Anyone else disappointed?

[Doc]

I love blasphemous and had basicly a lot of fun with the 2nd too.
I'm 11h in and I'm at 92%... It's so short and easy aswell. There were so many bosses i just got first try. some of them you can just spam attack and facetank their dmg. I would call my skills in these kinds of games average. Some of the enemies dont even bother attacking at all, like the skeletons with the wheel. I was excited about this game for a long time. They just made it way too easy, almost uncomparable to the first one...that on top of a 10h game...

[Faraam]

Originally posted by johnnyxr81:

I would have to say the rosary beads were somewhat of a let down. Not as imaginative as the first game. B2 rosary beads among them all spans mostly from Slightly, Increased and Significantly Increase for fire, miasma, lightning, fire and elemental. There was also a few for guilt, tears of atonement and martyrdom. Still a great game though. But I believe most of the items and mechanics that were brought back from the first game where watered down for the second.

Ya, I'd say this stems from the fact that the altarpieces and the resonance mechanic encroach on the more unique aspects of the beads in B1 and in B2 the beads are delegated to only being basic buffs and nerfs

[Ich-Henker]

Disastrous disappointment!

Blasphemous is nothing without it's atmosphere and genius of story ideas and it's darkness - there is no poetic brilliance or inspiring scenery, bosses or violence - nothing touches your heart. I feel no motivation to kill 3 Supermiracle posterchildren that are introduced posing self confidentally and then looking goofy and underdetailed. It is all too bright, gamey, repetitive and tame.
Anime cutscenes, boring soundtrack, boring and funny looking, goofy enemies that you can push through - no real stakes. Teleporting back to the hometown early in the game ruins the feeling of survival and loss.
The game feels like a saturday morning cartoon now. Any frame of BP2 looks less detailed or less inspiring then BP1 which is a shame, everything is enlarged and rougher!
I hoped all the experience with BP1 will make BP2 even better but only the menu graphics and it's navigation are better - not even the controls are better: press down and a button to let loose of a ledge, pressing up for certain and another button for other interactions is just annoying. Having multiple weapons only means each weapon is less tactically deep, less combos for each weapon and having the swinging weapons makes most combats boring because you just murder your enemies from a distance (is this aimed at children now?).

As others said this feels loveless, less inspired, less dark, dumbed down and this has to be because of the Epic deal - tone everything down, make it digestable, less thought provoking, less provoking - no nudity anymore...no ... BLASPHEMY ... what a cash out this is.

I wanted to like this so much for Blasphemous is my new favourite Metroidvania followed by Hollow Knight. While playing BP1 I always had to take out my phone to make pictures of the grotesque titans and their wonderful dialogue but this is just a fail, I did not make a single photo - speaking of the dialogue: it is so underwhelming both in the english audio and translation. Only the leftover love for BP1 makes this in any way interesting (who decided to ruin the asthetics so much?).

So: everything (except the menu and being able to choose to teleport or not in case you forgot to rearm another prayer)) is worse to a point of losing it's identity.

Edit: I come to hate the 20 rooms where you are locked in with multiple spawning enemies - it bolsters playtime but is so boring and repetitive, when you can just buttonmash through them - there could have been mid bosses but they choose this, even after quests. Add to this that they reskin their new terribly childish looking enemies in every new area (the lady in the bed or the jumping henchmen or the soldiers on foot) how embarrasing and disrespectful is that to the players - low effort but higher price!

[Antorius]

Originally posted by '97:

Blasphemous 1 more easy than 2

This seems to be an unpopular opinion, but I actually agree! I suspect that most of the "difficulty" that people associate with B1 was insta-death spikes + a couple of exceptionally challenging bosses like Isidora.

As for disappointment overall: yes, I'm a little disappointed in B2, but not in the way that the OP means. I didn't like B1 as a metroidvania as much as I did a world. B2 amps up the metroidvania execution, but the world is less dark, cryptic, sublime. It lacks flavor, somehow. Also, I find that the world-enemies and arena areas in B2 are super annoying, as are the traversal "puzzles". Navigating the world in B1 is very Zen yet interesting for me, but in B2 it often just feels like a tedious and frustrating chore. Call it difficulty if you like, but either way, it's just not fun. :(

Anyway, once I sank my teeth into B1 I happily worked my way through it (I'm not a good player so I can't say I smashed through). But I am dubious that I will be able to force myself to slog through B2. Oh well: not all games are for everyone, and I've already gotten my money's worth in terms of hours of entertainment.

[PizzaSHARK]

Originally posted by blackbeard:

I am disappointed in how the game progresses and flows.

I have discovered 25% of the map, but I have no idea where to go because I keep finding dead end after dead end, requiring some kind of upgrades/skills i have yet to discover. Ther's barely any collectibles, I have only found like 4 items.
And I feel incredibly weak because I still haven't found a way to upgrade my damage.

In Blasphemous 1 it was very clear how to get stronger AND there were multiple paths to explore without dead ends.

In Blasphemous 2 I spend 10-15 minutes exploring a new way only to hit a dead end.

What you're describing is basically how metroidvanias work - you find something you lack the tools or knowledge for, go "huh", and make a note to investigate it later, maybe after finding a thing to interact with it. B1 had this, but generally much less of it. Exploration in B1 was more about trial and error and finding hidden things, with only three relics (one of which you can get in the first hour of gameplay, if you remember you saw a locked door earlier) meaningfully expanding your exploration options.

I enjoy B2's exploration more, because I enjoy metroidvanias, but I will echo what some others have said and say that on the whole, I think B2 is a step down compared to B1 for me. B2 feels like a generic hacky-slashy metroidvania with a few coats of Blasphemous paint on top.

I do not think that makes it bad - I would rate B2 as high or higher than B1 - but it makes it "lesser" for me personally. I liked how opaque B1 was, how virtually nothing made sense until you really squinted at it and sometimes not even then (compare how item lore descriptions are written), I liked that you could miss or fail things and be locked out for that playthrough. It meant there was reason to play again, and meant that you wouldn't have to stress about getting 100% on your first time through - you'll find new things each replay and eventually you'll find em all!

I didn't much care for NG+, finding it to be tedious (the combat gameplay of B1 has some flaws that I felt NG+ exacerbated) but it was a very strong addition to the game, as was Wounds of Eventide adding ending C. But it is probably unfair to compare a "complete" B1 with "incomplete" (probably) B2.

I like both games and think both are very strong metroidvanias. But I liked B1 more.

[Minh Nhật Phương Chu]

The only thing I disappointed in B2 is that the NPC in The Sevrered Tower look dirty af, my friend.