"If I can survive the fire of Sutur and escape my darkness, then so can you"
Ninja Theories latest two games are widely considered to be incredibly competent art pieces in themselves for the involved narrative that they tell, if not for 'complexity of their gameplay systems'. They are lean experiences, telling the narrative they need to and then dipping out leaving you to swallow the bulk of it all in your own time. And they were games that I always wanted to try out but never found the space. That was, until I picked up Game Pass and thought "Hey, I've already get Sacrifice waiting for me to finish it- why don't I just go back to back?" And with that was born this little mini-review of the series of the Senua titles and what I think of this, what might ultimately go down as Ninja Theories presiding legacy over the video game landscape.
First off it's important to say that basically the Hellblade games are extremely high budget indie games, that is to say- they are paced and presented with about as much narrative exposition spoken over inquisitive jaunts through interesting environments as your average 'Gone Home' or 'Everyone's Gone to the Rapture' title. What sets the games apart is the way they've always launched at the cutting edge of visual fidelity for their time, and the fact that these are the stories of a warrior who raises her sword when she needs to. It's just that sometimes you are left wondering whether you swing that sword to defend her physical body, or to protect the very fragile essence of her mind itself as it buckles against the massive throes of trauma she experiences in both titles. The games do not make it obvious which is which at all.
The original Hellblade places protagonist Senua on a vivid and fog strewn journey into the land of Hel in search of the soul of her beloved, and within that framing device a great deal of darkly fantastical imagery is placed upon a inherently twisting introspective investigation. Senua is our viewing glass into this world and yet she is a deeply unreliable narrator thanks to, as should become obvious pretty quickly, her schizophrenia which conjures illusion borne out of her own struggles to accept the frankly horrific murder of her lover and the fantastic tales of Norse myth she recalls throughout the story as told by her old mentor Druth. In that sense Hellblade feels like a gauntlet through the indescribable given focus and stitched together through myth and imagination- though filtered through the troubling lens of a deeply traumatic mind.
Her 'Sacrifice' is interwoven with puzzles that pertain to 'insight' into her past and the people that shaped her. As stories are narrated by bodiless voices or rarely in brief murky flashes obscured to a degree that you don't notice the out-of-place FNV means by which they are captured. (Druth's FNVs are unmistakeable though. There's no disguising that dude's realness!) And here and there across her journey manifestations of the demons that infest her 'Hel' come to life and we engage in combat- arguably Hellblade's weakest attribute. All as we forge greater to an internal synthesis where the emotionally wounded Senua can perhaps start the healing process.
For all that I've heard spitting on the combat of these games I have to be honest- it isn't actually all that bad. These fights are clearly designed with more an idea of being cinematic than complex and dynamic, but given their relative infrequency they are totally serviceable as simple breaks from the puzzle solving and frank storytelling. They even throw in different enemy types and dodge cycles to keep things interesting, and even a special move you can fall back on in times of stress. It's not particularly difficult either, with Senua pretty much undying unless she gets double-tapped whilst already on the floor, which is pretty easy to avoid as it is. Near the late game, however, there are a couple of frankly annoying gauntlets where the game throws giant waves at the player which suffer from the same problem that Kingdom Come Deliverance's late game hoards did- this combat system absolutely is not designed for multiple combatants. It becomes a game of awkwardly snapping between enemies that can literally spawn out of aether behind you if the game so chooses and this doesn't feel like the kind of game where you're supposed to get frustrated at the enemy waves. (Just saying.)
Senua is beset her entire adventure by four voices in her head, manifestations of her mental illness, that helpfully work to convey conflict, doubt, resolve and everything she keeps so tightly wrapped inside. It really is a unique framing device and a way to get over the lack of direct supporting cast in the game. Aside from the FMVs, Senua is literally the only human model in the entire game, which makes since when you consider the amount of effort that went into creating her at the time as one of the most realistic looking video game characters conceived of. Giving her people to talk with, even if those people are just herself, gives the push and pull a narrative of significant change requires. And, fittingly, it helps to reinforce one of the key themes of Senua- her feeling of deep isolation as a result of her psychosis.
If there was anything I would criticize from the original, it would have to be that ending. Not the actual ending itself, but the lead-up and its gauntlets of combat, really highlighting the shortcomings there, followed by a frankly frustrating 'revelation' moment. Without spoiling anything because these games are so narratively solid you really should play them- the key most revelations are two fold- namely the significance of the wonderfully baritone male inner voice who hounds her, and the source of this 'darkness' she feels haunts her. Both are resolved rather inexplicably. She just decides that she knows the answer, and whilst the identity of the voice doesn't take a rocket scientist to solve- the other mystery is genuinely pulled out of thin air. If this entire journey takes place in her subconsciousness, or at least she can only cobble together fragments of her mind to reach synthesis- then how the hell could she have discovered the fate of someone she, by all accounts, was not aware of beforehand? Is this was supposed to convey some sort of repressed memory- they did a shockingly poor job foreshadowing that given this entire adventure takes place in Senua's head. It's arguably a minor point- but one I feel worth voicing because... they kind of do it again in Hellblade 2. (But I'm getting ahead of myself.)
