Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is an action / adventure title created by Ninja Theory, the developer responsible for generally well-accepted games Heavenly Sword and Enslaved. These games were narrative-driven games with deep characters and we hoped to see more of that character development and interesting storytelling in this new game.

It’s important to realize that Hellblade was developed to be a very specific kind of game: one that explored unique gameplay narration like an indy title, while maintaining production values (graphics and sound production) that you would expect from more of a AAA game.  From our look at this game, we believe they created a compelling experience that is certainly one of the most beautiful we have ever seen.  Great, but not without flaws, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is an enjoyable game well worth the $29.99 pricetag.

To preface this review, it helps to mention that we very much enjoyed this game. It is clear that the developers wanted gamers to know from the first minute what this game is all about.  At the title screen, there is a disclosure that states, “The game developers, Ninja Studios, consulted with people that suffer from psychosis and doctors that treat people with psychosis.” This gives an early glimpse of what the game will be like. From the opening scene, you can clearly tell that the main character, Senua, is troubled. As the game progresses we learn
just how deeply troubled she is.

Narrative gameplay is a performance – like a play or a movie, and relies on acting to do its job well.  The voice acting and audio are very impressive, with ambient sound playing an important part in how the gamer understands and interacts with Senua’s character.  The game uses the element of voice very effectively in the game, representing the “voices” Senua hears inside her head as a result of her psychosis to help us understand her confusion.  And digital stagedressing such a beautiful details and far draw distance to make the environment real and believable.

Hellblade is a combination of melee combat and puzzle solving. The combat was found to be reminiscent of Dark Souls, and Bloodbourne. The combat is somewhat linear and basic, with dodging, parrying and blocking part of the battle mechanic. Although simple, but not repetitive, we found the melee combat to be quite enjoyable. The puzzles are not overly complex, consisting mainly of runic puzzles that require the player to examine her surroundings to unlock doors or find secret areas, and they add nicely to the progression of the story. The graphics and environment rendering are some of the best we’ve ever seen. The landscapes and attention to detail are well above average.

Many gamers complain that this game is short. While the game is a bit on the short side, it took
us about eight hours to complete, but for the quality and the fact that it has a cheaper price tag at $29.99, Hellblade provides a very satisfactory experience.

One unique gameplay mechanic found in Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is a gameplay element called “rot.” Each time you fail to complete a task, or die in combat, the rot grows. Once the rot reaches Senua’s Head she is overcome with insanity, all saved data is lost and you start over. How’s that for unique!?

It seems that the developers intended for this game to be played over a short period. You can save your progress and come back where you left off, but if the rot reaches Senua’s head, it’s game over.

Overall, we found this game very enjoyable. The voices that are constantly talking to Senua (and at times screaming at her) are very unsettling. A gamer that enjoys jump scares and survival genre would probably really enjoy this game.

We recommend buying this game and giving it a playthrough.  The price is good, it offers unique gameplay in a slightly less than horror narrative world, and it is beautiful thing to behold.

Pick it up, and tell us how you like it!

Cooper Ridenour: ED-Mike Lane

 

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