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''Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice'' is a 2017
action-adventure game The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a story ...
developed and published by the British video game development studio
Ninja Theory Ninja Theory Limited is a first-party British video game development studio based in Cambridge, England. Notable games it has developed include '' Kung Fu Chaos'', ''Heavenly Sword'', '' Enslaved: Odyssey to the West'', '' DmC: Devil May Cry ...
. Set in a
dark fantasy Dark fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy literary, artistic, and cinematic works that incorporate disturbing and frightening themes of fantasy. It often combines fantasy with elements of horror or has a gloomy dark tone or a sense of horror and dr ...
world inspired by
Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...
and
Celtic culture Celtic culture may refer to: *the culture of Celts *the culture of Celts (modern) *the culture of Celtic nations: **Culture of Ireland **Culture of Scotland **Culture of the Isle of Man **Culture of Wales **Culture of Cornwall ** Culture of Brittan ...
, the game follows Senua, a
Pict The Picts were a group of peoples who lived in what is now northern and eastern Scotland (north of the Firth of Forth) during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and what their culture was like can be inferred from ear ...
warrior who must make her way to
Helheim Hel (Old Norse: ) is an afterlife location in Norse mythology and paganism. It is ruled over by a being of the same name, Hel. In late Icelandic sources, varying descriptions of Hel are given and various figures are described as being buried ...
by defeating otherworldly entities and facing their challenges, in order to rescue the soul of her dead lover from the goddess
Hela HeLa (; also Hela or hela) is an immortalized cell line used in scientific research. It is the oldest and most commonly used human cell line. The line is derived from cervical cancer cells taken on February 8, 1951, named after Henrietta La ...
. It was released worldwide for
Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
and
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
in August 2017,
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
in April 2018,
Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
in April 2019, and
Xbox Series X and Series S The Xbox Series X/S are home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. They were both released on November 10, 2020, as the fourth generation Xbox, succeeding the Xbox One. Along with Sony's PlayStation 5, also released in November 2020, t ...
in August 2021. ''Hellblade'' features support for
virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...
, which was added in a 2018 update. Self-described as an "
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
AAA game In the video game industry, AAA (pronounced and sometimes written triple-A) is an informal classification used to categorise games produced and distributed by a mid-sized or major publisher, which typically have higher development and marketing ...
", ''Hellblade'' was created by a team of approximately twenty developers led by writer and director Tameem Antoniades. The game blends different gameplay mechanics and concepts like
puzzle solving A puzzle is a game, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together ( or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to arrive at the correct or fun solution of the puzzle ...
,
psychological horror Psychological horror is a genre, subgenre of horror fiction, horror and psychological fiction with a particular focus on mental, emotional, and Mental state, psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle its audience. The subgenre frequent ...
and melee combat.
Voice acting Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...
is an integral part of the game, while its
cutscene A cutscene or event scene (sometimes in-game cinematic or in-game movie) is a sequence in a video game that is not interactive, interrupting the gameplay. Such scenes are used to show conversations between characters, set the mood, reward the ...
s combine
motion capture Motion capture (sometimes referred as mo-cap or mocap, for short) is the process of recording the movement of objects or people. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robo ...
by Melina Juergens, and
live action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...
performances by other actors. The game's narrative serves as a
metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wit ...
for the character's struggle with
psychosis Psychosis is a condition of the mind that results in difficulties determining what is real and what is not real. Symptoms may include delusions and hallucinations, among other features. Additional symptoms are incoherent speech and behavior ...
, as Senua, who suffers from the condition but believes it to be a curse, is haunted by an entity known as the "Darkness", voices in her head known as "Furies", and memories from her past. To properly represent psychosis, developers worked closely with
neuroscientist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist who has specialised knowledge in neuroscience, a branch of biology that deals with the physiology, biochemistry, psychology, anatomy and molecular biology of neurons, Biological neural network, n ...
s, mental health specialists, and people living with the condition. ''Hellblade'' was a commercial success and was well-received by critics, who praised it as a
work of art A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...
and applauded its uncommon choice of revolving around psychosis, the quality and uniqueness of its approach of the condition, and its story and main character. Its overall presentation, along with Juergens' performance, was also considered superior in quality to what independent games usually provide, although its
gameplay Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and pla ...
and other elements received some criticism. The game sold over a million copies across all platforms by June 2018. A sequel, '' Senua's Saga: Hellblade II'', was announced at
The Game Awards 2019 The Game Awards 2019 was an award show that honored the best video games of 2019. The event was produced and hosted by Geoff Keighley, creator and producer of The Game Awards, and was held to an invited audience at the Microsoft Theater in Los ...
.