Hellblade 2 Senua's Saga is probably the most graphical impressive game I've ever played, and artistically the thing is shot like a modern Lord of the Rings movie in the composition of landscapes and light, the flashes of battle, the hues of the supernatural and the sheer fidelity of the world in front of you. Almost in direct contrast to the arguably entirely ethereal setting of the original, Hellblade 2 actually takes place in the real world, for the most part, as Senua- now reaffirmed in her connection with others- travels up north as a slave in order to discover the heart of the Northmen who, famously, were responsible for the mutilation of her lover- but more recently are conducting various raids and enslavements in Senua's homeland. Rather curiously the connection these men have to Senua's lost love is not addressed once in this entire game, which I can guess surmise just how definitively she put that part of her to rest in the original.
Materially how the original game is very similar to the sequel, with the exception that whereas that had the sensation of 'puzzle rooms' in a manner similar to your average indie game- Hellblade 2 feels more like a big budget epic adventure occasionally interrupted with puzzles, which in themselves are a visual treat to behold as you manipulate blue fireflies into hard rocky substance by the flickering of nearby fires. And whatsmore I have to be honest, I was very impressed with the incredible improvements to swordplay- which in the original was more of a clunky but impressive animation showcase stretched a little beyond it's limits but this time around feels like an almost visceral experience.
From the very first actual fight Senua wages it is clear that Ninja Theory want you to feel the din of chaos- the confusion of the flurry, the taste of the dirt, the blunt violence of metal searing flesh- it is a stunning and breathless spectacle that, at times, defies belief to be anything more than a cinematic. Of course, this effect is achieved because combat is still largely on the rails, the the breath of the presentation (as well as the general framing of the entire game as a straight, focused narrative) just about makes up for that. It was actually in these moments of battle, particularly at night, that I first caught those glimpses of fidelity so stunning it looked indistinguishable from real life. Just flashes mind, but the effect is truly surreal in a way that might just beat the old 'unreal valley' effect I've felt ever since the days of 'Beowulf'.
Additionally, given the setting being largely in the real world and Senua's progress as a character, we actually have in-game side characters this time around who are rendered just as impressively as Senua herself- although obviously not as iconic. (They don't even wear their own war paint or nuthin!) These supporting cast lack quite the level of depth that Senua is afforded, at least throughout the main narrative, but act as emotion tethers to the brutal world that heightens the player's connection to it- mirroring the way that Senua herself becomes increasingly tied to a world she thought had left her behind. It's a fantastic bit of diegetic narrative set dressing which brings so much to the world and story that I love to see.
The reason I specify 'in the main narrative' is due to the fact that Senua's Saga actually features alternative narrators that are from the perspectives of other characters throughout this story, which help us break through the lens of who these people actually are as well as what is real and what are part of Senua's psychosis. Unfortunately I could not bring myself to try any of these out purely because of the HiddenFolk chapter, which was such a never ending assault of puzzles that I just could not endure a second time around. That chapter dragged! But I can definitely see someone else really taking to the Hellblade enough to get a lot out of the renewed reasons to play through again, even if just to see what they missed.
Saga is largely focused around these giants that blight the land of the north, sources of many great hardships and suffering which afflicts the isolated townships up in the hills. Now from the get-go, the fact we're dealing with actual giants seems at odds with what we know of the Hellblade world which seems, as far we could tell, to be set in firm reality aside from Senua's delusions. Solving this as a viewer forms the backbone of the plot intrigue and sets this story apart as just that tad more active than the previous game as now there is something to unravel. Yet even saying that, and pretty accurately figuring out the third act before it played out- I'm still at odds with if it all made as much sense as they want it to. The second giant in particular doesn't seem like it lives up to scrutiny.
And finally- the revelation: this one might be poorer than the first. It's a narratively satisfying reveal, that is, and a perfect culmination of the Saga's current story- but there is absolutely no congruent way that Senua could have made such a deduction on her own. She believes fully in her psychosis and even has her delusion ratified by those around her thanks to what I can only presume is a shared group deliria- yet somehow she works her way to a conclusion that actively opposes the delusions she has lived through, despite never questioning her grip on reality up until now. Sure, she knows something is wrong- but her beliefs paint that as some sort of possession or shamanistic second-sight into the land of the dead: nothing would permit her to totally shatter her own warped sense of reality even in the midst of the most tense confrontation. Shame really- it was a really satisfying finale otherwise.
Hellblade really is a narrative gaming experience unlike any other out there- and really does feel like the ultimate culmination of everything Ninja Theory have been working towards up until now. Short though the games are, they are experience pieces designed to stick with you for the unique story they're telling and the unique device through which they bind you to their world. Much to my own surprise I actually think that the Saga is the superior one- simply for the amount of actual substantive pondering I've had on the game and what it's themes and layers represent- rather than the first game where I was just puzzled about what exactly happened at the end, and then kind of what "oh" when I figured it out. I'm not sure there really needs to be another story in this, though some might see that last moment as a cliffhanger- I think the very fact it ends on the precipice of two ravines is kind of the point itself. Besides, I would love to see Ninja Theory take their out-of-the-ordinary storytelling chops into something more gameplay traditional like that DMC game they made all those years ago- I can see forsee something truly spectacular out of them in the future!
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