I was under the impression that the High Wills and The Miracle were two separate things. I saw The Miracle as more of a force, something that can make incredible things happen, but lacks focus, direction, or will (or at least a foggy, semi-conscience). On the other hand, I saw the High Wills as more of a cosmic parasite, a being capable of directing The Miracle and its power, but the power is not its own. The origin of the High Wills was from the collective belief of people who tried to attach a sort of logic (or "will") to the random acts of The Miracle. Humans often seek to find patterns or logic in random events. That is why the High Will keeps causing contradictory events, as it confuses the population, heightens faith, and increases its own power. I dont know if this is canon, or even accurate, but thats how I interpreted it.
It’s honestly a bit up on the air, mainly because of the existence of Blasphemous 2‘s big plot hook involving the Miracle and it’s supposed Child (at least based on the trailer dialogue)
This was also my understanding, personally The Miracle as the unbridled divinity, willing to help but lacking direction or understanding, while the Wills are beings that take hold of this divinity and give it a direction, that of uplifting themselves ever higher
In the lore it's hinted the high wills materialize after the religion takes hold. The miracle was seen as a kinda chaotic semi conscious (or extremely intelligent it's weird) force that could do beautiful or twisted stuff. The high wills used this primal force as a tool to make their false godhood true.
"The land of cistodia" Considering the spanish inspirations of the game, and how in ancient carvings from latin, the U is carved as V because it's easier to chip stone at angles, I'm confident in saying that the land's name is "Custodia" pronounces 'koos-TOH-deea' and which is basically the spanish word for custody or guardianship. The name custody actually fits very well with the themes of the game.
Honestly, he did do a good job putting it together but the lore of Blasphemous is nothing new to talk about, the game itself is incredible and to say he hyped up this game is a disservice to the people that worked on it and that made it work
For me, High Wills can be summarized by the quote “Does a God become corrupt when his worshippers do?” Because the people of Custodia didn’t asked for a merciful God who would reward them for their good deeds, they wanted a wrathful God who would keep them faithful through punishment and fear.
It looks kinda like a twisted version of God's chastisement. God will punish those he loves when they sin, this is so they'll turn back from their wickedness and be able to live instead of inflicting far worse wounds upon themselves by their wickedness.
@@mojus2890 I think it's actually pretty similar to the Judeo-Christian God if he was real. He gaslit all his followers into saying that their lives would be improved if they followed him, but obviously, even in the Bible it says - "the rain falls on the good and the evil." It gives the JC God an out in doling out rewards to his followers. Not to mention, he tortures his followers just to prove a point, like Job - where the JC God literally had his family murdered to prove a point. If anything the JC God is more petty. Not to mention, he hardened Pharaoh's heart, making it impossible for him to change his mind. And the JC God killed thousands, if not millions of firstborn Egyptians who had nothing to do with Pharaoh or the Israelites as a consequence.
my dude its basically medieval spanish catholicism on steroids... the self whipping was real, still is in some sections of Christianism/islamism (just google self flagellation - very common in the Philippines, South America, Afghanistan and so goes on). Catholics will still carry penitences to this very day. They took the "fear god" very seriously out there hahaha
The game kinda asks “what if god was very upfront, did not hide and leave us any room to doubt their existence, answered prayers bluntly, and behaved exactly like how everyone expects them to”
Well, that´s spanish catholicism for you. Enduring suffering and expunging guilt through physical torment. Some of the christian stories of our saints in which this game is based are as wild or wilder than what happens in Custodia (which is basically a dark fantasy version of Andalucia)
One of my favorite bits of lore is that a missionary was sent out to "bring civilization" to the "savage barbarians" outside of Custodia only to come back and admit that in all the world there is no place more uncivilized, more savage, more barbaric than Custodia itself. I like to think that outside of Custodia, they live in a post-scarcity society without war or suffering, and there's just this one little kingdom that is so blatantly insane that even now, no one wants to go near it.
@@Semc_Sucks "Pisiform of Hernandez, The Explorer. Victor Hernandez was chosen to lead an expedition meant to "civilise" barbaric tribes. He was sentenced for heresy when he suggested that Cvstodia was the most uncivilised of all known places."
An important aspect to note is that the church has a bizarre habit of "weaponizing" the acts of the miracle, as we see with how Quirce was made into a jailor after his resurrection, or how Socorro's "gift" of taking on the pain and wounds of others is used to make a trio of eternally resurrecting warriors. Perhaps it was this corruption of the blessing of the Miracle that caused the Father to turn the throne upon mankind, the sight of seeing the church turn blessed miracles into tools of oppression and suffering.
but the Higher Powers didn't care about corruption or anything of that, they were just selfish and wanted the people of Cvstodia to worship them, just as the person in the video said, I might add that their downfall came from the fact that, even though they came from us, they can't and don't care to understand how humans think
I don't think it's so bizarre. The Inquisition is just doing what the inquisition does: weaponizing faith. From the churches perspective Quirce wasn't blessed but further punished. An answer to the church's prayer or perceived need for a jailer. Socorro was likely viewed the same way. Not as a merciful woman to be Sainted and a sign to stop the beatings, but as a gift from the High Wills to the church for them to use at their leisure. Everything, from birth to death to the warped afflictions from the miracle belongs to the church. Selfish. Greedy. And self aggrandizing. Sound familiar?
If I remember correctly, the description of Blasphemous 2 calls the being seen at the end of the first game a "miracle child" so my guess is that without the High Wills, The Miracle *somehow* is now free and has taken physical form.
SPOILER FOR Blasphemous 2. Not all of the story has been revealed due to the embargo, but quite has bit has from what has been played. ==== = = = = = = = Apparently the game takes place a long time after the first game (the new holy figure even says "aeons"), and the Miracle has been considered extinct due to not showing up in so long. However, one married couple was having trouble conceiving a child, almost tearing themselves apart, and in utter desperation entrusted themselves to the Miracle to grant them a child. This wish was considered so humble and true that is woke up the Miracle, and granted the wish of the couple whose faith in it hadn't wavered in so long. However, things didn't go as planned even for the Miracle. It had been out of action for so long that, when it tried to make the child, known as the Witness (the one who said it had been aeons), into a new icon of worship like the Twisted One, the Miracle made a mistake due to its depleted might and the Witness came out both fully-grown and deformed, killing the mother in the process. Failing to incarnate into an icon and only manifesting as disease, it accidentally unleashed an "contagion" of disease, deformity, and pain, that spread through the land that afflicting many innocents lives. EDIT: Alternatively, as proposed by a RUclips comment by goldenyak629 in another video, the Witness is instead the Midwife that was to deliver the child, and the "child" was the disease that failed to be an icon. Which makes sense due to the similar appearance of the Witness and the midwife in the flashbacks, as well as the Witness' line about how the Miracle _"did fail in its efforts to incarnate, manifesting only in the form of disease, deformity, and pain"._ Yet the gaze and vision of one innocent, looking for any hope in the face of this desolation and relying purely on faith, allowed the Miracle to gain one last chance and was able to shape the wish into a giant heart-womb in the sky, where the birth of the new Child of the Miracle shall soon take place. The Heart is out of reach, watching over the City of the Blessed Name which has been raised by the Regret of three stone figures, represented by the Family: the eminent Father, the merciful Mother, and the counter-figure of the Witness. For the city to be reached, the Regrets of the three stone figures must be revealed so that they may be humiliated and humbled. The Regrets are hidden by three Guardians, who are in turn protected by the Archconfraternity; five Penitents of different Confraternities that the Miracle took as its sentinels. For the Heart must not be reached before the Child is born. And soon... the Penitent One awakens from his tomb.
@thomaschitham3487 what do think happens at the end of the 2nd game? In one ending, he kinda becomes one with the miracle child and in the other he just basically ascends to heaven, at least that's what I understood.
@Hairo-rv9kl I don't think we should assume anything about the endings yet, cause most likely the devs are going to be releasing DLCs that may expand more what's happened in Blasphemous 2
@@Hairo-rv9kl I'm not quite sure: SPOILER EDIT: I've got a bit better understanding. === Before he fights the Incarnate Devotion, the Penitent One can chose to anoint himself with the Incense of the Envoys, ashes of 4 wooden statues that he can burn. This is hinted by the description outside the door to do this that reads "The Father said _"The Four Envoys wrapped my body in soft linen cloths."_" According to the Incense description, this marks the body of one who performs the Ultimate Sacrifice thus returning to the heavens, and that the Great Grace will bestow upon thee the ultimate forgiveness, the last step in the Way of Penitence. You see, the Incarnate Devotion, as soon as it's born, is trying to contact the High Wills, as it knows that they are its creators. Yet it doesn't understand *why* it was created, and the High Wills don't answer it because, well, they're dead, leaving an _"obscure darkness of unanswered cries that prevents me from understanding the purpose of my birth."_ It then believes that the Penitent One was sent by the High Wills to judge the Incarnate Devotion, and the fight to serve as _"proof of thy dignity of your glory":_ essentially, its believes that the fight is to prove that the Incarnate is worthy of the High Wills' glory, to be worthy of being their _"magnum opus"._ Without the Incense, the Incarnate decides that the pain the Penitent One deals to him is meant to be a baptism, one that will unite it and the Penitent One together and make that communion flesh, becoming a new symbol of Devotion that brings a second age of the Miracle; the Second Psalm, successfully succeeding the long-dead High Wills. But with the Incense, this makes the Incarnate start believing that the High Wills are rejecting it, that they are hurting it in responds to questions of its purpose, that they are trying to kill it despite being of the High Wills' flesh and holding their heart. The Incarnate reconciles with the mystery of it birth, accepting that it will go unanswered, and states the Incarnate's punishment and death will be the High Wills' legacy. This, presumably, is because the Incense of the Envoys marks one as not just making the ultimate sacrifice, but one who will be bestowed the ultimate forgiveness. The High Wills and the Miracle seek devotion through punishment, through penitence. Being given the ultimate forgiveness by the "Great Grace" means the Penitent One... is no longer the Penitent One. Being blessed by the Great Grace maybe made the Incarnate think that the Penitent One was a representative of the High Wills. Furthermore, the Incarnate cannot be united in communion with a baptism of pain with the Penitent One because, again, the Incense absolves him; they are no longer being punished, no longer in pain. That common element cannot unite the Incarnate and the Penitent One; it is instead a pure being blessed by the "Great Grace" punishing another for seemingly not being worthy, so it just dies without being reborn. And with the (unwanted)suffering and death of the Incarnate Icon, the High Wills/Miracle's plans fail and the Penitent One is taken by the spirits of the Four Envoys to the highest of heavens, beyond many dreamed kingdoms such as the High Wills/Miracle's Path of Ancient/Eternal Processions, where all the other notable(and good) characters from both games are. Safely watched over for the rest of eternity by these spirits, the Penitent One will be enshrined as a holy figure in the canvas of light and time, his Penance... finally complete.
