Sensua’s Saga: Hellblade II features one of the most realistic combat in modern gaming.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II finally makes its way as we’ve all been waiting for this sequel for 7 years. With the success of the first game, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, we just couldn’t wait for the next game, and thank goodness it has finally arrived.
Developer and publisher of the series, Ninja Theory, takes us back to the Norse mythology and Celtic culture-inspired dark fantasy that allows players to not only understand but witness the horrifying aspects of psychosis and what it does to a person. To make things better, it’s available on Xbox Game Pass. Therefore, a simple installation will do.
It’s probably best that Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II has pretty much brought most of the gameplay from the last game to the new game. You can still do the likes of puzzle solving, and examine Sensua’s mental condition. Also, just to confirm, despite the many assumptions of the last game, it didn’t have the permadeath mechanic. For those that aren’t sure what that is, it’s a mechanic where you lose the progress of the story if your character dies during the session.
At the very beginning of the last game, there is a startling message that includes, “If the rot reaches Sensua’s head, her quest is over and all progress is lost” giving you the feeling that if you die even a certain number of times, in reality, the rot never reaches her head, you can die countless times, and you wouldn’t lose progress at all.
More or less, it is said that the permadeath phenomenon was simply a mind game that the developers played on us for the added nerve-wracking effect, which is a great idea if you ask me, and it definitely worked. But let’s move on, other than those features, does Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II have new features for us? You bet it does. Let’s start with the brand-new fighting system that has been introduced to deliver faster-paced combat. And it certainly feels that way every time you fight.
Moreover, the combat and the new system are incredibly realistic. You have 2 strike attacks: Heavy Attack and Fast Attack, as well as blocking, evading, and parrying. As you’re using your offense or defense, you’ll experience almost lifelike sword fights, as well as other impressive animations that follow, such as tussling, grappling, wrestling, sword fighting, slicing on bodies, and fatal attacks, making you feel like you’re in constant cinematic fights, especially, against bosses.
You also need to know that the new combat system encourages strategic thinking to tackle even the toughest enemies. Sensua’s resources have been increased. Early in the story, you’ll acquire a mirror that you can now use with the focus ability to your advantage, especially against certain enemies, as its flash will stun them momentarily.
The system also features a brand-new slow-motion mechanic to give you the upper hand to strike enemies much more easily, plus more abilities for you to enjoy. And new abilities like these will come in handy, seeing as you’ll come across multiple enemies with different fighting approaches.
The puzzle solving is quite a challenge in some instances, and it took some time to complete, whereas others are pretty simple. Just like the last game, you’ll be required to undertake a series of puzzles to progress, for instance, where some passages give you a set of symbols that you need to align by holding the left or right trigger to use Sensua’s focus ability on the exact patterns.
They’re located nearby, and you need to position yourself in the correct areas to complete the set and then open the passageways. To be fair, they make it easier as you’ll see many of the symbols floating around the proximity of where you need to be.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II also takes pride in its photorealistic visuals. The dark, gloomy yet beautifully attractive and rendered visuals of the characters, objects, and environments perfectly fit the standard of modern gaming. Seriously, let’s say, for example, that you used the game’s photo mode and you were to zoom into a character’s face,
You’d be amazed by the level of detail done to the skin, eyes, teeth, scars, and more due to the use of Unreal Engine 5, regardless of whether you’re playing on a Full HD or Ultra HD monitor. However, despite its visually appealing fights, animations, and graphics, unfortunately, my approach to the story is completely different.
But let’s discuss the synopsis. The story of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II becomes the sequel to the events of the last game as she continues the journey of Viking Iceland. Troubled protagonist, Sensua, returns as she falls into the intent of saving those who’ve been victimized by the horrifying tyranny.
In the 9th century, Sensua was held captive by slavers who took her from the sea of Orkney to Iceland, as she believed that this was the only way to ensure the freedom of her people. Things get much worse as an unexpected storm arrives and decimates the ships and washes Sensua ashore. Now, during her travels, and of course due to her psychosis, she experiences constant voices in her head.
But here’s the thing: the voices either help her or frighten her. Along with the demon-like voice that’s actually the memory of her father, who was abusive, and portrayed as the ‘shadow’. Early in the game, you’ll come across a thrilling boss fight against the slave master named Thórgestr. After Sensua defeats him, instead of killing him, she takes him as a prisoner because he poses as a key figure in completing her mission of putting an end to the slavers that had devastated her homeland.
The main problem is that the storytelling hasn’t got much to keep you interested, as many sectors in the story don’t make sense – leaving you with more questions than answers. Plus, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II doesn’t possess nearly enough terror as the last game.
The only times I felt even the slightest bit of fear were mainly when a demonic-like voice was spoken, which made me feel like someone was about to attack from behind, and I would turn around ready to fight, but would then remember that it was just a voice in my head. Which, by the way, Ninja Theory deserves huge credit for, maintaining its accurate delivery and portrayal of the effects of what serious mental health does to a person, let alone Sensua.
Other than that, there’s honestly nothing much else that needs worrying about. Let’s put it this way, it wasn’t for the combat, puzzle solving, as well as the thrill of listening to the voices that you hear throughout the game due to the effects of the protagonist’s mental illness, I probably wouldn’t have played for longer than 3 hours.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is worth a try, mainly due to its brand-new, ultra-realistic combat design and mechanics, and the mixture of simple and challenging puzzles. Not to mention, the unbelievably realistic visuals that’ll blow your mind. However, don’t expect an amazingly written storyline to follow. Plus, once again, it’s on Xbox Game Pass, so there’s no harm in seeing it for yourself.
