Blasphemous is a gory Metroidvania with some weird bosses

Blasphemous is a blood-soaked Metroidvania where you are cursed to the wear the world's most ridiculous hat while slicing monsters. When last we wrote about it, Blasphemous had just finished a successful Kickstarter campaign. It's since been picked up by publisher Team17 and is due out this year.

It seems like there have been some story tweaks since the Kickstarter, with the name of the gloomy fantasy land being changed from the incredibly on the nose Orthodoxia to Cvstodia. It's a land apparently in the grip of a twisted religion and a curse known as the Miracle.

Playing as the Penitent One, you're cursed to wear a pointy hat (and also eternally damned). If you fight enough monsters, maybe you'll find a cure. Or a better yet, a nicer hat. Something with a more manageable height.

The giant bosses trying to stop you include some spooky nuns and a giant screaming baby, but while they're very intimidating, the Penitent One seems pretty capable when it comes to murder. As well as good old fashioned sword-hitting, you'll be able to get a hand from the heavens via relics, rosary beads and prayers that can be hunted down and equipped.

Beyond equipment, you'll also be able to buff up your Penitent One with new abilities and by augmenting old ones, like adding an explosion to your plunging attack, knocking back and damaging enemies when you land on them.

Perhaps because it's what I last played, but it looks like a heavy metal Dead Cells. The whole thing is grisly, but the executions in particular are gratuitously gruesome, like little Mortal Kombat fatalities. The Penitent One has some stuff to work out.

Blasphemous is coming out soon.

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.