I beat it some time ago but I must say that it was an incredible journey and left a lasting impression on me. I truly hope to see more developers tackling heavy subject matter in mature and creative ways such as this and them embracing the "AA" game space and pricing their games relative to that. NT have shown that they are among the top talent in terms of art, narrative and graphics with Hellblade. I REALLY enjoyed the combat; it most reminded me of a more simplistic Onimusha but I thought it was really competent. The only flaw with combat would be fighting 4-5 attackers and trying to deal with 2-3 attacks launched simultaneously. Great game though and I think NT's best, with only Enslaved really in contention for that title.
I beat it some time ago but I must say that it was an incredible journey and left a lasting impression on me. I truly hope to see more developers tackling heavy subject matter in mature and creative ways such as this and them embracing the "AA" game space and pricing their games relative to that. NT have shown that they are among the top talent in terms of art, narrative and graphics with Hellblade. I REALLY enjoyed the combat; it most reminded me of a more simplistic Onimusha but I thought it was really competent. The only flaw with combat would be fighting 4-5 attackers and trying to deal with 2-3 attacks launched simultaneously. Great game though and I think NT's best, with only Enslaved really in contention for that title.
I kinda liked the problematic positioning when fighting lots of enemies at once. It sort of brings the paranoia Senua has into the combat and emphasizes her lack of control over her fears.
I agree that it's mechanically not an ideal approach for an action game, but I like it for this game. As a combat system in a vacuum, it is a flaw for sure.
I played Mass Effect Andromeda after playing through Hellblade twice. The contrast couldn't be more striking, in terms of inspiration, risk-taking, creativity, and impact.
I haven't played it for weeks, but Hellblade is still on my mind. It produced a shift not only in my perception of games, but in terms of the kind of fiction I'm reading, too. There were probably games that I enjoyed more than Hellblade this year, but none that had as big of an impact on me and my perceptions.
I've missed lorestones. Will I be able to select chapters after beating the game to go back and find them or will I have to do an entirely new playthrough?
I've missed lorestones. Will I be able to select chapters after beating the game to go back and find them or will I have to do an entirely new playthrough?
I've missed lorestones. Will I be able to select chapters after beating the game to go back and find them or will I have to do an entirely new playthrough?
Man, some of the final sections of the game are evocative of The Descent. Some brilliant use of audio, too. This was a game unlike anything else I've ever played. Bravo, NT.
I feel kind of stupid right now. I really like the atmosphere, the sound, the look, even the fighting. But I don't get the riddles at all. I just run around and focus on everything that looks interesting and most of the time I noticed that I opened a wall or something and I can go on, but I don't know how or why.
That's why I am running around in circles now, hoping to find anything. It's not exactly fun but I'm really sure it's my fault.
I feel kind of stupid right now. I really like the atmosphere, the sound, the look, even the fighting. But I don't get the riddles at all. I just run around and focus on everything that looks interesting and most of the time I noticed that I opened a wall or something and I can go on, but I don't know how or why.
That's why I am running around in circles now, hoping to find anything. It's not exactly fun but I'm really sure it's my fault.
On the rune puzzles: if you're close to one you will start to see the symbol appearing everywhere around you as a hint. If you don't see that, it means you're not in an area that has one. It makes the puzzles easier to solve.
It amazes me that so many people forgive the repetitiveness of the actual gameplay. While I love the world, the game feels like a chore. The door puzzles and combat stand out to me. It's the same stuff from beginning to end, with very slight variations.
I guess it's not my cup of tea, but since all the praise it gets here, I expected something else.
On the rune puzzles: if you're close to one you will start to see the symbol appearing everywhere around you as a hint. If you don't see that, it means you're not in an area that has one. It makes the puzzles easier to solve.
Thanks, but that was not the Problem. I just misunderstood the empty "gates" to open new paths. I get it now. I feel even more dumb now, but I finally get it.
Now that I can reflect, I actually enjoyed the combat. A bit repetitive, sure, but there was an enjoyable rhythm to it for me. On the (MAJOR SPOILER)
last fight, I ended up trying to beat it for a long time until I thought that it might just be impossible. Once I realized why, it was a huge moment for me. What an ending.
Finished it twice! Extraordinarily memorable game. Ninja Theory did a wonderful job respectively handling delicate subject matter, and it never felt exploitive, or overwrought. Melina Juergens did some beautiful work with Senua, there were so many cathartic moments with her character. Senua's fears, her fury, it all felt raw, but never melodramatic. The rest of the voice cast was superb, too, not a dud voice/character anywhere.
I'm usually a little iffy on 'it was all a dream!' reveals, but in this case, for Senua it was very, very real, and her working through her past during psychosis. I was even happier with it on a replay, there is so much detail packed in backing this up from the very beginning. When I realized what was going on (and I had thought from the beginning there was a chance they would go in that direction, but also wanted it to be 'real', too) the thought of Surtr's area fucked me up the most, because of Senua's mother. Of course, on a replay, yep, you see snippets of Senua's mother every time you light a fire sacrifice. I love that there is a point to every dungeon (for lack of a better word). Areas don't feel like they are there just for the sake of it, whether it is representations of elements of Senua's past or character, or flashbacks to previous incidents of psychosis. In retrospect, Hellblade is a very tight and concise game. I loved the mirror image parallels in Hela's and Senua's designs. I should have picked up on it the first time you see one of Hela's gates, but no. When Hela was revealed up close with Senua's face, I did a very undignified double-take.
I remember thinking the first time through, wow, Senua killed SURTR first up? And he's just hanging out in this old abandoned village? Woah. The more grounded art direction for the world makes a bit more sense too, after realizing it's a creation of Senua's mid-psychosis. I love that the voices don't disappear at the end, either, but it's apparent that Senua is now in a better place, after working through her grief at the loss of Dillion, and her guilt from his death and all the abuse her father put her and her mother through. re: the voices, it was a nice twist, just before Hela, that it was now the voices in Senua's head begging at her to stop, as opposed to the other times where it's Senua pleading to the voices. The music during the fights in Hela's area was amazing, too. Lots of great music throughout, actually, though Valravn's song still put me on edge, even on the replay.
Senua's relationship with Dillion was so beautifully done, and felt surprisingly poignant. It was really apparent how much of a lifeline he would have been for Senua, and it never felt trite. I also thought they did a good job building a connection with Dillion and the player, too, because he helps you and Senua out, especially that Silent Hill-esque mini-level. I was not excited to replay that!
After getting all the lorestones - fantastic work from Druth's actor - I do feel like there is a sequel set-up, and especially with the final dialogue. I have no idea how that would work, though.
I will say, the lyrics to the song played over the end credits completely ruined the mood for me, even though the melody was fine. It just completely threw me out of the game tonally, especially when the ending had such a punch.
I think it's worth a mention - because of the fear of permadeath, I never really used the block on my first play through, because I knew I could dodge better than I could block, and didn't want to mess up too much. The second time after a bit more practice
and realizing permadeath wasn't a thing
, I tried to only block, and feel like the combat system was far more designed around blocking, especially when you've got enemies in front and behind you. It's satisfying when you time a block correctly with an enemy attacking from behind, and it does make crowd control so much easier. That being said, fighting in a small space was never not mildly annoying, even though blocking consistently alleviated some of the irritation. So, in some ways, the fear of permadeath meant that I experimented less with the mechanics, which was a shame. On the other hand, I've never really had another game (even over the Soulsborne games) where I've feared death so much. In that regard, even the smallest skirmish could feel really dangerous.
I loved the illusion puzzles - they were mostly pretty straightforward, and there were some satisfying ones. The game giving you clues when you were nearby helped a ton, obviously, or it would have been a lot more overwhelming.
Not a spoiler, but it took me an hilariously long time to click that Senua was Celtic, which is fucking hilarious, because Senua has a Celtic knot on her tunic, and I used to have a Celtic brooch pretty close to Senua's for Irish dancing. I think I went into the game expecting her to be a viking warrior, so that's all I saw. Yep, very smart. Needless to say, the beginning of the second playthrough made a lot more sense, d'oh.
The second time around I paid more attention to the contrasts between
Celtic and Norse art styles, too. Even all the way into Gram's dungeon, there was still both of their details in the architecture. It's also retrospectively a clue that what Senua's seeing is something created by her own mind.
I did have two glitches (?) during boss fights on my second playthrough -
they weren't game breaking, but they did have me panicking. The last 1/4 of Gram's boss fight was entirely in the dark, there was no light for Senua to stand in. Focus helped a little, but it was harder to build up focus, because I was just dodging and swinging madly. I have no recollection of this happening the first time I fought him, but I could be wrong. When it came to the brief boss rush before Hela, I fought Surtr, then Valravn and Gram showed up simultaneously, then Gram thankfully disappeared, but then Surtr showed up again at the end. The first time through the bosses showed up one and a time, in order.
