TA Playlist Wrap-Up: Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II

It begins because it ends… alone, in the dead of night.

October is the month of the macabre, with spooky scares and haunted horrors taking middle stage because of Halloween looming on the finish of the month. The Playlist often follows swimsuit, with some form of twist on a horror theme, and this yr was no completely different – the October 2024 TA Playlist ballot provided a quartet of “Spooky Sequels,” horror-themed video games that had been the second of their respective franchises.

Our nominees included two zombie thrillers, Useless Island 2 and Resident Evil 2, in addition to supernatural survival-horror Alan Wake 2, however the neighborhood elected to go away from the extra historically spooky titles and delve right into a story of psychological horror with our October 2024 TA Playlist recreation, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II.

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is the sequel to the critically acclaimed Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, which launched for PlayStation and Home windows in 2017 and got here to Xbox One in April 2018. The primary Hellblade was created by a small staff of round 20 folks, however after the success of the unique, developer Ninja Concept was acquired by Xbox Recreation Studios, and commenced work on the second recreation with an expanded staff and better price range.

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice pushed the boundaries of graphical and audio constancy, bringing us alongside on an intense exploration of the Norse underworld as Senua, an Eighth-century Pictish warrior, battles her method via the monsters of Helheim (and the demons of her personal psychological sickness) to rescue the soul of her beloved Dillion, who was captured by Norsemen and sacrificed to the gods. It was a gritty, emotional story that handled matters of emotional trauma and psychosis in distinctive methods, usually blurring the road between what’s actual and what’s fully in Senua’s head.

The primary Hellblade acquired heaps of reward for its spectacular graphics, beautiful audio design, and insightful tackle psychological sickness. With all that as a baseline, it’s honest to say that expectations had been fairly excessive for the sequel, and there was quite a lot of anticipation to see how Ninja Concept may enhance with an even bigger studio and a triple-A price range. Would the studio be capable to ship?

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II was lastly launched in Might of 2024, and for those who simply have a look at the critic evaluations, you’d assume it did fairly properly. It’s obtained a Metacritic score of 81, with glowing evaluations from the likes of IGN (8/10) and Eurogamer (5/5 stars). TA’s personal official website assessment offers it a 9/10, calling it “An unforgettable narrative journey that is delivered to life via impeccable sound design, beautiful visuals, and a narrative that can follow you lengthy after the ultimate credit roll.”
However the buzz on social media was a bit completely different. “Disappointing.” “Mediocre.” “Boring.” YouTube movies began popping up with titles like “Hellblade 2 is a Full Failure” and “One other AAA Catastrophe…”

So, was Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 a tremendous masterpiece? A disappointing failure? In some way, possibly… each? Evaluations in our boards had been definitely combined:
AndroidIT6 stated:

Indisputably among the finest video games I’ve performed this yr. Sit again, settle down, pay attention, and reside Hellblade. Wonderful visuals, an immersive soundtrack, and a large and brutal story.

o Heres Jonny o stated:

Actually fairly recreation and the audio is superb. That is the place the nice ended for me. Boring story, poor fight, an excessive amount of following a liner path to a different reduce scene. Discovered this to be very over rated. Glad I’m carried out with it. Though, good to see what me sequence x is able to.

GustavoDrN stated:

I performed Hellblade 2, and whereas I discovered the sport to be visually beautiful, I have to say that by way of enjoyable, I loved the primary recreation extra. There have been no new mechanics within the fight or atmosphere interplay, nor within the puzzles—they basically repeated what was carried out within the earlier recreation.
Total, I discovered the sport much less fascinating than the primary, particularly contemplating it did not innovate a lot in comparison with the unique. It is not an indie recreation made by a small staff, however a significant manufacturing with Microsoft’s backing, and it was imagined to be one of many standout titles for the Xbox Collection X.

Let’s begin with the positives. Nearly everybody agrees that Hellblade II is among the best-looking video games ever made, reaching a stage of graphical constancy and photorealism that few video games have managed to realize. Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice grew to become a shock hit thanks partly to the surprisingly high-quality graphics coming from a comparatively small studio, and it was clear that the staff wished to push the visuals even additional within the second installment, going to nice lengths to seize the pure fantastic thing about Iceland and delivering a cinematic expertise for the participant.

