Ninja Theory’s Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, the sequel to Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, is set to release next month. While it’s a solid title that will no doubt be a major exclusive for Xbox consoles, fans are disappointed and frustrated about one aspect of the upcoming sequel.
The upcoming sequel will reportedly be locked to 30 frames per second (fps) at launch, as has been the case with several titles. Fans are frustrated that the title will not even reach 60 fps, despite the Series X consoles being powerful enough.
Hellblade 2 Will Be Locked to 30 FPS on Series X Consoles
Hellblade 2 will be released next month on Xbox Series X|S consoles and PCs, as franchise fans will finally get their hands on the title, ending a seven-year wait. The first title was a massive fan-favorite, with a deep story garnering a rating of 81 by critics on Metacritic.
Earlier, Polygon reported that Ninja Theory’s founder, who also happened to be the writer for the first Hellblade, Tameem Antoniades, was no longer with the studio. Visual Effects Director Mark Slater-Tunstill, who is among those involved in the sequel, revealed in an interview that the sequel will be locked at 30 fps.
Slater-Tunstill confirmed that the objective was to make the game more “cinematic,” which was achieved through a 30 fps lock, giving gamers smooth gameplay. The VFX Director also revealed having played the sequel for a while and feeling the gameplay to be “slow and weighty,” which suited the 30 fps gameplay a lot more.
Since the gameplay is generally rather slow and weighty, the smooth 30 fps didn’t bother me, at least not in the playback session.
As PC gamers continue to be the only group of players capable of unlocking 60 fps gameplay, Xbox Series X console owners have grown even more frustrated.
The Xbox Series X Consoles Are Deemed Worthless by Owners
To have the most powerful console among the two recent consoles by Xbox and to still be locked to playing new titles at 30 fps has not gone down well among Series X owners.
A Hellblade fan mentioned having waited for the sequel and expressed his frustrations about the game’s 30 fps lock, calling the Series X consoles worthless.
“Hellblade 2 only runs at 30 fps and dynamic resolution on both Xbox Series S and Series X. There are no graphics modes”
Another Xbox first party title at 30fps. What a joke. My Series X is officially the most worthless hardware I own. pic.twitter.com/NJS3XQzEPZ
— Reforge Gaming (@ReforgeGaming) April 4, 2024
The fact that PlayStation 5 consoles have a Performance Mode to unlock 60 fps gameplay was also pointed out by the fan, deeming the PC-only argument for 60 fps gaming null and void.
Then why does every single first party PlayStation game have a 60fps performance mode on the PS5?
Incredibly tired of this false narrative, like the two platforms are equal at this point in the life cycle of the gen.
— Reforge Gaming (@ReforgeGaming) April 4, 2024
Another post on X was a question to fans about the general idea of how it feels to have games not hitting the 60 fps mark or above on current-gen consoles.
NEWS: Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II runs at 30fps fo Xbox Series X and S🚀
How do you feel about games not going beyond 60fps on this generation?🤔 #Xbox #Gaming pic.twitter.com/5pudbYyFX0
— Rino (@RinoTheBouncer) April 4, 2024
On the other hand, Slater-Tunstill mentioned that in the case of the upcoming sequel, there will be no “graphics modes” that will give players an option to boost fps, and also that it can be unlocked only on PCs.
There is still some positivity among fans who are waiting to get their hands on the sequel, which is coming out next month after a long wait.
Do you prefer a cinematic 30 fps gameplay or a visually pleasing 60 fps gameplay? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
