So what is up guys, Musical Anti Hero saying words and doing things with you my sexalicious
audience and welcome back to another episode of…
The show where I talk about games I'm playing and answer the question of…
Today I thought we'd look at the sleeper hit from Ninja Theory that dared to go beyond
the dark realms of horror and into the existentialistic crisis of our own minds.
This time we'll be reviewing Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice.
Startlingly self-published and developed by Ninja Theory, Hellblade is a psychological
action-adventure game featuring the titular protagonist, Senua.
Returning home to find her love, Dillion, slain by a foreign army, she journeys into
the mythical depths of Hel in an effort to save his very soul from damnation.
Struggling against the minions of the goddess Hela, she must also battle the darkness within
her and her fragmented past, lest she be consumed by it.
Now, before we get into the crux of this review, we need to discuss the most controversial
part of Hellblade's game design; the idea and concept of permadeath.
Hellblade features no tutorial of any sort, and instead forces you to think on your feet
and experiment in it's first fifteen to thirty minutes of gameplay.
In this time, as the game sets up it's story and theming, as well as explaining darkness
inside Senua, you are left with the chilling notice that if you fail in Senua's journey,
she will finally surrender to the Darkness and your save file will be permanently erased.
This is the only text-based tutorial in the game, and frankly it's a haunting one at
that, especially as it visually demonstrates the encroachment of Senua's darkness.
However, this is Hellblade's greatest fallacy, and its the reason why I wanted to review
it.
The easy answer to, "Does Hellblade lie to you," is yes.
And no.
Yes, at some point in the game, most players will achieve the game's 'failure state,'
and your file will be erased.
No, it will not happen due to HOW you play the game, and my opinion because of that HAS
changed since we talked about this on the League of Heroes Podcast several months ago.
Frankly, with the idea of how the game attempts to fully draw you in through sight and sound,
I DO like the idea of this out of body revelation that at some point Senua COULD die by your
hands.
You see, Hellblade's entire design is intended to immerse you in its world.
From the vivid, breathing environments to its stereoscopic soundscape, everything is
intended to completely ensconce your senses.
Combat itself is very visceral, with haptic feedback for those of you playing with a controller
and every blow being reinforced with savage and realistic sound effects.
Twisted environments moan and scream at Senua as she delves into the darkness of Hel itself,
the very environment rearing back to attack her at several points.
Even through its themes of psychosis and depression, the game manages gloriously to successfully
and realistically capture the struggles of coping with a debilitating mental disability.
As you play through Senua's journey, she is accosted by the voices in her head, each
unique in tone and vocal structure.
*Crazy Voices Saying Crazy Things with you, my sexalicious audience*
But all of them are distinct, and have their own identity.
Furthermore, Senua also experiences vivid visual hallucinations on her journey, each
conveying a sense of real danger not just to her but also to you as the player, making
it feel as real as any enemy you might face.
While they often comprise of environmental hazards or enemies, they also often manifest
as narrative flashbacks or light puzzles throughout the environment.
Collectibles in the game manifest as stories from her friend Druth, which perfectly tie
in to current events in the narrative.
And these all support the main story with incredible poise.
But, that leads me to the main crux of Hellblade, which really compromises of two elements:
visual-spacial puzzles, and combat.
Ironically enough in a game who features a warrior as it's titular hero, the puzzle
solving is actually more fleshed out than the combat mechanics themselves.
Being often visual in design, puzzle solving often relies on environmental fixtures in
order to complete them.
While several specific areas have unique puzzle elements, the most typical one you'll find
is opening doors.
Each door in Hellblade is often locked by a series of Nordic runes, all of which can
be found in the environment.
Some are hidden in the shadows of structures, others require some minor adjustments of lighting
or the environment itself.
Ultimately you can solve each puzzle by keeping in mind that the answer is there, from a certain
point of view.
Combat on the other hand is far less fleshed out.
With light attacks, strong attacks, blocking and dodging, Hellblade certainly has the foundations
of a great fighting system.
Varied enemies and a combat-generated 'focus slow motion system' also build well upon
it, especially with the sheer intimidation and shifting tactics that Hellblade's bosses
like to employ.
However, after the first two bosses in the game the myriad pool of enemies you'll be
challenged with begin to severely stagnate, with really only six different types.
Furthermore, difficulty in combat really doesn't scale much.
While true, Senua CAN die from taking combat damage, she can also rapidly recover from
a knocked-down state by mashing buttons and is fully healed after engaging her focus ability.
Later in the game, this only results in a feeling of time-sinking, where you are just
killing enemies not to enjoy the gameplay, but instead to move onto the next puzzle or
the next narrative piece of the story.
For players that enjoy a high-action game such as the Batman Arkham Quadrilogy with
rapidly evolving combat, Hellblade can leave a lot to be desired.
Which says a fair bit about the game overall.
When a decently fleshed out combat system is the lowest part of a game's design, it
speaks volumes about the rest of Hellblade's contents.
The narrative is incredibly strong, arching over not just Senua's journey into Hel,
but why Senua is saving Dillion, and her connections to their meetings in the past.
You feel something for Senua as you play, not as a damsel in distress but instead as
a powerful warrior battling the demons of her past.
Her story is one we can relate to on all levels, whether or not we suffer as deeply as she
does.
But…
I truly believe that Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is an incredible narrative experience.
It maturely tackles a sensitive and unique topic about mental disability and presents
it in not only an appropriate manner, but one that excels and is enjoyable to digest.
It's narrative and the weaving in of ancient Norse folklore make for an incredibly engaging
experience.
Senua is possibly one of the strongest female characters that gaming has to offer from 2017,
not only an accomplished warrior of her clan but a character that continues to fight in
the face of sudden doom.
However, the gameplay for Hellblade feels lacking for over HALF of the game's design,
especially when it revolves around some of the most visceral ideas of in gaming.
While puzzles are paced well and evolve continuously outside of the standard rune-grind, combat
does not and it drags down those aspects of the game that it's involved with.
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is a game I recommend to everyone without hesitation,
for the sheer intensity of it's presentation.
But we cannot discount the fact that Hellblade was made and published independently by Ninja
Theory, who managed to prove that a Triple A game quality can be achieved without the
vampiric shackles of a publishing company.
For these reasons, as well everything else we've discussed, I'm incredibly proud
to award Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice with the first and only award I can give to a video
game on this channel.
It is my uniquely distinct pleasure to award Hellblade the "Heroic Masterwork" medal,
intended to recognize it as a Paragon of modern game design and to encourage game developers
of any caliber to seek it out.
This is what you can do when you both independently fund a game with a unique and distinct vision,
and manage that development appropriately.
Hellblade is an experience unlike any other in the current gaming atmosphere.
It is visceral, haunting, and incredibly gripping, Senua's Sacrifice is a game that should
be played by everyone, and its an incredible triumph in terms of business and game development
in the industry.
Everyone can learn something from the triumph that is Hellblade.
Even good ol' Sammy boi.
Oh Sam…
"Settle down, we're no- We're not like…
This is a happy discussion."
*Singing About How Sam is an ass to the LOTR Theme*
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