Gameplay

''Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice'' is divided into two types of gameplay: the first allows Senua to walk freely and interact with her surroundings. Those parts focus on either story via voiceover, as Senua travels from one location to another, or the resolution of a puzzle or challenge of some kind to progress further. She can use a capacity known as "focus", in reference to her tendency to see things differently from other people due to her condition, to trigger puzzle-related events. If she uses her focus on totems hidden throughout the game, it triggers a memory via
voice-over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non-Diegetic#Film sound and music, diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, th ...
of her friend Druth telling her of the stories of the Norsemen; activating all forty-four of them triggers a bonus cutscene shortly before the game's climax, that extends on Druth's backstory. Several
areas Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while ''surface area'' refers to the area of an open su ...
feature their own exclusive mechanics or trials, such as reaching a safe zone in time before Senua dies, or using the focus ability to modify the structure of her surroundings. In addition, ''Hellblade'' features fights against malformed representations of Norsemen who block her progression, including occasional bosses. During those fights, Senua has her sword drawn out, and is turned towards one of her enemies, on which the camera is automatically focused; she can use two kinds of attacks, quick or heavy, kick an enemy to prevent it from blocking her attacks,
parry PARRY was an early example of a chatbot, implemented in 1972 by psychiatrist Kenneth Colby. History PARRY was written in 1972 by psychiatrist Kenneth Colby, then at Stanford University. While ELIZA was a tongue-in-cheek simulation of a Rogeria ...
, or dodge. She can also charge the opponent she is focusing on, to either get closer or directly attack or kick it. If she parries or dodges enough, she can use her focus ability in battle to move faster than her enemies or dissipate the shadows some of them are made of, which makes them impervious to regular attacks. Once she obtains Gramr, Senua can charge her heavy attacks for additional damage and parries more efficiently, both of which can allow her to use her focus ability. If Senua suffers a strong hit, or several hits in a row, she falls to the ground, and the player must press the corresponding button repeatedly as fast as possible before an enemy deals her a fatal blow; if she does not get back up in time, she dies. The closer she is to death, the more difficult it is for her to get back up; she can also die from a regular hit, if she was already very close to death. ''Hellblade'' does not feature any
heads-up display A head-up display, or heads-up display, also known as a HUD (), is any transparent display that presents data without requiring users to look away from their usual viewpoints. The origin of the name stems from a pilot being able to view informa ...
or tutorials. Instead, Druth, Furies, or the Darkness, provide audio indications on
game mechanics In tabletop games and video games, game mechanics are the rules or ludemes that govern and guide the player's actions, as well as the game's response to them. A rule is an instruction on how to play, a ludeme is an element of play like the L-shap ...
, and how to progress through levels and puzzles. The Furies provide Senua advice in battle, notably warning her if an enemy is attacking from her back. They react when Senua takes damage, and panic heavily if she is close to death: how nervous they are when she takes a hit is representative of how much damage she can still take. The nature of most apparitions, events witnessed, or voices heard, is purposely left unclear, and can be interpreted as either an actual apparition by a spirit, a memory of Senua, or a trick created by the Darkness or one of the deceptive creatures she has to face. As such, the clues given during the game are not always reliable (except for Druth's): certain Furies try to demotivate Senua, or give false indications such as telling her she took the wrong way, or that she is walking into a trap.


Plot

Set in the late VIII century, the game starts with Senua (Melina Juergens), a
Pict The Picts were a group of peoples who lived in what is now northern and eastern Scotland (north of the Firth of Forth) during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and what their culture was like can be inferred from ear ...
warrior from
Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...
arriving at the border of
Helheim Hel (Old Norse: ) is an afterlife location in Norse mythology and paganism. It is ruled over by a being of the same name, Hel. In late Icelandic sources, varying descriptions of Hel are given and various figures are described as being buried ...
in a quest to save the soul of her dead lover, Dillion (
Oliver Walker Oliver Walker (born 23 September 1985) is a British actor, known for his role on the TV series ''Atlantis''. He has also made guest appearances on '' Doctors'', ''Holby City'' and ''Coronation Street'', among others. Career In 2013, Walker was ...
), from the goddess
Hela HeLa (; also Hela or hela) is an immortalized cell line used in scientific research. It is the oldest and most commonly used human cell line. The line is derived from cervical cancer cells taken on February 8, 1951, named after Henrietta La ...
. Senua believes she suffers from a
curse A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular, ...
that causes her to hear the voices of spirits, referred to as "Furies", in her head, the most notable of which is the Narrator (
Chipo Chung Chipo Tariro Chung (born 17 August 1977) is a Zimbabwean actress and activist based in London. Early life and education Chung was born as a refugee in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Her given name Chipo means "gift" in the Shona language. She spent h ...
), who is aware of the player's presence and often breaks the
fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...
by talking to them directly. She is followed by the Darkness (
Steven Hartley Steven Hartley (born 12 August 1960, in Shipley) is an English actor who has appeared in television, film, and theatre. Early life Hartley grew up in Yorkshire. He was a successful amateur boxer for York and Yorkshire in the late 1970s and ...
), a dark entity at the core of the curse. She carries Dillion's severed head to use it as a vessel for his soul and is guided by her memories of the stories of Druth (Nicholas Boulton), a former slave of the
Norsemen The Norsemen (or Norse people) were a North Germanic ethnolinguistic group of the Early Middle Ages, during which they spoke the Old Norse language. The language belongs to the North Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages and is the pre ...
well-versed in their legends, now deceased, who became her friend and mentor during a year-long self-imposed
exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...
. To enter Helheim, Senua overcomes several tests and defeats both the fire giant Surt and the god of illusions
Valravn In Danish folklore, a valravn (Danish "raven of the slain") is a supernatural raven. Those ravens appear in traditional Danish folksongs, where they are described as originating from ravens who consume the bodies of the dead on the battlefield, as ...
, but as she crosses the bridge to Helheim, she is attacked by Hela, who defeats her with a single blow and shatters her sword. Barely surviving the encounter, Senua contemplates suicide, but instead scars herself with her broken blade. She then follows visions of Druth and a man-shaped light she believes to be Dillion to a great tree, where she undergoes four trials that test her body, spirit, and mind and is rewarded with the legendary sword Gramr, a weapon powerful enough to kill Hela. As the game progresses, Senua's backstory is unveiled in nonlinear order through her hallucinations, revealing that her mother, the healer Galena (Ellie Piercy), suffered the same curse she did but thought of it as a gift. However, Senua's devoutly religious father, Zynbel (also performed by Hartley), thought otherwise and burned Galena alive. Senua witnessed the event when she was just five years old, which caused her psychosis to worsen significantly and caused her to block out the memory. Her father, convincing her that she was tainted with evil, abused Senua emotionally and physically and isolated her from the rest of the world until she met Dillion when he visited her village. The two fell in love, and Senua left her father to be with him, as he saw her as different and misunderstood instead of cursed. However, after a
plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...
killed many in Dillion's village, Senua, believing the fault to be hers, left in exile. When she returned a year later after seemingly conquering the Darkness, she found everyone killed by Norsemen raiders, who had sacrificed Dillion in a
blood eagle The blood eagle was a method of ritually executing a chosen member as detailed in late skaldic poetry. According to the two instances mentioned in the Sagas, the victims (in both cases members of royal families) were placed in a prone position, t ...
to their gods. Remembering the stories of Druth, Senua then swore to save Dillion's soul from the gods of the Norsemen. Ultimately, Senua fights against the influence of the Darkness, surviving the "Sea of Corpses" and defeating the beast Garm at the gates of Helheim. She realizes that the Darkness is a representation of her father's abuse and temporarily imprisons the Furies in a magic mirror. She then confronts Hela, who summons a legion of undead warriors; Senua fights them until she is finally overwhelmed and tries to bargain with Hela. In her final moments, she recalls Dillion telling her the importance of accepting loss. As the imagery of Helheim fades away, Hela stabs Senua with Gramr and drops Dillion's head into the abyss, but as the camera returns to her, Senua is standing in her place, with a dead Hela at her feet. Having accepted that it was never possible to bring her lover back and that she is not responsible for his death or anyone else's, Senua finally banishes the Darkness from her soul and accepts the Furies not as a curse, but as a part of who she is. She invites the player to follow her, saying that there is another story to tell.


Development

''Hellblade'' was announced for the
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
at Sony's
Gamescom Gamescom (stylized as gamescom) is a trade fair for video games held annually at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Since 2018, it has been organised by ''game – Verband der deutschen Games-Branche'' (English: Associa ...
media briefing on August 12, 2014, where a trailer was shown. In a joint statement, Ninja Theory described the game as "an experience focused on delivering a deep character in a twisted world, with brutal uncompromising combat", and stated that they wanted to "make a smaller, more focused game experience that is uncompromising in its combat, art and story". The developers called it an "
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
AAA game In the video game industry, AAA (pronounced and sometimes written triple-A) is an informal classification used to categorise games produced and distributed by a mid-sized or major publisher, which typically have higher development and marketing ...
", with their goal being to make a game with all the qualities and production values of any AAA game on the market, but with creative freedom and an "indie spirit". The team eventually succeeded in releasing the game independently, but to achieve this could only release it via
digital distribution Digital distribution, also referred to as content delivery, online distribution, or electronic software distribution, among others, is the delivery or distribution of digital media content (media), content such as Sound recording and reproductio ...
. Hugues Giboire,
art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...
of the previous Ninja Theory game ''
Heavenly Sword ''Heavenly Sword'' is a 2007 action-adventure hack and slash video game developed by Ninja Theory and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. Gameplay The game is an action-adventure title with heavy hack and slash game ...
'', rejoined the studio to work on the game. A
Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
version of the game was announced on January 9, 2015. The game is powered by
Unreal Engine 4 Unreal Engine (UE) is a 3D computer graphics game engine developed by Epic Games, first showcased in the 1998 first-person shooter game ''Unreal''. Initially developed for PC first-person shooters, it has since been used in a variety of genre ...
, and was made by Ninja Theory with a team of around twenty developers. Its subtitle, ''Senua's Sacrifice'', was announced in March 2016. ''Hellblade: Senua's Psychosis'', a short documentary film included with the game, details the concept behind its story and inspirations, notably the team's study of mental illness. It was written and narrated by Antoniades, and edited by Juergens.


Writing

The main inspiration of Senua's character was the
Iceni The Iceni ( , ) or Eceni were a Brittonic tribe of eastern Britain during the Iron Age and early Roman era. Their territory included present-day Norfolk and parts of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, and bordered the area of the Corieltauvi to the we ...
queen
Boudica Boudica or Boudicca (, known in Latin chronicles as Boadicea or Boudicea, and in Welsh as ()), was a queen of the ancient British Iceni tribe, who led a failed uprising against the conquering forces of the Roman Empire in AD 60 or 61. She ...
, while her name came from
Senuna Senuna was a Celtic goddess worshipped in Roman Britain. She was unknown until a cache of 26 votive offerings to her were discovered in 2002 in an undisclosed field at Ashwell End in Hertfordshire by metal detectorist Alan Meek. Her imagery show ...
, a Celtic goddess long lost to historians but re-discovered in 2002, whose name was at first read incorrectly as Senua. Based on what is believed of the way Celtic warriors looked, Senua was given war paints, and braided hair clumped with
lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...
. Doing research to find the right angle for the character, the team realized that despite the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
being able to conquer nearly all of
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, they were unable to conquer a group of
Celts The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancien ...
, known as the
Picts The Picts were a group of peoples who lived in what is now northern and eastern Scotland (north of the Firth of Forth) during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and what their culture was like can be inferred from ea ...
, in the northern reaches of
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
. Towards the end of the 8th century, the first
Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
arrived in the lands of the Picts, more specifically the islands of
Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...
, and replaced them as the main population of the land. Based on the belief that the Norsemen were known for sacrificing the leaders of the tribes they had conquered to their gods, the game's director and lead writer Tameem Antoniades decided to use this as the basis for Senua's quest and trauma, and to have her find everyone in her village killed by the Norsemen and her lover sacrificed to Norse gods via the
blood eagle The blood eagle was a method of ritually executing a chosen member as detailed in late skaldic poetry. According to the two instances mentioned in the Sagas, the victims (in both cases members of royal families) were placed in a prone position, t ...
, a ritualized method of execution whose authenticity is actually debated among historians. According to Antoniades, the team, researching
Celtic culture Celtic culture may refer to: *the culture of Celts *the culture of Celts (modern) *the culture of Celtic nations: **Culture of Ireland **Culture of Scotland **Culture of the Isle of Man **Culture of Wales **Culture of Cornwall ** Culture of Brittan ...
and the Celts' views on mental disorder, found out that they used the term "gelt" for a person who had been driven mad by a curse, grief, or the trauma of a battle, and that the gelt would take to a life in the woods in search of penance, punishment and purgatory; the team decided to make Senua a gelt, who had left her home in exile for those reasons. The character of Druth was based on both a real Irish Celt named Findan who was enslaved by the Norsemen in the 8th century, but eventually escaped and became a monk, and the Celtic tale of "a mad sinner who flees battle into exile and takes on a beastly nature, growing feathers on his body". The character was given a backstory similar to Findan's, a cloak featuring feathers, and was named after another word used by the Celts to describe the mental disorder, "druth", meaning "fool" or "one who utters the words of gods".


Inclusion of psychosis

Antoniades and his team initially conceptualized ''Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice'' as "a compelling, adult, fantasy game". The game was always supposed to be hinted as taking place in Senua's mind, but with her mental illness originally less central to the story. However, the team came to see it as an opportunity to raise awareness on psychosis; regarding the team's interest with the condition, Antoniades stated "It is easy to see the pain and suffering caused by physical diseases or physical trauma, it is not so easy to see the mental suffering or trauma or severe mental illness. But what if we could find a way to see it? Games are capable of drawing you in for hours on end, playing the role of a character who's different from you, experiencing their perspective, and actively involving you in a world that functions with a different set of rules. ..There are many things that happen in the world of ''Hellblade'' that make perfect sense within the context of Senua's mind. ..To complete Senua's quest, you have to internalize and accept the logic and meaning behind these things to progress"; he notably felt that using the tendency of certain psychotics to see patterns others would not see or notice as a game mechanic to solve puzzles would provide a unique angle impossible in media other than video games. Antoniades admitted that during his research, he "didn't have to look very far to discover my own ignorance of the subject". To portray psychosis properly, Ninja Theory "consulted world-leading neuroscientists and non-profit organizations like
Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of one of the predecessors of Glaxo ...
to properly capture the experience of psychosis and its devastating effects on the human mind". Antoniades "learnt that people can experience hallucinations and delusional beliefs without it being a problem – the illness comes when those experiences cause suffering. Often the recovery is not about curing yourself of hallucinations, but finding ways to live with them. That was a revelation to me". Experts who worked closely with the team include Professor Paul Fletcher from the
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
, and writer and psychologist Professor Charles Fernyhough from the
University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charte ...
, an expert on voice hearing. Ninja Theory received funding for the game from the Wellcome Trust, who also helped them creatively in their depiction of mental illness, notably by helping them to get in contact with people actually experiencing it. They worked with a "recovery college", an establishment which acts as both a
health facility A health facility is, in general, any location where healthcare is provided. Health facilities range from small clinics and doctor's offices to urgent care centers and large hospitals with elaborate emergency rooms and trauma centers. The numbe ...
, and a college for its patients. Antoniades was marked by the story of "a girl who has to live with an angry voice screaming at her, slamming on her doors and walls 24 hours a day. That's someone who would often see corpses hanging in the room, so real that they would sometimes try to rescue them"; this inspired several events featured in the game as well. When working with experts, the team realized that "quite often, the illness comes not from the
symptom Signs and symptoms are the observed or detectable signs, and experienced symptoms of an illness, injury, or condition. A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature than normal, raised or lowered blood pressure or an abnormality showin ...
s, but from the stigma, isolation, and
mistreatment Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...
that comes about from the rest of society". This led the team to make Senua's father and the way he abused and isolated her during her youth the real nature of the Darkness which haunts her. To create the voices heard by Senua, the team "worked closely with a group of voice-hearers to try and get these sounding as realistic as possible"; Senua's visual hallucinations, including her flashbacks, or the way several elements of a level appear brighter than they should be, were also based on descriptions from people with delusions. In June 2017, the team presented the near-finished game to several of the people with mental illness they had collaborated with, as a way to see if the final result had "reflected their views or if it had misrepresented them".


Casting, filming and recording

Senua's
voice acting Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...
and motion capturing were performed by German freelance photographer and
video editor A video editor is involved in video production and the post-production of film making. The video editor's responsibilities involve decisions about the selection and combining of shots into sequences, as well as the addition of accompanying sou ...
Melina Juergens, who had not done either of those things prior to ''Hellblade''. She was used by the team as a
stand-in A stand-in for film and television is a person who substitutes for the actor before filming, for technical purposes such as lighting and camera setup. Stand-ins are helpful in the initial processes of film and television production. Stand-ins a ...
