Blasphemous gets a new storyline, New Game Plus and more for free

Bloody action-platformer Blasphemous has grown quite a bit larger today. The expansion-sized Stir of Dawn update is out now, free for all players.

The Stir of Dawn throws a lot into the mix, including True Torment, a New Game Plus mode that you'll be able to access once you've proven your mettle and defeated the game once already. You'll keep all your skills and equippable items, but the enemies will naturally be quite a bit tougher.

Nestled within the deadly True Torment mode is a new storyline, too. The Stir of Dawn quest will send you on a mission to destroy the Amanecidas, ancient beings that have just woken up and, you've guessed it, want to kill you. You'll have to take them out in five boss battles that, according to developer The Game Kitchen, will be trickiest in the game.

If you decide to challenge yourself in the new mode, you'll have to choose between one of a trio of Penitences that each with a different twist. The Bleeding Heart replaces your health bar with health orbs, and enemies respawn when you return to areas. The Unwavering Faith makes your normal attacks with Mea Culpa weak, but your fervour regenerates faster. Expect to use abilities and prayers more than your weapon.

The most punishing of the trio if the Penitence of the True Guilt. It changes your Bile Flasks into Azure Flasks that replenish fervour instead of health, and if you die you lose all of your Guilt Fragments and Tears of Atonement. "Only true masters of Blasphemous' combat will be able to rise to this challenge," says The Game Kitchen.

Also included is a map screen overhaul with custom markers, new dialogue and voiceovers, new executions, new art and a whole bunch of balance changes for the base game, reworking skills, rosary beards and prayers. So even if you've not quite mastered Blasphemous yet, you'll still get something out of the update.

The Stir of Dawn is out now, and you can give the patch notes a read while you wait for it to download.

Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.