I always find stories about gods who are a reflection of men, warts and all, to be interesting to contrast with gods as an ideal to strive for. The High Wills, in making something that could kill them, created a paradox in their own godhood: they made a rock so big they couldn’t lift it. If a god makes a rock so big they can’t lift it, then are they actually omnipotent-and thus, are they actually a god? Are omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience axiomatic to godhood in these stories?
Omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience are axiomatic to godhood roughly in the Abrahamic religions. It's not at all a basic assumption. On the other hand, the world of Blasphemous is very much based on Catholicism, which definitely does emphasize the 'triple-omni' nature of God.
@@justanidiotmk2749 Yeah, I think we've established that the High Wills are definitely evil, or at least not benevolent. The Miracle itself sans-Wills seems almost ambivalent in how it doles out blessings and curses.
good video but FYI the miracle is NOT the creation of the High Wills. The Wills say that the miracle is just as old as the procession around them which is older than anything. This is also evident by the fact that the Miracle is still very much at work in Blasphemous II (from what we know). All the creations of the High Wills like the Mea Culpa disappeared after the Penitent One and Crisanta destroyed them, but the Miracle is still active
I think they created the miracle, but the miracle became self sufficient because people started worshipping it more than the high wills. We know this because high wills are barely mentioned at the game but the miracle is mentioned everywhere
@@thechosenone5421Bro what. The DLC true ending explicitly states that the Miracle and the realm that the High Wills reside in are both older than the High Wills.
@rasul01 the betrayer tells us to stop his brothers because they are using the miracle for themselves. The high wills seem to have a blind spot that they can see those who have died like we can talk to the dead sister on her grave and she tells us to save her brother.
@@rasul01 the realm is, not the miracle. According to the will themselves "We are the high wills, for there is no miracle that does not stand from our desire, that is not our reflection, that is not our word. " They say that the realm is older than them, but not anything else, and that the realm would be used to make them immortal
this video missed a very critical point - that the Miracle is an independent power seprate from the High Wills. so even though it is controlled by the High Wills, it still does things on it's own. which explains how the Penitent One was able was able to kill the High Wills - it was utterly impossible to defeat their gaurdian without the Miracle's help. so in the end, the Miracle too wanted to end the punishment and the suffering
This reminds me of "the idea of evil", the god in the berserk universe. It's created deep in the astral realm by the wishes of humanity to understand why they suffer so much, the answer was "because there is evil". So the IOE keeps manipulating the world behind the scenes to cause people suffering but also gives purpose to their suffering.
Azrael: Human, have you ever been to Hell? I think not. You know once Hell was nothing more than the absence of God. And if you had ever been in his presence, you would know that's punishment enough. But then, your kind came along, and made it SO MUCH WORSE. Bethany: Human beings aren't capable of 1/100 the evil a shitbag demon like you is. Azrael: Evil is an ABSTRACT! It's a HUMAN construct! But true to his irresponsible nature, Man won't own up to being it's engineer. So he chooses to blame his dark deeds on my ilk. But his selfishness is limitless. It wasn't enough just to shadow his own existence, he turned Hell into a SUFFERING PIT! Fire, wailing, darnkess! The kind of place ANYONE would do ANYTHING to get out of! And why? Because he lacks the ability to forgive himself! It is beyond your comprehension to do simple recompense for the sins you commit. No, you choose instead to invent a psycho-drama and dwell in foundless belief that God could never forgive your grievous offenses. So you bring your guilt and your inner decay with you to Hell where the hoards of thousands of gluttons for punishment infect the abyss since the first one of your kind arrived generations ago, begging to be punished. In doing so, he transformed Hell from cold and solitude to PAIN and MISERY! I've spent eons, privy to the flames, inhaling the decay, hearing the wail of the damned. I KNOW WHAT AFFECT such horrors have on the delicate psyche of an angelic being! Would you like a glimpse at Pain Eternal? LOOK! I'd rather not EXIST then go back to that. And if everybody has to go with me, so be it! -Dogma's deleted scene The worst parr is that Azrael's speech also perfectly describes the Godhand and Apostles in Berserk. Rather than admit their errors, they double down and damn the entire world.
I heard a fan theory somewhere that there is a greater force, a higher being than the High Wills. The creator of the Procession and possibly the Miracle, if the Miracle is a separate entity from the High Wills. And the reason that the High Wills weep tears of gold is because gazing upon this true, mighty being hurts their eyes as they are mere pretenders to the godhood. Completely unfounded, and purely based on the fact that the High Wills weep gold, but a fun theory/hypothesis nonetheless
I'm late but in-game, there's a clear visual difference between U letter and V letter, so it's not the font, but it still should be pronounced as "Custodia", that's right
the "v" in Cvstodia is pronounced as a "u", this is because in Latin some Vs were pronounced as U. And this was transferred to old Castilian. Very nice video
Can’t wait for the second game. Blasphemous is VERY unique game imo. It’s not about just the gameplay. The lore, design, enemies etc it’s all great. 2nd game is about to be amazing.
greater than the sum of its parts describes blasphemous perfectly imo. just a game where everything comes together so nicely. one of my favorites of all time, cant wait for B2 baby.
The idea in fantasy that literal gods are born from the collective unconscious is, like, my fave modern literary tool. Neil Gaiman w the sandman and American Gods books (Anansi boys and Neverwhere included) kind of really kicked off this whole new concept of storytelling and I love it
Discworld gods works like this too if you believe too much on something it becomes a god, a funny part for me is when a sculpter screw up so badly that a goddess is forced to use a penguin to send messages because people can't remember that she had an eagle (this happens in the Small Gods book, probably happens in other books too but I only starting reading this year the series)
@@straypaper It's the first time I heard of it; I often hear more "help", "release", "rescue", etc... than "succor". It's usually the less used words that catch me unaware these days, so thanks for pointing this word out. Still, regardless of the origin in English or a non-English language, I think that in this case it serves the same purpose
@@guilhermesantos8728 "Succor" is archaic in English, fallen out of favor, and from my learning in the last years it's also not common in modern Spanish. Think of it as "biblical language" with a religious and symbolic bent, not something you'd use too often today.
And it’s not Latin, it’s Spanish for “custody”. The art book says it’s Spanish for “save” but google translate says “custody” or “ward” which makes sense to me.
@@Florjb0rjTheFloorboard 'U' is relatively new to the latin alphabet. Prior to about 1400 both 'v' and 'u' would have the same shape. (That's why 'w' is called that despite clearly being a double v.
I feel like with the Death of the High Wills, the Miracle it´self experienced a kind of rebirth, unshackled, still true to it´s original design but without the interference of it´s creators perhaps that is the meaning off the figure in the clouds
I feel like the Miracle is sort of like an unknowing infant under some measure of control by the High Wills. The way it inflicts curses and blessings seem almost like the Miracle sees all experiences not as good or bad, but as neutral. It 'punishes' and 'blesses' at random, and seems to have no regard for how much physical and mental pain it inflicts because it has no understanding of how these acts are experienced. The Miracle simply acts, sometimes on a whim, sometimes on a measure of command. The miracle sees Quince burning, and perhaps would prefer him alive because it does understand that death is final and Quince has done nothing to deserve it, but as its power is crude and wild and it doesn't understand pain, it transforms Quince into a creature of burning and suffering, because that's what the Miracle associates Quince with. The reason it enacts more suffering than blessing is probably due to the selfishness of the High Wills, but also due to the universal constant that suffering and pain is much much easier for a person to achieve than ecstacy and joy. Want to suffer the worst physical pain you've ever felt? eat some rotten meat or stab yourself several times. Want to feel mental torture? Just think too hard about your existence or take too many psychedelics and experience psychosis. But if you want to feel blessed with radiant joy? You have to fulfil your existence with a purpose, or raise a child to be happy and healthy, or find a person you can love until old age who loves you back. Not nearly as easy.
My interpretation of the true ending is that the High Will in its arrogance Believed the Miracle to be nothing more than a manifestation of it's own power. But was proven wrong when the Miraculous birth of a new being happened immediately after it died and couldn't possibly be responsible. The High Wills are a reflection of humanity. What is more human than believing yourself to be a bigger deal than you actually are?
Dude that's a pretty solid interpretation. The moment I saw them goofy ahh gold crying faces I knew they weren't the Miracle in its full form. Formed from the belief of Custodia's populace and were wiped by a faceless speechless citizen of their own devotees, quite the poetic justice, but justice doesn't feel like the right word here.
So basically the collective misery of the people birthed a miserable god. Makes sense. You paying attention Claudia and the rest of your fanatics in Silent Hill? This is what woulda happened.
Really interesting video detailing the lore, just one side note, the name of the country is cvstodia (pronounced as kustodia) which is the name of a holy item where the sacramental bread is kept after consagration, I'm other words, that country IS the vivid image of "holiness" for the world to "see". Basically the whole theme of the game is this medieval perspective of the Christian God, as an angry old man behind a cloud waiting for you to sin to punish you, that's why it's contradictory, since that's exactly how it was done in the medieval period 😅
“The High Wills are a god who listens. If you ask it to punish you, it will punish you. If you ask it to burn you, it will burn you. And if you ask it to prove itself, it will do that too.” I’ve never even played Blasphemous but god damn (pun intended) that is a terrifying quote.
The miracle feels like a neutral power that grant wishes, only that the people of Cvstodia wishing for them do not understand what their wish really means.
@@sykune I looked it up to double check. Quoth Wikipedia: "Mea culpa /ˌmeɪ.əˈkʊl.pə/ is a phrase originating from Latin that means my fault or my mistake and is an acknowledgment of having done wrong.[1] "
@@pigcatapult wow alot of conenet creators have said my Guilt lol. Thank you for the info though. It seems it has to with an admission of guilt which why most so my guilt.
