The Game Kitchen released a patch that addressed the stunlocking and invincibility frames, so interpret my bitching during that section as 70% less useful store.steampowered.com/news/app/2114740/view/7159090354095265670
Check out The Great Rebellion by KVLT Games, great cyberpunk rogue like. Very unique for being set in Europe and combining European history and myth with cyberpunk
Regarding real blasphemy is to insult The Spirit of The Creator, I reveal to you that hell is another dimension and his influence is mask in many aspect of this world, including art, music, culture , laws, economy and science. Jesus is real and the only way of having a chance of being save, I know kew people in satanic sects, saw real magic and spoiler is demonic.
Nerrel's pacing and scriptwriting are unparalleled in terms of how much valuable information is packed into every second of the video. In any other video, the information given in the first 60 seconds would take at least 6 minutes.
@@guyudontno7689 Nerrel is one of my "drop everything whenever there's a new upload" youtubers. One of my favorite channels. Hope you're doing well too!
I love that sentiment at the end, of not wanting a sequel because there's nowhere to go from there. I hope the developers take that to heart, and instead of B3, give us a new adventure with different mechanics and setting.
When I saw the instant death pits and spikes no longer took your entire health bar I was deeply emotionally moved. I cannot express how much the death traps dragged down the first game for me with its not-so-generous fast travel system and lengthy walks between areas. There were so many times where I had full health and full vials then missed a jump and had to redo the past ten rooms. Truly this is the ideal sequel
@potatopower2144Bro most NES games weren’t as annoying with platforming as blasphemous 1. Insta kills just feel dogshit unless it’s the focus of the game like supermeatboy. Like your doing a boss run back and then the jump you make 9/10 times you miss and get sent back for fuck all reason. In some ways taking damage over insta kill is more punishing as the insta kill is just tedious busywork where halving your health makes the fights you take next harder.
I'm kinda mixed on it. On one hand, I loved Blasphemous 1's very lethal traps. You had to play more carefully & be more precise with how you handled things. You couldn't just go willy nilly into an area, lest you hit some spikes of doom or fall into the abyss. On the other hand, this change also inherently speeds up gameplay drastically, because now the traps are not as lethal, so you don't have to be as devastated when you do miss that jump you thought you had or you don't have to worry if you were going through the map nonchalantly only to find yourself falling into a hidden trap like in the first game. Blasphemous 2 is more forgiving (on traps) & because of that fact, you get through the game at a quicker pace. So it has its pros & cons. Personally, I love the way both handle it, but like I said, I still am sort of mixed on Blasphemous 2's way of handling it because I also loved how it worked on Blasphemous 1 as well. It just feels odd when I see myself surviving the spikes sometimes, or falling into a pit & getting teleported back up immediately.
@@acksawblack exactly. precision platformers like SMB - which I love, by the way - are tuned exactly for that kind of punishing, one shot gameplay and are set up like they expect you to die over and over again with their short level design and quick load times. blasphemous just isn't set up for it and it comes off as just a "fuck you"
@@acksawblack B1 is meant to be tedious and annoying and hard because the devs designed it that way. Penance isnt an easy thing at all and they wanted to recreate that feel within blasphemous (by having checkpoints multiple rooms apart from each other, having insta kill traps, etc). Hopefully that explains why they had stuff like that in the game to make it annoying to go through.
I don’t have the words to explain how much I love this series. Watching the documentary “Landing Blasphemous” really kinda drove home how unlikely it was for us to ever even get the first game. “Capricious are the hands of the Miracle”
@@MoskalMediain my opinion, B1 is much much better than B2 (B2 is better when it comes to combat and movement upgrades though). I've only played B2 once, and I never finished it because the last boss was so annoyingly difficult. I've finished B1 EIGHT times because of how fun it is.
I appreciate the acknowledgment that something being too gross and violent can be a turn off. I feel like most of the internet takes extreme desensitization for granted.
I used to get sick from seeing all the blood and guts from overly gory video games, but once a hunter video I saw, referred to his exploded prey as "bubblegum" now I like to see gore in games. Let the bubblegum fly ^o^💞
@@fwobebe5164 Honestly this comment has resensitized me to gore - thanks. I will never feel comfotable about the bubblegum coming out of my enemy's bodies.
@@Arexsisvery bizarre that killing something/people isn't desensitization to you, but the red and pink stuff coming out of them is. Truly weirdo stuff.
Idk, I actually don't think about blood and gore in a game as more than just a splash of colour on screen, I'm usually too engrossed in trying to accomplish what I'm actually doing to really take note of what the developer was doing from an art direction.
Yeah the first game's cut scenes were just next level stuff. The anime cutscenes just... Dont do it justice. But hey, at least it didnt take 82738273 hours to make lol
Disagree. Platforming feels better, but Blasphemous 2 gets too linear for me (Also, this is a nitpick but I felt the gore and violence were toned down).
This might be a controversial take but... to me brevity is an important measure of the quality of a metroidvania. And it is perhaps the only thing I am torn on in most of the most famous indie releases. I think replayability is an important aspect of a metroidvania, the genre since its inception has encouraged routing and speedrunning, explore new options, new paths, experiment with the items, and these indie releases often do have quite a few elements to encourage replayability but... I struggle to fire them up again even once after finished because all of them are a big time commitment, specially if you are like me and you like to go for 100% completion. Metroid games are not only much shorter, but they most of the time have several interesting movement techs to master so that you can play to completion each one in a single sitting if you are skilled enough. I can complete all five mainline metroid games faster than if I tried to complete hollow knight, blasphemous or ori 2 again. A lot of people don't consider it a big deal but... to me it kind of hurts their longevity. As year passes without me revisiting them they become more and more forgotten.