KiDLUCiF3R stated:

Hellblade undoubtedly leans into that ‘cinematic’ expertise. Even simply from watching a let’s play, it’s visually beautiful and looks like the way forward for gaming, with graphics that actually heighten the immersion. The pacing and sparse fight are widespread critiques, however I feel that slower journey pulls you deeper into Senua’s thoughts.

TTV Aerico34 stated:

Actually, I used to be so shocked with the graphical and visible look of this recreation made it so immersive for me, and truthfully one of many extra satisfying video games launched this yr, typically very happy with this completion with no downsides simply very straight ahead with good storytelling and nice visuals.

Famously, all of the movement seize work for the unique recreation was carried out in a transformed boardroom, reasonably than a devoted studio, and utilizing solely two cameras – one centered on the performer’s face, and a conveyable digital camera to movie the scenes as they might happen through the recreation. The actress who performs Senua, Melina Juergens, was a contract photographer and video editor who was simply filling in for fundamental mo-cap work within the early levels of the undertaking, however they determined to only hold her as the principle character as a substitute of hiring knowledgeable actress to play the half. All of those cost-cutting measures contributed to the distinctive presentation of the primary Hellblade recreation, and made the ultimate product all of the extra spectacular.

For the sequel, Ninja Concept had the large price range of a full AAA studio and the backing of Microsoft. That meant round 4 occasions as many builders engaged on Hellblade 2, working in a custom-built state-of-the-art movement seize studio. Melina Juergens returns as Senua and is as soon as once more nominated for Finest Efficiency on the 2024 Recreation Awards (an award she received in 2017), together with a number of new faces to the franchise.

Danixpxd stated:

Liked Melina’s performing all all through!

With all the additional sources and round 5 years of improvement since its official announcement on the 2019 Recreation Awards, many individuals had been anticipating a significant enchancment for the brand new chapter of Senua’s Saga. With such excessive expectations, maybe the sequel was sure to disappoint.
KiDLUCiF3R stated:

I feel the expectations round Hellblade II are a lot larger given Ninja Concept’s development for the reason that first recreation. The unique set such a excessive bar with its groundbreaking portrayal of psychological well being and Senua’s private journey that even a devoted sequel may really feel much less impactful by comparability. […] familiarity with the type and the backing of Microsoft might have made gamers anticipate an even bigger leap ahead. Personally, I’ll see it as HB1 is HB1 and HB2 is HB2.

Most would additionally agree that the sport’s audio is superb, with the return of “The Furies” – the voices in Senua’s head – who alternate between berating Senua and providing useful recommendation. Introduced in full binaural sound, the voices and different sound results from Senua’s atmosphere add a layer of immersion with a full three-dimensional soundscape. Identical to the primary recreation, Hellblade 2 comes with a suggestion to play with a superb set of headphones for the complete audio expertise.
JohnnyInterfnk stated:

As talked about earlier than however at all times value mentioning once more, the audio continues to be superb and is a recreation vendor in and of itself. Even the soundtrack was refined however efficient.

In case your main standards for judging a recreation are visible constancy and audio design, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II was completely made for you. Nevertheless, various of our commenters had been of the opinion that Ninja Concept’s deal with making a recreation that appears and sounds good overshadowed different features, just like the story and gameplay.
VirtuMint stated:

Graphically to die for, it appears completely superb. However then you definately really come to play it and it is all type and no substance. It is a straightforward 1000GS on Recreation Move which is properly appreciated after all but it surely’s not a lot in the way in which of leisure while you go about it

Rinckenstock stated:

Wonderful graphics, sadly very tedious recreation. The primary one would not look fairly as spectacular with it being a number of years older (though it nonetheless appears nice) but it surely’s significantly better to truly play. I used to be wanting ahead an amazing deal to Hellblade 2 and I used to be extraordinarily disenchanted after I got here to play it

Hellblade II picks up a short while after the occasions of the primary recreation (spoiler warning from right here on out for those who haven’t performed it but!). Senua has returned from her journey to Helheim with a renewed sense of function, not believing that her visions and voices are a curse to these round her. When her village is as soon as once more attacked by slavers, Senua permits herself to be captured and brought aboard the slave ship, intent on discovering the settlement of the Northmen and placing a cease to their marauding as soon as and for all.

