Senua's Saga: Hellblade II Reviews
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II has become a truly remarkable passion project from Ninja Theory. Despite the studio having 'only' eighty employees, they've managed to score top marks in many areas. To begin with, Hellblade II is audiovisually the best this industry has to offer. Unreal Engine 5 performs magic on your screen, where cinematic visuals and in-game content are often indistinguishable. The audio is not only sharp and impressive, but thanks to binaural sound, it penetrates deep into your mind. 'Gripping' is a key term when describing this action game, reflected in the relentless combat against the horrors of the Viking era. Alongside the grand spectacle, there is an intimate story with Senua at its center. The way her mental and physical challenges are presented is simply top-tier writing. The emotional impact that Ninja Theory delivers with Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is one that will be praised for years to come.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Overall, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is a cinematic masterpiece. A game filled with epic characters and epic boss fights that will be etched in your memory. If you are into action-adventure games with epic proportions, then this game is something you should look into.
Senua's Saga: Hellblade II is an incredible experience that simply should not be missed. The game is fully committed to immersing players with fantastic world-building, top tier visual presentation, world-class audio design, and a narrative that continues to not shy away from the complex themes it combines with such dense mythology. Ninja Theory has themselves yet another all-timer with this one.
Senua's Saga Hellblade 2 is a fair sequel to the first title, improving on all its special features such as the technical and sound compartment and a very interesting introspective narrative. However, the second chapter still decides to leave behind some elements that were evidently never considered a priority for the project, such as the gameplay that at times interrupts the rhythm of the story.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Ninja Theory has absolutely hit the mark again with their second title in the series, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, creating a stunning masterpiece that takes gamers on an unforgettable ride and draws them deeply into Senua’s harrowing journey. From the moment you start, you are enveloped in a world that is both visually and audibly breathtaking.
Hellblade 2 delivers as promised: an immersive narrative experience that continues Senua's story while delivering top-notch visuals, impressive binaural 3D audio, and among the best mocap ever in gaming. It's a compact, focused tale that trims the fat and pushes you forward at a brisk pace—exactly what I think fans of the original game will be looking for.
A visual and aural triumph, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II trades agency, freedom, and longevity to galvanize mood, atmosphere, and other, more cinematic qualities. By its very design, Senua’s Saga will polarize an audience rich with choice-driven adventure games. But by committing to its vision, Ninja Theory has crafted a thoughtful and haunting slice of violent opera - long on style, short on length, and certainly deserving of acclaim.
It’s for games like this in which I bought an Xbox Series X; the reason I love playing games. This is Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II.
A decent follow-up to the previous game but not enough flair and novelties to keep you engaged enough. Senua's Saga is playing it safe when it comes to sequels coupled with some pretty formulaic combat.
If the aspect you like most about a video game is its story, Senua's Saga: Hellblade II is a great option and will give you hours of fun — and can be finished in up to seven hours —, however, it can frustrate you if you're just looking for unrestrained action.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Senua's Saga: Hellblade II showcases a level of visual prowess that blows anything we've seen so far out of the water and uses it to present a journey that, while short, excites from beginning to end.
Graphically and audiovisually the game is rock solid, but in terms of gameplay and replay value it collapses considerably. The story is beautiful and intense, Iceland and Senua's journey are beautifully depicted. The serious psychological problems that Senua experiences, after a terrible amount of suffering, are also well explained. It is therefore a shame that the overall picture is a little disappointing and you are still left with some questions about the game. Of course you can think what you want, that is everyone's right, but asking fifty euros for this is a bit too much ( Xbox Game Pass is an alternative).
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is definitely worth a try, mainly due to its brand-new, ultra-realistic combat design and mechanics, and the mixture of simple and challenging puzzles. Not to mention, the unbelievably realistic visuals that’ll blow your mind. However, don’t expect an amazingly written storyline to follow. Plus, once again, it’s on Xbox Game Pass, so there’s no harm in seeing it for yourself.
If you are seeking an interactive, heavy themed, intense movie this is your game.
Hellblade 2 remains the most technically impressive experience I’ve ever played through. Through the chosen medium of games, Ninja Theory tells a compelling narrative that, if you can put up with some rather archaic gameplay, will leave you deeply satisfied - and maybe just a little traumatised.
A graphically spectacular narrative adventure, but with few playable innovations compared to its predecessor.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The target audience for Senua's Saga: Hellblade II is certain to be narrow. This game is purely designed for fans of narrative-heavy games where the gameplay takes a back seat, as well as those who want to play the sequel to the original. Some portions are spot on, and other parts fail badly at maintaining the mood while attempting to stay true to the concept. On the other hand, it is highly difficult to recommend this game due to its linear plot-oriented experience, lack of fighting, and difficulty in completing puzzles.
Ninja Theory and Xbox Game Studios deliver the kind of narrative experience I've been waiting for. Admittedly, I'd have liked it to be a little longer, but the studio has done a good job of fine-tuning the gameplay of its series, while raising the visuals to a level that places them among the very best. I hope that Xbox will now use Ninja Theory's expertise to offer more memorable experiences like this one in the near future.
Review in French | Read full review
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is a tricky beast. On one hand, I was impressed by the realistic visuals, the voice acting, the music, and Senua’s growth as a character. On the other hand, its pacing was awkward, even though it was short. It suffered from a lackluster third act. It’s pretentious, to an arrogant degree. It was also quite devoid of gameplay, focusing more on spectacle than substance.
With its unique presentation, cinematic narrative with amazing storytelling, game-changing visuals, beautiful sound design, and digestible length, Xbox Games Studios and Ninja Theory have a successful franchise on their hands.