Finished Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2.

After beating the first game I was incredibly satisfied with the conclusion, it was left open for a sequel but didn’t feel like it necessarily needed one. 7 years later and now the sequel has arrived, seemingly dividing gaymurs who dove in. Is it 10/10? Is it a disappointment how youtube videos imply?

No to both.

In Senua’s Sacrifice, our heroine is on a journey to save her partner’s soul from Hel. In the sequel she is on a quest to stop slavers from taking people from her lands. The girl has grand ambitions, what can I say? As with the original title, Senua’s newest adventure is twisted by the various tales and folklore of the lands; more than ever, it’s harder to discern what is a symptom of her psychosis and what is truly tangible in the world she inhabits with the other people she encounters. The voices Senua hears are more chatty, opinionated, and contradictory with one another as Senua has to work with others to achieve her goal. They doubt Senua’s choices, are convinced her allies don’t trust her, they truly cloud your ability get a proper read on an encounter with someone.

The gameplay is similar to the original game; you walk down a predetermined path, maybe find a hidden collectable, fight a couple of freaky monster men, solve psychosis environmental puzzles, and then continue walking. The combat is mostly the same with 2 changes: all combat encounters are 1v1, and there is no longer a kick ability. These changes are done to make combat more intense and visceral, the kick would immediately stun any enemy and leave them exposed to a killing combo. Though satisfying, it does not evolve as the game progresses.

The visuals are impressive, there were instances where I had to remind myself *this is a realtime cutscene*, especially when regular human characters are the sole focus in them. I wanted to stop and take so many screenshots shots, its robust photo mode is a great tool for it. 

Music is lowkey and accents the setting well as you walk and solve puzzles, it slowly builds and you can hear powerful chants while in combat at certain junctions. From what I recall, Ninja Theory worked with Heilung for the music in this game, a great choice.

If you want a linear, narrative-driven game that pushes for ultra-realistic fidelity and has satisfying but very simple combat, I recommend Hellblade 2. Play the first one if you haven’t already, if you like it then the sequel is definitely worth it.

It gets a mountain of wet rocks/10