And so the long night is severed. Dawn cometh.
Dawn has arrived in the land of Cvstodia in Blasphemous: The Stir of Dawn, a free DLC available now for all owners of Blasphemous!
The Stir of Dawn - Patch Notes
To prepare you for your journey into True Torment we've compiled today's Patch Notes below for you.
We've also included some extra context from Maikel Ortega, Game Designer on Blasphemous - you can spot his comments in italics!
True Torment: New Game+
- Ascend into True Torment after beating the game at least once.
- You will keep your items, Prayers and Mea Culpa abilities. Master them to advance through this harder version of the game.
After finishing the main game, you will now be able to Ascend into our New Game+ mode: True Torment. This means starting a new playthrough from the beginning, keeping all your unlocked skills, and equippable items such as Rosary Beads, Sword Hearts and Prayers. And you will need them!
The difficulty has been carefully rebalanced to offer a greater challenge. Enemies will be tougher and much more deadly, so making full use of your arsenal is a must if you want to survive the True Torment.
The Penitence System
- Choose between one of three Penitences, and face even greater challenges that change the way you approach each playthrough.
- Only available during a True Torment playthrough.
- Successful Penitence completions have their rewards...
The Penitence of the Bleeding Heart is our homage to classic 8-bit titles like Castlevania where we have replaced the Penitent One’s lifebar with Health Orbs. Every hit you take will deplete one orb, and to keep things interesting, all enemies will respawn every time you come back to an area. So you will really need to learn their patterns if you want to stay alive!
The Penitence of the Unwavering Faith severely weakens your normal attacks with Mea Culpa, but adds constant Fervour regeneration! Prayers and abilities will be your main source of damage, so plan your build accordingly, and choose appropriate Rosary Beads and Sword Hearts!
And the final is the Penitence of the True Guilt — by far the most punishing of the three. Choosing this Penitence will change your Bile Flasks into Azure Flasks where they will no longer replenish your health, but your fervour instead. And keeping yourself out of harm’s way is a must in this run, as you will lose all your Guilt Fragments and Tears of Atonement with a single death! Find a Confessor Statue, or retrieve your Fragment, or you will lose all those hard-earned tears too! Only true masters of Blasphemous’ combat will be able to rise to this challenge.
The Stir of Dawn Questline
- A completely new quest can be started buried deep in the innards of the Holy Line.
- Only available during a True Torment playthrough.
The Amanecidas - Ancient creatures, born and forgotten centuries ago, will wake up from the innards of Cvstodia and try to stop The Penitent One. Find Jibrael, their harbinger, during a True Torment run, and follow his instructions to challenge these gilded wardens of the Miracle. This new storyline includes five completely new boss fights, harder than any other you’ve faced before in Blasphemous.
Map Screen Overhaul
- The map has been completely redesigned and reworked.
- Custom markers can now be placed anywhere on the map.
- The map now features pixel perfect zoom.
- The percentage of area discovery is now visible in a corner.
Changes to the Core Game
NPC Changes
- A new NPC can be found close to Albero, in the Desecrated Cistern.
- The NPC Soledad has been reworked, and features fully voiced new dialog.
- The NPC Gémino has been reworked, and now features new sprites. His questline has been slightly tweaked.
- New dialog lines have been added to several NPCs and Bosses.
Fast Travel
- The Prie Dieu is now upgradeable, allowing for fast travel between the altars.
- Three new Teleports can now be found in Cvstodia.
- New areas and shortcuts have been added to the game.
Voiceover
As requested by many of our players from all around the world, we have added full Spanish VO, recorded by top notch voice actors and actresses. Our game is heavily inspired by our culture, so this was a no-brainer!
- Full Spanish voice-over has been added to the game. The voice-over language can be changed in the options menu.
- Some of the existing dialog has been recorded again with a new cast.
Misc
- A mysterious alms-box can be found inside the church in Albero.
New Executions
- Sister of the Charred Visage
- Spear of the Cathedra
- Guardainfante
- Lunatic
- Phalaris
- Wandering Sepulcher
- Carthos
Certain Penitent skills (Charge, Lunge & Counter attacks) will now stun these enemies when used at the right time, enabling an execution.
Art & Cutscenes
Art
The following areas now feature new art assets:
- Wasteland of the Buried Churches
- Mercy Dreams
- Grievance Ascends
- Patio of the Silent Steps
- Bridge of the Three Calvaries
- Ferrous Tree
- Wall of the Holy Prohibitions
New dwellers can be found in town, including a completely pettable and very good boy.
Some sprites, including the player's, now feature colour adjustments to better integrate in certain areas.
New animations have also been added to the Penitent One.
Cutscenes
- New animated cutscenes have been added to the game.
- A new intro cutscene has been added.
- Balance, Quality of Life changes:
Balance Changes: Prayers & Enemies
As a game designer, fine tuning the experience you players will face in our game is always our main priority. This is why we took our time to create a satisfying True Torment mode, but also revisited the base game! Lots of Prayers, Rosary Beads, and even player skills have been revisited, tweaked, and, in some cases, made some pretty big changes.
Summon an army of Cherubs with the improved Campanilleros Prayer, or stun your foes with a perfectly timed Sacred Onslaught to the face, leaving them open for a gruesome execution.
Prayers
- Damage and fervour costs have been tweaked.
- Several prayers feature visual improvements.
- Prayer behaviour is more consistent and solid.
Enemies
- A few enemies have been revisited, and now feature better anticipation and recovery times.
- The behaviuor of some enemies has been improved to create a better combat experience. Less unfair situations, smoother and more satisfying combat.
Abilities & Attacks
- The player hitbox and damage areas have been tweaked to ensure combat feels fair.
- The charged and lunge attack have been revisited and can now stun enemies in certain situations.
- The ranged attack damage and cost have been rebalanced. Damage now scales with Mea Culpa level.
The Amanecidas Await...
That wraps up today's patch notes!
We're incredibly excited for you all to experience this free new content for Blasphemous. Oh and one last word from Maikel:
If you’re new to Blasphemous, or a veteran pilgrim, I’m sure you will deeply enjoy your travels to the updated world of Cvstodia. Sorrowful be the heart.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/774361/Blasphemous/