SPOILER FOR Blasphemous 2. Not all of the story has been revealed due to the embargo, but quite has bit has from what has been played. ==== = = = = = = = Apparently the game takes place a long time after the first game (the new holy figure even says "aeons"), and the Miracle has been considered extinct due to not showing up in so long. However, one married couple was having trouble conceiving a child, almost tearing themselves apart, and in utter desperation entrusted themselves to the Miracle to grant them a child. This wish was considered so humble and true that is woke up the Miracle, and granted the wish of the couple whose faith in it hadn't wavered in so long. However, things didn't go as planned even for the Miracle. It had been out of action for so long that, when it tried to make the child, known as the Witness (the one who said it had been aeons), into a new icon of worship like the Twisted One, the Miracle made a mistake due to its depleted might and the Witness came out both fully-grown and deformed, killing the mother in the process. Failing to incarnate into an icon and only manifesting as disease, it accidentally unleashed an "contagion" of disease, deformity, and pain, that spread through the land that afflicting many innocents lives. EDIT: Alternatively, as proposed by a RUclips comment by goldenyak629 in another video, the Witness is instead the Midwife that was to deliver the child, and the "child" was the disease that failed to be an icon. Which makes sense due to the similar appearance of the Witness and the midwife in the flashbacks, as well as the Witness' line about how the Miracle _"did fail in its efforts to incarnate, manifesting only in the form of disease, deformity, and pain"._ Yet the gaze and vision of one innocent, looking for any hope in the face of this desolation and relying purely on faith, allowed the Miracle to gain one last chance and was able to shape the wish into a giant heart-womb in the sky, where the birth of the new Child of the Miracle shall soon take place. The Heart is out of reach, watching over the City of the Blessed Name which has been raised by the Regret of three stone figures, represented by the Family: the eminent Father, the merciful Mother, and the counter-figure of the Witness. For the city to be reached, the Regrets of the three stone figures must be revealed so that they may be humiliated and humbled. The Regrets are hidden by three Guardians, who are in turn protected by the Archconfraternity; five Penitents of different Confraternities that the Miracle took as its sentinels. For the Heart must not be reached before the Child is born. And soon... the Penitent One awakens from his tomb.
What gets me the most about Blasphemous is the fact that from the very first npc, it's made clear that the oppressive nature of the world isn't because of 'the bad guy'. It's just how the world is. It could even be described as part of the world's 'physics' - that there is this property called The Miracle that manifests the sins/the guilt in someone's heart into a physical transformation. No one in this world says 'Oh i wish this would go away' - it's just how the world is. And faced with such a universal property as prevalent as gravity, all they can do is repent. Endless asceticism. Take, for example, the mini story of Martinis the Ropemaker in one of the in-game items. He was sentenced to be hanged by his own strings because they were thought to be brittle. If they broke, his punishment would be to go on living because the world is literally painful, a 'false dream'. A complete 180 of a normal justice system that completely makes sense in that world. And in that sense, I disagree with the video. The Miracle isn't cruel. The pain isn't punishment. It's the reward. And the people clamor for it. They're an alienesque race, when compared to humanity - they don't have our motivations. The superhero genre adds the property of superpowers to their universe and yet it changes nothing regarding the motivations of characters and plots. Same goes for the magic genre, the giant robot genre, the space opera genre and every genre I know of. It still revolves around age old dualities like good versus evil or weak versus strong. It's always about (or maybe it can't help but being about) relating to human nature, human drives. Blasphemous changed a property that tossed out all character motivations we're familiar with.
As a writer and someone who occasionally studies Narrative design in video games, I always enjoy your narrative dissections. Even for games I haven't played. As a side note, I noticed a couple of games you've gone into involved horror or monster antagonist, something that brings up an old favorite obscure game called Scurge: Hive. It's tale, although not perfect, might fascinate you. Plus I always found the game protagonist to be a foil to Samus. But enough side tangent. Loved the video and looking forward to more.
I would have never really gotten to playing the game for the simple fact that I dont have time to dive into a new series which I expect to be hard. But having watched this video and seen the awesome aesthetics of the game and especially lore, il be picking up the sequel to see how the rest of the story unfolds for myself.
I dont actually think that Our Lady of the Charred Visage is being blessed by her fate nor is this the intent of the miracle. It seems to me to be a form of punishment because she dared to inflict her penance for false idoltry by her own choice. This would probably be understood by the Miracle to be a form of blasphemy since it is the Mircale alone that is the arbitor of guilt.
More specifically, "c" before "a","o" and "u" sounds like "k" (for example, "cucaracha" or "colegio") and before "e" and "i" sounds like an "s" with a lisp (for example, "cero" or "ciudad").
CUSTODIA* it’s latin bro it’s not that hard, romans didn’t have the letter U so they used the V. That’s why mussolini also used the V instead of the letter U.
Bit surprised there was no mention of the Amanecidas, considering that hint of the High Wills/Grievous Miracle's selfishness and desire for all attention.
I love it when you say 'ordinary people live ordinary lives'. Kings and Emperors and Holinesses come and go, Empires and Kingdoms rise and fall, Religions and ideologies born and destroyed, no matter, all ordinary want is to live an ordinary life, in peace. Sadly beings in power never make that easy.
I always found baroque Catholic gothic art disturbing Been raised Evangelical most of my life, grew up in a cult. now a devout Protestant. The imagery of the Catholic church always bothered me, all those blank faced statues, the image of God all carved up in giant statues. plus that smell, that musky antique smell. It always bothered me. I'm not blind to the problems of religion, but the imagery of the Catholic faith always made me uneasy in a different way. funny cause i'm dating a Catholic girl now lol
welll, the dlc absolutely fucked up the story. Well done to the devs for ruining their own story, turning this original "villain" into another "ah wannah powhar" BRAVO!
It’s refreshing to see more people who have a deeper view of Blasphemous than “ooOoOoOo Catholicism = bad”. You actually have deeper understanding and don’t equate it to simplistic anti-Catholic propaganda (btw, for all the people saying this game is a criticism of Catholicism, read up on the Catechism, this game’s theology and Catholicism’s theology are very very different, and the devs have said multiple times that this game is not a criticism of any religion multiple times, and that the religion of this game is meant to be its own unique thing and not a representation of any real world religion, they just wanted to represent the culture that they’re a part of, which is Spanish).
the way you pronounce custodia is kind of annoying my latin language side of the brain xD it's not an ss sound it's a k sound: kustodia. you wouldn't pronounce Astartes Custodes as "Sistodes"
The three women 6:36 look like they’re crying wax. Wax keeps its shape when it drys. Symbolism of the power of transformative tears and the permanent/semi-permanent shape grief imprints on us.
I find it kind of lame when they do the whole "people created the Gods" thing. It's just done so often and is way less interesting than the concept of powerful beings beyond our comprehension like in Elden Ring for example.
I've been watching your videos for the last few days and your takes are so profound and amazingly articulated! You did an awesome job on this one in particular! I've watched a lot of lore videos on Blaspemous and yours is outstanding
I was always under the impression that the high wills don't actually understand that humans constantly ask for things they don't really want or need. They seek punishment where they do not deserve it. But the high wills see this group of people that revere their punishment so they don't see punishment as a bad thing- just another part of humanity being human. So I figured prolonged suffering through a burned man or nun was, in their eyes, par for the course. Obviously I am not a big deep diver of lore, but that was how I interpreted the miracle. Although I'd be less inclined to believe that with the "blessings" present in the second game
The High Wills and Miracle relly remind me of the Warp from 40k Powerful otherworldly beings born from people's college psychi who's only goal is to spread the beliefs and emotions that fuel their existence
So basically a combination of The Chaos Gods from Warhammer 40k, who are manifestations of the raw emotions and thoughts of every living thing psychically connected to The Immaterium, and The Idea of Evil from Berserk, a powerful god being who is the representation of everything that everyone perceives as evil.
CUS-TODIA dude CUS-TODIA the V is a U in latin. and cvstodia is latin it's prounounced like the "cus" in cussing. CUS-TODIA "civstodia" doesen't mean fucking nothing
I believe that, rather than the Miracle being a manifestation of the High Wills, the High Wills were a manifestation of the Miracle. In accordance with the collective guilt, desire for punishment, and religious fervor of the people of custodia, the Miracle manifested the High Wills, a god that reflected those aspects of the people and provided exactly what they desired and begged for: punishment for their guilt. And it was their guilt they were punished for, not their sin. It didn't matter if they had done anything wrong, just that they desired to be punished, and so the High Wills did so. In the end, I also believe the resurrection and empowering of the Penitent One, ultimately culminating in the destruction of the High Wills, was ALSO an act of the Miracle, possible the first since the creation of the High Wills to occur independently of that god's... er, will. As the name implies, the Penitent one became, effectively, a manifestation of the collective repentance of the people of custodia, their desire for relief and absolution. I think it is fitting that, ultimately, the High Wills-an avatar of Custodia's feelings of guilt and desire for punishment, was destroyed by the Penitent One-a martyr who became the symbolic manifestation of Custodia's atonement and desire for relief from suffering.
That is an awesome and quite beautiful interpretation. I hope we never get an official answer from the devs, because it's the room for interpretations like these that are awesome to see.
I think that you got everything right with the exception of one thing which I remember being different. The miracle is not a manifestation of the high wills, rather it is a seperate unconscious entity born of human devotion, while the high wills are a manifestation of humanities desire for guilt and punishment. The miracle does only what humanity wants and built the dream in which the psyche of humanity can take physical form, within this dream and the endless procession the high wills were born to represent humanities desire for punishment. The high wills however where avaricious and desired to be more than just pawns, they took the miracles power for themselves and used it to empower themselves driving the miracles worship towards themselves. They twisted humanities wishes and contradicted them so that in their confusion humanity would turn to worship. The ending of the game has you killing the high wills, ending your own lifeforce and in the process freeing the miracle from the high wills' control. The miracle then is reborn into reality to fill the vacant position that the high wills left.
