The Game Kitchen's Last Door series was a surprisingly atmospheric work of lovecraftian fiction and bleak point-n-click puzzles. In many ways, Blasphemous' side-scrolling action seems like a major departure from that slow subdued series, but detailed pixel art and unsettling nightmarish horrors suggest that the eldritch inspirations won't be forgotten.

The Penitent One, outfitted in a heavy metal mask and armed with a fearsome blade, is your hero in the world of Blasphemous, a disturbing hellscape where fossilized fallen angels rest within mountainsides and cross-bound enemies strike with their crushing cargo. You must traverse this land, striking down enemies and looming bosses in combat and exploring otherworldly places: desolate flats where petrified figures stand frozen, gothic interiors filled with heavy doors and chandeliers, sprawling dead deserts. wintry forests where the punished hang from tree limbs and in cages.
The project is still early in development, but its pixel art and aesthetic is already impressive. Keyframed animations give attacks and enemies fluid movement, and little details like the flapping raven resting atop an enemy's cross or the dust clouds in the wake of a nun's massive urn flail.

Blasphemous is expected to come to Kickstarter in May. For more details and GIFs, you can follow the game and developer on their site and Twitter page.

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