Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is on its way, and there are a bunch of fans awaiting this game. Almost every Xbox series console owner out there has high hopes for Hellblade 2, and they are right to do so. After all, this is the much-awaited sequel to one of the most celebrated indie games ever made. Moreover, the first game in the series was a critical darling to such an extent that it even ended up winning a BAFTA award.
And fans are expecting a similar level of polish and treatment from the sequel too. Even more so in some cases, given the fact that Hellblade 2 now has a much larger budget and is being developed under a massive publisher, Microsoft. But even after all these promising facts, there’s one aspect that fans would hate about this upcoming game.
It looks like Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 would disappoint fans in one aspect
Game length is a big factor nowadays. Gamers can often be seen discussing whether a game they are buying provides enough entertainment for the price they are paying for it. Due to this, most developers and publishers have started making longer games with much more content than usual.
As a result, games nowadays are set in massive open worlds and are full of side quests, collectibles, and much more to pass time. These things end up effectively increasing the playtime of these games. People end up playing these titles for hundreds of hours.
The biggest examples are games like Elden Ring and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. These games provide players with a lot to do. And unlike most other open-world games, these two do not have repetitive content that can bore gamers either.
And this is the kind of expectation gamers nowadays have with these titles. They want large games with hundreds of hours of content. Yes, there’s also space in the market for medium-sized games such as Spider-Man 2 and God of War titles. But then again, everything depends on the quality of the game.
In such a climate, a game like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which has hours of multiplayer content but only three hours of story campaign, looks bad. It was met with criticism from fans all over about its short length.
And now, it is being said that Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 will also have a very limited playtime. This was revealed by Ninja Theory studio head Dom Matthews in a recent interview. He suggested they are dedicated to providing an experience of the right shape and size to their fans. So they can come out of it smiling.
“I think what we always set out to do is to tell a story and for the game length to be appropriate for the story that we want to tell. So it’s not really a case of setting out to make shorter experiences. I think it is… There is a story that we want to tell here with a beginning, middle and end and what is the right shape and size of experience to tell that story? So that’s kind of where we start.”
He then went on to suggest that they are also pleased to have an audience that does not care much for a 50–60-hour experience. Instead, they want a much shorter and more polished gaming experience.
With this statement, he clearly hinted at the fact that Hellblade 2 might end up being a shorter experience.
But does the size of a game even matter?
One question that lingers in the minds of gamers everywhere is: does it matter how long a game is? Well, it somewhat does if a game is just too short and does not provide a worthwhile and satisfying experience.
If the experience is much more fun than the first part of Hellblade, it can be considered worth it. But not like Modern Warfare 3.
