Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice Reviews
One of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice strong points lie in the games ability to entertain and immerse you in the experience, and on that point alone it is worth the price of entry. The game is definitely not going to appeal to all tastes, and nor does it try to. But if you are willing and open to new experiences and gameplay mechanics, then you will be rewarded with a thoroughly entertaining and somewhat disturbing video game. And one of the best new franchises of 2017.
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice has shown that video games are mature enough as a medium to capably deliver an entertaining experience while respectfully tackling difficult topics. It's beautiful and emotionally engaging, worth every moment spent in the warrior's mind.
Hellblade is not fun in the way that a triple-A game is expected to be—even when it dives into pure horror—but it is a game that brave players will relish the opportunity to experience, even in its slower moments.
Truthfully an amazing experience and this will be the second game for me, which if I can get amnesia and forget all about the playthrough, just to feel it again, I’d totally go for that. I can, without a doubt, recommend Hellblade to everyone. It’s definitely one of those rare gems out there on the market that I am absolutely happy to have.
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice manages to immerse its players in a scary and dangerous world, and it manages to effectively put them in the shoes of its troubled protagonist. The game has some great action, but its story makes it a gripping adventure that has a surprisingly accurate take on mental illness
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.
In the end, Hellblade is a game that wants to have its cake and eat but forgets that it’s a game first and foremost. At times I found myself extremely bored with the repetitive nature of the game’s design. Open or vaguely circular arenas always painfully signposted another combat section and the visual puzzles, no matter how interesting at first, felt overplayed.
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.
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.
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is a true mixed bag. It’s easily one of the most visually stunning games you can play and the sound design is exquisite. On the other hand there it’s no doubt fairly simple and at times boring. If you aren’t looking for an action packed game and instead looking for something a little more heady, Hellblade just might be the game for you. Even the slower sections of this game are mesmerizing and darkly beautiful.
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is a masterpiece that I'd recommend to horror adventure/action lovers. With fantastic visuals and sound effects, this game offers a long lasting experience with many satisfying combat and adventure features. Be warned though, this game might be disturbing for some audiences as it has a story about psychosis and violent combat animations. But otherwise, this game is a masterpiece.
Senua’s adventure in the underworld and her dealing with her unusual illness, splendid characterization of the heroine which makes its player’s feelings grow stronger, and perfect sound designing alongside awesome visuals; combining all these features together results in a masterpiece named Hellblade. A game that in spite of its valuable elements, due to being a digital only with short story and nearly high price, it is rarely found in Iranian users’ shopping carts.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Hellblade enters not at the point of trauma but everything that comes after. The anguish, the self doubt, the violent attempts to feel anything at all, and finally, the recognition that this trauma is permanent.
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice promises a very different experience as I said at the beginning. Ninja theory, the production team, repeatedly repeated that they wanted to try something different in this game. From the first minute you started playing the game, you feel how successful the production team is in this statement.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
Senua's journey from start to finish features dark and terrifying moments peppered with bits of support and reassurance shows how much care and attention Ninja Theory put into developing her story.
Hellblade is a gritty, poignant, atmospheric adventure that tackles head-on what oft-times remains a taboo to discuss: mental health. Does it succeed?
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice brings with it an eventful journey, not only marked by Senua's struggle, but by the question and unease it raises for the player regarding psychosis. This constant struggle, both in game and in real life has produced incredible results for Ninja Theory, including special thanks from players with the same condition. A beautiful game, leaving mouths watering for its successor.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Hellblade is simply a great experience, and after finishing it for the very first time recently, I am even more excited for Hellblade II. The game is available on Game Pass, so if you haven’t taken the journey to Hellheim yet or want a quick refresher before the sequel releases on May 21st, it’s a game I fully recommend.
As an interactive story, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is in a class of its own.