Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice Reviews
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is a real gem and an example of how independent games should be created. Beautiful graphics, intriguing atmosphere and convincing main character. Mandatory position.
Review in Polish | Read full review
I know Hellblade won't be the catalyst to us understanding mental illness overnight, but, again, it needs to be stressed that Ninja Theory took a bold risk here and their art is going to change perceptions somewhere down the line. It's a game where the difficulty of its subject matter trumps its combat, which is unfortunate. How a group of twenty people can make one of the most affecting games of the year, when teams of hundreds routinely fail to do so, is beyond me.
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!
Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice is a hauntingly beautiful journey through the madness of a warrior's suffering to find her true love. The story is art, the graphics are engrossing and it's truly everything it was advertised to be. Ninja Theory provided a gaming experience that is a rarity these days in the gaming world and it is not to be missed.
Embark on an epic and completely immersive personal journey with Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. A game that's about fighting your inner demons as much as it's about fighting real tangible ones. Certainly a unique experience, but is it worthy of your money and time?
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice manages to tell a thoughtful story about mental illnesses while also providing exciting gameplay and some absolutely fantastic visuals and audio. For anyone looking for a tight, well-paced, linear action game, this is it.
Hellblade offers an engrossing single-player cinematic experience coupled with Ninja's Theory's tight melee combat systems and responsive controls. An enthralling sensory onslaught for the eyes and ears.
For all the warranted concern of AAA developers veering too far from gameplay into pure cinematic awe, there's no denying Ninja Theory's narrative depiction of mental health is an infectious one — the type of narrative that has been long overdue in this industry.
An emotional inferno, worth your suffering.
Hellblade's mundane mechanics help underscore a powerful story of overcoming your demons, if you're willing to subject yourself to the honest portrayal of mental illness it presents.
Striking a balance between superb visuals, outstanding sound design, excellent character writing and a well-written story which spans wonderfully rich Celtic and Norse mythology, Hellblade will go down as one of my favourite games of this generation and perhaps even longer than that
It could be a whisper or a shout but Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice will stay with you. Deftly crafted with stunning detail and an expert depiction of psychosis, it's a journey that's as torturous as it is heart-breaking.
Expertly crafted both in story and gameplay, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is at the same time both a unique experience and a derivation of some of gaming's best.
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice demostrates that videogames can be the perfect medium to tell a story about complex themes. The depiction of a disease like psychosis is believable and deep. The story works out very well, but the puzzles and the combat system are the game elements that push back the the overall quality of this very interesting project.
Review in Italian | Read full review
A tragic, compelling love story that demands you play it till the very end...
While the main appeal of Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, – Psychosis and mental instability – was not for me there is still plenty of fun to be had with the game.
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
Intense, powerful, important and very well done
Games have come a long way since I was a youth. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is a clear example of a game as an art form with a strong message and a complex, layered narrative. It's true that you're sort of along for the ride and most of your interactions are through your emotional response to what is depicted rather than through the mechanics of the game, but is that such a bad thing?
As part of their “independent AAA game proposition”, Ninja Theory delivers a visually impressive game with a short but interesting story that touches on a delicate subject and couples it with some interesting mechanics that nevertheless don't fully condense properly together.