Speaking of boss fights,
Valravn
and
Gram
are definitely two of the most memorable boss fights for me in any game, especially considering all that leads up to them. It was interesting using my Playstation gold headset for my first playthrough, and just a cheap pair of bud earphones for the second playthrough. For
Gram
in particular - I had no problems hearing his sound cues the first time around, I found him really straightforward, I had an easier time with him that with
Valravn
. The second time around, I was a lot clumsier without the better headphones, despite knowing his tells and cues, and had a harder time because I couldn't hear him quite as well.
Again, Hellblade extraordinarily memorable experience, that really did stand out to me in a year of already so many amazing games. Congrats to everyone at Ninja Theory, for creating Senua, and taking us on such a powerful journey with her.
ETA: Also, there were some really powerful lines of dialogue, too - even the second time around, hearing '
you will step into the lair of the beast, you will look it in the eye, and you will go to war
' was glorious. '
You cannot overcome suffering if you refuse to look at it
' was another. I'm not sure if this is a shortened version of an already existing quote, but
'the greatest/hardest battles are fought in the mind'
was another one. Hopefully I've remembered them correctly.
Great post. I really liked the ending and am playing through it again from that perspective. So much to notice that takes on a different meaning when doing so.
Interesting that you played through without much parrying at first. I used dodging for oh-shit situations and positioning, but the first time I did a perf parry I was sold on the tactic as an offensive and CC tool. I actually got beat a few times by relying on it too much around multiple foes hehe. Got greedy.
I have a feeling that the ending credits song has a story behind it. I doubt it was chosen on merit. The lyrics and vocal performance are questionable at best, which makes me think it was someone close to the project.
I was too busy crying the first time through to notice it overly-much (yeah, yeah laugh it up!)
It amazes me that so many people forgive the repetitiveness of the actual gameplay. While I love the world, the game feels like a chore. The door puzzles and combat stand out to me. It's the same stuff from beginning to end, with very slight variations.
I guess it's not my cup of tea, but since all the praise it gets here, I expected something else.
Just beat this a few minutes ago. Was not for me and easily the worse of the Ninja Theory games. I'm typically an experience over gameplay kinda guy but neither garnered a reaction out of me. Really regret buying this.
I feel like this game should be the entirety of that thread about re-naming "video games."
When people think about a game, they think fun. The medium of interactive software can encompass so much more, and Hellblade is a perfect example of that, imo. I never found it "fun" to play, but I was 100% engaged the whole time, more so than most games I have played. Much more.
There are lots of reasons we might be engaged by interactive software. Fun is only one of them.
As someone with a family member who is paranoid schizophrenic the game did make an impact on me story wise, however the gameplay was kinda lacking but it wasn't a complete turnoff, I'm glad this game exists and I played it.
Great post. I really liked the ending and am playing through it again from that perspective. So much to notice that takes on a different meaning when doing so.
Interesting that you played through without much parrying at first. I used dodging for oh-shit situations and positioning, but the first time I did a perf parry I was sold on the tactic as an offensive and CC tool. I actually got beat a few times by relying on it too much around multiple foes hehe. Got greedy.
I have a feeling that the ending credits song has a story behind it. I doubt it was chosen on merit. The lyrics and vocal performance are questionable at best, which makes me think it was someone close to the project.
I was too busy crying the first time through to notice it overly-much (yeah, yeah laugh it up!)
I feel really stupid for not experimenting more with the block/parry on the first playthrough, but I was really nervous about dying! I enjoyed the combat so much more on the second playthrough, the block/parry added such a great flow to the game. Especially in boss fights - so satisfying.
I'd say you're right about the end credits music, too. The melody itself is really catchy, I was just so astonished from going from such a poignant end with the game to slightly more clunkier lyrics. (Ha, I teared up, too, s'all good.)
Upto 165k sold on steam and hopefully a decent PS4 sales number probably means they have easily hit their target . Hopefully this inspires other devs to take a similar approach to this type of indie AAA.
I'm really blown away by this game. I'm shocked at how invested I've become in seeing Senua to the very end.
I do see the repetition in the puzzles, but I've seen a lot worse. The story, graphics, audio and presentation are so strong, I only notice if I play for more than a couple of hours - and considering this is suppose to be a short game, that's ok by me. Combat never gets old imo.
I think I'm nearing the end:
i just opened the first gate in the tower, being chased by the beast that attacks in darkness.
