I absolutely loved the original, and in many respects Blasphemous 2 surpasses it. The in game pixel art is even better than the first game, the music is top notch and general gameplay is very good. However (this is from 100% completion with endings): Gone is the free flowing nature of B1, and be ready for many, many *many* gates to slam down and waves and waves of enemies to fight...and as the game progresses these get very, very tough. The game relies on too many super obscure clues for quests and endings. The original had this too, but it was easy to figure out and it was limited to one aspect. B2 just throws curveballs over and over, and once again endings require certain things to be done....none of which is really explained ahead of time. This is not to say lead us by the hand, but frankly it should not require a guide to figure this out. Too many things are hidden, requiring you to literally attack every wall 'just in case'. In a game as big as this, having to go screen by screen is tiresome of you miss an item. Did I say the game is too obscure? It needs saying twice and I hope any third game is more like the first in structure (i.e. requirements for better outcomes being easier to comprehend). If your joypad skills are bad, this is not the game for you. Many puzzles require split second changes of weapons and often you'll be repeating the same section over and over. Wounds of Eventide (B1) introduced non pixel art cutscenes and B2 has these as well. While well done, they are very jarring given the exquisite pixel art in game. Gone is the simplicity of the beads + Mea Culpa, and be prepared to be bombarded by many differing systems, pickups and items- to me this felt unnecessary. If this sounds a bit despondent, I did enjoy my time with B2. However, its a different beast to B1 and does not learn its lessons from the first game regards what you need to do to achieve the best ending.
A word of caution: make sure you unplug all other USB controllers with this game as otherwise the controls do not work. After having to contact a smug passive agressive GOG support guy I finally got to play the game and its great, if you can live with its rough edges. First off, graphics- faultless. Exquiste pixel graphics with astounding detail and very imaginative. Animation is fluid, with lots to take in. Sound and music- again, amazing. Moody tracks, meaty SFX are spot on. Presentation- the cut scenes are quite frankly, mental and fantastic. The backstory is deep and great to read. Controls- *almost* perfect. I can't quite put my finger on it, but its 90% right with 10% feeling a bit *off*. Certain moves seem to work randomly at times but that could be me getting used to the game. Ladders seem to be unforgiving- a bit like the stairs in Castlevania so perhaps its authentic :D Difficulty- this game punches you in the face three screens in, and frankly keeps on punching you. If you think hard is too soft then you have come to the right place. Now- those rough edges... In 2019 I should not have to be unplugging other input devices because one game gets confused. This game is the *only* game I own that flat out stops working if anything else is plugged in. Small niggles like the mouse cursor staying on screen that you have to move out of the way. Loading times seem to be quite long sometimes. Not a dealbreaker, just breaks the flow of the game. Black screens- at least once the game has tried to load and I get....nothing. The UI is not quite as well designed as the graphics. Certain things are in odd places, and the text (sometimes) is a bit hard to read. I can't give half stars, so I gave it 4 above because the devs have worked hard to produce a satisfyingly insane game. If I could though, I'd give the game 3.5 so far. It needs a patch or two to sort out the odd problems but once thats done the game will be even better.
