Blasphemous
A Metroidvania pilgrimage through a twisted, religious land.
Blasphemous is a Metroidvania action-adventure game from The Game Kitchen, a Spanish developer, and was published by Team17. It launched on Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch on 10 September 2019, with Warp Digital handling the console versions. macOS and Linux ports arrived on 21 September 2020, followed by an Amazon Luna version on 20 October 2020. A mobile port for iOS and Android came out on 25 November 2024. The project originally began as a Kickstarter campaign in 2017. A sequel, Blasphemous 2, was released on 24 August 2023.
The game is a Metroidvania action-adventure set in the fictional region of Cvstodia. Players control the Penitent One, a silent knight who wields a sword called Mea Culpa and travels the land on a pilgrimage. Exploration of Cvstodia involves fighting enemies. The Penitent One can attack foes up close with his sword or cast spells learned throughout the journey. Damaging enemies with melee attacks builds Fervor, which is then spent to cast spells. Each enemy has a specific attack pattern players must learn to dodge and avoid damage. Some attacks can be parried by blocking at the right moment, leaving enemies vulnerable and allowing a counterattack that deals extra damage. When hit, the protagonist loses health, which can be restored by using Bile Flasks. Defeating enemies rewards Tears of Atonement, the in-game currency, used at shops to upgrade the character and buy items.
Many upgrades are available at various points, such as increasing maximum health, Fervor, or the number of Bile Flasks carried, as well as unlocking new abilities for combat and exploration. Through exploration, talking to non-player characters, and completing sidequests, players can find items that grant stat bonuses, reduce or nullify certain damage types, or open up previously unreachable areas. Collectibles include bones that can be turned in at a specific location for rewards, and Children of Moonlight—trapped angels freed by attacking their cages. Checkpoints take the form of altars scattered across the map. Resting at an altar fully restores health and Bile Flasks, saves the game, and lets players equip abilities, but it also respawns all previously defeated non-boss enemies.
If the Penitent One’s health is fully depleted, or if he falls into spikes or a bottomless pit, he dies.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Blasphemous
- Developer
- The Game Kitchen
- Publisher
- Team17
- Director
- Enrique Cabeza
- Producer
- Mauricio García
- Designer
- Enrique Colinet · Maikel Ortega · Andrés Rodero
- Programmer
- Francisco Ureña · Jose Arias · Santiago García
- Writer
- Enrique Cabeza · Maikel Ortega
- Composer
- Carlos Viola
- Engine
- Unity
- Platforms
- Windows · Nintendo Switch · PlayStation 4 · Xbox One · Linux · macOS · Amazon Luna · AndroidiOS
- Released
- Windows, Switch, PS4, Xbox One · 10 September 2019 · Linux, macOS · 21 September 2020 · Luna · 20 October 2020 · Android, iOS · 25 November 2024
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The game is set in Cvstodia, a land hallowed by a force known as 'The Miracle' (also referred to as 'Sorrowful Miracle' or 'Grievous Miracle'). This force manifests by sometimes blessing and sometimes cursing Cvstodia's inhabitants, transforming them into twisted creatures subject to eternal torment. The protagonist is The Penitent One, the sole survivor of the Brotherhood of the Silent Sorrow, who wears a helmet consisting of a face mask and barbed wire around a pointed helmet similar to a capirote. His sword, Mea Culpa, originated when a woman, praying for punishment to ease her guilt, repeatedly hit her chest with an effigy of The Twisted One, who is considered the First Miracle. At the beginning of the game, a thorn is given to the Penitent One to attach to the sword's handle, allowing it to feed on its wielder's sins.
Reader's Guide
Blasphemous is significant as a Metroidvania that draws heavily on Spanish religious iconography and Holy Week traditions, offering a distinct aesthetic and thematic experience. Its Kickstarter campaign in 2017 helped fund the project, and the game was later published by Team17. The game's legacy includes a sequel, Blasphemous 2, released on 24 August 2023, and downloadable content such as Stir of Dawn, which added optional boss fights against the Amanecidas and Laudes, and Strife and Ruin, a crossover event. The game's exploration, combat, and guilt mechanic—where death reduces maximum Fervor and rewards until a Guilt Fragment is recovered—contribute to its challenging gameplay. The two possible endings, one where the Penitent One sinks into ash and another where he becomes a new Father and Last Son of the Miracle, reflect the game's themes of penance and cyclical suffering.
Did You Know?
- The Penitent One's sword, Mea Culpa, originated from a woman hitting her chest with an effigy of The Twisted One.
- Defeating enemies rewards Tears of Atonement, the game's currency.
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