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10 Minutes of New Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice Gameplay

I really, really, really don't like third person action games with melee combat that use this camera. It honestly only works for games that are focused on being slow and tense, like RE4 or other survival horror action games. It's so close you can hardly see what's around you and it adds nothing to the combat. Cinematic value < gameplay.
 

Tankard

Member
First video that actually got me a bit worried about the game, this combat, i don't know, feels a bit off for some reason.

Still buying the game though.
 

NewDust

Member
Say what you will about the combat (baby's first Dark Souls meets For Honor), it's not the reason I'm interested in the game. Setting, story, visuals and definitly audio all seem to be really great. Interested how this will sound if I route the audio through PSVR for 3D surround.

I really, really, really don't like third person action games with melee combat that use this camera. It honestly only works for games that are focused on being slow and tense, like RE4 or other survival horror action games. It's so close you can hardly see what's around you and it adds nothing to the combat. Cinematic value < gameplay.

The close camera very much seems intentional to connect more with Senua, figuratively being more inside her head. Lack of visual awareness get's remedied by audio ques from the voices inside Senua's head.
 
D

Deleted member 325805

Unconfirmed Member
The combat does look like it over stayed it's welcome in this clip.

My thoughts as well, coupled with a long puzzle that took the rest of the video it just wasn't that exciting. However, it does look very promising and there's a good chance I'll be buying it just to support their reasonable pricing policy.
 

Jashobeam

Member
first time seeing gameplay and I'm super disappointed, I thought it was going to be a hack'n slash game like heavenly sword. I haven't been keeping up to date with the game and just assumed it was a hack'n slash game based on the devs history.
 

hey_it's_that_dog

benevolent sexism
My thoughts as well, coupled with a long puzzle that took the rest of the video it just wasn't that exciting. However, it does look very promising and there's a good chance I'll be buying it just to support their reasonable pricing policy.
It's a shorter game with a lower price. I don't see what's especially reasonable about their pricing that it should be rewarded on that basis alone. It would be suicide for them to charge $60, so it's not like they're pricing it at 30 as a favour to gamers.

I don't mean to single you out, lots of people have remarked on the price as though it's, well, remarkable, and I don't think it is.


On the general topic, the character animation looks quite good, but they really shouldn't have opened with an enemy that doesn't react to your attacks at all. That's an interest killer.
 

Arklite

Member
The sound design is way too heavy handed, at least with headphones. The constant left right whipsering loses its mystique and gets annoying almost immediately. The general theme does give me a Soul Reaver spectral plane vibe though.
 

Duxxy3

Member
Looks good to me.

edit: It won't be comparable to God of War. Not even remotely close in terms of budget and studio size.
 

hey_it's_that_dog

benevolent sexism
The sound design is way too heavy handed, at least with headphones. The constant left right whipsering loses its mystique and gets annoying almost immediately. The general theme does give me a Soul Reaver spectral plane vibe though.
Hard to believe the creators of Heavenly Sword don't understand dramatic subtlety.
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
I really, really, really don't like third person action games with melee combat that use this camera. It honestly only works for games that are focused on being slow and tense, like RE4 or other survival horror action games. It's so close you can hardly see what's around you and it adds nothing to the combat. Cinematic value < gameplay.

God Hand showed us this line of thinking isn't true in the PS2 era.
 
God Hand showed us this line of thinking isn't true in the PS2 era.

God Hand also had this man behind it though

220px-Shinji_Mikami_April_2013_3.jpg
 

hey_it's_that_dog

benevolent sexism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOE2BVRCUkM

how would you guys say this looks compared to God of War in terms of graphics and gameplay


i have a feeling this will be the new comparison battle, seeing as both games take place in Norse Mythology
I think it's very funny in a tragic way that Ninja Theory have once again, by chance, made an action game that will be compared with SSM's juggernaut franchise.

Visually Hellblade looks quite good for a game that surely has a fraction of the budget of GOW. NT's artists have always been talented. Ultimately I think the comparisons will be unfair and unhelpful, and largely based on superficial characteristics of the two games. Aside from setting and camera I have to assume they'll be pretty different experiences.
 

Lux R7

Member
I love the atmosphere and i already love her. The combat looks ok but i have to try it to be sure. However, i'll support this game, even if i'll only be able to play it in september.
 
I think it's very funny in a tragic way that Ninja Theory have once again, by chance, made an action game that will be compared with SSM's juggernaut franchise.

Visually Hellblade looks quite good for a game that surely has a fraction of the budget of GOW. NT's artists have always been talented. Ultimately I think the comparisons will be unfair and unhelpful, and largely based on superficial characteristics of the two games. Aside from setting and camera I have to assume they'll be pretty different experiences.

the production values are obviously different

plus how long is Hellblade suppose to be i heard its only like a 4 hour game or something?
 

Z3M0G

Member
Will there be smaller enemies that actually REACT to being slashed by a sword or kicked?

Edit: Ok, things do get much better...

So did For Honor do it better first?

Edit: I'm skipping through the video and actually like some of the freaky images I'm seeing... I think I want to play this.
 

jett

D-Member
Combat looks really simple, plus the cinematic hallway game stuff seems to be taken to an extreme. This game has never looked great to me, and that perception has yet to be changed.
 
D

Deleted member 325805

Unconfirmed Member
It's a shorter game with a lower price. I don't see what's especially reasonable about their pricing that it should be rewarded on that basis alone. It would be suicide for them to charge $60, so it's not like they're pricing it at 30 as a favour to gamers.

I don't mean to single you out, lots of people have remarked on the price as though it's, well, remarkable, and I don't think it is.