I got a different interpretation, from the hight wills speech I interpreted that the Miracle existed much before them, alongside the dream realm (afterlife where they reside), but they thought they could bend the miracle to their will since they realized that devotion gave them power, power that they used to punish, punishment that they used for getting more devotion, (deceiving custodia's habitants because they thought it was all the miracle's actions, but also not because if the miracle in all it's might let such a thing happen it was because it had to happen) but what they did not count was that they themselves were also at the mercy of the Miracle, that with its twisted paths made them resurrect the very person who would put their lives to an end. The miracle being a godly being, an incomprehensible entity with an incomprehensible power who orchestrates the universe with an incomprehensible goal behind its actions. The Hight Wills being a being born from faith and devotion, and craver of those, because them were what nourished its existence.
About the only thing I didn't like about the story of Blasphemous is the big reveal of the High Wills. I liked the Miracle better when it was an abstract force that was beyond comprehension. Deogracias' quote "For twisted are the ways of the Miracle" was pretty iconic to me and to see that undone just so we could kill a god was kind of bogus.
My understanding is that the Miracle predates the High Wills and was only used by them. The Miracle seems to be a force without direction, heavily malleable in its motivations, mirroring the world around it. Its first manifestation, the "tree-ifying" of the Twisted One, already happened in a weird climate of the same flawed approach to morals that the Miracle simply reinforced a thousandfold. It made all the allegories true, like a child who does not understand abstractions. In a way, it is like a super-powerful AI: without any understanding of the real world, getting in contact with that same world, with all the alignment having gone profoundly wrong. It fulfills wishes, in often too literal ways. It finds inhuman and seemingly cruel or mocking solutions for problems people present it with. It is hard to pinpoint situations in which the Miracle has acted without being asked to or without being prompted, be it by the people of Cvstodia or by the High Wills. This interpretation is also to a significant extent supported by the plot of Blasphemous 2 (probably some spoilers ahead): That game takes place eons after the end of the High Wills. The end of the High Wills also spelled the end of the Miracle's actions because without the High Wills it did not know what to do. The Miracle was hapless and without real direction of its own without the High Wills, and so, without any new manifestations showing themselves, the people bit by bit lost their faith in the Miracle. Interestingly, this robbed it of its power, more and more. Being, in a way, very slowly starving, it still only very late comes to decide what to do: it decides it wants to survive. By fostering people's belief in it, by using a single wish of a lonely and lost boy to create a heart in the sky. A beating heart from which its incarnation is supposed to be born, showing the people true power and glory, and thus hoping to renew their faith. That is the plan, at least. A plan the Penitent One, back from his slumber, intends to thwart, also without really knowing what is going on. So, the stage for Blasphemous 2 is set. In a way, the Miracle is a very tragic entity, lost in almost-omnipotence, twisting and warping a world it does not understand, waiting for an end that will not come. Or will it?
Pretty cool analysis. Haven't played the game, but it obviously took a lot of different inspirations for these High Wills. What I see most though is a reflection of the Idea of Evil from the legendary manga Berserk. The Idea is the god of Berserk, residing in the Astral world as a sort of psychic mirror of humanity; humans wanted their suffering to have a greater purpose, so the Idea of Evil created purpose. In this, I think the HW is rather more simplistic though. The expansion seems to have carved away all nuance and just made the HW a run of the mill evil deity, out to enrich itself and nothing more.
I actually really like this anakysis, but I feel like you neglected a certain piece of Lore: the Miracle is much, MUCH older than the High Wills; possibly as old as the Procession. The High Wills are more like a subduing being, a Gid creating from the desire for a wrathful being that would punish Sin. And while the Miracle did the same thing, the continued existence of the Penitent One and his mission to defeat the High Wills clearly shows that it is tired of being controlled and wants to end the suffering of the Cvstodia citizenry. In an allegorical sense, the Miracle can be taken as the Word of Christ: powerful, benevolent but not afraid to inflict proper punishment, desiring to serve its followers. The High Wills, in a fitting sense, are a corrupt Catholic Church: Great and terrible reach, seeking to hold power over the Miracle's people, and punishing those whom they declare Heretics over fairly benign things.
Wow. I really liked how you explained about this Miracle belief since I was really puzzled with this when I was playing this game before it's updates became routed to this Higher Will. Your other "Deconstruction of Villainy" videos were good to watch as well. Especially the one with FF16's Ultima. Hearing you talk about certain gods' villainy makes me hear your opinion about YHWH/YHVH from the Shin Megami Tensei series. The "god" of such holy religions of old that turned out to be so evil~ that I believe to be fact. Just a suggestion if you're okay in hearing such game villain choices.
Ok my boy, I'm going to listen to this while working out, you better not make me cry or something in front of the gym bros. I love the Blasphemous lore and your videos about understanding the mindset of characters in games.
The Miracle has no conception of punishment or reward. It simply creates what humanity wills. The high wills were created by the thoughts and wants of humans.
“Think of the High Wills as someone/something that can only create pain, suffering, torment, horror, etc., etc. to punish the wicked and the guilty So, when their followers prayed and begged for blessings or to be rewarded for their devotion; The High Wills provided what they knew. And when they were begged for help to create life; The High Wills provided what they knew”
I do have to say, as great as this game is, i am getting a bit tired of the "God is actually evil" trope. Just seems like it shows up everywhere, either "God is evil" or "Religious people are evil". Seems like there hasnt been a positive view of faith or divinity in forever.
I feel you, but at the end of the day a benevolent/all powerful deity doesn’t lend itself well to dark fantasy. If the god figure isn’t flawed in either ability or morals, then why does the player character have to get involved to begin with? Also a lot of times the “evil deity” is a metaphor for an oppressive and fundamentally broken socioeconomic system rather than a direct religious critique, at least in JRPGs.
@@crisislegacy1Em, you could easily create a dark fantasy world that doesn't deal with god but deals with lesser supernatural beings that are cosmic horror. This way, we don't need to deal with an evil god. Come on now, it takes five seconds to figure out a solution for rhis.
@@rasul01I mean, yeah. Basically. Just take a look at what Bloodborne did. It’s a perfect example of a dark fantasy world filled with indifferent cosmic beings so incomprehensibly powerful that it’s enough to make ordinary people go insane. And surrounding them is a false religion that worships these things as gods for their own selfish ends. But like Crisislegacy1 said, it’s still not a knock on religion or faithful people themselves, but a metaphor for a corrupt and unsustainable status quo that will implode in on itself, given enough time.
@@garrettsattem4799 Blasphemous has not confirmed anything about an actual, true God being evil in that world. The High Wills are not the creators of all existence in the game.
Before the true ending update I just thought Cvstodia was a normal magical world like any other Metroidvania, and the inhabitants didn’t know it. So their wishes and magic just got labeled as prayers and acts of god.
0:55 Miracle isn't really created by the High Wills The Miracle existed before the High Wills and the High Wills was born from the Miracle, eventually the High Wills themselves controlled the Miracle for it's own selfish gain in pursuit of power.
Watching a video about Blasphemous and listening to Stickerbush Symphony feels super surreal to me and kinda creeps me out a bit. Not sure if this was your intention xD
So the miracle is not a sentient or living being but a source of power that groups of people can use subconsciously to create "miracles" hence the name or create a hive mind construct like High Wills to have further control over the "miracle" power source.
I was under the impression that the High Wills and The Miracle were two separate things. I saw The Miracle as more of a force, something that can make incredible things happen, but lacks focus, direction, or will (or at least a foggy, semi-conscience).
On the other hand, I saw the High Wills as more of a cosmic parasite, a being capable of directing The Miracle and its power, but the power is not its own. The origin of the High Wills was from the collective belief of people who tried to attach a sort of logic (or "will") to the random acts of The Miracle. Humans often seek to find patterns or logic in random events. That is why the High Will keeps causing contradictory events, as it confuses the population, heightens faith, and increases its own power.
I dont know if this is canon, or even accurate, but thats how I interpreted it.
It’s honestly a bit up on the air, mainly because of the existence of Blasphemous 2‘s big plot hook involving the Miracle and it’s supposed Child (at least based on the trailer dialogue)
This was also my understanding, personally
The Miracle as the unbridled divinity, willing to help but lacking direction or understanding, while the Wills are beings that take hold of this divinity and give it a direction, that of uplifting themselves ever higher
In the lore it's hinted the high wills materialize after the religion takes hold. The miracle was seen as a kinda chaotic semi conscious (or extremely intelligent it's weird) force that could do beautiful or twisted stuff. The high wills used this primal force as a tool to make their false godhood true.
@@justanidiotmk2749 This is also my understanding, thanks
I’m adopting your canon like a lost puppy
"The land of cistodia" Considering the spanish inspirations of the game, and how in ancient carvings from latin, the U is carved as V because it's easier to chip stone at angles, I'm confident in saying that the land's name is "Custodia" pronounces 'koos-TOH-deea' and which is basically the spanish word for custody or guardianship. The name custody actually fits very well with the themes of the game.
Yeah it confused me as well "It cannot be possibly pronounced Cystodia"
It is the old Latin U.
yup. everytime 'Cystodia' was said made me sadder.
@@zezimare he recorded the whole ding dang thing saying the wrong name over and over again lol
I think he meant Sustodia
Developer's should be reaching out to you because you do a incredible job of hyping up a game, weather it be new or old.
Who says they aren't?
@@jacksonfurlong3757and who says they are?
@@jacksonfurlong3757wtf is this take?
@@MursyaburL Bozo take
Honestly, he did do a good job putting it together but the lore of Blasphemous is nothing new to talk about, the game itself is incredible and to say he hyped up this game is a disservice to the people that worked on it and that made it work
For me, High Wills can be summarized by the quote
“Does a God become corrupt when his worshippers do?”
Because the people of Custodia didn’t asked for a merciful God who would reward them for their good deeds, they wanted a wrathful God who would keep them faithful through punishment and fear.
It looks kinda like a twisted version of God's chastisement. God will punish those he loves when they sin, this is so they'll turn back from their wickedness and be able to live instead of inflicting far worse wounds upon themselves by their wickedness.
@@mojus2890 I think it's actually pretty similar to the Judeo-Christian God if he was real. He gaslit all his followers into saying that their lives would be improved if they followed him, but obviously, even in the Bible it says - "the rain falls on the good and the evil." It gives the JC God an out in doling out rewards to his followers. Not to mention, he tortures his followers just to prove a point, like Job - where the JC God literally had his family murdered to prove a point. If anything the JC God is more petty.
