A giant success.
Through the fog and smoke, I see a man bound to an altar, kept alive as a sacrifice to a monstrous giant, a force of horror that surfaces at the first glimpse of nightfall. As I slowly make my way around a rocky cliffside, I see torches dancing around, held by vicious vermin known as the Draugar. Prior to entering these lands, I was warned of their presence, that death would only be the first horror they would inflict upon me. And, as I would clash swords with them time and time again, dodging and breaking their guard, I would instill my own personal horror back at them, showing that I am to be feared and that this time, I wouldn’t be alone.
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice was a game I enjoyed so much that I actually reviewed it twice; first for an outlet I wrote for previously, and then for Analog Stick Gaming when it came time to crown my Game of the Year. It was, and still is, a stunning experience from beginning to end. It was a visual benchmark for its time, a game crafted by just over a dozen people, and one that spoke for mental illness in ways most games simply hadn’t done so before. It also had incredible audio design, using a process called Binaural Audio, simulating voices as they would whisper all around you in a 3D space.
It also saw Melina Juergens, Ninja Theory’s video editor at the time, rise to fame in the lead role, a once temporary measure until an actress would have been cast. However, as Juergens would permanently adopt Senua as her own, her first crack at acting was met with numerous awards, let alone the coveted best performance award at the VGA’s, an award handed to her by none other than the performance capture master himself, Andy Serkis. Melina’s performance was groundbreaking and inspired, emotional and gripping, and somehow, she has managed to top that with Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. Like Senua, Melina too would grow, adapt, and learn.
As I read over my review of the first game, I was legitimately shocked at how much that review can speak for this latest installment, a game that was one of the first announced titles for Microsoft’s newest console, first announced at the 2019 Game Awards. And some four years later as the team worked through Covid, it has finally been gifted to the world, an experience itself built around pushing through challenge and adversity, an adventure that carries with it significant emotional weight across not just Senua, but a whole new cast of companions. Hellblade II is bigger, better, and bolder while retaining just exactly what made the first game so absolutely special.
As reviews have begun to circulate, this effort by Ninja Theory has been met with a very divided opinion. From those who view this as nothing more than an interactive movie to those who are able to genuinely see the depth and artistry to its mechanics and systems. Hellblade II is not to be compared to the likes of God of War, Banishers: Ghost of New Eden, or other third-person action games, but those more crafted to allow the aesthetic and atmosphere to shine alongside simple but elegant combat systems that are not designed to be in-depth, but to be used as tools to see the job done. Hellblade II isn’t about progression systems, weapons, looting, or crafting, it’s a vessel to tell a gripping emotional narrative about mental illness.
Hellblade II takes place some years following the events of the prior game. Senua’s people are being taken by an invading army of Northman, never to be seen again. Allowing herself to be captured to track them to their homeland, the boat is torn apart by vicious storms. As she finds land, she quickly finds a weapon to combat the stragglers who look to reclaim the surviving captives. This continues until you fight the slave master, Thórgester. This battle is your first real test of the combat system, a skill check that can be pushed through through your own capabilities or via an accessibility setting to allow combat to be handled for you.
Despite discussions about how simple the combat is, it has several layers to it that can not only help you succeed but assist in countering your opponent and breaking them down. However, let's discuss a major change to combat encounters first. In Senua's Sacrifice, you would often encounter small groups of enemies, resulting in having to watch your back and tackle them strategically. In Senua's Saga; however, all encounters are one on one affairs. What this does is make fights more focused and cinematic. Battles consist of numerous animations that play out depending on how you vanquish your foe. While battles are one on one, they often transfer right into the next, making a few moments in the game feel like grueling gauntlets that Senua will have to push through.
The transitions between these fights are superb and truly feels like you are being lined up to be tested. Blocking is a solid tactic to survive, but you’ll find yourself knocked down and butchered if you over-rely on it. Instead, timing your block properly to guard break/parry your adversary will result in giving you an opening to deal a collective of your light or heavy attacks. Returning from Senua's Sacrifice is your mirror, a visual indicator of a stored-up ability to slow down time. This comes in handy when you are in dire straits to break through their defenses or even seconds away from being brutally murdered on the ground. However, what is not explained is that you can use this to block incoming thrown axes and spears, returning them to the sender. The first time you do this will be met with shock, but then quickly becomes an obsession to pull it off again.
While you can in a lot of ways take in Hellblade 2 by simply watching it on YouTube or Twitch, largely because of its cinematic nature, experiencing combat is drastically different from simply watching it. The cinematic appeal may make it appear that it can look scripted because of how intricate and choreographed the animations are, but embracing combat and its options results in a game that may live in its simplicity, but excels in its depth. Regardless of the change to make combat a more tighter and focused affair than taking on numerous foes, I feel that this new change allows its mechanics to allow your victories to feel more like triumphs rather than just hack-and-slash fodder.
