Saint Slayer: Spear of Sacrilege

If we had any real criticism, it’s that the jump can be a little stiff, sometimes locking you into a vertical leap if you’re not precise with your direction at the moment of ascent. It’s not a big deal – git gud, right? – but it does stick out a teensy bit during the last few levels, where you need to be spot-on.

Saint Slayer: Spear of Sacrilege is not interested in smoothing over its retro inspirations for modern comfort. Its stiff jumps, harsh knockback, limited resources, and demanding stages are part of the point. What makes it work is how confidently Lillymo Games builds around that philosophy, delivering a stylish, compact, and rewarding action platformer that knows exactly who it is for.

Replayable as heck thanks to its multiple endings alongside an extra playable character, you'll have a ball with the spear-stabbing action and downward thrusting going on in this clear ode to NES Castlevania 1 to 3, complete with a rockin' Ricoh 2A03-esque synth soundtrack.

Lillymo Games offers us a game that draws directly from the early Castlevania titles.

Saint Slayer: Spear of Sacrilege was a delightful experience, despite the frequent frustrations that I encountered. Once I accepted that the game was intentionally designed with this classic, old-school approach, I shifted my expectations and met the game where it's at. If you take the time to get familiar with the game's pacing and Rudiger's moveset, you'll find that Saint Slayer is far from impossible. By the time that I beat the game, I was really enjoying the satisfaction of overcoming a difficult stage or boss, and even found that I wasn't swearing nearly as much. Lillymo Games delivered a genuine classic with Saint Slayer, and I hope that they revisit this franchise in the future.

There's so much packed into Saint Slayer: Spear of Sacrilege and as you progress, you'll be impressed with how much variety there is to enjoy. ☠️

Every now and then I get the bug to play some retro games while playing something new and that’s where Saint Slayer: Spear of Sacrilege fills the gap! Given the options of difficulty, found modifiers, codes, and currency that carries over, Saint Slayer does a good job of trying to cater to any gamer. At the asking price, I don’t see how you could have buyer’s remorse with this one.

Saint Slayer: Spear of Sacrilege is a very clear statement of intent: a direct homage to classic action-platformers with a distinct retro feel and uncompromising difficulty. Its art style and sound design are very well done and greatly enhance the experience, although certain aspects of the controls and design can feel somewhat stiff or frustrating. It's a game that works particularly well if you approach it without expecting too many modern conveniences. For those looking for a well-executed classic challenge, it delivers quite well.

Saint Slayer: Spear of Sacrilege is a fantastic, gritty throwback that proves 8-bit style still has teeth. It’s a brutal, rewarding, air-punching experience that captures the NES era perfectly without being a total copycat. If you can handle the pixel-perfect jumps and the lack of checkpoints, it’s a must-play.

If you’re looking for retro feels steeped in familiar old-school frustrations, but with some new twists, this may be for you