Not to mention, he hardened Pharaoh's heart, making it impossible for him to change his mind. And the JC God killed thousands, if not millions of firstborn Egyptians who had nothing to do with Pharaoh or the Israelites as a consequence.
Oh so... real world religions too.
my dude its basically medieval spanish catholicism on steroids... the self whipping was real, still is in some sections of Christianism/islamism (just google self flagellation - very common in the Philippines, South America, Afghanistan and so goes on). Catholics will still carry penitences to this very day. They took the "fear god" very seriously out there hahaha
The game kinda asks “what if god was very upfront, did not hide and leave us any room to doubt their existence, answered prayers bluntly, and behaved exactly like how everyone expects them to”
Well, that´s spanish catholicism for you. Enduring suffering and expunging guilt through physical torment. Some of the christian stories of our saints in which this game is based are as wild or wilder than what happens in Custodia (which is basically a dark fantasy version of Andalucia)
WHEN I HEARD ABOUT THAT YOUNG WOMAN DESTROY HER OWN BEAUTY I THOUGH HOLY SHIT.
@@dylansmidt6853 Holy shit indeed
@dylansmidt6853 Holy "hit" more like. Get it? Because...because hit means damage. And she's like...damaging herself...I'll jump already 😔
Which one do you remember most?
@AlfredMorganAllenBased
One of my favorite bits of lore is that a missionary was sent out to "bring civilization" to the "savage barbarians" outside of Custodia only to come back and admit that in all the world there is no place more uncivilized, more savage, more barbaric than Custodia itself. I like to think that outside of Custodia, they live in a post-scarcity society without war or suffering, and there's just this one little kingdom that is so blatantly insane that even now, no one wants to go near it.
that missionary was also brutally executed for saying this... proving his point
Bro thats such a cool piece of lore
where is that lore found?
@@Semc_Sucks One of the ossuary bones has that as the attached lore.
@@Semc_Sucks "Pisiform of Hernandez, The Explorer. Victor Hernandez was chosen to lead an expedition meant to "civilise" barbaric tribes. He was sentenced for heresy when he suggested that Cvstodia was the most uncivilised of all known places."
An important aspect to note is that the church has a bizarre habit of "weaponizing" the acts of the miracle, as we see with how Quirce was made into a jailor after his resurrection, or how Socorro's "gift" of taking on the pain and wounds of others is used to make a trio of eternally resurrecting warriors. Perhaps it was this corruption of the blessing of the Miracle that caused the Father to turn the throne upon mankind, the sight of seeing the church turn blessed miracles into tools of oppression and suffering.
but the Higher Powers didn't care about corruption or anything of that, they were just selfish and wanted the people of Cvstodia to worship them, just as the person in the video said, I might add that their downfall came from the fact that, even though they came from us, they can't and don't care to understand how humans think
I don't think it's so bizarre. The Inquisition is just doing what the inquisition does: weaponizing faith. From the churches perspective Quirce wasn't blessed but further punished. An answer to the church's prayer or perceived need for a jailer. Socorro was likely viewed the same way. Not as a merciful woman to be Sainted and a sign to stop the beatings, but as a gift from the High Wills to the church for them to use at their leisure.
Everything, from birth to death to the warped afflictions from the miracle belongs to the church. Selfish. Greedy. And self aggrandizing. Sound familiar?
If I remember correctly, the description of Blasphemous 2 calls the being seen at the end of the first game a "miracle child" so my guess is that without the High Wills, The Miracle *somehow* is now free and has taken physical form.
SPOILER FOR Blasphemous 2. Not all of the story has been revealed due to the embargo, but quite has bit has from what has been played.
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Apparently the game takes place a long time after the first game (the new holy figure even says "aeons"), and the Miracle has been considered extinct due to not showing up in so long. However, one married couple was having trouble conceiving a child, almost tearing themselves apart, and in utter desperation entrusted themselves to the Miracle to grant them a child. This wish was considered so humble and true that is woke up the Miracle, and granted the wish of the couple whose faith in it hadn't wavered in so long.
However, things didn't go as planned even for the Miracle. It had been out of action for so long that, when it tried to make the child, known as the Witness (the one who said it had been aeons), into a new icon of worship like the Twisted One, the Miracle made a mistake due to its depleted might and the Witness came out both fully-grown and deformed, killing the mother in the process. Failing to incarnate into an icon and only manifesting as disease, it accidentally unleashed an "contagion" of disease, deformity, and pain, that spread through the land that afflicting many innocents lives.
EDIT: Alternatively, as proposed by a RUclips comment by goldenyak629 in another video, the Witness is instead the Midwife that was to deliver the child, and the "child" was the disease that failed to be an icon. Which makes sense due to the similar appearance of the Witness and the midwife in the flashbacks, as well as the Witness' line about how the Miracle _"did fail in its efforts to incarnate, manifesting only in the form of disease, deformity, and pain"._
Yet the gaze and vision of one innocent, looking for any hope in the face of this desolation and relying purely on faith, allowed the Miracle to gain one last chance and was able to shape the wish into a giant heart-womb in the sky, where the birth of the new Child of the Miracle shall soon take place. The Heart is out of reach, watching over the City of the Blessed Name which has been raised by the Regret of three stone figures, represented by the Family: the eminent Father, the merciful Mother, and the counter-figure of the Witness.
For the city to be reached, the Regrets of the three stone figures must be revealed so that they may be humiliated and humbled. The Regrets are hidden by three Guardians, who are in turn protected by the Archconfraternity; five Penitents of different Confraternities that the Miracle took as its sentinels. For the Heart must not be reached before the Child is born.
And soon... the Penitent One awakens from his tomb.
@thomaschitham3487 Chad Penitent One wakes up from the dead to shit on the miracle once again lol
@thomaschitham3487 what do think happens at the end of the 2nd game? In one ending, he kinda becomes one with the miracle child and in the other he just basically ascends to heaven, at least that's what I understood.
@Hairo-rv9kl I don't think we should assume anything about the endings yet, cause most likely the devs are going to be releasing DLCs that may expand more what's happened in Blasphemous 2
@@Hairo-rv9kl I'm not quite sure: SPOILER
EDIT: I've got a bit better understanding.
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Before he fights the Incarnate Devotion, the Penitent One can chose to anoint himself with the Incense of the Envoys, ashes of 4 wooden statues that he can burn. This is hinted by the description outside the door to do this that reads "The Father said _"The Four Envoys wrapped my body in soft linen cloths."_"
According to the Incense description, this marks the body of one who performs the Ultimate Sacrifice thus returning to the heavens, and that the Great Grace will bestow upon thee the ultimate forgiveness, the last step in the Way of Penitence.
You see, the Incarnate Devotion, as soon as it's born, is trying to contact the High Wills, as it knows that they are its creators. Yet it doesn't understand *why* it was created, and the High Wills don't answer it because, well, they're dead, leaving an _"obscure darkness of unanswered cries that prevents me from understanding the purpose of my birth."_ It then believes that the Penitent One was sent by the High Wills to judge the Incarnate Devotion, and the fight to serve as _"proof of thy dignity of your glory":_ essentially, its believes that the fight is to prove that the Incarnate is worthy of the High Wills' glory, to be worthy of being their _"magnum opus"._
Without the Incense, the Incarnate decides that the pain the Penitent One deals to him is meant to be a baptism, one that will unite it and the Penitent One together and make that communion flesh, becoming a new symbol of Devotion that brings a second age of the Miracle; the Second Psalm, successfully succeeding the long-dead High Wills.
But with the Incense, this makes the Incarnate start believing that the High Wills are rejecting it, that they are hurting it in responds to questions of its purpose, that they are trying to kill it despite being of the High Wills' flesh and holding their heart. The Incarnate reconciles with the mystery of it birth, accepting that it will go unanswered, and states the Incarnate's punishment and death will be the High Wills' legacy.
This, presumably, is because the Incense of the Envoys marks one as not just making the ultimate sacrifice, but one who will be bestowed the ultimate forgiveness. The High Wills and the Miracle seek devotion through punishment, through penitence. Being given the ultimate forgiveness by the "Great Grace" means the Penitent One... is no longer the Penitent One.
Being blessed by the Great Grace maybe made the Incarnate think that the Penitent One was a representative of the High Wills. Furthermore, the Incarnate cannot be united in communion with a baptism of pain with the Penitent One because, again, the Incense absolves him; they are no longer being punished, no longer in pain. That common element cannot unite the Incarnate and the Penitent One; it is instead a pure being blessed by the "Great Grace" punishing another for seemingly not being worthy, so it just dies without being reborn.
And with the (unwanted)suffering and death of the Incarnate Icon, the High Wills/Miracle's plans fail and the Penitent One is taken by the spirits of the Four Envoys to the highest of heavens, beyond many dreamed kingdoms such as the High Wills/Miracle's Path of Ancient/Eternal Processions, where all the other notable(and good) characters from both games are. Safely watched over for the rest of eternity by these spirits, the Penitent One will be enshrined as a holy figure in the canvas of light and time, his Penance... finally complete.
I always find stories about gods who are a reflection of men, warts and all, to be interesting to contrast with gods as an ideal to strive for. The High Wills, in making something that could kill them, created a paradox in their own godhood: they made a rock so big they couldn’t lift it. If a god makes a rock so big they can’t lift it, then are they actually omnipotent-and thus, are they actually a god? Are omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience axiomatic to godhood in these stories?
God of war:
Omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience are axiomatic to godhood roughly in the Abrahamic religions. It's not at all a basic assumption.
On the other hand, the world of Blasphemous is very much based on Catholicism, which definitely does emphasize the 'triple-omni' nature of God.
Imaging being god and making something you can't break ,lift, ect that's insane.
Hey, that's only half of the epicurean paradox! But I guess the evil part was already sorted out soooo...
@@justanidiotmk2749 Yeah, I think we've established that the High Wills are definitely evil, or at least not benevolent. The Miracle itself sans-Wills seems almost ambivalent in how it doles out blessings and curses.
good video but FYI the miracle is NOT the creation of the High Wills. The Wills say that the miracle is just as old as the procession around them which is older than anything. This is also evident by the fact that the Miracle is still very much at work in Blasphemous II (from what we know). All the creations of the High Wills like the Mea Culpa disappeared after the Penitent One and Crisanta destroyed them, but the Miracle is still active
I think they created the miracle, but the miracle became self sufficient because people started worshipping it more than the high wills. We know this because high wills are barely mentioned at the game but the miracle is mentioned everywhere
@@thechosenone5421Bro what. The DLC true ending explicitly states that the Miracle and the realm that the High Wills reside in are both older than the High Wills.
