Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 was featured in this evening’s Xbox Developer Direct. Ninja Theory gave a further glimpse of the things they show when talking about Hellblade: motion capture, graphical fidelity, mental health representation, and stabbing. They also provided a release date: May 21st, 2024.
Looks a bit grim, doesn’t it? In an impressive, intentional way, mind you. Hellblade 2 is set in 10th century Iceland, which Senua will experience as a real place – the developers did a field trip as research – but also through her own psychosis. That leads to the player exploring fantastical environments, but also struggling to survive combat that looks grim and oppressive.
Ninja Theory say the combat is “all-new”, and designed to leave the player feeling as if they just scraped through. I like the sound of that, although just watching the trailer made me want to go cuddle my dog for a bit.
I’m not sure I really learned anything I didn’t already know from the trailer above, but Hellblade 2 does look impressive. It’s an obvious cut above every other game shown during the Direct in terms of presentation, even if all that graphical power is bent towards creating an experience that seems in most ways unpleasant.
Check out our roundup of all the news from the Xbox Developer Direct, which also included a first look at Indiana Jones And The Great Circle.
Graham Smith
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