Game Review: Blasphemous – A Sinful Pilgrimage into a Grotesque Nightmare

 

At the crossroads of suffering, penance, and religious ecstasy, a game was born that can both enchant and overwhelm. “Blasphemous” is a pixel-art metroidvania-action RPG that collides suffocating Catholic imagery with the brutality of Dark Souls and the classic design of Castlevania. The developers at The Game Kitchen have crafted something that can confidently be called an interactive masterpiece of horror and religious symbolism. But does its artistic ambition come with matching gameplay depth?

Welcome to Cvstodia – a world of sin, pain, and beauty

From the very first minutes, Blasphemous stuns (or rather shocks) with its visual design. Cvstodia – a fictional land inspired by medieval Andalusia – is steeped in grotesque, sacred motifs. Bleeding Madonnas, altars made of human bodies, and monsters that look like they’ve stepped straight out of the darkest works of Goya or Bosch.

The protagonist, a penitent warrior in a pointed capirote, looks like a lost knight from a dark religious order. He doesn’t utter a word, yet his silence speaks louder than any monologue. He embarks on a journey filled with violence, suffering, and reflection – a pilgrimage toward the redemption of his sins and those of the world.
There is no relief here – every location, enemy, and sound reminds you that you’re witnessing something blasphemous yet deeply spiritual.

Ritualistic combat mechanics

Blasphemous plays like a classic blend of metroidvania and soulslike mechanics. You move through a large, interconnected map, unlocking new areas, shortcuts, and battling varied enemies. The main weapon is the Mea Culpa sword – a tool of penance, upgradable with new attacks and abilities.

Combat relies on precise timing – dodges, blocks, and parries are key. The system works well, though some aspects feel underwhelming. Notably, the parry window is overly forgiving – while it leads to flashy finishers, it can rob players of the satisfaction of truly precise combat.

The combat animations deserve special mention – detailed, brutal, and almost choreographed. Each enemy execution is a little spectacle – sometimes bloody, sometimes grotesque, but always carefully crafted.

Atmosphere thick as incense smoke

Atmosphere is Blasphemous’s most powerful weapon. Every pixel-drenched scene exudes a dense mood of sacrilege, sorrow, and spiritual weight. Enemy design reads like a catalogue of religious nightmares – priests with burned-out eyes, nuns whose bodies serve as weapons, children turned into monstrosities.
Sound design – groans, prayers, chants – enhances the feeling of partaking in a ritual with an unknowable liturgy.

This is not a game you "enjoy" in the traditional sense. It is an experience – a meditation on pain, sin, and redemption.
If Blasphemous were a film, it would sit alongside Lars von Trier’s Antichrist or Carlos Reygadas’s Post Tenebras Lux.

Bosses – masterpieces of blasphemous choreography

Boss fights are the crème de la crème of Blasphemous. They’re difficult, spectacular, and choreographic. Each boss features a unique combat style and visual aesthetic.
Examples? A massive blindfolded child with a crown of thorns, held by a monstrous figure. Or a bishop lifted into the air by dozens of hands, like a rock star crowd-surfing at a concert.

These battles showcase that the game is not just about horror – it's also a true test of skill. Bosses strike in phases, and their attacks demand reflexes and pattern recognition. The fights are fair overall, though some knockdown attacks can feel annoyingly cheap.

Where Blasphemous stumbles on its own prayer book

Despite its strengths in tone and aesthetics, not everything works perfectly. The biggest issue is monotony due to backtracking. The game often forces players to revisit previously explored areas – which is standard in metroidvanias – but here it becomes tedious, especially since enemies respawn and some platforming segments are frustrating.

The death penalty system doesn’t quite land either. Upon dying, you leave behind a "Mark of Guilt" that limits your Fervor (magic energy). The problem is, magic spells aren’t particularly useful anyway, so the penalty feels more cosmetic than meaningful. This dilutes the sense of failure, even though the game thematically revolves around penance and suffering.

Character development – wasted potential

There are several upgrade systems: Relics, Rosary Beads, and Mea Culpa Hearts. These items tweak your stats, resistances, or abilities. While they sound interesting on paper, they rarely change the core gameplay loop.
Most players stick to the same tactics – dodges, parries, quick attacks – for the whole campaign.

Prayers (spells) could add variety, but their long casting animations make them too risky to use mid-combat. A shame, because their visual and symbolic effects are stunning – as if the Penitent One were summoning divine wrath.

Beauty and suffering in ritual rhythm

Blasphemous isn’t a perfect game – nor does it try to be. It’s an interactive sermon on sin, penance, and the aesthetics of pain. For some, it will be a spiritual experience. For others, a frustrating metroidvania with gorgeous art and shallow combat.

Compared to other genre giants like Hollow Knight or Dead Cells, Blasphemous feels slower and less deep. There are no complex builds or breakneck pace. This is a slow, ritualistic pilgrimage, where every step is intentional and every failure symbolic.

But if you’re the kind of player who values atmosphere over mechanics, art over systems, and are willing to dive into a world where sin is the language and death a prayer – Blasphemous is a game you must experience.

Pros:

+Incredible art direction and atmosphere

+Excellent world design

+Atmospheric music and sound

+Strong boss battles

+Original “guilt and death” mechanic

+Satisfying core combat system

Cons:

− Awkward magic/prayers and special abilities

− Shallow character development

− Unbalanced difficulty

− Backtracking becomes tedious

My Score: 8/10

“Blasphemous” is a pilgrimage through hell – not for everyone, but those who endure will find unforgettable, blasphemous beauty.



My gameplay: