Senua's Saga: Hellblade II - Review
After going to Hel and back, Senua has a new task in front of her. Forcibly being taken to the North Lands as a Slave, can she save her people as their leader? Or will she fall in the shadow of her father, and succumb to the voices that torment her?
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is the direct sequel following Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, once again putting us in the shoes and mind of Senua, a broken Celtic warrior, who is on a journey of survival in Viking Iceland. She aims to free her people from the slavery, and to end the tyranny of the people behind it. Constantly berated by the Furies, she must battle against not only the slavers, but also herself and the very dead themselves. In a land plagued by giant’s, she has her work cut out for her.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is an incredibly intense, oppressive, and dramatic experience. It explores themes around psychosis, grief, and rage, as well as a plethora of other heavy themes throughout this journey. Rather than a battle within herself, she now is forced to experience a world that she cannot fully trust. Ninja Theory have gone to tremendous lengths to develop a strong narrative experience that also thoroughly explores these themes with a careful hand but also doesn’t shy away from the difficulty that people suffer. Senua experiences a form of psychosis, which results in seeing things that others don’t. Hearing voices, which are represented by the constantly talking, belittle and gaslighting furies.
This is a game that must be played with headphones to fully appreciate the detail put into bringing these themes to life. The game suggests this upon opening, but this shouldn’t be a suggestion. The full 3D Binaural sound design is masterful here. The clever crafting and merging of the different voices, the sounds of the world, the narrator herself on top of the music crescendos during action sequences. Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II has one of the most impressive and immersive audio designs ever. From the opening sequence of the game you are thrust into this aural dreamscape. The Furies sound like they are nattering and gnawing away in the back of your mind at all times, very rarely leaving you a moment to think for yourself. Their voices cutting through the suffocating heaviness and muting effect of being underwater.
This audio design ties perfectly into the story, and the greater analysis into psychosis as a whole. Similarly but unlike the first game, this is a journey through the eyes of a bias character. Senua sees and interacts with the world in a way that nobody else can. This results in a story that makes you question the truth of it at all times. Can you truly trust the Furies as they argue between themselves, spend some moments saying you’ll fail, only then to praise themselves when you succeed? Your allies, they all see you in their own way, but can you trust them? Is the understanding of one truly representative of the way he sees you, or are you being deceived into thinking he sees Senua for who she is? There is a constant thread of hope throughout the game, but it reminds you constantly that even though Senua can fight against that of which she is seeing and hearing, it doesn’t mean that she is truly seeing things clearly. Suffice it to say, there is an incredibly poignant and interesting narrative to be experienced here, one that should be enjoyed without any precluding understanding. This is a story that should be played completely blind.
The combat is wildly improved over the original game. Though it’s relatively simplistic in nature, it feels far more fluid and responsive than the first game did. This is probably a case of this game having 69 days in performance capture shoots, compared to the 2 days of the first game. The game does a good job of making the one-on-one duels never feel out of place. The death of one enemy seamlessly leads into the next, with fluid mini-cutscenes of enemies leaping on you, biting at your neck, punching you or knocking you to the ground. The intense musical arrangement during combat makes the encounters feel far more tense than they realistically are, but it’s a further testament of the care put into making the game a complete and immersive experience.
Both Hellblade games are visually impressive. Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II however is a far more approachable game visually. Instead of the oppressive bleak and washed out black and grey world of the first game, we are given a detailed and interestingly look at 10th century Iceland. It’s incredible how well Ninja Theory have been able to make what is mainly rocky mountains and grey stone, into unique and detailed environments with a surprising amount of life and colour added in. The wind and snow, the spattering of rain on the rocks themselves, the exploding of fire and flames from the earth. There is far more to see in this game than the original, with a much more approachable colour palette. The decision to use an open sky makes the game a lot more approachable. It is far easier to see what is happening at all times, and to actually experience the hallucinations and manipulations of the world through Senua’s eyes when you are able to physically see everything.
Nothing in the world is perfect, however. Whilst the combat has been improved, and the general environmental puzzle solving is far improved over the first game, there are moments that feel a little underwhelming. Particularly in searching sections when you are trying to open rune gates, there is maybe not enough environmental direction to help you figure out where you are going. This in turn can sort of take you out of the immersion the game has done its best to put you in, when even the Furies stop talking to you because you’ve missed the one closed door that looks like every other closed door that leads to nothing. On top of this, it does feel at times that the exploration and puzzle sections go a little bit too long, with not enough combat or pseudo-boss encounters mixed in to split them up. It’s a minor gripe, and probably won’t be a problem for everyone. But for someone who doesn’t typically have issues navigating environments, this was a bit frustrating.
The heavy themes and oppressive nature of the game can make longer play sessions difficult. I managed to plough through the entirety of the eight or so hours of the game in one session but found myself very worn down by the end of it. This is also important for people to understand going into the game. This isn’t an easy time. The game is enjoyable and fulfilling, but it is equally crushing. For some the representation of psychosis, and by extension, the berating and gaslighting nature of the Furies may be too much. Eight hours may not seem like a lot, but for this game its more than enough. There are particularly sections I would have liked to see expanded upon more. Particularly around Senua’s internal battle, and a section in the woods where our cohort are split up. But beyond that the game is relatively well paced, if not maybe a bit overlong in some of the earlier sections.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. There are some incredibly heavy mental health themes that are looked at throughout the game, that may be a little too much for some players. For those coming from the first game, they’ll find a much more polished experience, with far slicker combat. The puzzles are for the most part enjoyable, if not a little bit too long at times. The audio design is one of the most impressive in gaming overall, with music tracks fitting to the encounters and the world you are exploring. Ninja Theory have poured so much love into this title and it can be seen in just the smallest details. This is one of the best games of the year so far and may end up being game of the year.
The Score
9.5
Review code provided by Xbox
The Pros
Unbelievably immersive audio design
Slick and fluid feeling combat
Visually appealing and accessible
The Cons
Exploration sections are at times too long
Later sections suffer content due to too much focus on elements early on
Some themes may be permanent deterrents for players