While combat is improved for the better, my only real gripe with Hellblade II is through the use of its puzzle mechanics. While much of what is here did appear in Senua's Sacrifice in some shape or form, they lack additional creativity to make them stand out as memorable. From using perspective to line up shapes to using your focus to blink objects in and out of reality, these moments are very surface-level ideas without the depth to make you think. The perspective puzzles, for example, have no misdirects, no fakeouts, or additional locations to misguide you. The moment you see shapes floating in an area, you are seconds away from solving it. While the water puzzle is a bit more involving, it only begins to be interesting as it is almost over. I don't think any mechanics here are bad, but they feel a tad shallow and underdeveloped.
As you attempt to track the slavers to their source, you'll encounter a few characters. While you'll first encounter Thórgester, played by Chris O'Reilly, you'll soon be introduced to Fargrimr, brought to life by Gudmundur Thorvaldsson, an actor who is no stranger to games built around Norse mythology as he played both Sigurd and Tyr in Assassin's Creed Valhalla. His role here is crucial to Senua’s progression as she becomes aware that her people were being led to their slaughter as sacrifices for a group of giants, being pacified through these tributes. While there are additional characters who have a degree of screen time here, I really enjoyed Astridr, portrayed by Aldis Amah Hamilton. As she attempts to look after her own people, she initially has doubts about Senua and her ability to take on the Giants. While I was initially hesitant about Senua’s journey being joined by such a band of characters, they quickly grew on me and felt like worthwhile additions.
Each actor does well to fit within the world built here. They have drive, purpose, and a desire to work with Senua, despite being reserved. However, there is a pair of characters who will work for and against Senua for the entirety of her journey: the Furies. This pair of voices plague Senua and are part of her psychosis. While they don't guide Senua during combat like they did in the first game, their use here is to explain Senua’s mental state across the story. There are times where they will cheer for her, degrade her, or simply abandon any chance of Senua working through her situation. Helen Goalen and Abbi Greenland do a great job at the pair, ensuring they are front and center, even talking over other characters to convey how invasive this illness is to Senua.
Audio is a crucial component to Hellblade II and is far and away a technical side to the experience that truly requires an effort by the player to experience it in the right way. Headphones are as vital to the experience as the narrative and the combat are. The Furies will move around Senua’s head, whispering in one ear to move around to the other. The sound design of its world, the dialogue, to the score, all shine and deliver an exceedingly top-tier experience that is worth it alone to take on this adventure.
Senua’s Saga also features an interesting newgame+ offering that will certainly make a second playthrough even more interesting. As you journey alongside your three companions, you’ll get to know them rather well. However, when you complete the game the first time, you can unlock their use as a narrator, allowing for more depth to be displayed for them as well as their perspective on Senua to flourish. It’s an interesting reward for newgame+ that I am not sure I have seen elsewhere.
While Sony has firmly held a strong visual benchmark with many of its first-party games, I don't believe there is a better-looking game on consoles than what Hellblade II currently offers. While the scale of its world is minimal, and the widescreen effect reduces the rendering load, Ninja Theory has produced visuals significantly more impressive than teams twice or three times its size. The incredible motion capture and performances are stunning, with a high level of detail and texture quality that looks breathtaking, even on Xbox Series X, a console many have been waiting to be impressed by.
Like Senua's Sacrifice before it, Saga is a showpiece of technical innovation by an incredibly small team. Its use of mental illness as a narrative device continues to be a core pillar of its experience, tapping into nearly every avenue of combat and narrative. Melina Juergens is joined by a phenomenal cast that each has some fantastic moments to shine. Senua's Saga is a cinematic masterpiece with noticeable blemishes in its puzzles that don't quite measure up to the quality bar raised by nearly every other part of this whole experience. Ninja Theory has proven to be a critical studio for Xbox, showcasing incredible talent that may lead Xbox well into the future.
Developer - Ninja Theory.
Publisher - Xbox Game Studios.
Released - May 21st, 2024.
Available On - Xbox Series X/S, GeForce Now, Windows, Cloud Gaming.
Rated - (M) - Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language.
Platform Reviewed - Xbox Series X.
Review Access - Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II was downloaded and reviewed off Xbox Game Pass.
Jeff is the original founder of Analog Stick Gaming. His favorite games include The Witcher III, the Mass Effect Trilogy, Hi-Fi Rush, Stellar Blade, Hellbade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and the Legend of Heroes series, especially Trails of Cold Steel III & IV.