for Senua for several months while they perfected their motion capture techniques, and they eventually came to the conclusion that she could play the character in the finalized game. Game director and lead writer Tameem Antoniades stated that he knew her well enough to know that he did not have to teach her how to act, but to "relive her own internal pain". All
cutscene A cutscene or event scene (sometimes in-game cinematic or in-game movie) is a sequence in a video game that is not interactive, interrupting the gameplay. Such scenes are used to show conversations between characters, set the mood, reward the ...
s feature Juergens' vocal performance as she recorded it during the filming of her physical performance with a motion capture suit and markers, rather than before or afterward during a voice acting session. In addition to the camera placed in front of Juergens' face to capture her expressions for her animated counterpart, Antoniades used a portable camera to film the scenes as they appear in the final game. As they only had one camera, the team opted to make all the cutscenes be presented as one single
long take In filmmaking, a long take (also called a continuous take or continuous shot) is a shot with a duration much longer than the conventional editing pace either of the film itself or of films in general. Significant camera movement and elaborate blo ...
, the objective being to make the viewer feel like "an observer, like a presence watching Senua throughout". Operating on a much smaller budget with ''Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice'' than their previous games, Ninja Theory went out of their usual ways to film the cutscenes of the game. Instead of going to bigger studios and having a team of approximately 20 people film several actors together, as they did in the past, they filmed only Juergens in a small space, with only three other people needed on set: Antoniades directing and filming, one person to look after the audio, and one person to look after the motion capture process. To save more money, the team used equipment described by Antoniades as "fairly cheap", including material bought at a low price at
IKEA IKEA (; ) is a Dutch multinational conglomerate based in the Netherlands that designs and sells , kitchen appliances, decoration, home accessories, and various other goods and home services. Started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been t ...
and on
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
. As a further cost-saving measure, they used their own boardroom for the motion capture scenes, rather than using external motion capture studio spaces. The helmet capturing Juergens' expressions and voice was provided to the team by Technoprops. The team opted to feature only two cameras on the helmet, as they felt that having four would be too uncomfortable for Juergens and impact her performance. The audio recording device was the most expensive part of the setup, and was placed around Juergens' forehead to avoid recording breathing sounds. Because all of Juergens' audio was recorded live, the team could not give her indications or reminders directly, or play music she would synchronize her performance with. For this reason, pre-recorded audio notes by Antoniades and excerpts from the soundtrack would be played at the same time on headphones both he and Juergens would wear, so they could act accordingly and in synchronization with each other. To feature the voices in Senua's head in a way that would be realistic regarding actual people suffering
auditory hallucination An auditory hallucination, or paracusia, is a form of hallucination that involves perceiving sounds without auditory stimulus. While experiencing an auditory hallucination, the affected person would hear a sound or sounds which did not come from t ...
s, the team, based on descriptions by Professor Charles Fernyhough, an expert on the subject, recorded several actors using
binaural recording Binaural recording is a method of recording sound that uses two microphones, arranged with the intent to create a 3-D stereo sound sensation for the listener of actually being in the room with the performers or instruments. This effect is ...
that also records the 3D position of sound, so the voices would sound as close or distant as the actors were to the microphone, replicating the way human ears perceive sounds. The team then invited voice hearers to listen to the result in order to give them feedback for future recordings. The original score for the game was composed by David García and
Andy LaPlegua Ole Anders Olsen (born 15 September 1975), known professionally as Andy LaPlegua, is a Norwegian singer and songwriter, originally known for being founder and lead vocalist of futurepop band Icon of Coil. He also gained fame in the aggrotech an ...
; the song "Just Like Sleep" by Passarella Death Squad is played during the final battle, and the song "Illusion" by
VNV Nation VNV Nation is an Irish alternative electronic project led by Ronan Harris in the roles of singer, songwriter, and producer. VNV Nation's sound combines lyrics with sounds that ranges from melodic industrial dance anthems, to haunting ballads ...
plays during the ending credits.