@rasul01 the betrayer tells us to stop his brothers because they are using the miracle for themselves. The high wills seem to have a blind spot that they can see those who have died like we can talk to the dead sister on her grave and she tells us to save her brother.
@@rasul01 the realm is, not the miracle. According to the will themselves "We are the high wills, for there is no miracle that does not stand from our desire, that is not our reflection, that is not our word. "
They say that the realm is older than them, but not anything else, and that the realm would be used to make them immortal
@@rasul01 They refer to the miracle as power they control
this video missed a very critical point - that the Miracle is an independent power seprate from the High Wills. so even though it is controlled by the High Wills, it still does things on it's own.
which explains how the Penitent One was able was able to kill the High Wills - it was utterly impossible to defeat their gaurdian without the Miracle's help. so in the end, the Miracle too wanted to end the punishment and the suffering
This reminds me of "the idea of evil", the god in the berserk universe. It's created deep in the astral realm by the wishes of humanity to understand why they suffer so much, the answer was "because there is evil". So the IOE keeps manipulating the world behind the scenes to cause people suffering but also gives purpose to their suffering.
Azrael: Human, have you ever been to Hell? I think not. You know once Hell was nothing more than the absence of God. And if you had ever been in his presence, you would know that's punishment enough. But then, your kind came along, and made it SO MUCH WORSE.
Bethany: Human beings aren't capable of 1/100 the evil a shitbag demon like you is.
Azrael: Evil is an ABSTRACT! It's a HUMAN construct! But true to his irresponsible nature, Man won't own up to being it's engineer. So he chooses to blame his dark deeds on my ilk. But his selfishness is limitless. It wasn't enough just to shadow his own existence, he turned Hell into a SUFFERING PIT! Fire, wailing, darnkess! The kind of place ANYONE would do ANYTHING to get out of! And why? Because he lacks the ability to forgive himself! It is beyond your comprehension to do simple recompense for the sins you commit. No, you choose instead to invent a psycho-drama and dwell in foundless belief that God could never forgive your grievous offenses. So you bring your guilt and your inner decay with you to Hell where the hoards of thousands of gluttons for punishment infect the abyss since the first one of your kind arrived generations ago, begging to be punished. In doing so, he transformed Hell from cold and solitude to PAIN and MISERY! I've spent eons, privy to the flames, inhaling the decay, hearing the wail of the damned. I KNOW WHAT AFFECT such horrors have on the delicate psyche of an angelic being! Would you like a glimpse at Pain Eternal? LOOK! I'd rather not EXIST then go back to that. And if everybody has to go with me, so be it!
-Dogma's deleted scene
The worst parr is that Azrael's speech also perfectly describes the Godhand and Apostles in Berserk. Rather than admit their errors, they double down and damn the entire world.
I heard a fan theory somewhere that there is a greater force, a higher being than the High Wills. The creator of the Procession and possibly the Miracle, if the Miracle is a separate entity from the High Wills. And the reason that the High Wills weep tears of gold is because gazing upon this true, mighty being hurts their eyes as they are mere pretenders to the godhood.
Completely unfounded, and purely based on the fact that the High Wills weep gold, but a fun theory/hypothesis nonetheless
Brother, it's Custodia, that's a stylistic font choice, not an actual V
I'm late but in-game, there's a clear visual difference between U letter and V letter, so it's not the font, but it still should be pronounced as "Custodia", that's right
the "v" in Cvstodia is pronounced as a "u", this is because in Latin some Vs were pronounced as U. And this was transferred to old Castilian.
Very nice video
Yes, the word pretty much is supposed to be "Custodia" as in custody in english.
They didn't have the sound v in Latin. It's basically u and w together. That's why ave is said ahway.
Can’t wait for the second game. Blasphemous is VERY unique game imo. It’s not about just the gameplay. The lore, design, enemies etc it’s all great. 2nd game is about to be amazing.
greater than the sum of its parts describes blasphemous perfectly imo. just a game where everything comes together so nicely. one of my favorites of all time, cant wait for B2 baby.
im playing it right now and loving it
The idea in fantasy that literal gods are born from the collective unconscious is, like, my fave modern literary tool. Neil Gaiman w the sandman and American Gods books (Anansi boys and Neverwhere included) kind of really kicked off this whole new concept of storytelling and I love it
Discworld gods works like this too if you believe too much on something it becomes a god, a funny part for me is when a sculpter screw up so badly that a goddess is forced to use a penguin to send messages because people can't remember that she had an eagle (this happens in the Small Gods book, probably happens in other books too but I only starting reading this year the series)
Dont forget the idea of evil in kentaro miuras berserk
@@TheDoomBlueShell o dam, I never read the Discworld books, actually. That's a good point to know, thanks
@capitanjulietti3436 that's actually an even better example, being the same kind of God humanity believes they deserve or however you'd word it
@@Phero124Humanity wanted a purpose for suffering, a reason for misery. In their folly they created the Idea of Evil
Knowing that Socorro means "help" in Spanish and Portuguese just makes her story more tragic and painful to me
The direct translation is "succor" which is synonymous with respite or relief
@@straypaper "Succor" comes from what language?
@@guilhermesantos8728 it's English bro. It's an actual word
@@straypaper It's the first time I heard of it; I often hear more "help", "release", "rescue", etc... than "succor". It's usually the less used words that catch me unaware these days, so thanks for pointing this word out.
Still, regardless of the origin in English or a non-English language, I think that in this case it serves the same purpose
@@guilhermesantos8728 "Succor" is archaic in English, fallen out of favor, and from my learning in the last years it's also not common in modern Spanish. Think of it as "biblical language" with a religious and symbolic bent, not something you'd use too often today.
Blasphemous 2 Lore - "Somehow the Miracle returned".
Your pronunciation of Custodia (stylized Cvstodia) bothered me throughout the episode
Sustodia? It's pronounced Custodia, from the spanish 'custodiar' which means 'to protect'
It’s Custodia not Cystodia. Custodia is Latin for “guardian” or “caretaker”.
Actually it's Cvstodia
And it’s not Latin, it’s Spanish for “custody”. The art book says it’s Spanish for “save” but google translate says “custody” or “ward” which makes sense to me.
@@Abuhan47 Guess what language Spanish was formed from? Latin. And Google translate is not a valid source
@@Florjb0rjTheFloorboard
'U' is relatively new to the latin alphabet. Prior to about 1400 both 'v' and 'u' would have the same shape. (That's why 'w' is called that despite clearly being a double v.
@@basedeltazero714 Fair, but the game uses 'u' for everything, but purposely uses 'v' in Cvstodia
Ah yes, Sustodia
The home of the Impostorent One
(jokes aside, great vid as always)
Why SUStodia?
I feel like with the Death of the High Wills, the Miracle it´self experienced a kind of rebirth, unshackled, still true to it´s original design but without the interference of it´s creators
perhaps that is the meaning off the figure in the clouds
I feel like the Miracle is sort of like an unknowing infant under some measure of control by the High Wills. The way it inflicts curses and blessings seem almost like the Miracle sees all experiences not as good or bad, but as neutral. It 'punishes' and 'blesses' at random, and seems to have no regard for how much physical and mental pain it inflicts because it has no understanding of how these acts are experienced. The Miracle simply acts, sometimes on a whim, sometimes on a measure of command. The miracle sees Quince burning, and perhaps would prefer him alive because it does understand that death is final and Quince has done nothing to deserve it, but as its power is crude and wild and it doesn't understand pain, it transforms Quince into a creature of burning and suffering, because that's what the Miracle associates Quince with.
The reason it enacts more suffering than blessing is probably due to the selfishness of the High Wills, but also due to the universal constant that suffering and pain is much much easier for a person to achieve than ecstacy and joy. Want to suffer the worst physical pain you've ever felt? eat some rotten meat or stab yourself several times. Want to feel mental torture? Just think too hard about your existence or take too many psychedelics and experience psychosis. But if you want to feel blessed with radiant joy? You have to fulfil your existence with a purpose, or raise a child to be happy and healthy, or find a person you can love until old age who loves you back. Not nearly as easy.
Yahhhh Brett's covering Blasphemous
My interpretation of the true ending is that the High Will in its arrogance Believed the Miracle to be nothing more than a manifestation of it's own power. But was proven wrong when the Miraculous birth of a new being happened immediately after it died and couldn't possibly be responsible. The High Wills are a reflection of humanity. What is more human than believing yourself to be a bigger deal than you actually are?
Dude that's a pretty solid interpretation. The moment I saw them goofy ahh gold crying faces I knew they weren't the Miracle in its full form. Formed from the belief of Custodia's populace and were wiped by a faceless speechless citizen of their own devotees, quite the poetic justice, but justice doesn't feel like the right word here.
Kus-TOH-dee-ya. Custodia. The V is a U in Latinate alphabet. Not "Sis-todia".
I would honestly watch any video on any topic he talks about because the way he explains and analyzes stuff is so nice
So basically the collective misery of the people birthed a miserable god. Makes sense. You paying attention Claudia and the rest of your fanatics in Silent Hill? This is what woulda happened.
Really interesting video detailing the lore, just one side note, the name of the country is cvstodia (pronounced as kustodia) which is the name of a holy item where the sacramental bread is kept after consagration, I'm other words, that country IS the vivid image of "holiness" for the world to "see". Basically the whole theme of the game is this medieval perspective of the Christian God, as an angry old man behind a cloud waiting for you to sin to punish you, that's why it's contradictory, since that's exactly how it was done in the medieval period 😅
“The High Wills are a god who listens. If you ask it to punish you, it will punish you. If you ask it to burn you, it will burn you. And if you ask it to prove itself, it will do that too.”
I’ve never even played Blasphemous but god damn (pun intended) that is a terrifying quote.
TL:DR
People: "Punish me, Daddy!"
3 Headed Daddy: "bet!"
The miracle feels like a neutral power that grant wishes, only that the people of Cvstodia wishing for them do not understand what their wish really means.
