SENUA’S Saga: Hellblade 2 is the long-awaited follow-up to the critically acclaimed Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice.
The game tells the story of Senua, a young warrior who is struggling with mental health issues.
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It was one of the first games to tackle the topic head-on, pairing it with spectacular graphics, engaging puzzles, and great combat.
We wish we had been privy to the decision-making that went into Hellblade 2 as the Xbox console exclusive was developed.
We wish we could have seen the creative process, where the team’s ideas came from, and which ideas they ultimately had to scrap.
Because after such a groundbreaking game, it feels like Hellblade 2 went with what was safe or mundane.
The story picks up where the first game left off. Senua has been to hell and back, and she’s on a mission to free her people from slavery.
Senua intentionally gets captured in order to go to the slavers’ homeland, but the ship gets wrecked, and she is washed ashore with one of her captors.
It’s an interesting premise, but it gets abandoned just an hour into the game.
Instead, the story becomes quickly fantastical, with magical beings, giants, and the undead.
This means that there is less personal growth, as Senua’s character doesn’t have time to develop with so much screen time given to the supernatural.
It feels like it introduces plot points and then abandons them before they can make an impact.
This includes introductions to characters who are soon abandoned without a real resolution to their stories.
People are suffering and you are told to avoid combat when possible, and in the next beat, you cut down a horde of enemies.
Most of your time with Hellblade will be spent walking forward, only broken by interacting with objects or jumping up ledges.
There are some excellent stylistic choices. Cutscenes blend seamlessly with the gameplay, and the beauty of the world is undeniable.
However, the landscape cannot make up for the gameplay, or lack of it, where puzzle solving will not challenge you, and the combat is repetitive.
Hellblade 2 manages to provide a few spectacular moments, such as one where you make your way through a cave while staying within a small spotlight, and another where you hide behind pillars to the beat of the music.
But these perfectly crafted moments cannot distract from the mindlessness of the rest of the game.
It’s gorgeous from beginning to end, with strong art direction that is both hyperrealistic and stylish in presentation.
However, this means that Hellblade 2 is more style than substance – a beautiful world that says nothing and does nothing.
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It’s the kind of world that would make a beautiful film but doesn’t work well as a video game.
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