Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice Reviews
Hellblade is an amazing achievement in game design. It is something I think everyone should play.
In many aspects, Hellblade is a very different video game. Offering an epic atmosphere along with interactive, psychological story-telling, Hellblade takes you on an unprecedented journey, and aims for your feelings in the process.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Offering exactly the same contents of the PS4 version, Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice on Xbox comes as a no brainer for the ones who love narrative and mature themes in a videogame, but may not be so palatable for the ones who primarily ask interactivity to a game.
Review in Italian | Read full review
As the title states, if you’re going to play this game, then it’s best that you play it on a PC. If you have an Xbox One X? Then good for you! You get to have a better experience than most with this title.
As an interactive story, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is in a class of its own.
Hellblade is a unique production. Risky and brave as few today and with all the tints of an independent game that is camouflaged under a layer of sheet metal and paint that resembles a super production. It is one of those games that you must have on your system.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Unique and really powerful experience about mental illness, but combat mechanics and puzzles are its weak spots.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Senua is a remarkable character who instills all of her energies into the player in such a way that will never be forgotten.
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is Ninja Theory's most intimate project. Although it has essences of its previous titles, it is a different and fresh game. With a powerful graphic and sound section, the game has nothing to envy other Triple A with a bigger budget. A game that nobody should miss and that will go down in history.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
It is easy to see why Hellblade received universal acclaim when it released on PlayStation and PC back in August 2017 and also why it swept 5 Baftas at the recent 2018 awards. It is a triumph of mature story telling, incredible audio design and meaty, visceral combat. What is even more impressive is that this game was created by a mere team of 20, released at a low price point and has production values that easily rival most AAA games on the market. A definitive must have for Action-Adventure Fans.
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice delivers a genuinely gripping and haunting adventure that’ll keep you hooked in thanks to its engaging narrative, stunning visuals, and clever puzzle-solving. It manages to offer an experience that’s both thoughtful and action-packed, which ensures that it stands out as a remarkable and unforgettable release. The only downside came with the combat, which could feel a little underwhelming and repetitive as you progress through the game. Still, it was never outright bad and some of the boss encounters could be impressive, so it’s never a struggle to play through each battle as you work towards the game’s finale. Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is just a fantastic game and one that proves that Ninja Theory truly are masters of their craft. It’s great to see that it’s finally available on the Xbox One too, so now there’s no excuse for gamers to miss out on what is truly noteworthy game.
The Conclusion Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is an intense emotional experience that aims to push the boundaries of visuals and in-game performance.
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is a harrowing journey into the fragility of the mind. It's a masterpiece in storytelling, and while the game mechanics itself might not complement that throughout, they do a decent job of allowing Ninja Theory to deliver a mature story revolving around a sensitive subject matter. We hope that this opens up the door for more budget priced triple-A experiences, because this one was one hell of a ride!
If you never tried the game before, you should definitely buy the Xbox One version, especially if you own the hi-end Xbox One X model, in order to enjoy the nordic setting created by Ninja Theory in its huge 4K-majesty.
Review in Italian | Read full review
It's a unique title which succeeds in its mission of giving gamers a glimpse into how people deal with psychosis and loss.
Hellblade is one of the best interactive experiences of this generation and a true technical show. However, the gameplay of the game is not equally calibrated and often loses pace in some areas.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Hellblade doesn’t have huge flaws, but it fails to excel in too many areas to be an essential purchase. I’d still highly recommend Hellblade for the simple fact that it made me think and feel things that no other game has. There are plenty of games out there with more scintillating combat or intellectually taxing puzzles, but not many that can put you in the head of a Pict warrior suffering from psychosis. That alone makes it worth a purchase.
Immediately, Hellblade smacks the player with one of its core storytelling mechanics, and it takes the form of Senua’s psychosis. Wearing headphones (yes, headphones are preferred), disembodied voices seem to circle all around your head, whispering small nothings in your ear. They fade in and out, sometimes unintelligible, and sometimes downright teasing you or criticizing you for your actions. This particular manifestation of psychosis is known as “voice hearing,” and damn if it isn’t an off-putting feeling. To hear them tell it, Ninja Theory worked really hard to create the closest representation possible of voice hearing, using several actors that would run around a 3D microphone in the foley room, and their effort seriously pays off here.
Promising and frustrating in equal measure, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice ultimately disappoints with rote puzzling, unexciting combat, and storytelling that fails to connect emotionally with its audience.
Hellblade is a tricky bag of thoughts and impressions. In today's environment, mental health to many is a field of landmines, having scarcely been touched in the video game industry. There have been a few landmark titles, but Hellblade really raises the bar… or should I say down since our main Celtic heroine, Senua, needs to trek the decrepit waters of the Northmen to make her perilous passage into Helheim, the Norse equivalent of the underworld.