What is Saint Slayer: Spear of Sacrilege?
Saint Slayer: Spear of Sacrilege is Lillymo Games’ 6th entry in their quest to make old-school, retro-inspired games. This title is a level-based, 8-bit love letter to the beloved Castlevania series. This title captures all the trappings of the NES library. The pixel art nails this gorgeous gothic aesthetic. The gameplay is demanding and challenging, and the levels are all highly distinct and unique.
Developer & Publisher // Lillymo Games
Platforms // PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, Switch, Steam (Steam Deck Verified)
MSRP & Release Date // $9.99, April 20, 2026
Reviewed On // Steam Deck OLED
Story in Saint Slayer
Our protagonist, Rudiger, is a former soldier who retired from the brutal, conflict-ridden streets after years of military service. Rudiger found a quaint and peaceful life of solace caring for his farmland in Elsheim. But out of nowhere, monsters and beasts attack the church, and we start the game off by running back into the fray of battle to figure out what is going on.
When Rudiger arrives at the church, we are greeted by the antagonist of the game, Father Pacer. While in conflict, Rudiger learns that Pacer is after the Holy Spear, and it resides in this very church. After the brief bout, Pacer escapes, and we proceed to grab the Spear as our main weapon for the adventure.
It’s compelling to see a weapon as historically grounded as the spear be utilized in a genre that is dominated by magic and whips. This gives Saint Slayer a sense of realism, despite the levels being littered with monsters and magical books flying at you. This realism provides a gritty anchor to our own world, which makes Rudiger’s quest that much more immediate and tactical. While the story presents as a straightforward good vs evil narrative used to drive you through the stages, these ties to our own world give the game that extra narrative depth.
The choices Rudiger makes throughout the stages dictate the ending we receive. In my first run through the stages on the normal difficulty, I earned the vanilla ending, which had Rudiger looking over the world and reflecting on his journey. I thought it was a fitting end to his tale. It’s neat that the actions of Rudiger, choosing to save or hurt the people and their wares, are reflected in the different endings.
Gameplay in Saint Slayer
The spear is the focal point of the combat in Saint Slayer. With each boss encounter, you earn a new move or a power-up for the Spear, and unlocking the full moveset kept me excited throughout the 21 levels. The abilities range from a basic spear throw to a powerful charge attack. A nice wrinkle with the spear throw is that we can lodge it into the environment, which makes it a makeshift platform to reach hidden routes, or it can even be used to bypass entire enemy gauntlets. Though finding shortcuts for the stages means sacrificing item pickups or currency along the way.
The economy of Saint Slayer is split between two distinct currencies. Players can collect golden orbs, which can be spent at Lavinia’s shop. Some of the more expensive items in her shop are ones that upgrade maximum health or increase Rudiger’s faith. While the traditional money is used with the merchant characters or civilians scattered throughout the levels, which give items that may help or even hurt.
Combat in Saint Slayer
The combat truly clicked for me once I realized that Saint Slayer forces you to commit to every move. Whether it’s a jump, a Pogo attack, a charge attack, a slide, or even dealing with the recoil of getting hit. There is no bailing out once you execute the move. This gives the combat a sense of weight, making the moveset feel realistic.
The variety of moves on offer is impressive; however, it is finite. My only gripe here is that I wish we were given one or two more moves. Once we get the charge attack, that’s pretty much it. Rudiger can crouch attack or even use the slide as an offensive tool rather than just a means of traversal.
I love a game with this much mechanical depth. When we, as players, are provided a wide variety of moves, the skill ceiling is significantly raised. Which then turns each encounter into a technical test of precision and game knowledge. The moveset shines bright in the boss fights in this game. The boss encounter acts as a skill check of sorts for the moves you have unlocked. They require full utilization of your arsenal to survive their attack patterns.
The bosses in Saint Slayer
There are 7 distinct bosses in this title. And I have two standout boss fights to highlight. The first comes in stage 9 against The Ancient One, an octopus-like creature that forces you to divide your attention between attacking its eyes or taking down the tentacles that are guarding the corners of the stage.
My second favorite is a late-game battle against Beatrix. She weaponizes large enchanted books that move between the left and right sides of the stage. This fight is particularly memorable for me because the encounter put my mastery of the slide and pogo attack to the test.
Chiptune Soundtrack
Accompanying the gorgeous pixel art is a stellar 8-Bit chiptune soundtrack that feels perfectly at home in the NES era. The music captures the gothic dread of the late 17th century while also providing high-energy tunes needed to tackle these challenging stages.
My favorite track in Saint Slayer is the main title theme. It’s high energy and packed with banging melodies that capture the heroic call to action feel of Rudiger’s journey. Overall, the soundtrack ties the entire experience together. It is the perfect finishing touch to Lillymo’s retro vision.
Performance on Steam Deck OLED for Saint Slayer
Technically, the game is sound. I did not encounter any hiccups, crashes, or even bugs in my 11 hours with the game. My playtime with Saint Slayer was spent on the Steam Deck OLED, and aside from not being able to unlock the game’s frame rate, the game ran flawlessly, and I did not see any slowdown or issues. It looked so crispy on the OLED screen, which made the pixel art pop out even more. The title will be available for PS4 and Xbox One as well, so I do not see this game being all that demanding to run. It should be performant on all modern platforms.
Accessibility in Passwords
While I have mentioned that Saint Slayer is unapologetically challenging, it does offer a clever form of accessibility through its password system. By allowing players to record their progress and return to specific stages, the game always respects the player’s time and skill level. This system bridges the gap between the punishing nature of the 8-Bit era and gives it those modern sensibilities that allow for more flexible play sessions. This ensures that anyone, regardless of their side-scrolling expertise, can see this journey through to the end. The different passwords give access to easier or harder runs through the levels. There is even a password that makes the game trivial to finish.
Conclusion for Saint Slayer
Saint Slayer: Spear of Sacrilege is more than just a love letter to the NES games of yesteryear. It is a tight action platformer that stands on its own two feet. Between the gorgeous pixel art, the banging chiptune soundtrack, and a move set that truly rewards mastery. Saint Slayer is a gritty and rewarding experience that captures retro nostalgia while also creating a potential new lane for Lillymo. If you love old-school side-scrolling adventures, do not let this game pass you by.
Score 8.5/10
Pros
- Challenging & rewarding
- Engaging boss fights
- Gorgeous pixel art
- Great soundtrack
- Weighty and grounded moveset
- Solid amount of content for the price
Cons
- Some stages can be brutally challenging
- No unlocked frame rate option for pc
- Wish the moveset was a tad bigger.
A code was provided for the review
