There are not many games that are genuinely disturbing anymore. We as a society have been a bit desensitized to the violence in games. That's just fact. And while that has no actual bearing on real-life actions, it does make it hard for horror and gore-centric games to truly mess with their audience. Blasphemous succeeds though, by using a combination of hard-to-read pixel graphics and the more hardcore icons and characters from Christian and Catholic dogma.
But, underneath all the religious symbolism, Blasphemous is a 2D Souls-esque Metroidvania. And with that comes secrets, items, and collectibles. So, while players are picking their jaws up off the ground after watching our playable character bath himself in blood in the first 10 minutes, we'll tell them all about the 10 Biggest Blasphemous Secrets People Still Haven't Found.
10 Destroying Confessor Statues Leads To Something New
So this first one is probably a given for anyone who attempted to 100% the game. The people who like the experience every single ounce of content a title has must have figured this secret out long ago. But, after the Penitent One (our playable character) dies, his guilt takes the form of a Guilt Fragment that stays on the map until it is collected.
Essentially, it's like recovering your souls in DS1, 2, or 3. But, players can actually also use Statues of Confessors to regain their guilt. And, to unlock the true ending, hardcore players have to rob themselves of these Statues and destroy every single one in order to access secret mini-dungeons. But, since this is such a drawback, we recommend going back and destroying them once the player has already reached the final area/boss.
9 Take That Bead And Fill It With Guilt
Now, after these statues have been destroyed, they'll leave a red ring behind that players can't do anything with. That is unless they have the Weight of True Guilt of course. This is only obtained after players have filled the Immaculate Bead they find in the Graveyard of the Peaks with guilt.
To simplify things a bit, die three times while holding this bead. After it becomes the Weight of True Guilt, players can then enter the Confessor Dungeons left behind after the statues are destroyed. These are little challenge dungeons that ultimately are tantamount for obtaining the secret ending and some neat items as well.
8 We Weren't Ready For Some Quirky Cameos In Such A Dark Game
In contrast to the last two secrets which are insanely important for the narrative, this next secret is absolutely nothing more than a neat little nod. And that's awesome! There's a hidden room in a certain zone that is aptly named the "Sleeping Canvases" from spawn location at the top right of the map, players basically just head left until they enter a room with a bull painting (that serves as an NPC later on).
Once they do, smack the left-most wall, and a little opening should appear. The room speaks for itself, it's a bunch of paintings that reference other indie titles the developers must be fans of. We can't name them all, but the one and only Shovel Knight certainly sticks out most to us.
7 Man Encased In Iron Turns Out To Be A Time Trial
Blasphemous is not at all the "hand-holdy" type of game. Enemies destroy you, things aren't explained to you, and sidequests can completely pass you by. One such example is the NPC Gemino who is in the area "Where Olive Trees Wither". Unbeknownst to the player, as soon as they enter this zone, Gemino's sidequest timer has started. Essentially, this sinner is trapped within an iron statue, abandoned to be frozen within.
If players talk to him, they'll get the Golden Thimble which they can then fill with oil for him after defeating Our Lady of the Charred Visage. Gemino has three states depending on how long the player takes, partially frozen, fully frozen, and not frozen at all. No matter his state, the player can still obtain his Frozen Olive item with enough observation, thanks to a recent patch. But, it isn't spelled out for players, so they were missing this sidequest completely.
6 Lore Items Serve A Purpose!
Unlike Dark Souls, Blasphemous has its fair share of puzzles. That's not to say that the Souls series has never dealt in riddles or puzzles, but Blasphemous uses less obtuse methods. One such example is at the bottom of the Library of Negated Words where players can find a room with three open books.
These three books show anatomy images of a femur, a tibia, and a kneecap. Find these collectibles and they'll tell the player what to do. Basically, unequip everything, fill the Fervent bar and stand perfectly still. Only then will the secret passage open which leads to a prayer called the Romance to the Crimson Mist that is genuinely quite good.
5 Hatching An Egg Is Harder Than We Thought It Would Be
The Three Gnarled Tounges item is the reward for a series of quests the Penitent One completes that allows him access to all sorts of other horrifying equips. Honestly, it's pretty surprising just how obtuse obtaining these tongues are, since they open up so many optional pathways. We aren't going to break it down step by step, but basically, the process for getting these tongues tied together involves hatching a certain egg.
The Egg Of Deformity is another item only obtained after getting three other items altogether, the Torn Bridal Ribbon, the Black Grieving Veil, and the Melted Gold Coins. Gather items to make another item to gather more items, you know how it goes. So, we're sure you can already see how complicated this is, which makes it all the more clear why so many people missed it.
4 Wearing Some Nice Linen Makes The Mist A Bit More Bearable
Unlike other RPG games, Blasphemous isn't about leveling up your character. There isn't a stats screen, and the primary way to buff the Penitent One is by stacking more holy relics, rosary charms, and prayers onto him. Sure, you can buy skills, but thats about it. And that isn't even counting all the collectible lore items, caged babies, and other odd knick-knacks spread throughout the map.
For example, the Linen of Golden Thread is an item obtained from an NPC called Jocinero within the painting of the bull (the one we talked about earlier) at the Sleeping Canvases Zone. This is only given to you after you've freed a total of 20 babies, otherwise known as the Children of Moonlight. It's easily missed because not a lot of people have been collecting these babies, but its worth it considering this Linen unlocks even more secrets beneath the misty abyss drops spread throughout the game.
3 Secret Bathroom Wall Puzzle Isn't As Fun As It Sounds
Enemies hit hard in Blasphemous, and we mean real hard. One of the worst wake-up calls for players early on in the game are the Dirt Diver's that reside here. These creatures absolutely wreck the player's health and are annoying to fight as an added bonus. So, it's a good idea to be on the lookout for Defense buffing items, such as the Silver Grape found in the Desecrated Cistern. in this zone is a room with two mosaics that show Roman Numerals.
If the Penitent One enters while wearing the Shroud of Dreamt Sins, the numbers on the walls will change. If they leave and enter from both sides until they real IV and II, a secret door will open that contains said, Silver Grape. This is a fantastic find because when stacked with other Defense buffing items, it can make the player take a whopping 50% less damage it seems.
2 Dragonball Z-Esque Prayer Hidden Behind Corpse Gathering Sidequest
One of the best Prayers in the entire game, in our opinion of course, is this fantastical AoE beam. It can only be obtained after gathering three parts of a corpse and bringing them back to Ludovico, a man dedicated to giving everyone a true burial (how nice of him) that can be found in the first town of Albero.
The corpse we're collecting, Tentudia, grew thorns instead of hair, so she was killed and spread across the land by...well...evil nuns. Ludovico wants to help everyone pass on, so he'll pay us for bringing her parts. And, once all three gross parts have been gathered, we get this awesome Prayer. A good deed and a sweet prayer/spell? Who would refuse?
1 Who Would've Thought The Secret Finding Hand Would Help Find Secrets?
And finally, when it comes to finding all the secrets in Blasphemous, there's nothing better than this item, the Incorrupt Hand of the Fraternal Master. Why is this thing so useful? Well because it functions like a Zelda item, vibrating louder and louder the closer the player gets to a secret. Basically its a "secret" detector. But, getting it requires collecting another disembodied hand.
First, the Penitent One has to find the Severed Hand in the Desecrated Cistern. Then, they have to give said hang to the gigantic Statue within the Lake of Silent Pilgrims. We recommend grabbing this as early as possible because having it equipped makings finding all the mysteries of Blasphemous that much easier.