Grim action-platformer Blasphemous 2 unveils its grotesque world

rockpapershotgun.com:

Developer The Game Kitchen first stealth-announced the sequel to their hard as nails Metroid-like Blasphemous back in 2021 to coincide with a free update for the original game. Now, though, after a long wait, we have the first proper trailer for Blasphemous 2 showing off tons of platforming action, unholy Catholic iconography, and other such sinful stuff. Take a look below, if you dare.

The first Blasphemous was a great fusion of side-scrolling Soulslike action and a metroidvania structure that threaded you through a grotesque and melancholy world. It made it onto our list of the best games like Dark Souls, where Ed said “it runs so hard with its theme that you’ve got to admire its blood-soaked vestments.”

The sequel is set directly after 2021’s Wounds Of Eventide update as the anguished Penitent One (you, for all your sins) returns in an “unfamiliar land, displaced from his final resting place, and thrust back into the endless cycle of death, and resurrections,” according to the team’s recent Steam blog.

Supernatural baddie The Miracle has somehow returned, and in the developer’s own words, that gives you no choice but to “stop the prophetic birth of a new miracle child.” That sounds almost blasphemous enough for a sequel, but do you know what would make this even more sinful? Boss fights with a Pope-like monster, of course. You’ll need to pause through the last half of the trailer, but a quick-cut montage teases all sorts of beautiful views and gothic designs to fawn over.

Apart from that, I’m always a fan of fast-paced platformers, especially when I can slash baddies in the middle of chaining jumps. Blasphemous 2 seems to have a healthy dose of that as you dash, climb, and swing your way to airborne enemies.