I share this sentiment there is something very easily digestible about the Metroid series. Although right now I feel Blasphemous is appropriately paced
@@dinglepuss8594 That is actually something I also think about games like cave story. It is not a master piece metroidvania in terms of the design of the world or anything like that. But it is paced perfectly, with adequate amount of story content, platforming, boss fights sprinkled throughout. And it is also... pretty short, so i play through that game like every single year or something, like I play through the metroid games. These gigantic indie metroidvanias are awesome, masterpieces even of design, atmosphere and story telling. But they are soooo huge, both in the map and the time it takes to complete, and even the time you spend wandering arround. I just cannot put myself to replay them...
I don't think that format is wrong tho, but agree with you that metroid is a good inspiration to show how many metroidvanias should become more replayable. I think that could have a balance in these formats.
@@Hazeckro520 No I don't think there is anything wrong with the format. I don't even think replayability or brevity is something necessarily good in a videogame. It is just sort of a preference for me for certain types of games. Because I think not having them hurts their longevity. I could call any one of those inde metroidvania "one of my favorite games" "one of the best". But If I never replay them, and I start forgetting about them with the years... then it starts making less and less sense in my head to call it one of the best. When I can relive super metroid in less than three hours likea LOTR movie, and in that time cover 10% of Hollow knight, just to decide that I played enough give up at that point and decide to play something new. I know it is kind of a weid complaint, honestly is more of a philosophical debate than a proper critique of something wrong with the actual game lol. Hope you understand what I mean.
Oh, I didn't know there was a Blasphemous II. I'll watch this now anyways, because hearing you talk about things is a vital comfy spot in my mind. Best wishes Nerrel.
Is Matthewmatosis considered a reviewer "right now?" I know he's working on other stuff too but I think he posted at least two videos this year... either way Matthew is still hands down literally the greatest video game critic that has ever existed and ever will exist. But yeah Nerrel's really funny and I love him.
One thing I really disliked about the sequel is how fervor becomes corrupted after X amount of deaths and made me always return to the confessor to regain it. This made some boss fights tedious as I had to stop what I was doing. I tought at the time "boy, will Nerrel have a field day with this feature". I'm sad you didn't mention it.
Yeah that was annoying, possibly they did this to push you to pay the spoopy guy to get rid of guilt and eventually unlock the items he has to give you. Kinda weird if you ask me.
@@ronthorn3 People seem to really fixate on that one for some reason. This is the second time I've posted the list, where the first reaction is someone disagreeing with AV2. But hey, that's beauty of opinions! :)
My only real complaint is with the story and its structure. While the first game was also very weird, it all made sense whithin its own twisted logic, and there was a decently clear throughline towards the endgame and its enemies. Meanwhile, Blasphemous 2's Penitents seem fairly arbitrary in their addition and even barebones in their lore and context at times. I've no idea of what Eviterno's point was (Or Odon's, or Orospina's), nor what Crisanta was even doing since she just vanishes from the story entirely. I hope that this lacking context is added in the foreshadowed expansion. And on the topic of Eviterno, I believe that he's the one mishap in terms of balance. While everything else is fairly easy for anyone who's been advancing normally through the game, Eviterno is a sudden spike of difficulty right at the end that feels rather jarring. He actually requires you to know what the boss does and how to deal with it, and you can't really tank through his damage with the maxed out flasks. It's the first boss that actually encourages you to learn how to parry. Mind you, this is me speaking prior to having found out of all the Unique Resonances that make you overpowered, but then again I didn't have them for any of the other bosses either, so yeah. If I didn't first try the Final Boss it is because I went in with barely one hit of HP left and no flasks whatsoever, all thanks to Eviterno. He's not unfair or whatnot, but he is simply not what I had expected from the game given the boss prior to him. All in all, it's a great game that I simply wish was even bigger and better, and hopefuly the expansion/DLC will do just that.
I disagree with him A LOT, but he's refreshing because he sticks to his principles, knows even more than I do, and takes the time to inform as such (you know, in the way a journalist is supposed to, but these days never do) of development information and the zeitgeist period of the games he reviews; all with a downplayed, not eccentric or obnoxious style of presentation or loud exclamations.
I have played thru B2 twice and have gone back to the first. Both are excellent. Atmosphere was more grim in the first, but B2 improves on everything from prior game. Can't wait for any/all DLCs. Excellent review! I shared your same sentiments regarding the game.
