A penance in pixel art, where every room looks like a bleeding stained glass window.

When the community picks on gut feeling, no criterion involved, Blasphemous lands ahead of 58% of games. Decent, nothing more. But look at the detail and the picture shifts. Controller feel climbs ahead of 95% of titles, the soundscape too, ahead of 95%. Two peaks. Desert island and fun follow, ahead of 85% of games, though caution applies since those lines rest on few votes. And yet attachment drops off, below average, ahead of only 41% of titles. There is the tension of the game: admirable the moment you talk feel and atmosphere, but it keeps players at arm's length emotionally. It impresses more than it embraces.

Next to metroidvanias that cradle you, Blasphemous chooses harshness, guilt, catholic iconography pushed to the point of nausea. This is not a game that wishes you well. It is a game that wants you on your knees.

So, who is it for? For you if you like demanding combat, imagery that unsettles, and music that follows you into the silence. Much less so if you want a warm world to grow attached to.