Definitely one of the best games I ever played. It’s a deep, engaging, rewarding story with an incredible visual style & intuitive, impactful combat.
Ninja Theory are ready to blow people’s minds with part 2.
Heilung will summon the power of the old gods to rock us with the soundtrack.
Melina Juergens is a star.
Man, I really wish I enjoyed HellBlade as much as others did. Maybe I’ll give it another shot before the sequel comes out. The gameplay (specifically the combat) didn’t do it for me at all the first time around. I am hoping most of what I didn’t like about it were due to budget constraints and will be vastly improved on in the sequel. Because I loved the trailer for 2 and the atmosphere of it.
I also finished it recently and really enjoyed the game. A lot of people didn’t enjoy the combat, but personally I loved it! It was a nice change from being completely overpowered in games these days ( looking at you AC Valhalla.
I can’t wait to see what they do in HB2.
Yeah this game is freaking amazing. Some of the audio stuff blew my mind, as did parts of the soundtrack. Not to mention the graphical quality. Ridiculously good even without considering it was a small team.
It’s one of those games that doesn’t really cry out for a sequel, but damn am I happy they are making one.
Don’t mind me bumping this old topic.
My impressions so far:
Overall, I am really liking it. However, I am only able to play in small chunks as it can be a little too intense for me lol
Loved this game.
The last fighting sequence is my favourite. It felt empowering to the core of my sense.
While fighting those multiple enemies at once and literally overpowering them felt so great - it felt like I was liberated from something which was dragging me down.
Only to later find I was my own enemy.
The gameplay conveyed the feelings of Senua to me.
I’m excited for all of the technology Ninja Theory is exploring and investing into (sound, motion capture, AI). What they did with Hellblade and a shoestring budget is nothing short of incredible.
Is the mythology based on the Picts?
It’s a mix of Celtic and Norse mythology…
Senua herself is a pict from Orkney.
Can’t say I really enjoyed the gameplay personally, but everything else was very impressive, especially considering the budget, team size, etc. I replayed the first 30-40 minutes recently to test the Xbox Wireless Headset and somehow I was enjoying the combat more. Maybe I should play it a 2nd time, with headphones.
REALLY curious to see what HB2 looks and feels like with a bigger team and more ressources. Heilung working on some of the game’s music is a big pile of icing on the cake for me.
I tried multiple times to get through this, just didnt enjoy it. Still looking forward to see what they do with the next one.
Maybe this is a stupid question, but I was wondering…is motion capture solely used for cutscenes or also for during gameplay? So when you walk around, when you fight (not only cutscenes) is that all motion capture too? I guess I never thought about this before.
Considering their makeshift motion capture set up for the first game, this is exactly why their acquisition was such a big deal. Glad they are able to enjoy the benefits of being part of a bigger company now.
Not a stupid question at all. Motion capture is usually used for both cut-scenes and gameplay when mocap is used. IIRC they did training for the first game like they are for this game, so I’d be surprised if mocap wasn’t used during gameplay for the first game.
Their new studio…
I couldnt get into it. But then again I played it on the base xbox one. I should give it another go on series x.
It’s a fun game, albeit a bit short and the puzzles are a little repetitive but the puzzle type itself is still quite original and the story is quite intriguing. I had a great time with it thanks to Gamepass; I can definitely see the potential for Hellblade 2 given a bigger budget and less constraints.
Good game, but too slow for me, I still haven’t finished it, I’m waiting for an Hellblade 2 demonstration to get if I’m interested in the sequel, but I think I would be, the first game was clearly limited by budget.
Oh wow a lot of effort went into your post. 
I actually finally finished this very recently, whilst intially I really really disliked the game.
I still really really dislike parts of the game, and some parts I thought were pretty cool.
But overall I think it’s a mixed experience, I’d give it a solid 5/10.
But I do see HUGE potential with hellblade 2.