@ToweringToska His sexy voice, and his renegade ways. (i legit watched this whole video on mute, cuz I was watching Mike Matei streaming Jackie Chan Stuntmaster on ps1)
Was waiting for you to talk about this :). I had a lot of fun with this one, and agree with basically every criticism and all the praises you offered. However there's still a certain charm to the brutality and difficulty of the first game that I think I prefer. I'll add that in my playthrough I encountered a couple of camera glitches, including one in an area that you return to multiple times (though those may only be native to the switch version). Also, I felt that a few of the late game items/secrets required for 100% are a little silly/confusing. Aside from those additional nit-picks, I too can't wait for their next project, and it would be awesome to see them continue to support this game with updates as they did with the first (though it is absolutely a complete game and worth the price already)
Nerral, you went from “why does this hideous thumbnail with the Majora’s Mask moon with lips keep popping up in my recommendations,” to “not bad,” to now the best RUclipsr on the site. Legend 😎
@@vazazell5967 Thank you! I've been looking into this for a while because I FINALLY wanted to play Red Dead Redemption 1 at 60fps and a halfway decent resolution. During this process, only my hatred for this artificial and unnecessary platform separation continued to grow. I acknowledge that this is probably a me problem.
I never got into Blasphemous due to its initial very buggy launch and negative reception. It's great to see how popular this series has become and I think I will finally jump into it with its second entry. :)
The first is a masterpiece, I'm not into "souls like" games, I'm too old now for the challenge but I really got into the first game tho I did use a guide as having young children I don't have the time I'd like to spend on gaming.
Finally, someone whose opinion on Metroidvanias I actually respect. I'm even more excited to play this game now. I just have to finish the final DLC from the first game I never got around to playing. By the way, you ever consider voice acting?
I enjoy B1 more than B2. I feel like the base is there for 2 to really shine once it starts getting some DLC releases. I know 1 felt much different before the large expansions it received, so I'm very hopeful for the future of 2.
9:10 Why? There are no negative consequences when accepting help. On the contrary - same reward is given regardless of the choice, but you get it much earlier after accepting help for the 3rd time and not by the end of the game. Plus you get an achievement for the final outcome of her help, whereas you get nothing when decide to go on your own.
Would love to hear your input on Void Stranger. Having played through its layers of mechanics just exploring the first few floors, there's something really special about it that I think you'd find interesting if you happen to discover them organically.
I had no idea ReShade even existed; much less, accompanied by the excellent CRT-Royale shader. I have only used shaders within Retroarch. I just tried Royale with a game, and it doesn't look anywhere near as good as your configuration for Blasphemous -- as in, the rgb cells on mine are nowhere near as good on zoom-in as yours). You mind posting the configuration file for Royale on here; or if anyone has any tutorials on how to get it to look just right, I'd love to hear/read/watch any recommendations!
Accepting help from the lady in the first game is the *only* way to complete her questline, though. You don't get anything if you don't ask for her help. You can only "save her" by not letting her do what she was meant to do.
The 1st game is better in my opinion. This one just felt like a traditional Metroidvania with an almost overwhelming map and too much focus on backtracking. 1st game felt more linear while also being very story/lore driven and a heavier focus on difficult and more frequent boss fights.
My first gripe with the first game that is that I don't think it was implied that donating to the church will set up a teleportation, I went through 70% of the game without it. I had to back track so much. the platforming section in annoying. glad they fix it on here.
IIRC the teleportation wasn't even a thing in the original release, it was added in a later update. Soooo if you played Blasphemous early enough, then you absolutely played the shitty version of the game. Granted even post-updates it's still a pretty meh game overall.
I don't think another review has so succinctly expressed how impressed I was with this game. It really is an improvement and refinement on the first title in every way. In a year with such stand out games, Blasphemous 2 is my personal GOTY
This is a small taste of a Metroidvania Mega Review, but it appetizing one for sure. Hopefully we won't have to wait too much longer for Nerrel to dive back into the Vania hole
People don’t realize or forget that when the original blasphemous came out on day 1, it was pretty meh. Only over time with patches and quality if life improvements did it become a great game and one of my favs. I really grew to like it. Wasn’t my fav, but it was still good
I played the first one after Elden Ring and I actually remapped the controls to the same as that game and it worked super well. Also having dedicated fingers for handling jumping and attacking made the wall climbing move super fast. Will play the second one after the DLCs.
thanks for the review nerrel, im gonna play on switch, but first i gotta do the wounds of eventide dlc which means replaying the first game again for me. but this review and your opinions seem far more accurate to the experience than other stuff i've happened to hear. for example ive heard alot of others say the game is easier and doesn't do enough newm and those other people treated this stuff as big boy negatives. But you've made me excited to jump in and i just know im gonna love the game, Blapsmehous was almost a masterpiece! the game kitchen is out here being masters of the craft. also just wanna say ya fooking videos are sick m8, love that you have covered a lot of metroidvanias in recent times. and the humor you stick in is always top tier.
thank you for this great review. I am buying this tonight for ps5. do you think I should get last faith as well or dead cells castlevania? but i’m definitely buying this.
Exactly, Blasphemous 2 is the most open and free yet meaningful Metroidvania map I’ve ever played including Super Metroid. Obviously it has some nitpicks but it was so much fun to explore from start to finish.
Review Grime. It's my personal favorite metroidvania and is HIGHLY underrated. Grime two was just announced last month too, so a perfect time to do so!
Is not TotK/10 -Brought to you by pre-Botw Zelda fans (but also not trying to excessively hate on newer fans, just understand that Botw1 and 2 are very flawed plz thx)
Yep, far better in the first one, agreed. The lore was also better too imo - despite being cryptic, I could make a general sense of it, and it got me super curious to dig further like with FromSoft games. That world just felt so coherent and mysterious. In the sequel, not so much. Big baby in the heart in the sky. Crisanta RIP 1min into the game. Second psalm thingy. What?!?!
