Blasphemous II and games on-the-go
While I played most of Dark Souls Remastered on the DC Metro, I'd recommend that the less masochistic stick to the following recommendations...
I’ve been a mobile gamer since the the Game Boy Color. But the Nintendo Switch and, more potently, the Steam Deck have only made me more of one.
Both devices fit into my backpack and into the odd corners of my life — whether I’m taking the train to the studio, taking a car to North Carolina, or taking a flight to San Francisco. I couldn’t keep up with all the games I need to if not for these salvaged minutes.
Of course, this also pushes me towards genres that are easier to play on smaller screens and in brief bursts. The most accommodating on-the-go games offer some or all of the following:
Frequent saves
An easy way to pause or suspend the software
Clear action or clean turn-based gameplay
Fire Emblem games naturally fit this playstyle, since it’s often easy to finish a battle in a 20-minute commute. Visual novels and adventure games like Misericorde and Pentiment also shine, as do puzzlers like Viewfinder. Despite their punishing nature, roguelikes and metroidvanias also work well — so long as they’re easy to put down! These include Dead Cells, Hollow Knight, and Ori and the Will of the Wisps, along with a new favorite, Blasphemous II.
I missed the original Blasphemous — initially turned off by what I assumed to be a predictable, blithe appropriation of Catholic imagery in the service of gory camp (how many times have we seen that in film or anime?).
But after learning that the gothic art of Francisco Goya and Spanish Holy Week traditions inspired the game’s Seville-based studio, I now see the series as a feast for art history buffs. To my eye, Blasphemous II compliments its existing aesthetic with one borrowed from the Italian renaissance. While I’m occasionally frustrated by its labyrinthine world, its mysterious religion reminds me of Bloodborne, my favorite action game of all time. I’ll be playing it for many a metro ride and road trip to come.
Weekly Highlights
Speaking of Steam Deck games, while I’ve played hours of Baldur’s Gate 3 that way, it’s much easier to navigate with a keyboard and mouse. My wife and I continue to cruise through it together on our respective computers, though the game’s astonishing depth and breadth has started to daunt us.
I also added interview excerpts to my existing Super Mario Bros. Wonder coverage, and the audio for All Things Considered’s Starfield piece came out! Host Juana Summers and her production team visited Bethesda Softworks, just north of NPR, to interview studio mastermind Todd Howard, among others.
I got to draft my beloved Innistrad cube with local Magic: the Gathering friends, securing a stellar 3-1 finish with a deck full of madness and vampires. Another buddy accomplished hilarious and much more torturous victories with the infamous “Spider Spawning” combo.