diff --git a/tests/blame/simple.c b/tests/blame/simple.c
index c0d91058a..86e8fe264 100644
--- a/tests/blame/simple.c
+++ b/tests/blame/simple.c
@@ -135,18 +135,13 @@ void test_blame_simple__trivial_libgit2(void)
 	git_blame_options opts = GIT_BLAME_OPTIONS_INIT;
 	git_object *obj;
 
-	/* If we can't open the libgit2 repo, just skip this test */
-	if (git_repository_open(&g_repo, cl_fixture("../..")) < 0) {
-		giterr_clear();
-		return;
-	}
-
-	/* This test can't work on a shallow clone */
-	if (git_repository_is_shallow(g_repo))
-		return;
-
-	/* If somehow it is not a valid libgit2 repo, just move along */
-	if (git_revparse_single(&obj, g_repo, "359fc2d") < 0) {
+	/* If we can't open the libgit2 repo or if it isn't a full repo
+	 * with proper history, just skip this test */
+	if (git_repository_open(&g_repo, cl_fixture("../..")) < 0 ||
+		git_repository_is_shallow(g_repo) ||
+		git_revparse_single(&obj, g_repo, "359fc2d") < 0)
+	{
+		printf("NOT INSIDE VALID LIBGIT2 REPO; skipping blame test\n");
 		giterr_clear();
 		return;
 	}