The Game Kitchen released a patch that addressed the stunlocking and invincibility frames, so interpret my bitching during that section as 70% less useful
store.steampowered.com/news/app/2114740/view/7159090354095265670
Please do a review of the Metal Gear Solid: “Master” Collection on Switch.
I need to see someone rip it to shreds.
Still happens.. A lot
Check out The Great Rebellion by KVLT Games, great cyberpunk rogue like. Very unique for being set in Europe and combining European history and myth with cyberpunk
@@TheOneToKeepYouWaiting why is it so bad?
Regarding real blasphemy is to insult The Spirit of The Creator, I reveal to you that hell is another dimension and his influence is mask in many aspect of this world, including art, music, culture , laws, economy and science.
Jesus is real and the only way of having a chance of being save, I know kew people in satanic sects, saw real magic and spoiler is demonic.
Very interested in seeing where Prince of Persia Lost Crown and Pseudoregalia will land for you.
Exactly
These two games are insanely good
Nerrel's pacing and scriptwriting are unparalleled in terms of how much valuable information is packed into every second of the video. In any other video, the information given in the first 60 seconds would take at least 6 minutes.
He is the most efficient and precise reviewer I've seen. Fantastic writing, presentation, and narration.
@MishKoz Fancy seeing you here on a Nerrel video. 'Hope you're doing well.
@@guyudontno7689
Nerrel is one of my "drop everything whenever there's a new upload" youtubers. One of my favorite channels. Hope you're doing well too!
!7 hour review where I repeat the same thing 40 times.
I do certainly appreciate Nerrel’s style, but I also appreciate 10 hour long reviews.
Nerrel trolling his own viewers by doubling down on his unpopular opinions about Zelda and Hollow Knight will always make me smile
It's downright blasphemous
Hey I'm a hollow knight and zelda fan and that's fine with me
I love it each time as he speaks the utter truth and nothing but truth
His zelda takes are pretty reasonable though
Makes him a buckbroken insufferable rat
I love that sentiment at the end, of not wanting a sequel because there's nowhere to go from there. I hope the developers take that to heart, and instead of B3, give us a new adventure with different mechanics and setting.
We still have additional content to see. So many there'll be additional ending like we had for original
I do want another metroidvania from them though.
It’s practically law at this point that Zelda will come up in some capacity in every Nerrel video going forward
It's kinda like Zelda..
I mean . . . Nerrel started this channel to talk about his Majora's Mask Texture mod so, yeah.
@@MidlifeCrisisJoe lol I didn’t mean it in a mean way, more like a loving joking way haha
It’s a hugely important staple of video games and possibly the most important series ever besides maybe Mario
If neither of Totk, Botw or Hollow Knight get used as a negative example in any of his future videos, I'm going to riot!
If this game was called Majora’s Mask you would’ve given it a 10
Based?
Extra points for each instance of Tingle ass
I mean, a 10 is usually subjective to the personal taste of the author.
At least, that seems the best use for it.
Sounds up Nerrel's alley to do that.
Unfunny Fantano commenters are breaching containment
Oh no the nerrel comment section is becoming fantano core 💀💀💀
My favorite part of Nerrel lore is that he HAS emotion and can change his voice. He just doesn’t.
I want a 12 part series of nerrel being a tears of the kingdom fan that calls himself out for having valid criticisms
When I saw the instant death pits and spikes no longer took your entire health bar I was deeply emotionally moved. I cannot express how much the death traps dragged down the first game for me with its not-so-generous fast travel system and lengthy walks between areas. There were so many times where I had full health and full vials then missed a jump and had to redo the past ten rooms. Truly this is the ideal sequel
Oh no too bad I haven’t accepted her help every single time. Oh boy.
@potatopower2144Bro most NES games weren’t as annoying with platforming as blasphemous 1. Insta kills just feel dogshit unless it’s the focus of the game like supermeatboy. Like your doing a boss run back and then the jump you make 9/10 times you miss and get sent back for fuck all reason. In some ways taking damage over insta kill is more punishing as the insta kill is just tedious busywork where halving your health makes the fights you take next harder.
I'm kinda mixed on it. On one hand, I loved Blasphemous 1's very lethal traps. You had to play more carefully & be more precise with how you handled things. You couldn't just go willy nilly into an area, lest you hit some spikes of doom or fall into the abyss. On the other hand, this change also inherently speeds up gameplay drastically, because now the traps are not as lethal, so you don't have to be as devastated when you do miss that jump you thought you had or you don't have to worry if you were going through the map nonchalantly only to find yourself falling into a hidden trap like in the first game. Blasphemous 2 is more forgiving (on traps) & because of that fact, you get through the game at a quicker pace. So it has its pros & cons. Personally, I love the way both handle it, but like I said, I still am sort of mixed on Blasphemous 2's way of handling it because I also loved how it worked on Blasphemous 1 as well. It just feels odd when I see myself surviving the spikes sometimes, or falling into a pit & getting teleported back up immediately.