Shipwrecked on the rocky shores of Midgard – modern-day Iceland – Senua defeats the slave grasp, Thórgestr, however spares his life in order that he can lead her to his village. After encountering a village that has been destroyed by feral cannibalistic barbarians often called Draugar, Senua rescues a captive often called Fargrímr, and collectively they escape a rockslide attributable to the enormous Illtauga.
Senua, Fargrímr, and Thórgestr attain Fargrímr’s settlement, beneath siege by Illtauga. Fargrímr explains that the eruption of the Askja volcano broke the partitions between Midgard and Jötunheimr, unleashing giants. Believing Senua is a seer, Fargrímr sends her to seek out the Hiddenfolk, god-like beings who may know the giants’ weak point. Senua is ready to study Illtauga’s secret and switch her to stone, which impresses Thórgestr, who thought the giants had been unstoppable. Thórgestr guarantees that if Senua can defeat the enormous terrorizing his folks, they’ll don’t have any extra must seize slaves and human sacrifices.

Senua’s relationships with Fargrímr, Thórgestr, and later, Ástríðr, are one of many key variations separating this recreation from its predecessor. Some folks preferred the addition of different characters that Senua may bond with, exhibiting that she’s not letting herself be remoted by her “curse.”
dygital angel stated:

I did not benefit from the first recreation and located it a bit of boring in locations, so actually solely began the sequel as I wished to see what the flamboyant graphics had been like and knew it would not be an extended recreation.
I discovered myself having fun with this one far, much more, and I feel that is due to the opposite characters. They added extra depth and gave the story extra focus. Within the first one I simply walked round and obtained heckled, however on this one, I felt like I used to be making real progress to a conclusion.

As Senua interacts along with her companions and builds relationships with them, we get to see a few of her character’s development. She’s not wallowing within the self-doubt imposed by her Furies and the grief and melancholy introduced on by Dillion’s loss of life, and we are able to see her improved disposition as she forgives Thórgestr, accepts assist and recommendation from Fargrímr, and bonds with Ástríðr.
TymanTheLong stated:

A part of the purpose of each Hellblade video games is Senua therapeutic from her traumas and studying to reside with herself and the components of her which can be debilitating however that she simply can’t change. I do assume Hellblade 2 gave a superb sense of that journey. It looks like the sport is a really drawn out method of claiming “our solely company is to make the selections in entrance of us proper now.” An excessive amount of wanting again is clearly a millstone round Senua’s neck and I assume that’s generally a superb life lesson as is an excessive amount of worry of the longer term (in Senua’s case, develop into what her father is or what he claims she will probably be).
The builders make it fairly clear that Senua suffers from psychosis (although it’s controversial that it’s clearly not simply psychosis, given her life traumas) however I feel folks with different psychological well being burdens like PTSD, melancholy, nervousness or quite a lot of others can see a few of themselves within the story and Senua’s trials. These items are alienating for individuals who undergo and sometimes throw up boundaries to dwelling on this planet and even benefiting from social consolation from people who need to assist.

Nevertheless, it may also be argued that having outdoors views aside from Senua’s muddied the waters a bit by way of the sport’s narrative, and even detracted from the themes that had been explored within the unique Hellblade.
Cylon 118 stated:

The giants additionally increase an niggle with me as within the first recreation it appeared clear that every one the strangeness we had been witnessing and listening to had been coming from Senua however on this one the opposite characters can clearly see and work together with the giants making them actual in recreation and never a viewpoint.

GustavoDrN stated:

The story was additionally much less thrilling than the primary one, which had a extra fascinating tempo and a journey that made extra sense for the character. The most important disappointment for me was how they dealt with the supernatural components. One of many issues I beloved concerning the first recreation was the anomaly—you by no means actually knew if what Senua was seeing was actual or only a manifestation of her schizophrenia. That layer of thriller let every participant interpret issues in a different way.

The unique Hellblade began with Senua already getting into Helheim, and he or she didn’t meet another characters alongside the way in which, aside from enemies, so it was a good interpretation to say that all the pieces passed off in Senua’s thoughts as she was combating the internal demons of her emotional trauma, reasonably than precise bodily demons from Hel. In Hellblade II, the giants seem like very actual, with different characters seeing them and interacting with them.
TymanTheLong stated:

One of many large questions on Hellblade is how a lot of it was actual. I feel Hellblade 2 put that to relaxation. I suppose the arguments that Senua’s companions are simply bodily manifestations of her psychosis have some benefit however I feel that’s most likely not correct (in spite of everything I doubt she chained herself up and sailed north). To argue in any other case looks as if it might necessitate 100% of all the pieces to be in Senua’s head and he or she may as properly be dwelling in a psych ward someplace in 2024. Senua continues to be tormented, it simply appears to me that she is an actual actor affecting the world round her and that world is reasonably incredible to us.