Release

''Hellblade'' was released for
Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
and
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
via digital channels on August 8, 2017. Following the period of timed console exclusivity for the PlayStation 4, a version for the
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
, with enhanced graphical support on the
Xbox One X The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
, was released on April 11, 2018. On July 31, 2018, an update added full
virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...
support via the
HTC Vive VIVE, sometimes referred to as HTC Vive, is a virtual reality brand of HTC Corporation. It consists of hardware like its titular virtual reality headsets and accessories, virtual reality software and services, and initiatives that promote appl ...
and
Oculus Rift Oculus Rift is a discontinued line of virtual reality headsets developed and manufactured by Oculus VR, a division of Meta Platforms, released on March 28, 2016. In 2012 Oculus initiated a Kickstarter campaign to fund the Rift's development, af ...
headsets. On February 13, 2019, the game was announced for
Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
later in Spring of the same year. While the game was playable through backwards compatibility on the
Xbox Series X and Series S The Xbox Series X/S are home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. They were both released on November 10, 2020, as the fourth generation Xbox, succeeding the Xbox One. Along with Sony's PlayStation 5, also released in November 2020, t ...
, an enhanced version with improved visuals and ray tracing support was released through a free optimization patch on August 9, 2021.


Reception

The game received "generally favorable reviews", according to
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
. Its choice to depict and revolve around
psychosis Psychosis is a condition of the mind that results in difficulties determining what is real and what is not real. Symptoms may include delusions and hallucinations, among other features. Additional symptoms are incoherent speech and behavior ...
was applauded as a unique and interesting choice, as was the execution of those themes, and the idea of blending its approach with Norse mythology and the
grief Grief is the response to loss, particularly to the loss of someone or some living thing that has died, to which a bond or affection was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, grief also has physical, cogni ...
-ridden journey of Senua. Juergens' performance, and the game's sound, artistic direction, tense atmosphere, and low price, were also praised; the quality of its production value and graphics was singled out as superior to what independent games usually offer. Reception of the combat and puzzles were more mixed, with several reviewers complaining about combat being too repetitive and simplistic, the lack of variety in the enemies, and about the puzzles being redundant. Brandin Tyrrel of ''
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' praised the story, sound, directing, art direction, voice acting, music, and innovative presentation, and stating "it unfolds like a beautiful, dark, tense visual novel, placing the excellently raw, human performance of its main character front and center on her journey into the land of the Northmen. Her story is one of confusion, sadness, fear, and loss, and it's punctuated by moments of beauty, and strength that has left a lasting impression on me." He added "As impressive as 'Hellblade''sstory is, Ninja Theory's smart design reinforces the sensory nature of the harrowing tale through subtle and intuitive mechanics ..Its incredibly smart use of audio and visual distortion and trickery to convey the frightening effects of psychosis, hallucinations, and delusion, are married with the gameplay elements for an experience that rarely ever grapples over whether it's a game or a story". Brad Shoemaker of ''
Giant Bomb ''Giant Bomb'' is an American video game website and wiki that includes personality-driven gaming videos, commentary, news, and reviews, created by former ''GameSpot'' editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis. The website was voted by ''Time'' mag ...
'' stated as a narrative effort, its success was "almost unparalleled in the medium". He applauded the story, sound, characters, graphics, Juergens' performance and "piercing intensity". He appreciated the less artistic elements, but felt that the gameplay for battles was "usually satisfying but can also feel like a chore in confined spaces". However, he described the boss fights as "all unique and exceptionally memorable". Alice Bell of ''VideoGamer.com'' gave the game a 9 out of 10, praising its "incredibly compelling story", "fast, stylish combat", and "beautiful and horrible audio and visual design". In a positive review, Leif Johnson of ''
PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ma ...
'' praised ''Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice'' for its themes, presentation and story, but complained that the "inspiration doesn't carry over to the actual fights. ..I frankly found it kind of dull in the one-on-one duels at the start, and it didn't help that the enemies sometimes seem to skip a few animations when reacting to attacks. Nor does it help that there's precious little variation in the foes themselves, who almost always show up as tall, shirtless warriors with deer-skull helmets or as beefy berserker shamans. By the end of the first hour, you've basically seen every non-boss you're going to see". He did, however, consider combat to get much better once Senua has to face many enemies at once. In one of the publications to give the game a somewhat negative review, ''
Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...
'' was unhappy with the game's depiction of Senua's condition. Several reviewers were less enthusiastic, with most criticism directed at the gameplay, fights and puzzles; however, most of them still praised ''Hellblade'' as a work of art. Among them was ''
Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...
''s Joe Juba, who found ''Hellblade'' to be "undeniably memorable, telling a compelling tale that explores subject matter many consider taboo". However, he believed that the gameplay suffered from the game's themes. Unaware of the fake nature of the game's supposed permadeath, he complained that it was too unclear how close to a permanent game over he was, and felt the sense that he was in "frustrating". He also found the puzzles tedious, and believed that the idea of the fight sequences allowing certain enemies to be off-screen translated poorly to gameplay. ''
Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson. Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...
'' ranked the game ninth on their list of the "Top 50 Games of 2017", ''
GamesRadar+ ''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', ''Edge'' and '' Computer ...
'' ranked it 16th on their list of the 25 Best Games of 2017, and ''
EGMNow ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The m ...
'' ranked it 19th in their list of the 25 Best Games of 2017, while ''
Polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two toge ...
'' ranked it 24th on their list of the 50 best games of 2017. The game received nominations for "Best PC Game", "Best PlayStation 4 Game", "Best Action-Adventure Game", "Best Graphics", "Best Story", and "Most Innovative" (the latter for which it became a runner-up) at ''
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
''s Best of 2017 Awards. ''
Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...
'' has listed ''Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice'' among best games released throughout the eighth video game generation.


