Fanmade port of the hit metroidvania
Blasphemous mobile is a free-to-play adventure experience that serves as a mobile port of the hit Metroidvania game from The Game Kitchen. In this fanmade recreation by Lannpi, much of the game’s content has been recreated from scratch, with controls remapped for touchscreen. As such, it follows the same side-scrolling story of the Penitent One in a forsaken world filled with religious themes and imagery.
While the Blasphemous mobile suffers from quality drops and minor optimization concerns, on top of lacking a significant part of the original, it’s still a commendable effort. Similar games include Dead Cells: Netflix Edition.
Join the Penitent One
The game takes place in the cursed land of Cvstodia, where the Penitent One must battle his way through hordes of enemies and powerful bosses to reach the source of the corruption. Along the way, players will uncover a complex story filled with themes of guilt, sacrifice, and religion. The same general premise applies in Blasphemous mobile, although the story doesn’t flesh out here on account of the incomplete port.
Its main strength, however, is in its graphics. Since the original game features quality pixel art filled with religious imagery, both in character and set designs, the same enjoyable content extends to this remake. Since the lone developer tries to recreate the original as much as possible, expect the same haunting designs and gory animations even in the smaller mobile screens. Similarly, the soundtrack also works well with it, adding to the immersion.
Still, trying to recreate the hit Metroidvania title is definitely a challenge, not to mention it was created by one person. As mentioned, the largest concern in this unofficial mobile port is that it’s a work in progress. Aside from missing parts of the map and the main storyline, there are also tricks and mechanics in the original that do not translate well in this version.
A project worth keeping an eye on
Overall, Blasphemous mobile is still miles away from being the right mobile port of the original Blasphemous game. Still, it’s a project that’s worth everyone’s attention, if only for bringing the gothic Metroidvania game to mobile devices. The effort to recreate its iconic look, plus the good work remapping controls for touchscreen controls, is already commendable. This would definitely be better once the full map and accurate mechanics have been added.
