After we spent yesterday going into PlayStation's inaugural attempt to secure early console sales, I only thought it right that we shift our gaze to their direct competitors, the folk over at Xbox. Theirs, afterall, is a rivalry that has persisted through the ages of gaming in the modern century, and as such their marketing strategies tend to mirror one another. Xbox focused on creating a community hub console last gen whilst PlayStation focused purely on games, and roles appear to be switching around for the coming generation. Similarly, both of these companies thought it was appropriate to offer up a brief teaser of the capabilities of their next console via a brief trailer supposedly rendered using that console.
For PlayStation that title was Godfall, a game that didn't do much for me personally but others have elicited some excitement for. Xbox, however, decided to take a fresh approach to this trend by teasing a game that was not a brand new IP, but a sequel to a celebrated game from a recently acquired Studio; Ninja Theory's 'Hellblade: Senua's Sacrfice'. I find this choice of teaser game interesting for a great many reasons, not least of which because Ninja Theory first burst onto the scene as a very Sony-friendly developer. In 2017 they published their very own Dark Souls-inspired title named 'Nioh' that received mass praise and attention but, crucially, was a PlayStation exclusive throughout it's lifetime. Even the original Hellblade was originally only playable on Sony's console until nearly a year after launch. Having seemingly secured the franchise as an Xbox title, Microsoft are clearly showcasing their willingness to poach the premiere talent where needed. (Although I really hope this isn't an exclusive. That would suck for fans of the original.)
Another key reason that 'Hellblade' is a significant choice for a launch title is because it is a sequel as opposed to something new. The prevailing train of thought when it comes to creating a launch line-up is that you are on the verge of a whole new generation of play and so it would behoove you to support and develop wholly brand new ideas. Afterall, if you want to showcase the domineering power of your new console it would help if your consumers didn't have any earlier games in the series with which to compare and go "I don't really see that much of a difference." However this line of reasoning has bought us title after title that is designed to look flashy on the outside but is ultimately devoid of passion and content on the inside. (A phenomena that I went into great detail about during my last blog.) This generation Xbox has decided to go a different way.
'Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice' was an absolute powerhouse in 2017, rising from relative obscurity to hit the game awards and walk away with the 'Best in Voice acting' award. It also received considerable praise for the way that the team studied and depicted mental health and paranoia in order to make the core themes of the game feel vivid and real. This is a title that the general public have a history with and an expectation of quality around, an expectation that is very much transitive once they hear about the impending sequel 'Hellblade 2: Senua's Saga', despite the negative connotation usually associated with 'launch titles'. Xbox don't even really need to let people know what the game is about, that audience already has that history, their only job with this reveal was to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that this new 'Hellblade' would blow the old one out of the water on terms of raw fidelity if nothing else. (A tall order considering how visually stunning the last title was.)
Whilst last blog I slyly mocked 'Godfall' for choosing to render easy 'clean' textures and visuals to showcase the power of their new engine, I must give credit to Xbox for choosing the harder path. 'Hellblade 2: Senua's Saga's trailer prominently showcases one of the most difficult textures possible to pull off, human skin, up close and in detail. It is a good sign, then, that during this reveal people in the comments were fighting over whether or not this trailer is live-action. (It isn't.) Senua's face is genuinely remarkable to behold in this trailer in the way that is contorts and pulls in incredibly realistic movements. Muscles pull the tendons they are supposed to, nothing seems too bright and sub-surface lighting is appropriate. This face looks real. Of course there are some small issues if you look too closely like some 'halo' outline around the hair, but overall the effects are truly striking.
As for the content of the trailer itself, this one was appropriately mysterious considering the themeing of these games, (A series in which, I'll remind you, Senua travels to a manifestation of the afterlife) however there are some interesting thematic changes that I've noticed. Most prominently, the fact that we actually see other people in this trailer apart from Senua, both wondering through a foggy marsh and lining up behind her during her demonic ravings. (No clue what that's about, by the by.) This is significant because of how prominent the theme of isolation was for the first title, fueling her schizophrenic hallucinations of voices to fill the void of company. Now she is not only with company but appears to be at the head of a druidic tribe, possibly symbolic of her growth as a character from one who was lost to one who now leads.
We also see a great deal of druidic imagery in this trailer, hinting at the dark, cultish-like vibes of the original and likely promising that this name game deliver a great deal more. Tonally, this all seems very different to Playstation's 'Godfall' and the godawful 'Faux-Avengers' dialogue that the characters were sharing. The distinction is so pronounced, in fact, that I can't help but wonder if Microsoft and Sony coordinated their reveals in order to pull separate crowds and not step on each others shoes. (Big if true.) I have to admit that Senua does seem more up my street, but PlayStation does also have their 'Last of us Part 2' and another title which I may be covering soon, (Or have already covered, considering the ass-backwards way that I organize these blogs) so I can't say that this alone has sold me on the Series X, or whatever the final title is. (The first step on that road would be Microsoft solving that energy consumption issue that folk are speculating about. It's pretty darn non-negotiable too.)
Gaming has always been an unique medium in that despite it's size there is still room for smaller studios to come out with something crazy that blows everyone out of the water. (providing the folk involved are insanely skilled, passionate and get lucky with amassing an audience.) For Ninja Theory it is amazing to think that they've gone from a tiny studio to one of the frontrunners for the next generation, and personally I feel that story has to be a little inspiration for other big-dreaming studios out there. Even if this game weren't the launch title for the next gen, I would be excited to dive into it, and that's not something that I can say for every title I come across. That being said, there's still room for Microsoft to completely botch the release of the Series X, just like last generation, and ruin the chances of 'Senua' to reach a large audience, so I suppose the ball is in their court now. Don't mess it up.
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