Blasphemous 2

Like its predecessor, Blasphemous 2 is a 2D side-scrolling Metroidvania action-adventure game. Players assume control of the Penitent One, a silent knight who must embark on an adventure in a new kingdom to prevent the rebirth of a curse named "The Miracle". The story of the game is set after the Wounds Of Eventide update of the original game. The world is filled with deadly traps, difficult platform sequences, enemies and boss characters. Players will encounter other non-playable characters who will either offer assistance, or side quests.

The game introduces several weapons, with each having its own reach, speed, special abilities and skill tree. These include the Veredicto, a war censer with the furthest reach that deals powerful but slow attacks and is incapable of parrying; Sarmiento and Centella, a dual-wielded rapier and dagger with rapid strikes but have the shortest range and a damage bonus that is lost if the player gets hit; and the Ruego Al Alba, a praying blade with balanced attributes. These weapons are useful for traversal, aiding players in discovering paths and solving puzzles. The abilities of the protagonist can be customized.

Set many years after the Wounds of Eventide ending, worship for the Miracle had declined following the death of the High Wills and Escribar, and for a time, Cvstodia experienced an age without gods or the Miracle's influence. However, pain and suffering remained in the world, and people eventually began praying for a greater power to relieve their suffering, giving the Miracle an opportunity to return. The Miracle eventually gathered enough power to create a massive heart in the sky to birth a new child. To protect the heart, the Miracle resurrected its most loyal followers, the Archconfraternity led by the very first Penitent, Eviterno.

Afterwards, Crisanta attempted to put a stop to the Miracle's plans by slaying the child before it could be born, but she failed and committed suicide after being defeated by Eviterno. Meanwhile, Deogracias took charge of the Penitent One's coffin and guarded it until his death. The Miracle's return also served to resurrect the Penitent One, forcing him to continue his penance.

Spanish developer The Game Kitchen returned to develop the sequel. According to producer David Erosa, an important goal for the team was to make the game "closer to the classic Metroidvania genre". Therefore, the team worked to expand the Penitent One's arsenal of weapons, providing him with more means to combat enemies and traverse the world. The team did not use any of the code from the original game and instead took 18 months to rebuild the code for Blasphemous 2 from the ground up.

The team also took time to refine the controls after hearing feedback from players of the original game. Like the original game, the team took inspirations from paintings and local Spanish culture, history and architecture while creating Blasphemous 2. The sequel was released with complete voice overs in both English and Castilian Spanish, the latter featuring multiple actors from Spain as well as Mexican voice actor Humberto Vélez.

Blasphemous 2 received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator website Metacritic. OpenCritic determined that 94% of critics recommended it.

Travis Northup from IGN described the game as "a gloriously gross return to Cvstodia", and added that despite the game's lack of originality with its design, "it more than makes up for with its bizarre world, appalling story, and inspired look and sound". Writing for Destructoid, Timothy Monbleau compared the game favourably to "all-time genre greats like Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow", and concluded his review by saying that "Anyone who likes Metroidvanias should absolutely make time for Blasphemous 2". Brian Shea, from Game Informer, praised its exploration element.