Well, now I’m looking forward to one upcoming Xbox exclusive in Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. After reading multiple glowing reviews about Ninja Theory’s Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice and trying to find some form of entertainment during the pandemic, I decided to give it a try and download it from Xbox Game Pass. Even with the critical acclaim, my expectations were not super high. Not only was I blown away the game in its entirety, I am genuinely excited for the Hellblade II and fully understand why Microsoft put the sequel front and center when showing off the Xbox Series X’s graphical power.
The Story
Set during the late 8th century, the game revolves around the journey of Senua, as she tries to save the soul of her dead paramour, Dillion, from the goddess Hela. Most of the story centers on Senua’s efforts to enter Helheim as she overcomes trials involving other figures in Norse mythology such as Surtr and Valravn. However, Senua’s suffers from psychosis so she, and you, do not quite know what is real or an illusion. Senua also hears voices in her head that mostly discourage and doubt her, but cheer her on when she overcomes obstacles. Throughout the story, we learn more about Senua’s mental illness being misunderstood by her father (thinking she was cursed) and eventually used against her in forms of physical and mental abuse, but Dillion was empathetic toward her and they fell in love.
The Gameplay
I was pleasantly surprised by the engaging gameplay of Hellblade due its low budget. The puzzles were unique in their presentation. Through the use of Senua’s psychosis, you have to find patterns in your surrounding environment in order to match patterns marked on doors. Also, you have to look through illusion gates/shrines which will change certain aspects of the environment so you can progress. For example, there may be a broken bridge you need to cross to get to the next area. If you look through the correct illusion gate, the bridge will be repaired. Walking through said gate will make the repaired bridge a part of your permanent environment. Another type of puzzle appears when part of the environment (stairs, bridges, or doorways) looks shattered into pieces, almost as if there’s another dimension. In this case, Senua has to look at the bridge, stair, or doorway from a particular vantage point so it looks intact, and it will repair itself.
One of the consistent criticisms of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is its combat. Some criticized it as repetitive, citing the lack of variety in enemy types and/or Senua’s combat animations. I vehemently disagree. Almost all combat in video games is repetitive, but Hellblade has a very rewarding combat loop. The game only allows you to focus on one enemy at a time. You can harm multiple targets if they are close together, but Senua’s focus is always on one target. Like in real life, you want to keep your enemies in front of you because getting surrounded can lead to a quick death. The voices in her head tell you when to evade, block, or counter. The more you string together combos, parries, blocks, and successful counters, you build up Senua’s focus which slows time and allows for a greater advantage against enemies. The combat overall is visceral as the strikes from both Senua and her enemies are powerful and their growls are animalistic and make you feel like you are fighting something that is not human. Also, the characterization of Senua is well fleshed out. You know she's a warrior as soon as she starts walking. She has this swagger and determination as she walks like she's awaiting the next being who will try to challenge her in combat. Her tribal markings show her dedication to her people and culture.
Background
The development behind this game is truly inspiring. Ninja Theory set out to make an “independent AAA game” with a small team of only twenty developers and a budget of $10 million. Melina Juergens, a German freelance photographer and video editor with no acting experience, lent her voice and preformed motion capture for Senua. Utilizing material bought from IKEA and Amazon, Ninja Theory built makeshift sets and used their own boardroom for motion capture scenes. It all paid off when Ninja Theory turned a profit on the game only three months after release when Hellblade crossed 500,000 units sold. In June 2018, Hellblade crossed one million units sold.
Future
With the backing of Microsoft, I expect Hellblade II to be a larger game with some light RPG elements. Xbox should position the series as a low fantasy alternative to Sony’s God of War. I would love to see Ninja Theory expand on Hellblade’s combat and add a little customization to Senua in terms of upgrading her abilities and adding different armor and weapon sets. With more money in the budget, Hellblade II will no doubt be longer than the 8-10 hours of the first game, maybe somewhere in range of 12-18 hours. When Microsoft first announced their acquisition of Ninja Theory, I wasn’t sure what to be excited about, but Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is definitely on my radar now.
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