Do I have a lot longer to go?
Last thought:
I haven't been this psyched to kill a boss! Once you defeat the 2 gods (Surtr and the other guy), and arrive at the bridge with your 'dark side' egging you on... that was pure adrenaline!
I'm about 2 hours in and the puzzles are absolutely killing the game for me, they're so confusing, maybe I'm retarded I don't know but the one I'm doing now just seems ridiculous (where there's loads of ravens), I keep doing a piece but it never ends and now I'm stuck, it feels like I've been on it for 30 minutes and I'm so bored. Everything else about the game I love, but fuck these puzzles.
Edit: Finally did it, I really hope these puzzles get less tedious but I assume it'll be the opposite.
I actually enjoyed the combat a great deal. The hits have sufficient impact, the animation transitions are fantastic, and even the most mundane fights feel choreographed. That being said, the tail end of the game really makes the lack of variety and repetitiveness apparent — which ultimately drags it down.
I'm finding it very boring, I just killed the first boss who took about 5 minutes of wailing on to die, it felt like he was never going to fall over. I really enjoy the art, sound, story, so the cinematic experience you could say but the actual game itself is as dull as it gets. Plus the camera sensitivity is so low, I've tried with KB+M and DS4 and it just feels off. I'm plodding on as I have nothing better to do but this is a big disappoint so far, I've followed the development of this game since the start and I really thought I'd love it.
Edit: And the puzzles aren't helped by how picky the game is, I looked at the same tree about 50x before it triggered and accepted that I was pixel perfect on it.
Easily one of my favorite games this year. Every minute of this game is so impactful.
Like I said previously - I get some of the complaints about how often the puzzles repeat, but I feel it's such a minor complaint in the grand scheme of this game.
REALLY hope this isn't the last we see of Senua. Would be a shame not to use this character in future adventures.
I did have two glitches (?) during boss fights on my second playthrough -
they weren't game breaking, but they did have me panicking. The last 1/4 of Gram's boss fight was entirely in the dark, there was no light for Senua to stand in. Focus helped a little, but it was harder to build up focus, because I was just dodging and swinging madly. I have no recollection of this happening the first time I fought him, but I could be wrong. When it came to the brief boss rush before Hela, I fought Surtr, then Valravn and Gram showed up simultaneously, then Gram thankfully disappeared, but then Surtr showed up again at the end. The first time through the bosses showed up one and a time, in order.
What a spectacular game, really unapologetic in its design and SO atmospheric. The mythological bits are nice in that it doesn't feel like just retracing recorded myth, but rather a take on what Norse mythology must have seemed like to an outsider, or victim.
More of this stuff, and I'd be more than okay with paying full price for it.
I want to see more games like this, small teams, quality, good pricing. I didn't like the puzzles though, they are not difficult or anything, it's more to do with my lack of patience or tolerance for that sort of stuff these days, I feel they are a hindrance to the overall experience.
Everything else about it I liked, great visuals, good combat, interesting characters and tense atmosphere. After Heavenly Sword, I have kind of grown a soft spot for them over the years and I really enjoyed Enslaved and DMC, can't wait to see what they do next.
Just finished it. Didn't have fun, it was tedious, repetitive, annoying but oh my god I loved it! It hit very close to home for me and it was the first time I've seen a game accurately reflect my own mental health issues (which I've thankfully conquered). Not the most enjoyable game I've played this year but probably my favourite so far.
Graphically it's a portent. But unfortunately is another release that more being a game it's a tech demo with a history on it where the gameplay becomes repetitive and on-rails (as well as Ryse and The Order). This should be a genre by now. "Tech Story" or something.
The story is a bit entangled but it succeeds in hooking you up.
If we talk about if this deliver the complete nextgen experience is well below the 4 kings, The Witcher 3, Horizon ZD, Uncharted 4 and FF XV.
I finished this last night and enjoyed it quite a lot. I never found anything to be too repetitive, probably because I think it does a great job of giving you levels focused on each gameplay element. The boss fights were awesome. And the story and presentation were well done. It's an experience I don't think I'll ever forget. Up there with Nier for my game of the year.
Im at the puzzle with three runes apparently right before a boss. I cannot get the gate to open at all. Has to be a bug...already restarted the game / system etc. Hoping i wont have to start again.
Good article from a guy who suffered from anxiety and depression, who found in Hellblade a character that symbolized his struggle. Subtitled "Why Senua's Sacrifice is the most important game I've played this year."