@@acksawblack exactly. precision platformers like SMB - which I love, by the way - are tuned exactly for that kind of punishing, one shot gameplay and are set up like they expect you to die over and over again with their short level design and quick load times. blasphemous just isn't set up for it and it comes off as just a "fuck you"
@@acksawblack B1 is meant to be tedious and annoying and hard because the devs designed it that way. Penance isnt an easy thing at all and they wanted to recreate that feel within blasphemous (by having checkpoints multiple rooms apart from each other, having insta kill traps, etc). Hopefully that explains why they had stuff like that in the game to make it annoying to go through.
I don’t have the words to explain how much I love this series. Watching the documentary “Landing Blasphemous” really kinda drove home how unlikely it was for us to ever even get the first game. “Capricious are the hands of the Miracle”
Should I play the first Blasphemous before this one?
@@MoskalMediain my opinion, B1 is much much better than B2 (B2 is better when it comes to combat and movement upgrades though). I've only played B2 once, and I never finished it because the last boss was so annoyingly difficult. I've finished B1 EIGHT times because of how fun it is.
Pixel art just never ages. It's probably my favorite look in video games.
4:18 Shouts out to every person who had a very good time with TotK and didn’t have problems with Nerrel’s thoughts on it.
Nerrel, just because tingle isnt in the game doesnt mean you have to strip it's 10/10 score to a 9.5
It's funny because it's true
Yes he does and you're biased and smell like shit for thinking otherwise.
Spoiler alert: Tingle is the pope
I appreciate the acknowledgment that something being too gross and violent can be a turn off. I feel like most of the internet takes extreme desensitization for granted.
I used to get sick from seeing all the blood and guts from overly gory video games, but once a hunter video I saw, referred to his exploded prey as "bubblegum" now I like to see gore in games. Let the bubblegum fly ^o^💞
@@fwobebe5164 Honestly this comment has resensitized me to gore - thanks. I will never feel comfotable about the bubblegum coming out of my enemy's bodies.
@@Arexsisvery bizarre that killing something/people isn't desensitization to you, but the red and pink stuff coming out of them is.
Truly weirdo stuff.
Idk, I actually don't think about blood and gore in a game as more than just a splash of colour on screen, I'm usually too engrossed in trying to accomplish what I'm actually doing to really take note of what the developer was doing from an art direction.
Wrong, most people on the internet nowadays don't go outside and are triggered by the tiniest thing, cry about it
Felt like the first one was much more immersive, atmosphere-wise, but Blasphemous 2 is overall the better game in every way.
Yeah the first game's cut scenes were just next level stuff. The anime cutscenes just... Dont do it justice. But hey, at least it didnt take 82738273 hours to make lol
@@sid6645I think they look better personally
Blasphemous 1 was better.
Blasphemous 1 was much more unique. I like 2 but it's way more of a standard metroidvania
Disagree. Platforming feels better, but Blasphemous 2 gets too linear for me (Also, this is a nitpick but I felt the gore and violence were toned down).
I always love the "audience reactions"
The sheer EMOTION put into the jeering crowd is phenomenal! Oscar-worthy performance 🎭
This might be a controversial take but... to me brevity is an important measure of the quality of a metroidvania. And it is perhaps the only thing I am torn on in most of the most famous indie releases. I think replayability is an important aspect of a metroidvania, the genre since its inception has encouraged routing and speedrunning, explore new options, new paths, experiment with the items, and these indie releases often do have quite a few elements to encourage replayability but... I struggle to fire them up again even once after finished because all of them are a big time commitment, specially if you are like me and you like to go for 100% completion.
Metroid games are not only much shorter, but they most of the time have several interesting movement techs to master so that you can play to completion each one in a single sitting if you are skilled enough.
I can complete all five mainline metroid games faster than if I tried to complete hollow knight, blasphemous or ori 2 again.
A lot of people don't consider it a big deal but... to me it kind of hurts their longevity. As year passes without me revisiting them they become more and more forgotten.
Your crazy
I share this sentiment there is something very easily digestible about the Metroid series. Although right now I feel Blasphemous is appropriately paced
@@dinglepuss8594 That is actually something I also think about games like cave story. It is not a master piece metroidvania in terms of the design of the world or anything like that. But it is paced perfectly, with adequate amount of story content, platforming, boss fights sprinkled throughout.
And it is also... pretty short, so i play through that game like every single year or something, like I play through the metroid games. These gigantic indie metroidvanias are awesome, masterpieces even of design, atmosphere and story telling. But they are soooo huge, both in the map and the time it takes to complete, and even the time you spend wandering arround. I just cannot put myself to replay them...
I don't think that format is wrong tho, but agree with you that metroid is a good inspiration to show how many metroidvanias should become more replayable. I think that could have a balance in these formats.
@@Hazeckro520 No I don't think there is anything wrong with the format. I don't even think replayability or brevity is something necessarily good in a videogame. It is just sort of a preference for me for certain types of games. Because I think not having them hurts their longevity. I could call any one of those inde metroidvania "one of my favorite games" "one of the best". But If I never replay them, and I start forgetting about them with the years... then it starts making less and less sense in my head to call it one of the best. When I can relive super metroid in less than three hours likea LOTR movie, and in that time cover 10% of Hollow knight, just to decide that I played enough give up at that point and decide to play something new.
I know it is kind of a weid complaint, honestly is more of a philosophical debate than a proper critique of something wrong with the actual game lol.
Hope you understand what I mean.