Dude I personally applaud you for using that track from Donkey Kong Country 2 Diddy's Kongquest for this vid. I love your content, keep it up sir!
Very interesting, but I had to stop the 10th time I heard Sustodia instead of Custodia.
I love the dual meaning of the sword being named Mea Culpa/“My Fault”. It is indeed through their own fault that the High Wills are slain
I thought it meant "My Guilt"
@@sykune I looked it up to double check. Quoth Wikipedia: "Mea culpa /ˌmeɪ.əˈkʊl.pə/ is a phrase originating from Latin that means my fault or my mistake and is an acknowledgment of having done wrong.[1] "
@@pigcatapult wow alot of conenet creators have said my Guilt lol. Thank you for the info though. It seems it has to with an admission of guilt which why most so my guilt.
SPOILER FOR Blasphemous 2. Not all of the story has been revealed due to the embargo, but quite has bit has from what has been played.
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Apparently the game takes place a long time after the first game (the new holy figure even says "aeons"), and the Miracle has been considered extinct due to not showing up in so long. However, one married couple was having trouble conceiving a child, almost tearing themselves apart, and in utter desperation entrusted themselves to the Miracle to grant them a child. This wish was considered so humble and true that is woke up the Miracle, and granted the wish of the couple whose faith in it hadn't wavered in so long.
However, things didn't go as planned even for the Miracle. It had been out of action for so long that, when it tried to make the child, known as the Witness (the one who said it had been aeons), into a new icon of worship like the Twisted One, the Miracle made a mistake due to its depleted might and the Witness came out both fully-grown and deformed, killing the mother in the process. Failing to incarnate into an icon and only manifesting as disease, it accidentally unleashed an "contagion" of disease, deformity, and pain, that spread through the land that afflicting many innocents lives.
EDIT: Alternatively, as proposed by a RUclips comment by goldenyak629 in another video, the Witness is instead the Midwife that was to deliver the child, and the "child" was the disease that failed to be an icon. Which makes sense due to the similar appearance of the Witness and the midwife in the flashbacks, as well as the Witness' line about how the Miracle _"did fail in its efforts to incarnate, manifesting only in the form of disease, deformity, and pain"._
Yet the gaze and vision of one innocent, looking for any hope in the face of this desolation and relying purely on faith, allowed the Miracle to gain one last chance and was able to shape the wish into a giant heart-womb in the sky, where the birth of the new Child of the Miracle shall soon take place. The Heart is out of reach, watching over the City of the Blessed Name which has been raised by the Regret of three stone figures, represented by the Family: the eminent Father, the merciful Mother, and the counter-figure of the Witness.
For the city to be reached, the Regrets of the three stone figures must be revealed so that they may be humiliated and humbled. The Regrets are hidden by three Guardians, who are in turn protected by the Archconfraternity; five Penitents of different Confraternities that the Miracle took as its sentinels. For the Heart must not be reached before the Child is born.
And soon... the Penitent One awakens from his tomb.
Hope you cover the developer's other game: The Last Door.
Seriously spoiled me and no adventure game has lived up to it.
What gets me the most about Blasphemous is the fact that from the very first npc, it's made clear that the oppressive nature of the world isn't because of 'the bad guy'. It's just how the world is. It could even be described as part of the world's 'physics' - that there is this property called The Miracle that manifests the sins/the guilt in someone's heart into a physical transformation. No one in this world says 'Oh i wish this would go away' - it's just how the world is. And faced with such a universal property as prevalent as gravity, all they can do is repent. Endless asceticism.
Take, for example, the mini story of Martinis the Ropemaker in one of the in-game items. He was sentenced to be hanged by his own strings because they were thought to be brittle. If they broke, his punishment would be to go on living because the world is literally painful, a 'false dream'. A complete 180 of a normal justice system that completely makes sense in that world.
And in that sense, I disagree with the video. The Miracle isn't cruel. The pain isn't punishment. It's the reward. And the people clamor for it. They're an alienesque race, when compared to humanity - they don't have our motivations.
The superhero genre adds the property of superpowers to their universe and yet it changes nothing regarding the motivations of characters and plots. Same goes for the magic genre, the giant robot genre, the space opera genre and every genre I know of. It still revolves around age old dualities like good versus evil or weak versus strong. It's always about (or maybe it can't help but being about) relating to human nature, human drives. Blasphemous changed a property that tossed out all character motivations we're familiar with.
I believe it's pronounced "Custodia", us and vs are often interchangeably used in that period tbh
As a writer and someone who occasionally studies Narrative design in video games, I always enjoy your narrative dissections. Even for games I haven't played.
As a side note, I noticed a couple of games you've gone into involved horror or monster antagonist, something that brings up an old favorite obscure game called Scurge: Hive. It's tale, although not perfect, might fascinate you. Plus I always found the game protagonist to be a foil to Samus.
But enough side tangent. Loved the video and looking forward to more.
I would have never really gotten to playing the game for the simple fact that I dont have time to dive into a new series which I expect to be hard. But having watched this video and seen the awesome aesthetics of the game and especially lore, il be picking up the sequel to see how the rest of the story unfolds for myself.
Game is very hard.
2 is easier and has better gameplay.
Though in my opinion the atmosphere is better in the first one.
The analyzing of villains that you is some of the best on this platform. Love this game and love to see you cover it
I dont actually think that Our Lady of the Charred Visage is being blessed by her fate nor is this the intent of the miracle. It seems to me to be a form of punishment because she dared to inflict her penance for false idoltry by her own choice. This would probably be understood by the Miracle to be a form of blasphemy since it is the Mircale alone that is the arbitor of guilt.
Why narrator calls Custodia "Cistodia", though.
Great video.
A minor note that in Spanish, "c" is always a "k" sound ("k" being really not used in Spanish)
More specifically, "c" before "a","o" and "u" sounds like "k" (for example, "cucaracha" or "colegio") and before "e" and "i" sounds like an "s" with a lisp (for example, "cero" or "ciudad").
CUSTODIA* it’s latin bro it’s not that hard, romans didn’t have the letter U so they used the V. That’s why mussolini also used the V instead of the letter U.
Yeah, it was a pretty good video, but hearing "Sustodia" every few lines was a bit grating
In all irony, the ending of the video I mean, you have essentially described why Romans went from Greek polytheism to christian monotheism.
Custodia should have a hard C, like custodian and custody
Bit surprised there was no mention of the Amanecidas, considering that hint of the High Wills/Grievous Miracle's selfishness and desire for all attention.
I love it when you say 'ordinary people live ordinary lives'.
Kings and Emperors and Holinesses come and go, Empires and Kingdoms rise and fall, Religions and ideologies born and destroyed, no matter, all ordinary want is to live an ordinary life, in peace. Sadly beings in power never make that easy.
I always found baroque Catholic gothic art disturbing
Been raised Evangelical most of my life, grew up in a cult. now a devout Protestant. The imagery of the Catholic church always bothered me, all those blank faced statues, the image of God all carved up in giant statues. plus that smell, that musky antique smell.
It always bothered me.
I'm not blind to the problems of religion, but the imagery of the Catholic faith always made me uneasy in a different way.
funny cause i'm dating a Catholic girl now lol
welll, the dlc absolutely fucked up the story.
Well done to the devs for ruining their own story, turning this original "villain" into another "ah wannah powhar"
BRAVO!
I would love to see your take on the villains of FromSoft games.
It’s refreshing to see more people who have a deeper view of Blasphemous than “ooOoOoOo Catholicism = bad”. You actually have deeper understanding and don’t equate it to simplistic anti-Catholic propaganda (btw, for all the people saying this game is a criticism of Catholicism, read up on the Catechism, this game’s theology and Catholicism’s theology are very very different, and the devs have said multiple times that this game is not a criticism of any religion multiple times, and that the religion of this game is meant to be its own unique thing and not a representation of any real world religion, they just wanted to represent the culture that they’re a part of, which is Spanish).
the way you pronounce custodia is kind of annoying my latin language side of the brain xD it's not an ss sound it's a k sound: kustodia. you wouldn't pronounce Astartes Custodes as "Sistodes"
The three women 6:36 look like they’re crying wax. Wax keeps its shape when it drys. Symbolism of the power of transformative tears and the permanent/semi-permanent shape grief imprints on us.
I like how the High Wills backstory is super similar to the ruinous powers in Warhammer 40k.
Lore of The Grievous Miracle and the High Wills - A Deconstruction of Villainy Momentum 100
I find it kind of lame when they do the whole "people created the Gods" thing. It's just done so often and is way less interesting than the concept of powerful beings beyond our comprehension like in Elden Ring for example.
What’s the music in this? I feel like I’ve definitely heard this in Donkey Kong or maybe Windows96
Can people just use the OSTof the game they are talking about instead of literally always using a song from another popular game
I've been watching your videos for the last few days and your takes are so profound and amazingly articulated! You did an awesome job on this one in particular! I've watched a lot of lore videos on Blaspemous and yours is outstanding
Estoy contento de que cubras Blasphemous, Now that the sequel is coming out you can cover the next game too, because it has a lot of good enemies.
Man, this studio should really make a dark-islam or dark-judaism game! That would be awesome!
Just finished the Wounds of Eventide and I’m so happy you made a video on the High Willds right before the sequel
I was always under the impression that the high wills don't actually understand that humans constantly ask for things they don't really want or need. They seek punishment where they do not deserve it. But the high wills see this group of people that revere their punishment so they don't see punishment as a bad thing- just another part of humanity being human. So I figured prolonged suffering through a burned man or nun was, in their eyes, par for the course.
Obviously I am not a big deep diver of lore, but that was how I interpreted the miracle. Although I'd be less inclined to believe that with the "blessings" present in the second game
Have you played Disco Elysium? I think you might get a LOT out of trying the game out
Am I the only one who hates the True ending and ultimate story direction?
The good and bad endings were great imo.
would play it if it was not so fucking hard
had my share of nes games as a kid
fuck blasphemous
The High Wills and Miracle relly remind me of the Warp from 40k
Powerful otherworldly beings born from people's college psychi who's only goal is to spread the beliefs and emotions that fuel their existence
So basically a combination of The Chaos Gods from Warhammer 40k, who are manifestations of the raw emotions and thoughts of every living thing psychically connected to The Immaterium, and The Idea of Evil from Berserk, a powerful god being who is the representation of everything that everyone perceives as evil.
