Hellblade 2 will launch in a few days, and as Ninja Theory gears up for its highly anticipated release, reports from within the studio have been popping up to get the original’s fans even more hyped for the sequel. The narrative elements in the first installment, Senua’s Sacrifice, were quite well-received and praised.
But, on the other hand, the combat was not really anything special and garnered plenty of criticism. However, from all the details that publisher Xbox Game Studios has provided its fanbase, it looks like the upcoming action-adventure game is taking care of one of the few major problems that plagued the 2017 title.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 Looks to Make up for Its Previous Mistakes
The first installment may have lacked with its combat, but with Hellblade 2, Ninja Theory is not just fixing the element but is actually evolving the entire thing, as Xbox Game Studios points out that the element has drastically improved over Senua’s Sacrifice. Although it falls under the action-adventure genre, the publisher states that it is not just “a traditional action game in practice,” because it will not be following the same formula that the majority of similar titles adhere to.
Calling the combat “calculated and intentional,” the developers are ensuring that each hit comes with its own impact and adds to the overall experience. Benoit Macon, the combat director for the upcoming Hellblade 2, has been quite vocal about what his team has managed to accomplish with the revamping of the fighting aspects, clearly proud of the final result.
“There is a sense of connection between the combat and the narrative,” stated Macon regarding Senua’s Saga, while also sharing that the focus has been on one-on-one combat to create brutally immersive battle sequences. It has not been long since the combat director gave credit to HBO’s Game of Thrones for being the reference point for the fighting elements in Hellblade 2.
Even the Biggest Games Can Fumble With the Perfect Balance
Finding just the right balance between the combat and the narrative elements can prove to be quite a difficult task to manage, as even the biggest video games can sometimes fumble with achieving that goal. The most recent example of this would be Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Stellar Blade, which ended up going through the exact opposite problems that the first Hellblade installment faced.
Where Senua’s Sacrifice could not really do much with its combat, Shift Up ended up making it the standout aspect of its action-adventure title, but that came with an unfortunate catch. Unlike the original Hellblade, Stellar Blade struggled with maintaining a compelling narrative, to the point where it got a bit too predictable with twists that could be seen coming from far away.
“Making combat meaningful to the narrative” in Hellblade 2 was one of the focal points of Ninja Theory, according to studio head Dom Matthews. And if it actually delivers on both fronts, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 has the potential to be a huge hit for Xbox.
Are you looking forward to the combat-driven narrative in Hellblade 2? Let us know in the comments!
