I'm not very good at Blighted, I quickly determine while darting through a mountainous region in a co-op session during GDC 2026. I mistime more than half my dodges, and it takes what feels like a long time to reach the boss in large part because I keep getting my head kicked in by various enemies we – me and one of the developers – encounter across the psychedelic landscape. And yet it still draws me in, making me want to keep going rather than throw in the towel.
"Blighted is a Metroidvania action RPG," says Graham Smith, co-founder of Drinkbox Studios and one of the producers on Blighted. "It's actually a mishmash of a lot of different things, and plus some new things that we're trying to introduce. So it's got Soulslike combat with an emphasis on parrying, and it's got Metroidvania-style exploration. As you're defeating bosses, you're getting new abilities that allow you to slowly open up the world."