Oh, I didn't know there was a Blasphemous II. I'll watch this now anyways, because hearing you talk about things is a vital comfy spot in my mind. Best wishes Nerrel.
"vital comfy spot" 😐
Nerrel mockingly mimicking a nintendroid sounds eerily like Jordan Peterson
Blasphemous makes me wish there was another Demon's Crest game in the same style. Such a good aesthetic.
Hell yeah, that sounds cool
At least a HD Remaster or collection TwT Capcom's always gotta Capcom, and don't give us nuttin unless it's Resident Evil.
Indeed, Demon's Crest atmosphere and presentation were so much ahead of their time. Too bad the game gets quickly boring after that.
If its anything like the new Ghosts and Goblins I'll pass.
What is that bar at the end? Sorry I need tingles placed throughout to really get a grasp on how good this game is.
Nerrel is by far the best video game reviewer right now
I'm sure there are others, but he seems like one of the good ones 😇
Nerrel... so hot right now.
Is Matthewmatosis considered a reviewer "right now?" I know he's working on other stuff too but I think he posted at least two videos this year... either way Matthew is still hands down literally the greatest video game critic that has ever existed and ever will exist. But yeah Nerrel's really funny and I love him.
Noah Gervais
@@ofarra9588I never really vibe with Matthew, but I do share Nerrel's opinions on metroidvanias
One thing I really disliked about the sequel is how fervor becomes corrupted after X amount of deaths and made me always return to the confessor to regain it. This made some boss fights tedious as I had to stop what I was doing. I tought at the time "boy, will Nerrel have a field day with this feature". I'm sad you didn't mention it.
Yeah that was annoying, possibly they did this to push you to pay the spoopy guy to get rid of guilt and eventually unlock the items he has to give you. Kinda weird if you ask me.
The list is ever growing....
Cave story - 15/15 (so a 10)
Blasphemous 2 - 9.5
Axiom Verge - 9
Metroid Dread - 9
Yoku's Island Express - 8,9
Blasphemous - 8,7534
Timespinner - 8,6
AM2R - 8,5
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night - 8,5
Environmental Station Alpha - 8,5
Gato Roboto - 8,5
Guacamelee - 8,5
Touhou: Luna Nights - 8,5
Axiom Verge 2 - 8
Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth - 8
Ori and the Blind Forest - 8
9 Years of Shadows - 7,5
Kunai - 7,3
Ghost Song - 7
Hollow Knight - 7
Haiku the Robot - 6,9874
A Robot Named Fight - 5
Axiom verge 2 was a real stinker.
@@ronthorn3 People seem to really fixate on that one for some reason. This is the second time I've posted the list, where the first reaction is someone disagreeing with AV2.
But hey, that's beauty of opinions! :)
@@ronthorn3Too high or too low?
@ronthorn3 whaa? I liked Verge 2 same as the first game
I'd recommend Ori 2 if you haven't played it. It's even better than the first one. 9 at least.
I love your reviews Nerrel. Bought this based on your recommendation. Loving it so far.
TUNIC actually lets you choose what special bonus grabbing your ghost gives you!
Wait I didn't know this I always get 10 money, explain
@@Biobillybonez the cards have different effects and some change what happens when you pick up your souls. Look it up.
Great informative content as always. Thank you, Nerrel. Keep it up!
My only real complaint is with the story and its structure. While the first game was also very weird, it all made sense whithin its own twisted logic, and there was a decently clear throughline towards the endgame and its enemies. Meanwhile, Blasphemous 2's Penitents seem fairly arbitrary in their addition and even barebones in their lore and context at times. I've no idea of what Eviterno's point was (Or Odon's, or Orospina's), nor what Crisanta was even doing since she just vanishes from the story entirely. I hope that this lacking context is added in the foreshadowed expansion.
And on the topic of Eviterno, I believe that he's the one mishap in terms of balance. While everything else is fairly easy for anyone who's been advancing normally through the game, Eviterno is a sudden spike of difficulty right at the end that feels rather jarring. He actually requires you to know what the boss does and how to deal with it, and you can't really tank through his damage with the maxed out flasks. It's the first boss that actually encourages you to learn how to parry. Mind you, this is me speaking prior to having found out of all the Unique Resonances that make you overpowered, but then again I didn't have them for any of the other bosses either, so yeah. If I didn't first try the Final Boss it is because I went in with barely one hit of HP left and no flasks whatsoever, all thanks to Eviterno. He's not unfair or whatnot, but he is simply not what I had expected from the game given the boss prior to him.
All in all, it's a great game that I simply wish was even bigger and better, and hopefuly the expansion/DLC will do just that.
I fucking love this channel dog, every upload is a gem
babe wake up, new nerrel video
Don't agree with you all the time but still love your content never change
I disagree with him A LOT, but he's refreshing because he sticks to his principles, knows even more than I do, and takes the time to inform as such (you know, in the way a journalist is supposed to, but these days never do) of development information and the zeitgeist period of the games he reviews; all with a downplayed, not eccentric or obnoxious style of presentation or loud exclamations.
@@Hysteria98 Couldn't agree more
Thanks Nerrel, without you i wouldn't've played both of these amazing games!
god this game looks so good. was waiting for your input before grabbing this one.
2 videos in one month! Don’t over exhaust yourself.
Being able to avoid collecting your ghosts by delivering cold, hard cash directly to the Pope is the most Catholic way to do it, I've got to admit.
