PC Gamer - UK 2020-04)

That’s an empty way of saying
Hellblade, understandably, takes itself
very seriously. It demands I listen
when it talks. In some ways it’s the
action-adventure equivalent of being
left with a deeply religious aunt,
albeit a rather exciting
one daubed in woad.
The opening does a
thoughtful job of
establishing Senua’s
psychosis and it’s
impossible not to feel
immersed as a chorus
of conflicting voices
sets the scene. And as
striking as Hellblade is, it’s the audio
that truly resonates. It’s also unique
for a game to give you such
conflicting advice. Turn around. Go
back. Give up. Headphones are a
necessity here.
And you need the voices. This is a
deliberately sparse game and the lack
of UI makes everything feel more
desperate. Choices feel instinctive,

M

uch like how you can tell a lot about a person from their
shoes, it’s possible to glean information from the way a
game handles its ladders. Stay with me. A game that lets
you recklessly slide down suggests an underlying sense
of mischievous fun. Conversely, if it could, I get the
sense Hellblade would explain to me in great detail how each rung of every
ladder reminds Senua of some half-repressed trauma.

not considered. You never know how

much health a boss has left, which

makes the final stages of each fight

more frantic. Slapping some

crisp-fonted display over the top

would be like hearing an Alan Carr

audio commentary

explaining every

creative choice on your

favourite music track.

It seems flippant to

talk about mechanics

when the subject

matter of the game is

so heartfelt, but

Hellblade can be a

frustrating experience. Senua is

infected with a magical rot that

spreads up her arm each time she

dies. You’re led to believe if it

progresses too far it’s game over,

progress lost. It’s a fascinating way to

add peril to the experience, but it

makes you completely reliant on the

game’s ability to impart meaning with

minimal explanation. And, after

tumbling off logs, getting blindsided

by spawning enemies, and burning to

death for not running through fire, I

didn’t find Hellblade entirely up to

the task. Navigating some bits feels

like trial and error, which is

unpleasant in a game that teases you

with such high stakes.

WRACK AND RUNE

Hellblade’s journey is somewhat

undermined by its raw gaminess. In

the early stages I got trapped in a

loop of searching for hidden runes,

allowing me to open locked doors

and search for more runes.

The repetition makes it feel like a

Grasshopper Manufacture game

about the life and work of Carl Jung.

‘You can’t open the door and go to

level four until you’ve addressed your

dysfunctional attempts to regulate

self-esteem.’ This is a wider criticism

of Hellblade, and the only thing I

found at all disappointing: it feels like

a collection of repetitive tasks rather

thanacohesivewhole.

NEEDTOKNOW

WHAT IS IT?

Articulate action-

adventure game about

death and psychosis

EXPECT TO PAY

£24.99

DEVELOPER

Ninja Theory

PUBLISHER

In-house

REVIEWED ON

Intel Core i7-7700 CUP

@ 3.60GHz, 16 GB RAM,

NVIDIA GeForce GTX

1070, Windows 10

MULTIPLAYER

No

LINK

hellblade.com

75

Occasionally frustrating,

Hellblade looks great,

sounds better, and asks

questions few other

games dare.

VERDICT

RAGNAROK GODDESS

Casting the runes in HELLBLADE: SENUA’S SACRIFICE

It’s theaction-

adventure

equivalent of

being left with

a religious aunt

OLDGAMESREVISITEDby Matthew Elliott

THEY’RE BACK

Can’t find the right accent

cushion? Try sitting on the dead.