Interview: Blasphemous 2 art director Enrique Cabeza

pczone.co.uk:

To get us in the mood for taking on the role of The Penitent One for a second time, we spoke to the creative genius behind the art of the beautifully twisted world of Blasphemous 2.

This man would be Enrique Cabeza, Art & Creative director of Blasphemous 1 / 2 and The Last Door at The Game Kitchen studio. 

Enrique’s game development journey started 16 years ago with his friend Mauricio – CEO of The Game Kitchen. The creative duo made their indie game breakthrough with their first successful project – the horror adventure game The Last Door.

The team’s second game – Blasphemous, was published by Team 17 in 2019 and was critically acclaimed for its distinctive pixel art aesthetics and brutal Metroidvania gameplay. 

And soon, we will experience the sequel Blasphemous 2 with all its grotesque pixel glory and soulslike challenges.

What games are you loving right now?

Enrique Cabeza: Recently I’m replaying old hack & slash games like God of War, Ghost of Sparta (PSP) and Dante’s Inferno on XBOX Game Pass. Also Resident Evil 4 Remake, Demons’ Souls, Celeste. And today will start Final Fantasy XVI and try to finish it before Lies of P comes out.What is your experience in creating art for video games?

EC: As I had previous experience in graphic and web design, my first job in video games was as a general UI designer, then I kept evolving as an environmental artist and developed skills as an art director. 

I then became personally interested in pixel art as a hobbyist and so when we developed The Last Door, a small horror adventure game. I used the pixel art skills I had learned to create the art for the game. 

I then continued to develop my skills until I made the first mockups for Blasphemous.

Was the decision to use pixel art for