Nonetheless, it’s not explicitly dominated out that there’s some form of twin actuality occurring, with Fargrímr, Thórgestr, and the others seeing the consequences of the giants’ assaults, whereas solely Senua sees the giants themselves. I’ve seen theories that the giants are manifestations of pure disasters –Illtauga for earthquakes, Sjávarrisi for tidal waves, and so on. – all issues that Iceland is perhaps experiencing following a big volcanic eruption. Norse superstition creates deities and monsters to elucidate these pure phenomena, which manifest in Senua’s thoughts as actual entities. It is arduous to say for sure, and even the “actual” folks Senua interacts with are open to some interpretation.
FruitofPassion stated:

I’ve seen some concepts on-line that the giants are metaphors to completely different fears. I’ve seen some say they signify components of Senua from the primary recreation and others say they signify the fears of the folks Senua helps alongside the way in which. And we may go deeper into that however I am curious to throw this on the market: What if her followers had been by no means actual both?
I may personally see all of them additionally simply being metaphors to Senua’s journey. These completely different folks she helps information, is her rising to be a pacesetter to be robust sufficient to save lots of everybody’s on the finish. This being particularly noticeable within the forest scene. Perhaps Senua from the beginning was on her personal journey to cease the slavery and the ultimate battle was what actually occurred however all the pieces as much as it was her character constructing.
Or possibly they’re actual, and all that was imagined with them combating and interacting with the giants was simply a part of the worry conquering that the giants signify. Or reasonably the combating was simply inside that the others would not see.
I used to be debating this concept throughout my playthrough because of their interactions with the giants and even dragur (which additionally could not be actual). A part of me wonders if that is merely a developer trick to maintain the participant confused like Senua. However one other half desires to get my board of conspiracies stringed up xD

Adayin stated:

I loved each entries and their tales, however the first one undoubtedly blurs the road between psychosis and mythology extra. It is tougher to inform what’s imagined to be actual. This second outing brings quite a lot of delusion and magic ahead, which makes it tougher to inform what is meant to be psychosis. Proper till the very finish. It could have been good if the story was longer, with extra weighted choices and extra battle with these outcomes, as a substitute of the principle character simply plowing via and blunting the impact of the voices in her head.

Whether or not they’re “actual” or not, when Senua does face off towards the giants, she doesn’t battle them immediately in a standard form of Boss Battle. Moderately, Senua should make her method throughout harmful terrain to achieve the enemy, and use the information gained from the Hiddenfolk to cease their rampaging. Most individuals agreed that these had been the highlights of the sport.
TymanTheLong stated:

Total I preferred the set piece boss fights (why did they draw back from this for the final one? Who is aware of? However it felt like a mistake) the place the giants grew to become extra of a cinematic puzzle than any form of epic battle. Having simply replayed the unique this felt like an actual enchancment to each the story and the sport play.

If combating the giants of was among the finest components of the sport, most individuals in our boards stated that combating all the opposite enemies was the worst. The fight within the first Hellblade was criticized for being too simplistic and repetitive, and if something, the fight system in Hellblade II is stripped down even additional, lowered to only a gentle assault, heavy assault, parry, and dodge. No shock, however our boards had been stuffed with numerous good feedback concerning the fight system:
DK ShadoW999 stated:

The visuals and audio are second to none, however the fight is method too dumbed down and straightforward. The story was acceptable, not on the extent of the primary recreation, however nonetheless satisfying. Too dangerous it’s a very quick recreation, even with all of the collectibles it’s a max 5-6 hour completion.

Cylon 118 stated:

Discovered this recreation to be weaker than the primary for probably the most half. Its visuals are clearly an improve however from a gameplay standpoint it’s def weaker because the fight has simply develop into one on one fights one after the opposite as a substitute of a bunch of enemies within the first recreation, making it really feel like nothing however quicktime occasions. The primary recreation’s music additionally caught with way more than this one with the one observe that actually caught with me being the primary “boss battle” towards the volcano big which I feel is by far probably the most memorable a part of this recreation anyway.

