2D Platformers / Metroidvanias

Interesting - I loved Dead Cells. What didn't you like about it?

Sadge

If you liked the demo, I can't see you not enjoying the full game. I liked it a lot

The only thing I will say is that if getting the good ending is something you care about, either look up how to get it or ask someone to post it here. It's not something you're able to work out or likely to stumble across by chance and the bad ending is really unsatisfying

Get blasphemous 2. Far better if you are after a mvania. 

I really liked Blasphemous 1. Pretty unconditionally, actually. Haven't played 2 yet. But I also like Hollow Knight and Dead Cells a lot. I guess I'm just not very picky when it comes to 2D platformers. Except the original La Mulana, I couldn't play this.

Either way though, Blasphemous 1 is brilliant. Played through it again a couple of months ago on the Switch. I have 2 sitting there ready to go but not quite in the mood yet.

I really don't see how the likes of Blasphemous differs from, say, Symphony of the Night to be honest. Maybe it's just me. Most of these 2D games that get thrown under into souls-like bracket I find to be nothing of the sort but hey ho, I'm not looking to derail.

Never got in to Axiom Verge 2 despite loving the first one. Bounced off it quite early on. Will need to give it another go. Where the fuck is Silksong? I need it in my life.

Those are indeed some features that allow access to new places, however they either just remove a penalty that's only in a select few places, or change the environment in a pre-defined way. There's nothing like a movement upgrade that would matter anywhere outside those select places. Other metroidvanias typically have that, including Blasphemous 2, and in the case of SotN you can for example turn into a bat and just fly wherever you want whenever you want.

In my opinion big character upgrades are a core part of the metroidvania game loop, producing dopamine by giving you new superpowers, at least that's what metroidvanias typically do. Blasphemous decidedly strays from this formula, you're still the same guy that you were in the beginning, and I think what it really tries to do is to replicate the Dark Souls 1 experience (or at least part of it) into 2D.

The oppressively dark atmosphere is certainly reminiscent, gameplay elements like bonfires, estus flasks, corpse runs etc. are in most cases straight up copies from DS. Or look at item pickups, they're literally the same white or purple flaming clumps, I'd say that's pretty blatant about what this game draws inspiration from.

But ok, those may be just minor things. But think about the game structure, first of all almost the first half of the game is accessible right away and you can go for any boss in any order, gated only by your skill, not your jump height or anything like that. Untypical for metroidvanias but in line with DS. Death is only ever one wrong step away, you're supposed to and going to die a lot, again untypical for metroidvanias but in line with DS. There's an unwritten rule in the metroidvania genre that there's no instadeath, almost every game follows it (including Blasphemous 2!) but B1 decidedly disobeys it.

And then, finally after a long perilous adventure with many deaths, you find and unlock a shortcut to an earlier place, literally by kicking down a ladder. Seriously, how much more blatant can you get? Note that you didn't find super missiles or anything to open a door from the other side, or any similar item that you can use elsewhere (as would be typical), you just unlocked this one shortcut exactly like in DS.

There's just so much in this game that decisively omits metroidvania standards in favour of replicating Dark Souls. And the contrast to Blasphemous 2 just highlights this because it drops core parts of it and replaces them with things taken straight out of the metroidvania rulebook, that's why I specifically say that B1 was more Dark Souls and less metroidvania. It certainly is compared to B2.

Yeah, wunty

(I bought Blasphemous 2)

Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus is getting some good reviews:

Gravity Circuit (Steam)

Has been lying dormant in my library for a while, which is a shame because it's great. I'll first post the trailer to save 1000 words:



So it's an obvious homage to the Mega Man Zero games. There are no different base weapon loadouts though, your base attack is a punch when on the ground and an assortment of kicks when airborne. The secondary option is a grappling hook which can be used for grappling to ceilings, damaging enemies from a distance, and grabbing enemies shortly after they die so you can throw them at other enemies for big damage. It's clearly inspired by Zero 2's grappling hook--only instead of being a clunky dud, it's super smooth and intuitive and a joy to use. As are movement and controls generally in this game, it's a treat for players like me who love just smooth movement and tight controls.

More weapons and attacks come in the form of unlockable & purchasable special moves that can be assigned to 1 of 4 button combos at any time, but they can be utilities too, like spawning a platform or even healing yourself. Energy for these is mostly gained by further pummeling enemies shortly after their death. There are even more passive upgrades that allow you to e.g. strike faster, take less damage, attract coins, or even double jump. There are no boss weapons in the strict sense, finishing a stage and finding secrets just allows you to buy more of those upgrades.

It's all very reminiscent of Zero, including how some of those upgrades feel like overpowered assists that nearly break the game, most of all probably the double jump and the healing. Even though stages and bosses are well balanced around not using any of them, I think it's a good thing so that everyone can have fun by fine-tuning the difficulty if one's struggling (on top of regular difficulty settings). Importantly, any of those upgrades can be changed or disabled at any time, so that you don't accidentally enter tutorial mode without a chance to turn it off (like what happened to me in Zero 1). And if it's too easy, there's hard mode and even more modifiers on top of that, up until permadeath mode if you want.

It's a fast-paced game, the speed can feel overwhelming at first especially in boss battles, but with a little practice and experience it becomes very natural and a lot of fun. Instead of a dash there's simply a run button and an "always run" option, much appreciated. I've finished the game twice by now, and it keeps getting more fun as I'm becoming more proficient and increasing the difficulty. Like Zero it compels you to speedrun, but with the huge advantage of large 16:9 screen space. I can't emphasise enough how important that is, imo it was probably the greatest weakness of the Zero games.

The speed and precision of this game can be challenging even on a d-pad, and it's fun on that, but honestly I'm not sure how well it plays with an analogue stick. I imagine it might be harder, I'm not sure but I thought it was worth a mention.

Also like the Zero games you have a home base, but thankfully it's compact and doesn't require any running around at all. One room holds the level select from where you first access the 8 base levels and then the 3 final fortress stages. It's not much but of course it's meant to be replayed a lot and replay value seems great. There's also a lot of talking here, but THANK GOD you can skip through all of it except for a few (relatively short) scripted scenes and cutscenes. Dialogue is mostly humourous, there's a story but I don't know what it is because there was too much text and at some point I started skipping everything. Who cares anyway, Wily is at it again as far as I'm concerned.

Not everything's perfect, the close punching range combined with some VFX obscuring the action and some enemies not being hitstunned can be a little frustrating at times, although it's already getting less of a problem as I'm getting used to the enemy patterns. My pet peeve, unwanted wall slides, is alive and well, most notably when you're supposed to jump-attack through breakable walls at high speed. Attacks seem to be sometimes cancelled if done shortly before landing, not sure. Little things that can be a little frustrating at times but I'd still say it's minor stuff all things considered, and seeing how it becomes less of a problem with experience.

So... yeah. Good game. Recommend.

9/10

Anyone played Bo: Path of the Tea Lotus? It certainly looks great.

Looks amazing and I love a seasonal release!!

Looks pretty cool from those gameplay snippets, but I'm not sure about the use of Halloween IP though. Myers is known for his relentless slowly advancing pursuit of his victims, not bombastic fast paced action. Freddie would be a better fit for this type of game, and you could chuck in a bunch of wacky powers* too.

*Or Powergloves.