It is one of the great milestones in Spanish video game development and, for a few hours, it has had a sequel that improves and polishes it in every way. The Sevillian studio The Game Kitchen has just published Blasphemous 2, a sequel that once again turns Andalusian geography and culture into the setting of a savage action game.
Edited by the prestigious British label Team17, the new adventure of the Penitent is now available for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series and Nintendo Switch. After more than a week submerged in the dark world of Custody, our verdict is clear: it is one of the essential games of this 2023.
Blasphemous 2 opens with its already iconic protagonist, the mysterious knight with a metallic hood and crown of thorns, waking up from his own grave. It is the beginning of an extensive adventure of action and exploration that from the beginning makes its intentions clear: to improve and polish everything that the first installment published in 2019 already offered.
It is noticeable that the studio based in Seville has had more resources on this occasion and, not least, with all the confidence earned after the good reception of the original title. One of the most striking differences of this second part is its animation cinematics, an element that gives the story greater drama.
Another outstanding novelty is the possibility of choosing between three different weapons at the beginning of the adventure. This is a key element, as Blasphemous 2 offers players a greater ability to customize their play style. Quick blows, forceful blows, dodges and counterattacks, magical abilities... All the resources are necessary when facing some final enemies created with good malice -if this is possible- and even a sense of gamer humor.
The title makes a large number of variables available to players when it comes to fighting, but also when it comes to advancing in the adventure. The settings are more intricate and interesting, levels that offer freer exploration and more different paths. As if it were a complex and perfect gear, all the elements related to the game design fit together perfectly.
Obviously, it would be a sin not to mention the awesome artwork. The pixel art with which the settings are built is meticulous and precious. The imagination with which religious iconography has been transferred to each room and character is once again another of the game's strengths. Although the leap that this sequel has taken in terms of animations is even more noticeable, since this time they are much more fluid and are implemented in a way that provokes that special enjoyment that only the best titles in the genre are capable of transferring.
All of this without forgetting a soundtrack that, once again, manages to mix the energy of the musical themes of this type of action game with a flamenco aura that inspires you to keep going and gives the adventure epic and mystery.
When the first installment of Blasphemous was published in 2019, few would have imagined that such a risky aesthetic proposal would become one of the best-selling Spanish games of all time. However, 2.5 million units sold later, it has become clear that The Game Kitchen's vision was not misguided.
The success of that game was not a miracle, on the contrary, it was based on the intrinsic quality of the title and on offering an experience with the necessary solidity to stand out within such a competitive genre as 2D action and exploration games. . Four years later, Blasphemous 2 perfects, polishes and improves everything that that title offered.