Moe GZ stated:

I most popular the fight within the first episode, they had been far more dynamic, we confronted a number of enemies on the similar time whereas in Hellblade II we solely battle one enemy after one other. And the dodge mechanic had a really good visible impact, whereas in Hellblade II I had points with the timings.

Brasshande stated:

Among the most spectacular graphics you will see anyplace but it surely’s nowhere close to nearly as good to play as it’s to have a look at. Sluggish-paced and that includes some actually surprising fight that you could fortuitously flip off to mainly make it a video of Senua having a battle. Not a horrible recreation however definitely not a wonderful one

As Brasshande notes, there may be an choice within the recreation to easily flip off fight, and simply watch Senua battle towards the Draugar on her personal, with none participant enter, making it much more like an interactive film than a recreation. Simply the truth that this selection was included reveals that Ninja Concept was extra centered on making an inventive cinematic expertise than difficult or fascinating fight gameplay.
JohnnyInterfnk stated:

Throughout fight, the sport usually rips management away from you to make the battle extra cinematic, however that management loss will get actually annoying once you’re making an attempt to grasp the controls.
To begin, you may by no means inform the place the brink is for when the sport is working itself and once you’re in management. Whereas this impact makes fight look cinematic to any outdoors observer, this severely breaks the rhythm of fight and makes it really feel janky to the participant. As properly, even when fight appears sophisticated on the skin, each enemy appears to be boil down to 2 sequences: dodge and counterattack (like towards fireplace breathers) or parry and counterattack (like towards axemen). Therein, as soon as you determine which sequence to do, the battle is actually over, you are simply studying parry/dodge timing and combating the janky cinematic impact from above. And whereas early the sport does a superb job of hiding its one-on-one solely fight system, it will get comically noticeable mid-game within the caves the place the enemies encircle you, however solely leap in to battle separately.
The “cinematic jank” by no means went away although — it was a problem for the whole recreation (although it actually solely closely affected fight). In essence, for the sport to look cinematic and “one take”, the sport takes management away from you at occasions BUT it by no means tells you it’s doing this so that you by no means know at what factors your inputs do not matter and at what factors they do, which will get irritating for me as I am making an attempt to study/good the gameplay loop. Most video games present prompts and so on to point once you’re taking part in and once you’re not, and this recreation makes a really particular selection not to do that for that “one take” really feel. To their credit score, it does succeed at making the sport extra visually interesting, however at the price of participant company. Which is healthier? Most likely relies on who you ask.

It at all times comes again to private choice. For some folks, the fight issues, mixed with the gradual pacing and the opposite points, had been sufficient to show them off to this recreation fully. For others, it was only a minor criticism in an in any other case satisfying expertise.
demon jonzey stated:

Love the sport however, as others have stated, the fight downgrade from the primary has knocked a grade down for me. It wasn’t as participating and appears close to unattainable to fail (not like the primary the place there was a few trickier sections, not arduous however tougher).
Nevertheless I nonetheless thought it was incredible and yeah it is quick however I do not thoughts it. The achievement record sucks and poses no problem which is a little bit of a disgrace however no actual drawback – lets me transfer on to a different recreation to get again to my backlog.

Adayin stated:

The second recreation has a lot simpler fight than the primary. There are some cinematic battles with what really feel like scripted “battle” factors, however general it is a lot simpler. A bit of overhyped, however undoubtedly a worthy sequence that tackles some necessary points different than simply “good vs. dangerous”.

Exterior of the fight, probably the most outstanding gameplay ingredient is the puzzle fixing, which, just like the earlier recreation, principally includes transferring Senua round to seek out the proper viewpoint to align components of the atmosphere so as to open up new pathways. The mechanic suits properly thematically with Senua’s psychological situation – it’s not about manipulating the atmosphere by pushing buttons or flipping levers, however about altering Senua’s perspective so she will see issues in a different way. Some folks loved the puzzles, however they didn’t vibe with everybody.
JohnnyInterfnk stated:

I felt general the puzzles had been higher carried out if not higher designed. So, for instance, making an attempt to line one thing as much as change perspective and actuality was much less finicky however the puzzles themselves someday felt both a bit too large or too pointless. Some puzzles evoked a sense of descent, dread, disorientation, and so on. and a few simply felt like a useless roadblock to pad out the sport play.

