GamesActionHellbladeReplaying Hellblade right before Hellblade 2 makes it feel more like a prequel, and I can’t wait for Senua’s Sacrifice to become Senua’s SagaWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesActionHellbladeReplaying Hellblade right before Hellblade 2 makes it feel more like a prequel, and I can’t wait for Senua’s Sacrifice to become Senua’s SagaWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
There is something about Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice that makes my enjoyment of it sit strangely. It’s not the kind of feel-good afternoon fodder you play to unwind over a lazy weekend, nor does it let you live out a dynamic power fantasy as in many of thebest action games. It’s not even what I would call a fun game most of the time; in fact, it’s quite the opposite.
The game is a sobering experience, one that guides players through the stages of grief where the pain is sharpest. As a result, my first go at Hellblade saw me frustratedly bashing my head against environmental puzzles and horned monsters out of intrigue more than enjoyment, greedily welcoming the drip-fed lore of Senua’s torched world and shattered psyche with parched lips as my heart broke along with hers. But withSenua’s Saga: Hellblade 2launching in just a week, maybe the ending I once found more cruel than cathartic is just the beginning?
The darkness before the dawn
Big Preview: Hellblade 2(Image credit: Ninja Theory)6 years after its acquisition, Ninja Theory is ready to set a new standard for Xbox Series X exclusives with Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
Big Preview: Hellblade 2
(Image credit: Ninja Theory)6 years after its acquisition, Ninja Theory is ready to set a new standard for Xbox Series X exclusives with Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
(Image credit: Ninja Theory)
6 years after its acquisition, Ninja Theory is ready to set a new standard for Xbox Series X exclusives with Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
I’m not saying Hellblade is a happy little game, but it’s no longer a trial of psychological torture as I once thought. It was hard for me to escape that feeling of full-body dread the first time around, but replaying it in 2024 with the sequel around the corner has me determined to witness Senua’s original journey with a sense of precognition. To that end, Senua’s Sacrifice now feels like a prelude of the Saga yet to come – and that makes this her tragic backstory.
Navigating the smoldering ruins of a Pict village, I make a concerted effort to listen closely to each of the flashbacks I unlock. Hearing the story of Senua’s people and the pain they suffered is a unique kind of uncomfortable, but that’s all the more important if I want to get the full picture of Senua’s hamartia; her fatal flaw, one that cements her role as the tragic hero in this carnival of dark fantasy horrors. I already know thatHellblade 2 will see Senua rise up as a different kind of horror game heroine, finding self-acceptance and using her perceived weakness as a great strength. However, Hellblade is about more than fighting monsters.
(Image credit: Ninja Theory)
The very existence of Hellblade 2 proves that maybe Senua isn’t a tragic figure, but an empowered one.
The very existence of Hellblade 2 proves that maybe Senua isn’t a tragic figure, but an empowered one.
I turn all of these thoughts over in my mind as I make my way through the game, all the twisting pathways starting to look the same as I end up right back where I started over and over again. I die once or twice, watching the black rot on Senua’s arm start to spread, and remember how we all thought that should the rot reach her heart as per the warning given at the start of the game, your entire save would be wiped. That, much like Senua’s own feelings of ominous incoming dread, are nothing more than a trick of the mind made to up the ante.
But catastrophizing death in a video game like this makes every action an urgent one, whether that be a poorly-timed dodge roll or skirting a little too close to the fire, and I feel a symbiotic desperation with Senua starting to build. I know how things end, and I know that neither of us is at any real risk, but Hellblade 1 makes you forget that. The game implicates the player in Senua’s struggles so deeply that the dramatic finale hits home even harder, and all that’s left to do is weep.
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