If there was anywhere for fans to suspect thatHollow Knight: Silksongwould make an appearance, it would have been at the Nintendo Indie World Showcase. Of course, there is still hope to hold out forSilksongappearing at the next Xbox event due to it making an appearance atthe Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase, and fans will need to cling to that hope sinceSilksongwas absent from the Indie showcase. Instead, fans were treated to the reveal of another Soulslike Metroidvania game that is also a long-awaited sequel:Blasphemous 2.
Blasphemous 2was officially announced to be in development in August 2021, with a release window of 2023, as a tease at the end of its Wounds of Eventide DLC trailer. Since then, The Game Kitchen andTeam17have kept completely silent about the sequel, and it is fantastic to finally see a huge reveal in the form of a trailer that further narrows its release to late summer. So while fans are still waiting to hear more fromSilksong, there is another equally exciting sequel on the way that fans should pay close attention to and look into if they have not already.
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Blasphemous 2 is Finally Revealed at Nintendo Indie World Showcase
This is great news because a late-summer release keeps it in-line with its earlier release window announcement, suggesting thatBlasphemous2’s development has been on track thus far. Based on theNintendo Indie World Showcase’s reveal trailer,Blasphemous 2will offer more of the same 2D Soulslike Metroidvania action in a high-fantasy land inspired by Catholicism.
Platforming has been expanded with new abilities, as well as a plethora of new weapons the Penitent One can be seen wielding in a quick montage of atmospheric shots from the game. These shots are all obscure in terms of the undoubtedly convoluted and lore-rich narrative thatBlasphemous’ world-buildingis known for, but luckilyBlasphemous 2has not strayed far from what distinguished the original game from from other 2D Metroidvanias.
Hollow Knightis incredibly popular for a similar reason, and fans would also surely be disappointed ifSilksongstrayed too far from it. The gameplay that was previously shown fromSilksongcould be changed completely by the time that fans see it again, and it is unfortunate that it was withheld yet again from an event that could have given it valuable airtime.Silksongcould shadow-drop at this point, and many fans would be as excited as they were the day the sequel was officially revealed, however, which shows how little fans’ excitement has faltered. The only reason fans are as upset as they are aboutSilksongnot showing up anywhereis because of how highly anticipated it is, and fans’ indifference would be obvious if that was the case instead.
Silksongcan seemingly do no wrong up until its release in this instance, given that it will likely still be ridiculously popular. Meanwhile, a game likeBlasphemous 2has not had nearly as many fans clamoring for it at every event, but its reveal at Nintendo’s Indie World Showcase is a great boon for fans regardless, whether they adoredBlasphemousor are new to the IP. If fans are looking for a2D Soulslike Metroidvania side-scrollerthat leans more towardDark SoulsthanHollow Knight, thenBlasphemousis the game for them.
Blasphemous 2is scheduled to release in late summer of 2023 for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
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