Spa1h stated:

The visuals and audio design in Hellblade 2 is one of the best I’ve ever seen. I additionally preferred lots that they now change between a pleasant and a darkish setting often – the primary recreation was in some way at all times darkish and have become darker the additional you went.
In comparison with the primary one, they did not overuse the rune puzzles, and introduced in some selection as a substitute. I had no drawback find all options on my own additionally due to the wonderful participant steering on the one aspect, and the narrowness of the puzzle areas on the opposite aspect.

Hachibi33 stated:

I accomplished it when it launched. Very stunning however the recreation is simply too gradual, the puzzles are simple and boring and the fights are uncommon however too lengthy when occurring…

“Sluggish” is one other criticism that’s usually utilized to Hellblade II, with many critics labelling it a “strolling simulator” because of its lengthy sections of Senua travelling throughout the panorama with out another motion. Actually, from the opening of the sport, it’s greater than half an hour of watching Senua navigate the shipwreck and the rocky seaside earlier than you do something aside from press up on the left thumbstick.
TymanTheLong stated:

I performed most of Hellblade 2 on auto fight so it was extra of a strolling simulator and truthfully the sport was higher that method (I performed via the opening usually).
I feel my absolute largest criticism of Hellblade 2 was its poor pacing in comparison with the primary. If you happen to did very properly in fight in Hellblade it may develop into monotonous as each enemy wanted to be beat on quite a bit earlier than dying. Throughout my replay of Hellblade I turned the fight all the way down to simple half method via as a substitute of the “variable primarily based on efficiency” and the pacing instantly grew to become nice. It had been sufficient time that I solely had imprecise recollections of some puzzles and people additionally went shortly.
Hellblade 2 failed on pacing, particularly the opening. That shipwreck seaside is a complete lot of nothing fascinating whereas Senua slowly trudges from rocky little bit of sand with nothing to rocky little bit of sand with extra nothing. The few set items, story bits, and tutorial are far too unfold out. Adopted by a mini boss battle that actually calls for extra timing talent from new and returning gamers than even the primary recreation’s boss fights (the dodge, dodge, pause, dodge vs dodge, dodge, dodge was particularly an excessive amount of for the primary main battle)! It was as in the event that they’d created the opening chapter and tutorial and by no means returned to it to wash it up.
Now, shortly after the opening I turned fight off after which I preferred the sport significantly better. With fight automated I had extra of a Pricey Esther or What Turned of Edith Finch expertise punctuated by some mini video games and cinematic fight together with some puzzles and Hellblade 2 appears to work so significantly better that method. The sport nonetheless retains pacing points (the entire thing feels too gradual, particularly for those who’re wanting in every single place for faces within the rocks), it was all stretched out greater than the story really merited however not a lot that it ruined the sport. It merely detracted a bit from it.

JohnnyInterfnk stated:

Its humorous how two folks can get two completely different reads on one thing. For instance, I preferred the opening sequence lots (most likely greater than most). It was gradual, sure, however the truth that you bought swept up onto a rocky crag (vice a sandy seaside), onto a grey sky, with wind sweeping in and a desolate panorama — the gradual pacing at the start (the place you are doing quite a lot of stumbling and crawling) actually gave a sense of isolation, loneliness, and a way of “burden”. While you lastly encounter one other individual, it turns into nearly an amazing aid, even contemplating the individual is making an attempt to kill/enslave you.
I feel you are completely lifeless on concerning the pacing being an enormous drawback although. Even for those who loved the gradual tempo of the beginning, it ought to have picked up the tempo afterwards and been extra constant, which it undoubtedly wasn’t.

Once more, although, whether or not or not the sport was “too gradual” comes all the way down to your individual private preferences, and the expectations you had coming into the expertise.
FruitofPassion stated:

It might be necessary to know what you might be moving into if beginning this recreation. There may be quite a lot of strolling round and not likely doing something. Total it is extra so an interactive movie than a recreation.
This is not a foul factor although, it is completely phenomenal at what it’s. However simply know for those who’re not large into slower paced story heavy stuff or did not benefit from the first one, this will likely simply not be for you.

BigTymer2047 stated:

Nice recreation. Sluggish paced, story primarily based recreation. Do not anticipate non cease motion however anticipate insanely stunning graphics and strong, clean recreation play. Total, an excellent recreation!

