Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

Eurogamer

Johnny Chiodini

Essential

Ninja Theory crafts a highly competent action game and a nuanced, powerful exploration of mental health.

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IGN

Brandin Tyrrel

9 / 10.0

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is a masterclass of atmosphere, storytelling, and the marriage of mechanical and conceptual design. While there are moments that feel shoehorned in to remind us we're playing a videogame, the care and attention Ninja Theory has clearly poured into Senua and her story has created something amazing. This is a game everyone should play, and I'm thankful for the opportunity to have lived inside the mind of Senua, however briefly.

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PC Gamer

Leif Johnson

78 / 100

Hellblade could benefit from more exploration and enemy variety, but it's a powerful portrait of the strength of will over personal demons.

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Metro GameCentral

GameCentral

6 / 10

A technical masterpiece with some of the best swordfighting combat in years, but the storytelling and puzzle elements come across as muddled and awkwardly mismatched.

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Game Informer

Joe Juba

8 / 10.0

Given the heavy subject matter, calling Hellblade "entertaining" feels inappropriate. However, it is undeniably memorable, telling a compelling tale that explores subject matter many consider taboo

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Polygon

Ashley Oh

8.5 / 10.0

Hellblade is not an Orphean quest to retrieve a dead lover from the underworld. It's not some epic tale of revenge. It's an education and contextualization of being psychologically different in the time of Vikings and Celts. Nearly every facet of the game — whether it's combat, puzzles or exploration — is deliberate, pointing back to the overarching theme of what people called “cursed” during that time. Hellblade successfully weaves metaphors of grief and loss into fundamental game mechanics and rich folklore, and through these I felt like I truly was able to understand how someone else sees the world.

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GameSpot

Alessandro Fillari

8 / 10

Hellblade is a spellbinding and sympathetic game about loss and redemption.

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