"Sorrowful be the heart, penitent one."

After 27 hours, and being stuck on 99.5% completion, I feel like I can finally give a solid review.

Blasphemous is good. It's a Metrodvania, but I wouldn't call it a Souls-Like. The difficulty is there, the boss fights unique and challenging, but the main threat, like many Metrodvanias, is traps, obstacles, and having to overcome them, lots of backtracking, new items to unlock new areas, you know the idea.

The gameplay itself is also simple in that regard - you unlock new abilities and prayers (essentially spells) as you transverse and progress through the game. Areas that initially seemed difficult will become easier, areas unreachable will now have shortcuts or tools to enter alternative paths.

Regarding those tools, and by extension, the aesthetic of the game, that is where Blasphemous shines. You carry relics, rosary beads, and the heart of your weapon - your Mea Culpa. If you cannot tell, this game is heavy influenced by both Catholicism, and by Spanish architecture - the game is a baroque, gothic beauty, the boss designs inspired (Ten Piedad's resting position being that of Mary and Jesus particularly stands out), the twisted beauty of some NPC's such as Altasgracias' design being influenced by early Christian depictions of The Trinity, the thorns bore upon our Mea Culpa, down to our player character, The Penitent One, wearing a penitence helm.

However, I do have some issues - it can be somewhat archaic telling what to do and when, namely it's very easy to fail quests you never knew you'd triggered - because the majority of the time, the act of triggering the quest is to simply enter the area, not to talk to any NPCs.

The game 100% encourages replayability - I'm currently debating starting a NG+ run with which to do the last DLC, however it is somewhat frustrating that I cannot do that DLC on my current playthrough because, again, knowing what does and doesn't trigger a quest is very, very esoteric - sure, I get it now, but at the time I had no idea I'd locked myself out of it.

Regarding the DLC, there's three, and all are free;

The first adds NG+, the second adds some new areas and some time trial runs, the third adds the extra ending & is the main reason why I'm debating starting NG+ - after all, this is the ending I was locked out of by accident.

I know this review sounds like I'm bad-mouthing the game a lot, and I'm really not - I want to replay it on NG+. There is an argument to be made that the game is primarily style over substance - it's just another Metrodvania, and not the best on the market, sure, but for those who appreciate the stellar pixel art, superb artistic direction, music both forlorn and calming.

For those who will see the game itself as the medium for the message (and it's not the deepest or most complex message, a beautifully told Man Versus Creator, Creator Versus Man, Man Versus Faith, Faith Versus Man, with themes of corruption of piety and what it means to suffer for ones' beliefs and ideals.), you will have a truly amazing experience.

To end this review the same way we started, much as the game itself does;

"I curse you forever in name, I bless you forever in death".