Even so, a dash button would have been a welcome addition, in accordance with not less than certainly one of our discussion board posters:
BigBanjo Okay stated:

You can most likely end all 3 of the opposite playlist video games earlier than you attain the first checkpoint on this one. Senua strikes at 0.5 mph. And the primary recreation was barely higher on mute for what that is value. Largely completed the primary recreation out of spite.

On the very starting of the month, I requested a query relating to the extra adverse reception of the sequel: is Hellblade II really a worse recreation than Hellblade I, or is it extra the case that nobody had any expectations concerning the first Hellblade, so it was a pleasing shock, whereas the expectations had been set very excessive for the sequel, and it didn’t reside as much as all the pieces that individuals had been hoping for. It’s clear that lots of people choose the primary recreation for a lot of legitimate causes, however I additionally assume that it was at all times going to have a tough time dwelling as much as the unique.
Xynvincible stated:

It is a good recreation, inferior to the primary however I am assuming people who hated on it simply anticipated one thing completely different than what they obtained.

FruitofPassion stated:

There does seem like some “been there, carried out that” really feel to it. The primary recreation you your self did not know what was occurring, there was no clarification, no ui, no route (plus the scare of permadeath). And the voices for the primary time was superior. You had been simply as misplaced as Senua was. However now you do not actually have that benefit.
Senua can also be extra mature now so it is a bit of a special strategy to the world. Extra revenge now as a substitute of ignorance.

For what it’s value, my tackle it’s that quite a lot of the criticism stems from a mismatch between what folks wished from the sequel, and what Ninja Concept selected to develop. Ninja Concept performed to their strengths, specializing in bettering the visuals and sound design that they’d already carried out so properly within the first recreation, whereas players want they might have spent extra time growing the weaker features of the primary recreation, such because the fight and puzzle design. If you happen to had been anticipating main steps ahead in these areas, you would definitely have been disenchanted.
RumbleFish10 stated:

I believed this was a superb recreation, however I am on the fence about it being higher than the primary recreation… I nonetheless really feel just like the fight may have been developed extra because it simply felt overly easy. Total I did not really feel as invested within the sequel, for no matter motive. I feel I hoped for lots extra.

ZeBeDee32 stated:

Already accomplished this when it got here out. Undoubtedly did not deserve all of the adverse criticism IMO, possibly folks had been anticipating one thing greater than this was ever meant to be. I believed a number of the scenes had been actually unbelievable. Performed on a PC at 60 fps with headphones and was very immersive.

So, what’s the ultimate phrase on Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II? It’s not an ideal recreation, by any means, however I feel by and enormous the builders had been profitable at making the sport they wished to make, even when many followers and critics wished they might have made completely different decisions and centered their consideration on different features of the expertise. I additionally assume that it is a recreation that’s more likely to be considered extra favorably over time, because the preliminary dangerous style from the sport’s launch is forgotten. However that’s simply me… listed below are another “closing ideas” from a few of our common TA Playlist contributors:
JohnnyInterfnk stated:

All in all, not as centered on the first, however with a number of standout set items (the second “main objective” sequence in/across the coastal cave being the standout). Fight nonetheless hasn’t come collectively but sadly. The sport appears and (particularly) sounds as nice as everybody says. If you happen to can cope with the fight jank and iffy fight, its value your time.

TymanTheLong stated:

So what do I consider Helblade 2? It’s sophisticated. It’s so bold that it’s sure to have failed to achieve stated ambitions and fail it did. The sport play retains warts and points that appear weirdly fixable given the very lengthy improvement cycle and help the sport had. However even with all that the expertise was value having. A number of issues, equivalent to automated fight and an alternate narrator New Recreation + are impressed sufficient I anticipate to see these concepts pop up in future video games. Hellblade 2 is general a should play, given its quick size, excellent visuals, and bold concepts. It finally fell quick however expectations had been additionally ridiculously excessive.

