The Xbox brand has taken a bit of a battering lately. At the very beginning of the year, they dramatically shifted their content strategy by porting four of their existing first-party games to competing platforms PS5 and Nintendo Switch.
Around the same time, Helldivers 2‘s unexpected runaway success among PS5 and PC players kicked Xbox players when they were already down, and the relentless onslaught of PS5 exclusives made it worse still. Fans of the Microsoft console have desperately needed a win, and come May, their prayers may be answered.
Senua Will Return After 7 Long Years, Only On Xbox
May marks the commencement of Xbox’s first-party rollout for 2024, and their very first exclusive is going to be a blockbuster, as it’s none other than the highly-anticipated sequel to 2017’s Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice.
Back in January’s Xbox Developer_Direct, Ninja Theory confirmed that Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 will officially release on May 21. The game has been in the works for 7 years, having been revealed for the first time at the 2019 Game Awards, alongside the debut of the Xbox Series X.
Hellblade 2‘s biggest and most noticeable draw is its stunningly photorealistic graphics. Thanks to Ninja Theory’s acquisition by Microsoft in 2018 (the reason why the game is exclusive), the studio has been able to bring in more devs, work with a larger budget, and scale up their production techniques. Their work speaks for itself, as the results of their labors are absolutely spectacular.
Hellblade 2 Significantly Enhances Combat Over First Game
It’s not all shiny visuals and no substance, though. Hellblade 2 boasts a heavily improved combat system that, according to the game’s creative director, feels “visceral and raw”. Combat designer Juan Fernandez also revealed in the January Direct that the gameplay will reflect Senua’s combat inexperience, with every encounter making you feel as if you just ‘scraped by’.\
Hellblade 1‘s biggest combat pitfalls were enemy variety, imbalanced difficulty settings, and a lack of encouragement to vary your attacks against enemies, resulting in a repetitive moveset. For the sequel, Fernandez says they’ve raised the bar in every way.
What of the story, then? Ninja Theory says that Senua’s character in Hellblade 2 will be drastically different from the previous game. Having conquered her psychosis and made peace with the death of her lover, she will face off against the Viking invaders that killed him, all in the gorgeous backdrop of Iceland.
With a magnificently well-rounded game like this, Xbox has the chance to turn the tide against the volley of doom and gloom levelled against the brand in the past few months. Fans of the brand will be pleased to know that Hellblade 2 will launch exclusively on Xbox Series X/S and PC.
Some insiders did report hearing that the game had a PS5 port in the works, but those claims have been disproved by reliable Microsoft insider Jez Corden. If you’re a Game Pass subscriber, the deal is even sweeter, as Hellblade 2 will launch into the service at no cost. Xbox fans, your redemption may just be nigh.
