Drinkbox Studios is commonly known as the team that brought us the Guacamelee series and Nobody Saves the World, but perhaps my favorite title in its catalogue is Severed, which originally released in 2016 on the PS Vita. While that game features fun touchscreen-based combat and an intriguing minimalist story, what stuck with me the most is its striking art style. As I walked up to the station where I’d spend the next 20 minutes playing Drinkbox’s latest game, Blighted, I immediately noticed echoes of that gorgeous Severed art style, even as the gameplay deviates from it.
Vibrant, contrasting colors and a psychedelic vibe permeate every inch of the isometric action RPG. And the notion of a corrupted world, which was central to Severed’s premise, reverberate off Blighted’s own. In Blighted, the protagonist comes from a culture with a fascinating tradition surrounding their dead: When someone passes away, they plant a tree seed in their brain before burying them. Then, when that tree sprouts and bears fruit, the people consume that fruit, allowing them to experience memories of their ancestors.
It’s a fascinating premise and a beautiful (if not strange) tradition. However, when the Sorcisto, the game’s evil antagonist, learns that if he eats your people’s brains, he will receive their memories and mystical powers, he consumes your entire village. Unfortunately for him, this process results in Sorcisto becoming overtaken by Blight, which transforms him into a grotesque monster. As the sole remaining member of your village, you must travel the dangerous surrounding lands to recover the memories of your people and defeat Sorcisto.
Despite being an isometric RPG, Blighted pulls heavy inspiration from Metroidvanias and the Soulslike genre. As the hero navigates the world, they encounter all manner of hideous creatures with distinct powers. Managing your stamina bar, you can attack, dodge, and parry enemies – or blast them at range with your gun, which operates on a cooldown – and the better you do, the more difficult the game becomes; while playing with the developers, they cranked up the level of Blight using a debug menu that won’t be in the final game to demonstrate how much more aggressive and powerful enemies become when you’re on a hot streak. However, you can expect better rewards during this time.
As you fight through and explore the various biomes, you solve environmental puzzles, unlock shortcuts, and learn about the corruption of this beautiful world. You also encounter massive bosses with their own suites of powers. These huge, ungodly creations unleash powerful attacks, with color coding about which can be parried and which must be dodged.
After defeating the two bosses I faced off against, I obtained their abilities. The catch? To earn it, your character must consume their brains, creating a compelling narrative about how we can sometimes become the very monsters we hate in the relentless pursuit of our goals. I can’t wait to see how Drinkbox further explores these themes in the narrative.
After defeating one monstrous boss, my character earns a stomp move, which not only offers an area-of-effect attack but also a way to clear certain barriers. As someone who has played his fair share of Metroidvanias, this immediately scratched that part of my brain, as new paths were suddenly available to explore as I returned to one of the areas I was navigating before that boss battle.
I played my entire demo in two-player co-op, which can be done locally or online in the full game, but it is designed fully with solo play in mind. Just like in Soulslike games, sometimes it’s just nice to have someone else to draw the boss’ aggro for a little bit.
I was intrigued by Blighted ever since I first saw it at the tail end of 2025, and when you combine it with the studio’s excellent pedigree and this incredibly fun demo, it’s one I will absolutely be watching for when it comes to Switch 2 and PC this fall.