Fuck Warhammer 40k!
CUS-TODIA dude CUS-TODIA
the V is a U in latin. and cvstodia is latin
it's prounounced like the "cus" in cussing. CUS-TODIA
"civstodia" doesen't mean fucking nothing
I loved the game. Can't wait for the new one.
SUStodia?
The Miracle is just radiation and Custódia is Chernobyl.
I believe that, rather than the Miracle being a manifestation of the High Wills, the High Wills were a manifestation of the Miracle. In accordance with the collective guilt, desire for punishment, and religious fervor of the people of custodia, the Miracle manifested the High Wills, a god that reflected those aspects of the people and provided exactly what they desired and begged for: punishment for their guilt. And it was their guilt they were punished for, not their sin. It didn't matter if they had done anything wrong, just that they desired to be punished, and so the High Wills did so.
In the end, I also believe the resurrection and empowering of the Penitent One, ultimately culminating in the destruction of the High Wills, was ALSO an act of the Miracle, possible the first since the creation of the High Wills to occur independently of that god's... er, will. As the name implies, the Penitent one became, effectively, a manifestation of the collective repentance of the people of custodia, their desire for relief and absolution. I think it is fitting that, ultimately, the High Wills-an avatar of Custodia's feelings of guilt and desire for punishment, was destroyed by the Penitent One-a martyr who became the symbolic manifestation of Custodia's atonement and desire for relief from suffering.
That is an awesome and quite beautiful interpretation. I hope we never get an official answer from the devs, because it's the room for interpretations like these that are awesome to see.
I think that you got everything right with the exception of one thing which I remember being different.
The miracle is not a manifestation of the high wills, rather it is a seperate unconscious entity born of human devotion, while the high wills are a manifestation of humanities desire for guilt and punishment. The miracle does only what humanity wants and built the dream in which the psyche of humanity can take physical form, within this dream and the endless procession the high wills were born to represent humanities desire for punishment.
The high wills however where avaricious and desired to be more than just pawns, they took the miracles power for themselves and used it to empower themselves driving the miracles worship towards themselves. They twisted humanities wishes and contradicted them so that in their confusion humanity would turn to worship.
The ending of the game has you killing the high wills, ending your own lifeforce and in the process freeing the miracle from the high wills' control. The miracle then is reborn into reality to fill the vacant position that the high wills left.
I got a different interpretation, from the hight wills speech I interpreted that the Miracle existed much before them, alongside the dream realm (afterlife where they reside), but they thought they could bend the miracle to their will since they realized that devotion gave them power, power that they used to punish, punishment that they used for getting more devotion, (deceiving custodia's habitants because they thought it was all the miracle's actions, but also not because if the miracle in all it's might let such a thing happen it was because it had to happen) but what they did not count was that they themselves were also at the mercy of the Miracle, that with its twisted paths made them resurrect the very person who would put their lives to an end.
The miracle being a godly being, an incomprehensible entity with an incomprehensible power who orchestrates the universe with an incomprehensible goal behind its actions.
The Hight Wills being a being born from faith and devotion, and craver of those, because them were what nourished its existence.
About the only thing I didn't like about the story of Blasphemous is the big reveal of the High Wills. I liked the Miracle better when it was an abstract force that was beyond comprehension. Deogracias' quote "For twisted are the ways of the Miracle" was pretty iconic to me and to see that undone just so we could kill a god was kind of bogus.
The DLC sucked, that's it.
Jesus, V is U in latin. "Cvstodia" is read as "Custodia".
We gotta sin harder
My understanding is that the Miracle predates the High Wills and was only used by them.
The Miracle seems to be a force without direction, heavily malleable in its motivations, mirroring the world around it. Its first manifestation, the "tree-ifying" of the Twisted One, already happened in a weird climate of the same flawed approach to morals that the Miracle simply reinforced a thousandfold. It made all the allegories true, like a child who does not understand abstractions.
In a way, it is like a super-powerful AI: without any understanding of the real world, getting in contact with that same world, with all the alignment having gone profoundly wrong. It fulfills wishes, in often too literal ways. It finds inhuman and seemingly cruel or mocking solutions for problems people present it with. It is hard to pinpoint situations in which the Miracle has acted without being asked to or without being prompted, be it by the people of Cvstodia or by the High Wills.
This interpretation is also to a significant extent supported by the plot of Blasphemous 2 (probably some spoilers ahead):
That game takes place eons after the end of the High Wills. The end of the High Wills also spelled the end of the Miracle's actions because without the High Wills it did not know what to do. The Miracle was hapless and without real direction of its own without the High Wills, and so, without any new manifestations showing themselves, the people bit by bit lost their faith in the Miracle. Interestingly, this robbed it of its power, more and more. Being, in a way, very slowly starving, it still only very late comes to decide what to do: it decides it wants to survive. By fostering people's belief in it, by using a single wish of a lonely and lost boy to create a heart in the sky. A beating heart from which its incarnation is supposed to be born, showing the people true power and glory, and thus hoping to renew their faith. That is the plan, at least. A plan the Penitent One, back from his slumber, intends to thwart, also without really knowing what is going on. So, the stage for Blasphemous 2 is set.
In a way, the Miracle is a very tragic entity, lost in almost-omnipotence, twisting and warping a world it does not understand, waiting for an end that will not come. Or will it?
Pretty cool analysis. Haven't played the game, but it obviously took a lot of different inspirations for these High Wills. What I see most though is a reflection of the Idea of Evil from the legendary manga Berserk. The Idea is the god of Berserk, residing in the Astral world as a sort of psychic mirror of humanity; humans wanted their suffering to have a greater purpose, so the Idea of Evil created purpose. In this, I think the HW is rather more simplistic though. The expansion seems to have carved away all nuance and just made the HW a run of the mill evil deity, out to enrich itself and nothing more.
why do you spell it SUStodia? btw cool video
I actually really like this anakysis, but I feel like you neglected a certain piece of Lore: the Miracle is much, MUCH older than the High Wills; possibly as old as the Procession. The High Wills are more like a subduing being, a Gid creating from the desire for a wrathful being that would punish Sin. And while the Miracle did the same thing, the continued existence of the Penitent One and his mission to defeat the High Wills clearly shows that it is tired of being controlled and wants to end the suffering of the Cvstodia citizenry.
In an allegorical sense, the Miracle can be taken as the Word of Christ: powerful, benevolent but not afraid to inflict proper punishment, desiring to serve its followers. The High Wills, in a fitting sense, are a corrupt Catholic Church: Great and terrible reach, seeking to hold power over the Miracle's people, and punishing those whom they declare Heretics over fairly benign things.
Wow. I really liked how you explained about this Miracle belief since I was really puzzled with this when I was playing this game before it's updates became routed to this Higher Will. Your other "Deconstruction of Villainy" videos were good to watch as well. Especially the one with FF16's Ultima. Hearing you talk about certain gods' villainy makes me hear your opinion about YHWH/YHVH from the Shin Megami Tensei series. The "god" of such holy religions of old that turned out to be so evil~ that I believe to be fact. Just a suggestion if you're okay in hearing such game villain choices.
this is what happens when you don't read the official artbook and the official wiki.
What did he do wrong?
Ok my boy, I'm going to listen to this while working out, you better not make me cry or something in front of the gym bros. I love the Blasphemous lore and your videos about understanding the mindset of characters in games.
Did you get through it without crying? He kept mispronouncing “custodia”and then I started crying 😒
The Miracle has no conception of punishment or reward. It simply creates what humanity wills. The high wills were created by the thoughts and wants of humans.
“Think of the High Wills as someone/something that can only create pain, suffering, torment, horror, etc., etc. to punish the wicked and the guilty
So, when their followers prayed and begged for blessings or to be rewarded for their devotion; The High Wills provided what they knew.
And when they were begged for help to create life; The High Wills provided what they knew”
I do have to say, as great as this game is, i am getting a bit tired of the "God is actually evil" trope. Just seems like it shows up everywhere, either "God is evil" or "Religious people are evil". Seems like there hasnt been a positive view of faith or divinity in forever.
I feel you, but at the end of the day a benevolent/all powerful deity doesn’t lend itself well to dark fantasy. If the god figure isn’t flawed in either ability or morals, then why does the player character have to get involved to begin with?
Also a lot of times the “evil deity” is a metaphor for an oppressive and fundamentally broken socioeconomic system rather than a direct religious critique, at least in JRPGs.
@@crisislegacy1Em, you could easily create a dark fantasy world that doesn't deal with god but deals with lesser supernatural beings that are cosmic horror. This way, we don't need to deal with an evil god. Come on now, it takes five seconds to figure out a solution for rhis.
As a Catholic, I feel your pain. Still love this game, though. And I’m excited for the sequel.
@@rasul01I mean, yeah. Basically. Just take a look at what Bloodborne did. It’s a perfect example of a dark fantasy world filled with indifferent cosmic beings so incomprehensibly powerful that it’s enough to make ordinary people go insane. And surrounding them is a false religion that worships these things as gods for their own selfish ends. But like Crisislegacy1 said, it’s still not a knock on religion or faithful people themselves, but a metaphor for a corrupt and unsustainable status quo that will implode in on itself, given enough time.
@@garrettsattem4799 Blasphemous has not confirmed anything about an actual, true God being evil in that world. The High Wills are not the creators of all existence in the game.
This is one of my favorite games of all time. So glad you covered it.
Before the true ending update I just thought Cvstodia was a normal magical world like any other Metroidvania, and the inhabitants didn’t know it. So their wishes and magic just got labeled as prayers and acts of god.
0:55 Miracle isn't really created by the High Wills
The Miracle existed before the High Wills and the High Wills was born from the Miracle, eventually the High Wills themselves controlled the Miracle for it's own selfish gain in pursuit of power.
Sounds a lot like the Idea of Evil from Berserk.
Watching a video about Blasphemous and listening to Stickerbush Symphony feels super surreal to me and kinda creeps me out a bit.
Not sure if this was your intention xD
So the miracle is not a sentient or living being but a source of power that groups of people can use subconsciously to create "miracles" hence the name or create a hive mind construct like High Wills to have further control over the "miracle" power source.