It’s only natural for Xbox players to envy the Helldivers 2 craze that’s going on over at the PlayStation and PC sides of gaming, but there’s one upcoming title that could turn things around for Microsoft’s console. Sharing similarities in size with Arrowhead, Ninja Theory is gearing up to release its Hellblade sequel next month, and Senua’s Saga looks nothing short of a cinematic spectacle, improving over a variety of aspects from the first game.
The level of dedication and love for their craft can be clearly seen in relatively smaller studios like Arrowhead and Ninja Theory, and the results are turning out to be extraordinary.
Hellblade 2 Has the Potential to Be Helldivers 2 for Xbox
Similar to how Arrowhead only had around a hundred people working on Helldivers 2, Ninja Theory head Dom Matthews, during an interview, called his studio “boutique” when it comes to its size, as Hellblade 2 only has 80 developers working on it.
That’s an improvement over what the first installment faced, which had around 20 people on the development team, but these studios are proving one thing. Even AA studios like Arrowhead and Ninja Theory can deliver spectacular gaming experiences that can rival major AAA releases.
“Hellblade 2 isn’t a Hollywood blockbuster,” stated Matthews while drawing an analogy with film production; “it’s a quality independent film.” This means that Ninja Theory has complete faith in its own process rather than trying too hard to please the masses by following what’s considered trendy in the industry.
This is becoming a common theme with AA studios, as recently, Arrowhead Game Studios took a similar approach with Helldivers 2, and it is doing absolute wonders.
Both Arrowhead and Ninja Theory Respect Their Games’ Lore
Another aspect that is making AA studios stand out from their AAA competition is that they seem to fully respect the lore of the games they create, an example being Arrowhead Game Studios recently stating that it would only add melee attacks in Helldivers 2 if it was handled in a respectful way because it did not want to become another carbon copy of something like Fortnite.
The same is the case with Ninja Theory’s outlook on the Hellblade series, and fans of the original game can rest assured that Senua’s Saga will bring back the core elements of the first installment while making further improvements to others, such as the combat.
“We’ve gone really realistic, there’s no camera cuts, and there’s no HUD – we’ve given ourselves a really hard job, but these are all the choices we stand by,” said art director Dan Attwell, as the studio accepts the fact that it does “things differently” and has “a fanbase because of that.”
Do you think Ninja Blade’s Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 can be as successful for Xbox as Arrowhead Game Studios’ game has been for PlayStation? Let us know in the comments!
