With modern resources, console games are constantly improving in terms of graphics and performance. Consoles like PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S allow gamers to run certain games at 120 frames per second, depending on the freedom game developers give players. Unfortunately, there is one studio that is still sticking to the outdated 30 frames per second limit for their upcoming video game: Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II.
Along with Windows, the game is coming to Xbox Series X/S on 21 May 2024 but the developers, Ninja Theory, have revealed that this 30fps lock was necessary for a “cinematic” feel. Ninja Theory is repeating the same mistake that Bethesda made while rolling out their 2023 game, Starfield. Fortunately, they have realized this mistake as Starfield is finally getting a 60fps mode on Xbox Series X.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II will be locked at 30fps on Xbox Series X/S
In a recent interview with GamePro, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II‘s Environmental Art Director, Dan Attwell, and VFX Director, Mark Slater-Tunstill, explained why Ninja Theory decided to set the fps limit to 30 on Xbox consoles,
“We don’t want to offer a framerate mode or anything like that. Because having 30[fps] was a conscious decision from an aesthetic point of view. Going to 60[fps] gives us nothing – In fact, it probably would have only hurt us in that what we want to achieve is how we want to keep the film aesthetic and the film look.”
He continued:
“So when you’re presented with something at a higher frame rate, it feels really weird. And that’s our goal [with Hellblade 2]: to make it feel cinematic. We knew we never wanted to be 60[fps]. You can set it up on the PC if you really want. But that’s your decision.”
At this point, Ninja Theory is giving console players different reasons to not buy the game. For a $49.99 game, the frames-per-second will be locked to 30 and the playtime is just 9 hours, something that is quite disappointing considering how the game is expected to have no replay value.
Ninja Theory is making the same mistake that Bethesda made with Starfield but managed to fix it
This is not the first time players have been disappointed by a much-awaited game because of its fps limit. Last year, Bethesda’s highly anticipated game, Starfield was released. However, the 30fps limit was a major letdown. Before its release, Starfield director Todd Howard told IGN in June 2023,
“We do lock it at 30[fps], because we want that fidelity, we want all that stuff. We don’t want to sacrifice any of it – On the consoles, we do lock it because we prefer the consistency.”
Howard explained that it was necessary to make sure the game’s experience was not sacrificed by pushing it over 30fps. Xbox fans have been very disappointed because of this, but there is good news for Xbox Series X players.
As part of an update that is dropping on May 15th, Bethesda will let Xbox Series X players run Starfield at 60fps. This update was much needed as Starfield still has many active players, but for Hellblade 2, there’s no point in releasing a high-fps mode later as the game has no replayability.