They've said it's 6-8 hours which falls right into my perfect game length (6-10), I am of the firm belief games are too long now, more often than not filled to the brim with filler content which has no other purpose than to inflate the game length so they can charge £40 for it. It's refreshing to see a dev opt for quality over quantity and price accordingly.

(Yes, there are exceptions but not every game is the Witcher 3)
 
I don't mean to be negative

but has Ninja Theory ever had good combat?


DmC is probably their best combat game, but if i remember Itsuno and Capcom pretty much had to teach the guy's at NT how to make functional combat for that
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
Always an exception or two.

Just pointing out this kind of camera placement and combat system can easily work and it happened nearly a decade ago. Its not the exception, its the level at which other games doing similar are judged.

God Hand also had this man behind it though

220px-Shinji_Mikami_April_2013_3.jpg

Yeah and that doesn't really matter to my point. God Hand is the standard and Hell Blade has a lot to live up to. That said its also a $30 game that is kind of an experimental project for the team so I'm willing to cut them some slack.
 
The camera is way too close, they seem to have their own form of witch time but make it look boring, the big guys just stand there when they are hit, there seems to be no weight to any of the slashes, and everyone takes way too many hits to die. Outside of combat there is way too much "walk while the camera focuses on interesting stuff" and the puzzles are really simple.

Hard pass if this is what the entire game is like.
 

@MUWANdo

Banned
It's kinda insane how little know-how they seem to have retained from DmC. Are the combat designers from that game working on this one at all?
 
Yeah, I had feared it was gonna be more of a tech demo/game director making a movie-feel to it. I thought we were pass that point in the industry. Especially for senior devs like them.
 

jett

D-Member
I don't mean to be negative

but has Ninja Theory ever had good combat?


DmC is probably their best combat game, but if i remember Itsuno and Capcom pretty much had to teach the guy's at NT how to make functional combat for that

DmC's combat is good, I think I would still consider the best combat in a western action game. Itsuno and company did go and advice them on how to do things right, but I don't see how that's a negative. It means they were willing to learn.
 

Prithee Be Careful

Industry Professional
This is giving The Order: 1886 vibes - technically stunning but rote, linear and heavily scripted throughout. Hope I'm wrong, but visuals like this rarely come without trade-offs.

Hope I'm wrong of course, the team seems really dedicated to the project and have clearly poured heart and soul into.
 
The graphics in this are ridiculously good for a mid tier digital only game, I'm very impressed!

The atmosphere was cool in this clip and whilst the combat gameplay seemed relatively simple, it still looks more than serviceable for a likely 4-6 hour game (need more of those)

I dunno, I'm cautiously optimistic.
Would definitely like to give it a go at release or later down the line this year.

Edit: oh the game is meant to be 8 hours long not 4-6. Not the worst for £25 or a bit lower.
 

Ahasverus

Member
They really need to add combat feedback, that's the only thing they need.

Make the enemy shrug a little, add a wound system or something like that. That and make some animations quicker and less floaty (especially the jump + slash one, it looks like she entered the matrix stopping mid air).

Boom, game saved.
 

danmaku

Member
This is giving The Order: 1886 vibes - technically stunning but rote, linear and heavily scripted throughout. Hope I'm wrong, but visuals like this rarely come without trade-offs.

Hope I'm wrong of course, the team seems really dedicated to the project and have clearly poured heart and soul into.

That's exactly what Hellblade wants to be, but being sold at half the price makes the trade off more reasonable. Assuming the story is better than The Order.
 

Duxxy3

Member
They really need to add combat feedback, that's the only thing they need.

Make the enemy shrug a little, add a wound system or something like that. That and make some animations quicker and less floaty (especially the jump + slash one, it looks like she entered the matrix stopping mid air).

Boom, game saved.

After the initial "tank" enemy. They started to react to her attacks.
 

prudislav

Member
the sure hit the right nails for the overall "constrained" feeling of the main char .... audio and visuals is pretty great and on point , not really fan of the camera (but i guess thats part of that constrained "mental disorder" feeling)
Gameplay looks a bit better than i expected .. might be pretty fine for such low price
 
Just pointing out this kind of camera placement and combat system can easily work and it happened nearly a decade ago. Its not the exception, its the level at which other games doing similar are judged.



Yeah and that doesn't really matter to my point. God Hand is the standard and Hell Blade has a lot to live up to. That said its also a $30 game that is kind of an experimental project for the team so I'm willing to cut them some slack.

God Hand is a beat 'em up, similar to Anarchy Reigns. Way different than what this is going for.
 
Like this?

Sure, there could be more, but as someone who's just come off 60 hours of Nioh, it doesn't look any worse than other games on the market. There actually looks to be more feedback than usual on smaller enemies.

The weird thing is that games like Dark Souls have no real visual feedback for some enemies, and they're heavily praised for their combat.

Sound design is far more important.
 

gafneo

Banned
The combat system is tried & true. I just don't like stabbing enemies that look human more than a few times with a deadly weapon. Blood is something that would help sales for such a drab looking visual style that appeals to a small demographic. The gore effects are very dull & unrealistic. The only selling point is the mocap work.
 

drotahorror

Member
People bitch about feedback but don't say a word when it comes to Dark Souls. I love the Souls games but rarely does a boss show feedback from weapon hits.

I think the game looks ok though. I hope you can sever limbs, and I wished the bodies stayed on the ground. Maybe they're just apparitions in her mind or something. Also I love bullet time so that gets a plus from me. I also like how the voices in her head tell her things about awareness (behind you!). Very minimal UI, looks clean.
 
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