Blessed Burden can be best described as an ULTRAKILL-lite movement shooter, but without the shooter part. Released by Podoba Interactive and Marevo Collective, you have to quickly maneuver through 10 worlds (and a playable end sequence) filled with no enemies, but plenty of different kinds of traps and hazards!

Upon His Dark Throne

In Blessed Burden, you play as a priest, the last servant of God. God has been overthrown by Satan himself, who cruelly taunts the player throughout their quest. With your arms severed, the priest must go through several gauntlets of eternal torment using nothing but your legs and your willpower.

The game’s plot does not really expand beyond that, although dialogue with the devil and some scattered lore bits do expand the outside world of Blessed Burden a bit. The game has only two characters, that being the priest and the loving, encouraging words from the devil. Still, the empty levels outside of death traps and the occasional mummified husk do a lot of heavy-lifting when it comes to making the brutalist architecture unnerving. 

Sprint All Ye Faithful

With no arms, Blessed Burden is all about running and sliding your way through the hellish terrain. Basic movement is very easy to pick up. The game also doesn’t require speed to proceed. Anyone can pick up Blessed Burden, even if they’re not particularly great at precision platforming.

To spice things up more, Blessed Burden has an upgrade system called blessings. They are divided up into four categories. Slide Bless increases the movement speed sliding gives. Speed Bless, predictably, increases your sprint speed. Gravity allows you to drop to the ground faster while in the air. The most interesting of the blessings though is the God Wings, which first gives a double jump, and then a dash, complete with a semi-transparent pair of wings as you take flight. You gain blessing points for each level completed and for every completed relic you collect.

Spike, Flames, and Snakes Galore!

In lieu of any enemies, the levels of Blessed Burden are filled to the brim with obstacles and traps. From saws moving across the level, to flames shooting out from the walls, every movement must be calculated quickly. The game keeps the player on their toes at all times, with every step they take being calculated. And, yes, there are achievements for the funny ways the priest can perish.

The level design of Blessed Burden is where the game truly shines with an almost heavenly light. Roots does not provide a lot of hazards, but there is an amount of vertical mobility as you slide and dash through tree roots. Facility is one of the longest levels with switch puzzle and spikes. The final segment has the player climb on top of moving snakes. The final level, Heart, is an adrenaline-pumping finale with a gauntlet of different traps that tests everything the player has learned up to that point. 

Final Thoughts

Blessed Burden is a short game with good scenery and challenge. Even after you finish the game and collect all the relics, the game provides additional challenges in the way of achievements encouraging challenge runs such as not collecting any blessings or beating the game under a time limit. The game skimps on the story, but offers a helluva fun, if short, time!

P.S.: A huge thank you to the developers over at Padoba, as I initially had issues launching Blessed Burden, which they quickly helped me out with.

Blessed Burden is out on Steam and retails for $6.99.