Spa1h stated:

I preferred each related, however I might the advocate the primary recreation extra. The visuals and audio design in Hellblade 2 is one of the best I’ve ever seen. I additionally preferred lots that they now change between a pleasant and a darkish setting often – the primary recreation was in some way at all times darkish and have become darker the additional you went.
In comparison with the primary one, they did not overuse the rune puzzles, and introduced in some selection as a substitute. I had no drawback find all options on my own additionally due to the wonderful participant steering on the one aspect, and the narrowness of the puzzle areas on the opposite aspect.
My largest adverse level for Hellblade 2 is its linearity. Within the first recreation you would now and again resolve the place you go, however right here all the pieces is laid out for you. Additionally the paths are so slim at occasions that it actually makes me really feel the sport performs itself, and that broke immersion for me. Additionally there have been sections that dragged out method too lengthy – or had been method too easy – just like the dark-cave part or the forest close to the top of the sport.
The plot is mediocre, because the reveal that all the pieces was creativeness would not match to the remainder of the journey properly imo. On the plus aspect, i like that they now included different characters and you do not at all times journey alone.
I might advocate this recreation to people who like atmospheric strolling sims, with a little bit of gameplay. Sadly, there may be not way more to it. I might evaluate this recreation to Plague Story-Requiem, which has an identical really feel however does all the pieces, however presentation, higher than Hellblade 2.

Thanks all for some actually nice discussions and observations this month. The sheer quantity of high quality posts is among the causes this text took so lengthy to place collectively… the opposite one, we’ll speak about as we get to this month’s stats!

A complete of three,963 tracked players unlocked not less than one achievement in Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II through the month of October, with a whopping 2,039 beginning the sport for the primary time, and 645 tracked players ending the sport through the month. That provides as much as 15,567 achievements unlocked through the month for 1,430,225 whole Gamerscore and a pair of,045,862 TrueAchievement rating – an general ratio of 1.43 for the month.

Not surprisingly, the most typical achievement through the month, unlocked by 1,890 tracked players, was additionally the very first story-related achievement, “The Subsequent Signal”, with its 1.04 ratio for surviving the shipwreck and capturing Thórgestr.

Technically, although, that’s not the primary achievement that may have been unlocked within the recreation, because it’s doable to open up photograph mode earlier than that time and earn “Price a Thousand Phrases”, which was the second-most unlocked throughout October. This form of achievement is nice for Bean Divers, who can dip in and pop an achievement in seconds, however arguably it’s stretching the definition of the phrase “achievement” for a few of our commenters.
Allgorhythm stated:

Moe GZ stated:

The photograph mode is nice, it offers a special view on the sport and had many choices to vary gentle, and so on. I used it naturally as a result of the sport has spectacular visuals and I wished to take footage. And the alternate narrator is unlocked after ending the sport, the bizarre factor is that they needed to report voices that many gamers will skip. Properly, I used to be too bored after my playthrough to replay a chapter with the alternate narrator… IMHO they aren’t as dangerous achievements as you see them. They’re good incentives to find components of the sport than folks might miss, and method higher achievements than many shovelware.

Tell us within the feedback under which camp you’re in… do you respect these achievements that information you to options you won’t have explored, or are they just too simple to justify the Gamerscore?

The 2 least-unlocked achievements throughout October are controversial for a completely completely different motive – collectibles. Each “Tales of Midgard” (unlocked 662 occasions through the month) and “Glimpses of the Gods” (unlocked 656 occasions) require discovering explicit objects on this planet; the previous for locating all of the Lorestangr (“lore stones”) and listening to a story from Senua’s previous mentor Druth, and the latter for locating all of the hidden faces that reveal secret paths to spirit timber that inform tales of the Hiddenfolk.

Now, to the second motive this wrap-up took so lengthy… Shout-Outs! Often, I can obtain a report every month itemizing all of the individuals who each began and completed a recreation through the month, however for some motive, that perform wasn’t working in October. Perhaps there have been simply too many – after manually looking out via the 100% Membership leaderboard for Hellblade II, I discovered a whopping 269 players for the October 24 Shout-Out record! Not stunning for a recreation that may be accomplished in lower than a day. The primary gamer to earn a spot on this month’s record was Kostja93, who accomplished the sport in 8 hours and 49 minutes between October 1st and 2nd, however the quickest completion goes to AohJay with a recorded time of simply 2 hours 36 minutes! (That’s primarily based on the notoriously wonky console time data from Xbox, reasonably than the conventional metric utilizing the location’s achievement timestamps, so possibly take that with a grain of salt.)

And that, lastly, will wrap it up for this wrap-up of the October 2024 TA Playlist recreation: Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. Search for the wrap-up for final month’s recreation, Spec Ops: The Line, to be out later this month, and within the meantime, head on over to the Spoiler-Free and Spoiler Dialogue Threads for the December 2024 featured recreation, Psychonauts 2. See you there!