Blasphemous

The atmosphere in this game is really well done. You basically play in an alternative world where the Spanish Inquisition went really extreme, with many characters carrying out their "penance" (such as the main character) and others punishing sinners. The level design was well done, with all the areas connecting. The character design is also great, with some very unique enemies and NPCs. The soundtrack for this game is very good, really hitting that Spanish Inquisition theme and some tracks being very memorable (the GOG release comes with the soundtrack in MP3 320kbps if you liked it as much as I did). The game is definitely difficult, more-so than games like Hollow Knight. But that makes defeating bosses or getting to a new area much more rewarding. Random deaths by falling on spikes are annoying, but don't detract much from the overall gameplay since most save-points are relatively close (but there are a few that are far). As others have mentioned, the hit detection can sometimes be a problem. Some attacks don't register or you get hit by an enemy off-screen or below you. But this was not often for me and again, didn't detract from the overall experience. The platforming on the other hand is almost flawless, and quite fun once you get the hang of the various moves. I like how the game has different endings, which increases the replay value. The enemies in the free DLC are much harder than the main game, which makes sense. But the areas are extensions of the main game, delivering the same theme with new enemies and bosses. If you're willing to put up with a few downsides, you'll enjoy this game. Especially if you're looking for something with a unique theme, pretty art, and good soundtrack. Looking forward to Blasphemous 2.

I'm not even a huge fan of this video game genre, but this game is great, superb graphics and setting, good game play. Totally recommended.

... mostly from awful and glitchy control. Insanely impressive environment, graphics, music, sound... and such loose unstable control. First - developer should give comfort and flow control and then demand high skill from player. But for animation purpose game physics and mechanics takes a step back. You just can't jump off from "stairs" without difficulties, character desperately grabs for every cliff. Your finishers can't be canceled and you can't take damage during this time - that's ok. But due to such crutchy code protagonist sometimes behaves unpredictably and uncontrollable. You stayed a meter away? No, we just move you to position where we want you to be. You try to dodge something? It does not matter. We just want you to show beauty, we don’t care that it does not fit into the physics and behavior of objects. Such things distract you and keep unimmersed.

Amazing pixel art and just the right amount of difficulty. I was feeling a little jaded and this game gave me a good time. Congratulations to The Game Kitchen - wish you guys the best. P.S: Excellent job on the PT-BR translation, by the way: Very faithful to the original and a pleasant addition when playing along with other people.

Where it matters, the game falls apart. The controls are laggy and unresponsive compared to other games in its genre. Also, I jumped to a collapsing platform and fell right through it to my death and then had to watch the platform actually crumble like two seconds later. The art's obvious cool, but it's not a reason to actually buy this sloppily assembled game.