Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II Review – A Beautiful Journey of Understanding

My biggest fear going into Hellblade 2 was that it wouldn’t be a classic. more of the same. So that the developers do not spoil the strong ending of the first part, which brought the desired resolution to the title Senua. Although the sequel does not fundamentally differ in gameplay, only slightly shifts and bends it, the narrative has undergone significant changes, and this time the main character gets to know someone else’s darkness and light more than her demons.

• Platform: Xbox Series X (tested version) and S, PC
• Publication date: 21.05.2024
• Developer: Ninja Theory
• Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
• Genre: adventure action
• Czech localization: Yes
• Multiplayer: No
• Data for download: 70 GB
• Play time: 8 ocloc’k
• Price: 1300 CZK (Xbox), available on Game Pass.

The beauty of Iceland

Despite everything I mentioned in the introduction, it is appropriate to start with the visual side of the new game from Ninja Theory. The authors have given something incredible. Of course, I have seen trailers, screenshots and other samples, the developers did not hide their ambitions, and the first part, although from an independent team, was a graphic gem. But when I personally experienced virtual Iceland, I was still very surprised by how beautiful the world is here.

On the one hand, the game approaches photorealism like no other, on the other hand, it does not rely only on technical quality and brings a number of creative landscapes and scenes. The strongest are the distant views and the sky views, which evoke a familiar feeling of smallness in a huge world, almost collapsing on a person. Something I have not seen in any other game. But the faces of the characters or the reflections of light and shadow in narrow caves are also striking.

For the most cinematic experience, the developers chose a wide-angle image without the ability to switch, so on screens with a standard aspect ratio, you will be accompanied by a couple of black bars. I understand that this is a personal preference and someone may be confused by them, but for me they did not bother, on the contrary, they emphasized the above-mentioned landscapes well.

Combined with all of the above, the game is perfectly optimized for the Xbox Series X and runs – even at the advertised 30 frames per second – completely smoothly and without any issues or loading. Plus, I never felt like I really needed a higher frame rate.

The sound is inextricably linked to the visuals. I wasn’t as impressed with it as the graphics, but that’s only because it’s hard to make significant progress from the first game. The voices in Senua’s head haven’t disappeared, and the environments are also perfect. The music takes a back seat to the natural ambient sounds and dialogue, but when it does, it’s unmistakable. The sound helps a few times in the game itself, for example with its rhythm.

Movie-game, feature film

Hellblade II does its best to look like a movie, but it never stops playing. Cutscenes often have you controlling Sen’s movements, and gameplay sequences feature cutscene-like camera movements. The distinctions between the sections we usually divide games into are often blurred here.

The battle has been significantly simplified.

The gameplay is also subordinated to cinematography. On the one hand, there will be fewer fights and puzzles than in the first part. Firstly, the fight itself has undergone significant simplifications. Despite the fact that it was one of the criticized elements of the predecessor, it has not undergone any serious changes. Its principles are essentially identical. The biggest change is the lack of need watch your back. You will only fight one enemy at a time.

It doesn’t look stupid, no one waits anywhere, everything is smooth and natural thanks to the described cinematography. Although the dynamic difficulty works well by default, due to the lack of mass battles (there are more enemies, but they attack gradually) the combat seemed too easy and relatively monotonous to me. At least the developers worked on the variety of opponents and it is true that not all of them are treated equally.

Apart from the combat, which is more random and long, you will be walking around the environment and exploring it. The structure is similar to Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. The path is very linear, but here and there it will offer a detour with some secret. The secrets are well hidden and will give you an incredible story and memories of Senua.

Every now and then a slightly larger area will open up in front of you, again on the level of the first part, more of an arena where a puzzle will be thrown at you. When the game greeted me with a search for runes hidden in the environment and perspective, I was a little scared. I hope the authors won’t just repeat the tried and tested mechanics… They won’t. Runes return as the only ones. The rest of the puzzles are fresh, although they repeat the methods of the first game. The environmental puzzles force you to manipulate the environment and, like the rest of the game, also contain interesting visuals. In terms of difficulty, I found them easier, but perhaps “intuitive” is a more appropriate word. The player is certainly no fool.

In your head, in the heads of your friends and enemies

From the above, it may seem that Hellblade II really only offers more of the same. However, as I have already noted, the biggest changes have occurred in the story and narrative. The main character is still Senua, who is still struggling with her psychosis and still finding her true nature. She comes to Iceland to take revenge and to ensure that the fate that befell her home village will not be repeated. However, very soon the goals of the young warrior change and her personality fades into the background.

The game’s atmosphere is diametrically different from the first part. The two are relatively firmly rooted in reality, we meet fewer gods and more real people. We are not in Helheim, but in Iceland. And this is not so much the story of Senua, as the story of her friends, and maybe a few more enemies and those who will stand on both sides of the barricade.

The characters not only look great, but they are also superbly written and acted. Their development makes sense and their dialogue has weight. Senua – and therefore the player – gets to know most of them, as well as his opponents. It’s not just anonymous evil, but characters who have reasons for their evil, more or less justifiable. It holds everything together to a satisfying end.

The focus is on places with multiple characters who have tangible problems.

While the first Hellblade is at its strongest when Senua is trapped inside herself, in a dark place, with only a voice constantly questioning her and pulling her into states of hopelessness and madness, the sequel focuses on places with multiple characters with tangible problems. For someone with no experience dealing with psychological issues like those in the game, the new one might seem like a bit of a stretch. more humane and more understandable. The original story is able to ignite emotions even more, because one of the central ones is love, for which you go to the afterlife.

Same thing and different at the same time

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is a game very similar to its predecessor. The mechanics have undergone minor changes, but the basic principles remain the same. Neither the structure nor the length are significantly different. More of the same but it is not. Despite the similarities, the final feeling of the current game is completely different. This is because there are different ideas and lessons, it is about understanding, empathy and belonging.

Add to that a presentation that is unparalleled in the gaming world. One of the reasons the Xbox burned this year was because of the difficult task of impressing a skeptical fan of the first game (me) in an entirely positive light. Hellblade II has all that and more.