. A sequel that takes all the strengths of the original game as a starting point and adds well-implemented new features. The folks at The Game Kitchen have greatly improved the control of the Griever, allowing us a nimble and precise movement that is instantly noticeable. Now the metroidvania factor is more present, although I have missed the occasional platform challenge. If we add to all this the new and versatile weapons, its spectacular graphics and a dubbing that is a blessing, we are facing a title that every lover of the genre should have in their library.
Blasphemous 2
29,99 €
Pros
Much more agile and fluid controls The three new weapons are a blessing It has more of a Metroidvania character Its pixel art is a real beauty The dubbing is of a very high quality
Cons
Contact damage with enemies is sometimes unfair
#Analysis #Blasphemous #Blessed #penance