Blighted: Drinkbox’s Dark New Metroidvania Infects Switch 2 and PC This Fall
Drinkbox Studios is back with something a little darker, and a lot weirder. The studio behind Guacamelee! and Nobody Saves the World has announced Blighted, a psychedelic western action-RPG Metroidvania coming to Nintendo Switch 2 and PC.
Set in a surreal, decaying world, Blighted follows the lone survivor of a massacre trying to recover the lost memories of their people. In this universe, the dead were traditionally buried with seeds planted in their brains. Those seeds grew into trees, and the fruit from those trees carried the memories and knowledge of the deceased.
That system worked... Until a sorcerer named Sorcisto decided to skip the middle step and simply consume the brains themselves. After destroying your village and burning its memory forest, Sorcisto spreads a reality-warping infection known as the Blight. Your character is already infected, meaning the journey becomes a race against your own corruption.
As players defeat enemies, they can harness the infection to alter the world around them, changing enemy behavior, modifying abilities, and opening new paths through the environment. Drinkbox describes it as a system that functions both as progression and a dynamic difficulty layer.
Blighted also keeps the classic Metroidvania structure, with players gaining new abilities by defeating bosses and consuming their memories—literally by eating their brains. Each new power expands exploration options, unlocking new routes and hidden areas across the game’s interconnected world, though every upgrade pushes the player further into corruption.
Combat is described as fast, deliberate, and timing-focused, encouraging players to weave through enemies, chain together combos, and execute finishing moves rather than relying on simple button-mashing.
One notable addition is full campaign co-op, playable both locally and online. While the Metroidvania genre is traditionally a solo experience, Blighted allows players to explore, fight, and uncover secrets together throughout the entire adventure. This is one addition I am quite excited to try out.
Exploration will play a major role, with the world filled with hidden paths, secrets, and environmental clues. Because the Blight system can alter parts of the environment, some areas and mysteries may only become accessible as players grow stronger, or more corrupted, over time.
The game will also feature a soundtrack from Jim Guthrie, known for his work on Sword & Sworcery, BELOW, and Nobody Saves the World, helping set the tone for Blighted’s eerie, surreal atmosphere.
Blighted is scheduled to launch on Nintendo Switch 2 and PC this fall, bringing Drinkbox’s latest strange and ambitious Metroidvania to players on both platforms at the same time.