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Blasphemous is a "metroidvania" video game developed by Spanish studio The Game Kitchen and published by Team17. It began as a Kickstarter campaign in 2017. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch on September 10, 2019, with Warp Digital handling the console ports. Versions for macOS and Linux were released on September 21, 2020. A version for Amazon Luna was released on October 20, 2020.

On February 18, 2021, a free expansion called Strife & Ruin was released for all platforms, which is a crossover event with Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. In it, the Penitent One encounters Miriam trapped in Cvstodia on the Miracle's whim. Unable to return to her realm, the Penitent One has the option to aid her by finding crystal shards scattered throughout Cvstodia in order to repair the portal that will send her back. Reclaiming each shard requires the completion of challenging obstacle courses, each subsequent one more difficult than the last. After collecting the shards, Miriam is able to return home, but not before granting the Penitent One a powerful prayer that will summon her to attack alongside him.

Plot[]

Blasphemous begins in the Brotherhood of the Silent Sorrow, a religious order opposed to His Holiness Escribar's authority, after all its members have been massacred. The last of their kind, the Penitent One, is resurrected by the Miracle and departs on a pilgrimage. After defeating the Warden of the Silent Sorrow, he finds Deogracias, who tells him about the Cradle of Affliction, a sacred relic that the Penitent One seeks, and the Three Humiliations he must perform to be deemed worthy to reach it. He also gives the Penitent One a thorn to add to his sword's handle, wounding and feeding off the user's guilt.

The Penitent One travels to different locations in Cvstodia, including the decaying town of Albero, the snowing hills Where Olive Trees Wither, and the underground Desecrated Cistern. He completes the Three Humiliations, each of them involving a trial against a different boss, to obtain the Holy Wounds of Attrition, Contrition and Compunction from the three Holy Guardian Visages. After defeating Esdras of the Anointed Legion on the Bridge of the Three Calvaries, the Penitent One gains access to the Mother of Mothers, the massive cathedral where Escribar and the Cradle of Affliction reside.

Throughout the journey, Escribar's voice is heard, telling his backstory: A long time before the Penitent One began his pilgrimage, His Holiness Escribar had turned his throne away from his congregation, believing that the Miracle had forsaken them. Gradually, the Miracle transformed Escribar into a massive tree which suddenly ignited one day, leaving behind a massive pile of ash, atop which stood Escribar's throne. The Miracle drove countless people to attempt climbing the mountain, but all of them failed, swallowed by the ash. As punishment, they re-emerged from the ash as mindless beasts (the game's enemies) cursed to carry out the Miracle's will. This included Escribar, who was reborn as the Last Son of the Miracle.

At the top of the Mother of Mothers, the Penitent One encounters Crisanta of the Wrapped Agony, the leader of Escribar's soldiers, also revealed in the prequel comic to be responsible for the Penitent One's first death and throwing his corpse to where the game began. The Penitent One defeats her, but she escapes. He proceeds to defeat Escribar and the Last Son of the Miracle and encounters the mountain of ash, where Deogracias encourages him to climb it and reach the Cradle of Affliction, leading to one of two endings:

  • In the default ending, the Penitent One fails to reach the top and sinks into the ash, leaving nothing but his helmet, which Deogracias picks up and deposits next to a pile of countless identical masks, declaring the Penitent One's penance to be over.
  • If Deogracias' thorn has reached its final form after completing optional dungeons, the Penitent One successfully reaches the throne, sits there, and stabs himself with the Mea Culpa. His lifeless body turns into a tree and becomes worshiped by the people of Cvstodia as the new Father and Last Son of the Miracle. In a post-credits cutscene, Crisanta reappears and draws the Mea Culpa from the Penitent One's body.

Gameplay[]

Blasphemous is a "metroidvania" action-adventure game taking place in the fictional region of Cvstodia. Players assume control of the Penitent One, a silent knight wielding a sword named Mea Culpa, as he travels the land in a pilgrimage.

The game involves exploring Cvstodia while fighting enemies, which appear in most areas. The Penitent One can fight enemies by attacking them with his sword at close range, or by casting spells that can be learned. By damaging enemies with melee attacks, the player gains Fervor, which is consumed to cast spells. Each enemy has a certain attack pattern which players must learn in order to dodge them and avoid taking damage. Some enemy attacks can be parried by blocking at the right time, leaving foes vulnerable and allowing the Penitent One to counterattack them for increased damage. When getting hit, the protagonist's health decreases, but it can be recovered by consuming Bile Flasks. Defeating enemies rewards Tears of Atonement, the game's currency, which can be spent on shops to upgrade the player character and obtain items.

Numerous upgrades can be acquired at various points of the adventure, which include increasing the Penitent One's maximum health, Fervor and amount of Bile Flasks carried, and unlocking new abilities for world exploration and combat. By exploring, interacting with NPCs and completing sidequests, multiple items can be found which, when equipped, provide stat bonuses, reduce or nullify certain types of damage, or provide access to otherwise inaccessible areas. There are collectibles in the form of bones that can be delivered in a certain place to receive rewards, and Children of Moonlight – trapped angels that can be freed by attacking the cages they are in.

There are multiple checkpoints in the forms of altars located in multiple areas of the map. The player can rest in these checkpoints to fully replenish their health and refill any used Bile Flasks, save their progress and equip certain abilities, but doing so will also cause all previously slain enemies (excluding bosses) to respawn.

The Penitent One will die if his health is fully depleted, or if he falls into spikes or into a bottomless pit. Upon death, he will respawn in the last checkpoint visited, and a Guilt Fragment will appear in the location of his death (or near it, if he was killed by spikes or falling). The player will have reduced maximum Fervor, and gain less Fervor and Tears of Atonement from enemies, until the Guilt Fragment is recovered by reaching its location and interacting with it. Alternatively, there are certain points where this penalty can be eliminated for a fee. Additionally, after every boss all guilt is alleviated as well.

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This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Blasphemous (video game). The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with the Bloodstained Wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.
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