Blasphemous 2

Blasphemous 2 is a metroidvania platformer from the Spanish studio The Game Kitchen that continues the dark, religiously-themed world of the first entry, full of gothic architecture, bloody symbolism, and religious motifs inspired by Spanish tradition. The player again takes on the role of the Penitent One and traverses an interconnected world where they gradually gain three distinct weapons, each with its own combat style and special abilities needed to progress into new areas and unlock shortcuts between already-visited places. Combat is more demanding and thought-out than in the first entry, with an emphasis on precise dodge timing, parrying, and using the right weapon against a given type of enemy.

On Xbox Series X|S the game launched simultaneously with all other platforms and runs in high resolution with a smooth framerate, which matters for the demanding combat and precise platforming sections. The hand-drawn pixel-art graphics, with detailed character and environment animations, look very striking on modern TVs, and the dark, religiously-inspired music does a good job of reinforcing the whole game's grim atmosphere.

Contemporary reception was very positive, with critics praising above all the improved combat, richer level design, and greater build variety compared to the first entry, where the player's options were somewhat more limited. Blasphemous 2 ranks among the best-reviewed metroidvanias of its year and confirms that a smaller Spanish studio can keep pace with the best in this extremely competitive genre even after releasing only one previous entry. The distinctive visual style inspired by Spanish baroque and religious iconography also gives the game a strong identity that's easy to recognize among dozens of other recent metroidvanias. The branching map, connected by shortcuts and gradually unlocked abilities, also rewards careful exploration and returning to previously inaccessible parts of the world.

Why play it: For fans of metroidvanias craving the improved combat and richer level design of the first entry, now in a distinctive visual style inspired by Spanish baroque.