Four years after its initial announcement, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is all set to hit the shelves next month. Sequel to 2017’s Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, the upcoming game is a third-person action-adventure game, that explores the elements of its predecessor, such as permadeath and an examination of Senua’s mental state. Players must play puzzles and runes to advance.
The game is published by Ninja Theory and will be published by Xbox Game Studios. As a result, the game will be an Xbox exclusive, releasing on Windows and Xbox Series X/S on May 21, 2024.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 gameplay
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II received a gameplay trailer at the recent The Game Awards 2023 event. This trailer featured Senua making her way through various drab and dream-like environments. There is not much action seen in this trailer, but a lot of exploration and tone-setting have been exploited and paired with Senua’s monologue.
The game later received a more extended trailer during the January 2024 Developer Direct event. This trailer highlighted the fact that this time around Senua’s quest is one of revenge. She is seen hunting down the Vikings. The Vikings were responsible for conquering and enslaving her people in Iceland to take the fight to them.
The upcoming game will also introduce a new fighting system that is more dynamic and realistic than the previous game. Apart from Senua’s individual background and connections, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 will dive deeper into the mythology and history of the Norse, which served as inspiration for the overall narrative.
The game’s combat designer Juan Fernández described how Ninja Theory plans to raise the bar with Hellblade II’s combat. Fernández revealed that less than 20 people were involved in the previous game’s development. However, for the sequel Ninja Theory increased its production efforts. Thus Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is set to have a more complex combat with a wider variety of opponents.
What do fans think of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2?
Fans were clearly impressed by the leap that the sequel has taken from its predecessor. A lot of fans praised the features seen in the trailers of the game. A user ‘ahmedgazwan7082’ praised the walking simulator, saying,
“I cant believe how people says this is walking simulator. 1% of brain working….”
Similarly, ‘ricardowski4218’ praised the graphics of the game saying, “The best graphics I ever seen, everywhere.” On the other hand, several users expressed their excitement to play the upcoming game.
Meanwhile, there was also a set of users who criticized the upcoming game. A user named, ‘JasonMax01’ says,
“Hellblade 2 will be like Hellblade 1. People need to get their expectations in check. It’s not going to make a giant leap and play totally different. It’s still linear, still has the puzzles, still has the voices in her head, gameplay will pretty much be the same except for improved combat and more weapons. And they have other people around Senua so she isn’t the only character in the game.”
A user ‘Marlonfle’ even pointed out that it looks good on the technical side, but they have their doubts regarding the gameplay saying,
“Impressive on the technical side. I highly doubt that the gameplay (if there is even real gameplay) is fun though.”
With such mixed reception, it remains to be seen how the game fairs and how players react to the game once it is out.
