Hellblade
More gameplay for Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is out there and it has a weird showing of where this Hellblade game is going
Another massive title we all knew was going to get a showing at The Game Awards had to be Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2. The first title in the series has been winning all kinds of awards out there and Ninja Theory has been digging in deep to give us all more for when it hits the PC and Xbox Series X|S in 2024. Now, we get another massive showing of the game and how it will continue Senua’s story even more. Kick back and get ready for some more action out there for Hellblade II and, maybe, see how it will be trying to push envelopes once again so it can run the award circuit the entire year it launches.
Here we get to see Senua doing just what she has done many times before in the various videos for Hellblade II and from what we had in the original game. More of the combat, screaming, crawling through caves, screaming, wandering weird new locations, and then there is the screaming. For a Viking badass, Senua sure is doing a lot more screaming in this video, and not in the war cry kind of way. Something is going on inside of Senua if you do remember what Hellblade was all about, so maybe this is just coming to a fever-pitch for the character and we are starting to see more of the cracks out there. Unless it is meant to show off something else…
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II — Gameplay
In-game cinematics and gameplay captured by Ninja Theory on Xbox Series X, with music by Heilung.
The sequel to the award-winning Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, sees Senua return in a brutal journey of survival through the myth and torment of Viking Iceland. Intent on saving those who have fallen victim to the horrors of tyranny, Senua faces a battle of overcoming the darkness within and without.
The trailer is best experienced with headphones.
So, after seeing this new footage for Hellblade II, something is starting to not sit right with me regarding how the IP is being treated now that Microsoft owns the studio. There is a whole lot more action in this game and it feels like there is less of a focus on the mental illness side of it all. If you do not remember, Hellblade was winning awards not only for the audio design and visuals but for a solid representation of mental illness in the character. A representation that the media usually gets completely wrong to shock audiences. All of that is starting to feel like it will be taking a back seat with each new trailer we have been getting. The screams no longer feel like it is Senua fighting the thoughts in her head but more of anger and frustration with the world instead. I hope that is not the case, but ever since they moved in with the new business daddy, it feels like we are getting just a female Viking going through the motions and not one dealing with some serious issues.
Are you starting to get the same vibes as I am for Hellblade II or is it all in how they are marketing the game instead? Do you find they are leaning into more of the action side of it all and leaving out the bigger story we have had? Will all the screaming be more at Senua’s mental state instead of being upset by the outside forces causing pain instead? Wander on into the comment section below to discuss this and try to make some better sense of it all. There is more to come for Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, so please keep on coming back here to see and hear all of that. Maybe we are wrong and the marketing is just skewed a bit. Maybe we are right and need to make sure we keep the publishers in check when it comes to offering up representation and art out there instead of just profit.