You cannot delay the reckoning that is giving Rabi-Ribi a review forever, Nerrel. You think you can, but you cannot. It will come for you.
GIVE UP
@@togglebott7748 Not a chance
I have played thru B2 twice and have gone back to the first. Both are excellent. Atmosphere was more grim in the first, but B2 improves on everything from prior game. Can't wait for any/all DLCs. Excellent review! I shared your same sentiments regarding the game.
I'm kind of amazed just how much the environments and pallette looks like Circle of the Moon. Mean that in the best way
6:15 "never enough to get stuck on"
Eviterno would like a word
I loved the first game and it's only thanks to your video I know it has a sequel. Picking this up right now, a 9.5 from you is high praise indeed.
dude i was hoping you would review this. Love you Nerrel 😘
I get un ubber happy when nerrel uploads, even more so when watching his new videos
Nerrel, I love you. That is all
I also love him.
What are your favorite things about him?
@ToweringToska His sexy voice, and his renegade ways. (i legit watched this whole video on mute, cuz I was watching Mike Matei streaming Jackie Chan Stuntmaster on ps1)
4:33 found this guy today, it was everything I’d hoped it would be
Was waiting for you to talk about this :). I had a lot of fun with this one, and agree with basically every criticism and all the praises you offered. However there's still a certain charm to the brutality and difficulty of the first game that I think I prefer. I'll add that in my playthrough I encountered a couple of camera glitches, including one in an area that you return to multiple times (though those may only be native to the switch version). Also, I felt that a few of the late game items/secrets required for 100% are a little silly/confusing. Aside from those additional nit-picks, I too can't wait for their next project, and it would be awesome to see them continue to support this game with updates as they did with the first (though it is absolutely a complete game and worth the price already)
Nerral, you went from “why does this hideous thumbnail with the Majora’s Mask moon with lips keep popping up in my recommendations,” to “not bad,” to now the best RUclipsr on the site.
Legend 😎
As a Pc-only gamer without any perspective on Zelda, I found this interjection refreshing and very funny!
You can just emulate switch versions, they aren't too heavy and there are multiple hacks to improve performance
@@vazazell5967botw is better emulated on the Wii U version. Runs far more efficiently and has a host of visual mods or qol features to enable.
@@vazazell5967 Thank you! I've been looking into this for a while because I FINALLY wanted to play Red Dead Redemption 1 at 60fps and a halfway decent resolution. During this process, only my hatred for this artificial and unnecessary platform separation continued to grow. I acknowledge that this is probably a me problem.
@@vazazell5967 Better off emulating BOTW on Cemu.
I'm starting to develop a kink for when Nerrel highly praises a game
I already coomed when I saw a notification for a video from him
I never got into Blasphemous due to its initial very buggy launch and negative reception.
It's great to see how popular this series has become and I think I will finally jump into it with its second entry. :)
The first one is still a must play tbh. Played it early and never got any bugs, so right now with all the patches and DLCs it must be almost flawless.
you should definitely play the first one first
Alright, first will be binged together with the second on a free weekend! 🙌🏾😁
The first is a masterpiece, I'm not into "souls like" games, I'm too old now for the challenge but I really got into the first game tho I did use a guide as having young children I don't have the time I'd like to spend on gaming.
4:02 This man does not give a s*** about people hating him for his opinions and I love it so much😂 please keep doing that nerrel. Its comedy Gold.
Thank RUclips gods for recommending this video to find this holy channel oh penitent one
Finally, someone whose opinion on Metroidvanias I actually respect. I'm even more excited to play this game now. I just have to finish the final DLC from the first game I never got around to playing.
By the way, you ever consider voice acting?
I don’t even play video games anymore but I still come back to hear the funny man
I enjoy B1 more than B2. I feel like the base is there for 2 to really shine once it starts getting some DLC releases. I know 1 felt much different before the large expansions it received, so I'm very hopeful for the future of 2.
Nerrel's finally listening to the fans and giving us another anti Hollow Knight video, I've been waiting for this one
Honestly preach on the TotK criticism, people way overhype that mid game. Surprised how high this was ranked
9:10 Why? There are no negative consequences when accepting help. On the contrary - same reward is given regardless of the choice, but you get it much earlier after accepting help for the 3rd time and not by the end of the game. Plus you get an achievement for the final outcome of her help, whereas you get nothing when decide to go on your own.
Would love to hear your input on Void Stranger. Having played through its layers of mechanics just exploring the first few floors, there's something really special about it that I think you'd find interesting if you happen to discover them organically.
If they make a game with a gun ill give it a try. The 2d swordplay didnt work for me in the slightest in the first one.
I had no idea ReShade even existed; much less, accompanied by the excellent CRT-Royale shader. I have only used shaders within Retroarch. I just tried Royale with a game, and it doesn't look anywhere near as good as your configuration for Blasphemous -- as in, the rgb cells on mine are nowhere near as good on zoom-in as yours). You mind posting the configuration file for Royale on here; or if anyone has any tutorials on how to get it to look just right, I'd love to hear/read/watch any recommendations!
Damn, I've never seen Nerrel give such high praise to a game before. He usually sticks anywhere between 6 and 8. lol
I'm really glad to see more consistent uploads from one of my favorite channels.
