'Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice' follows Senua, a Viking warrior on her journey through hell, her mission being to free her dead lover's soul from the darkness and evil depths of this nightmarish world that she finds herself in.
The first thing you notice when starting the game is the cinematic immersion this title offers, there is no HUD and the visuals are beautifully rendered, Senua's character design is very detailed and lifelike, which makes her more believable. Audio is one of the highlights of this gem, you are obliged to play the game with some great headphones, this way is the best experience you'll have of the game. During the game, you'll constantly hear voices in Senua's head, they contradict each other, for example one voice encourages you to proceed through a dark hole, while the other is scared of what's in the dark, and begs you to stop. These voices are truly brilliant, they enrich the experience and help deliver the already excellent story to a new level. The sound work here I must say is brilliant, and is the highlight of the game.
Gameplay in Hellblade is very solid overall, there are mainly three gameplay sections so to say, there are the interesting puzzles bit, the walking part; during which Senua speaks about her story and about her darkness and her misfortunes and then there's the combat which in my opinion is great and is actually very fluid and somewhat cool. Then there are some boss fights too which include some horrific badass bosses.
The length of the game is about 8 to 10 hours and I can honestly say that it's enough and that's good, enough for the story to unfold, enough to allow you to enjoy the game without stepping over the line of repetitiveness and overdo its ideas, it doesn't need another couple of hours, its' great just the way it is. There aren't any filler side quests or something of the sorts. The only minor downside which isn't a game design flaw or anything of the likes, is that the game is a digital only game, so not everyone has the privilege to play the game if they don't have an online account.
Considering this is a game launched with half the price of normal games, I'm really satisfied with what I've experienced, and that's a hell of a brilliant nightmarish tale that I won't forget so easily! Must play exclusive!
Senua's Sacrifice was a cathartic mental journey. Can the sequel do the same?
Same, but I think it will be very hard to capture the magic of the first one. It hit so hard and I don't know if the same feeling can go across to a new game.
I like to keep my expectations low for pretty much everything. if you put too much hope on an upcoming release, you will almost surely always be disappointed. It's not different than overhyping a game publicly, just internally.
That being said, I am looking forward to this title and seeing more. What I've seen so far surely looks extremely impressive, and intriguing, but that's all the more reason I don't wanna put too much energy into it til its closer to launch.
MOSHE SWEET WRITES: "As the credits rolled on Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, I found myself frozen, gripping my controller. Then, a feeling of relief washed over me. I have never felt so happy to finish a game before, and not because it was bad or poorly designed, but because Hellblade Senua’s Sacrifice is the most captivating, horrific, and emotionally draining game I have ever played."
GF365: "A well-written and heart-touching video game can bring almost anyone to tears, and it's not always a bad thing. There are countless titles that have executed the concept of tragedy perfectly. Here are the saddest video game stories."
Deadliest was an awesome game. Glad to see it get recognition. I remember seeing it in ebay physically I had to buy it.
NieR: Automata's focus on existentialism hit me so hard, I legitimately had a brief existential crisis from it. It actually had me contemplating life and death. One of the many factors that contributed to Automata overtaking Chrono Trigger as my favorite game of all time. I've been gaming since Bionic Commando on NES. So I never really thought I'd find a game that could usurp Chrono Trigger for me, personally.
wow.
i mean i love the Nier franchise but to contemplate life and death ... maybe a therapist would help? not being funny about it.
TLOU had a couple of touching moments but the entire story wasn't sad to me. But it was a story of survival so I guess the entire predicament of living in those conditions can be considered sad & I guess the same can be said for The Walking Dead..lol. Sekiro,Spec Op & Dark Souls story didn't seem sad to me nor did Nier:Automata. To each their own to how someone interprets a sad story.
What?!
SPOILERS
Dude, the main characters daughter dies in his arms in the first 30 minutes of the game. Then 2 brothers die in front of you in a horrible heartbreaking way. Followed by the conclusion where Joel chooses Ellie’s life and dooms mankind!
😂 Not sad at all
Sarah’s death was sad, didn’t care about the 2 brothers at all, and I fully support Joel’s decision to save Ellie because mankind was beyond saving at that point anyway, so it was more bittersweet than sad, knowing how it would strain Ellie and Joel’s relationship going forward.
For me, the beginning was sad in TLOU everything else was just touching moments. Again as I stated in my initial comment.."To each their own for how someone interprets what is & isn't sad"
It's certainly an interesting idea and has high production values.. But not really a game to enjoy. I don't know, hard to rate this one. But to me the fun factor is like a 6.