Translation: get off your lazy butt Nerrel and entertain me TwT
Accepting help from the lady in the first game is the *only* way to complete her questline, though. You don't get anything if you don't ask for her help. You can only "save her" by not letting her do what she was meant to do.
in Blasphemous 1 if you refuse her help the whole game you get her reward before the final boss
And if you accept her help, you get it after the third boss.
Which of these is the actual reward, again?@@person3231
Man, those animations look so good.
The 1st game is better in my opinion. This one just felt like a traditional Metroidvania with an almost overwhelming map and too much focus on backtracking.
1st game felt more linear while also being very story/lore driven and a heavier focus on difficult and more frequent boss fights.
My first gripe with the first game that is that I don't think it was implied that donating to the church will set up a teleportation,
I went through 70% of the game without it. I had to back track so much.
the platforming section in annoying. glad they fix it on here.
IIRC the teleportation wasn't even a thing in the original release, it was added in a later update. Soooo if you played Blasphemous early enough, then you absolutely played the shitty version of the game.
Granted even post-updates it's still a pretty meh game overall.
@@McFluffles01 I played the switch one, don't know if they patched it
The "...and furthermore" in the Zelda joke made me chuckle
Do you have any writing tool tips?
Nerrel's amazing as always, prime time review right here!
You've convinced me. Also, you're one of the few people who aren't afraid of claiming Hollow Knight to not be a masterpiece, which I respect.
I don't think another review has so succinctly expressed how impressed I was with this game. It really is an improvement and refinement on the first title in every way. In a year with such stand out games, Blasphemous 2 is my personal GOTY
Ooh I think I should play this one sometime
Thanks for the review
Hard to be mad at you for tears when you said that hollow knight was fucking boring and I'm all like "thaaaaaaaank you"
This is a small taste of a Metroidvania Mega Review, but it appetizing one for sure.
Hopefully we won't have to wait too much longer for Nerrel to dive back into the Vania hole
I know very few will point this out, but you really do have excellent script for your review. It never bore me and take my attention anywhere else.
I have no idea what the review is like so far. I just want to say that I hope everybody has a great time watching it.
People don’t realize or forget that when the original blasphemous came out on day 1, it was pretty meh. Only over time with patches and quality if life improvements did it become a great game and one of my favs. I really grew to like it. Wasn’t my fav, but it was still good
I played the first one after Elden Ring and I actually remapped the controls to the same as that game and it worked super well. Also having dedicated fingers for handling jumping and attacking made the wall climbing move super fast. Will play the second one after the DLCs.
That very last clip I straight up said "Don't fucking do it" and then he fucking did it.
Are the controls improved over the first game? I loved everything in the first except the controls, which really marred the experience for me. Im old.
Youre my favorite youtuber brah, keep it up
Another swagalicious video from nipple. Keep up the good work
thanks for the review nerrel, im gonna play on switch, but first i gotta do the wounds of eventide dlc which means replaying the first game again for me.
but this review and your opinions seem far more accurate to the experience than other stuff i've happened to hear.
for example ive heard alot of others say the game is easier and doesn't do enough newm and those other people treated this stuff as big boy negatives.
But you've made me excited to jump in and i just know im gonna love the game, Blapsmehous was almost a masterpiece! the game kitchen is out here being masters of the craft.
also just wanna say ya fooking videos are sick m8, love that you have covered a lot of metroidvanias in recent times. and the humor you stick in is always top tier.
This game has pretty much inspired a love for metroidvania's that I didn't know was in me.
thank you for this great review. I am buying this tonight for ps5. do you think I should get last faith as well or dead cells castlevania? but i’m definitely buying this.
Oh great I was waiting for someone I trust to review this before I bought it. Thanks!
Great video. This is up next for me. Would love to see a review on Ender Lillies.
Exactly, Blasphemous 2 is the most open and free yet meaningful Metroidvania map I’ve ever played including Super Metroid. Obviously it has some nitpicks but it was so much fun to explore from start to finish.
4:08 was that a Jordan Paterson impression?
Tha k you nerrel for making blasphemous 2
Have you ever played Salt and Sanctuary? I would love to watch your (mini) review of that
Discord is the real miracle
Review Grime. It's my personal favorite metroidvania and is HIGHLY underrated. Grime two was just announced last month too, so a perfect time to do so!
Is not TotK/10
-Brought to you by pre-Botw Zelda fans (but also not trying to excessively hate on newer fans, just understand that Botw1 and 2 are very flawed plz thx)
The atmosphere and general world and characters were better in the first one imo, but the rest is better in the sequel.
Yep, far better in the first one, agreed.
The lore was also better too imo - despite being cryptic, I could make a general sense of it, and it got me super curious to dig further like with FromSoft games. That world just felt so coherent and mysterious.
In the sequel, not so much. Big baby in the heart in the sky. Crisanta RIP 1min into the game. Second psalm thingy. What?!?!
Hey Nerrel have you played Signalis?
Id love to see him make a review on that one
I'm just hear to geek out on the Saiki skull pic.
@@agt_pendergast8899 Band-Maid for life brother
It’s not perfect, not even amazing-there’s a lot wrong with it, but I love it so much. So let’s not suck it off too much
I’m glad this got its own video.
Babe BAAAABE get UP there's NEW NERREL OUT
Did Babe get up?
@@fwobebe5164 smh no 😔