Depiction of psychosis

The game's depiction of psychosis was applauded, and often described as the game's greatest quality. Several media outlets and reviewers analyzed the game's depiction of psychosis in more detail: it was noted that all parts of the game, including the fights and puzzles, were made to further the depiction of Senua's psychosis and revolved around her condition. Paul Fletcher, a
neuroscientist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist who has specialised knowledge in neuroscience, a branch of biology that deals with the physiology, biochemistry, psychology, anatomy and molecular biology of neurons, Biological neural network, n ...
and psychosis expert at the
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
who worked on the game, said that "It's been exciting to see Senua received so positively by those who have lived with experiences of psychosis." Michael Briers of ''PlayStationLifeStyle'', stated that "by working closely with neuroscientists and those unfortunate few who have been diagnosed as psychotic, ''Hellblade'' carefully avoids those cheap, half-assed tropes that render a character insane and, therefore, woefully one-dimensional. Not only does it act as a disservice to those who suffer from mental illness, this practice of painting in broad strokes only minimizes the room for nuance, but ''Senua's Sacrifice'' boldly cuts through the white noise". Leif Johnson of ''
PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ma ...
'' praised the gripping depiction of a character suffering from psychosis, stating "Ninja Theory uses haunted eyes to full effect in long, moody closeups peppering the narrative. enuapeers not only into the darkness but seemingly past the camera, past the screen. Looking back, I found depths of despair and anger there that were sometimes hard to meet head-on ..Some people would crumble under such pain. But still, Senua fights. It's a little inspiring." Alice Bell of ''VideoGamer.com'' noted that although Senua's psychosis is a cause of tragedy in her life, the game also depicted her condition as something that can bring her contentment, stating that her hallucinations are sometimes "actually lovely too, reflecting that psychosis can manifest as color and beauty." Regarding the story as a whole, she stated "you
he player He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
learn about the trauma Senua has faced, made greater by her struggles with her own mental health and others' lack of understanding of it. Great care has been taken, with input every step of the way from psychologists and people who have experienced psychosis, to give as faithful a representation of it as possible. The hardest battles are fought in the mind, says Dillion, although Senua has physical battles as well." Mollie L Patterson of ''
Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The m ...
'' declared that "while I can't speak to that side of things from personal experience, I can tell you that I was legitimately affected by enua'scondition at times. Playing a good portion of the game with headphones on, quiet moments were often broken by the never-ending chatter of those other selves conflicting in their thoughts, with some wanting to help their host in her quest, and others constantly telling Senua (and you) that she was wrong in her choices, that she was destined to failure, or that it was all hopeless. It's hard to explain how powerful those words can be, even as a player detached from Senua's condition, and it was one of many elements that helped form a bond between us." Shoemaker stated "''Hellblade''s single most powerful trick is a near-constant stream of voices in Senua's head, recorded with a spatial audio technique so they feel like they're all around you, nagging at you, undermining your decisions and your confidence. These voices are frequently in conflict with what you're doing and even with each other; one side can be encouraging you while the other mock you mercilessly. The effect is striking. Over time Senua's pain becomes palpable, incontestable, especially as the stress worsens the longer these voices harangue you, the more vicious and deranged they become. It's important to remember that you as the player, though, have the luxury of turning them off whenever you want. ''Hellblade''s robust bag of psychological tricks and the sheer fact of Senua's distressing reality result in the game's uncommon ability to capture the feelings of worthlessness, lack of control, of being misunderstood and shunned, the strange mix of hope and despair that can accompany a debilitating mental illness." Not all media outlets were satisfied with the game's depiction of the condition. In an article he published to criticize the game, '' Mic'' gaming editor Jason Faulkner, who had experience working with the mentally ill, praised Senua's character, but was highly critical of the game, stating that it should have focused on helping people to truly understand psychosis, and have the condition be "focal and explicit", instead of representing it metaphorically: "If you go into the game without any background information, you might assume that Senua is living with delusions and Norse mythology-inspired hallucinations — or you might think that she's being haunted by demons and ghosts. ..The portrayal of Senua's mental illness would be better served by showing both sides of her story: what's in her head and what's actually happening." He also stated that the game "stifles the opportunity to inject commentary about the broader picture of mental health care", notably by not depicting
caregiver A caregiver or carer is a paid or unpaid member of a person's social network who helps them with activities of daily living. Since they have no specific professional training, they are often described as informal caregivers. Caregivers most commo ...
s or other people dedicated to helping those with mental illness in real life. ''
Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...
'' deplored that Senua's psychosis was depicted as "something of an asset: a helpful superpower that can give you the strength to soldier on through the darkness, so long as you can put up with the odd breakdown here and there."


Death mechanic

Early in the game, after Senua's hand starts to
rot Rot(s) or rotting may refer to: Decay Organic matter * Rot, decomposition of organic matter ** Dry rot, of wood ** Root rot ** Wet rot, of wood * Necrosis, of tissue Technology * Bit rot, data degradation ** Software rot, a form of bit rot * Di ...
because she got "tainted", the Darkness tells her that every time she "dies" (every death turns out to be a vision of a possible future), the rot will spread further up, until it reaches her head and consumes her soul; the game implies that, if this happens, it will result in a
permadeath Permadeath or permanent death is a game mechanic in both tabletop games and video games in which player characters who lose all of their health are considered dead and cannot be used anymore. Depending on the situation, this could require the p ...
, as the player's save would be deleted, and all game progress until then would be erased. However, several media outlets later found out that the rot stops spreading after a certain number of deaths, and cannot progress further before a certain point in the game, ultimately making it impossible for it to reach Senua's head. Antoniades said that the permadeath mechanic was a bluff: while the rot will spread on Senua's body over repeated deaths, it will never fully reach her head; the wording they chose to describe this was meant to convey part of the fear associated with mental illness and psychosis directly to the player. Antoniades said "We were looking for ideas of how you introduce fear, and one of those ideas was the permadeath mechanic. It's the only time we're very explicit about what will happen to you in the game." He considered that they believed that players and critics have mistaken their wording on the permadeath mechanic when the game was released, which created a "blowout", but he defended their use of the wording as "it's your interpretation as a player that taints the meaning behind it. That's something we wanted to do on purpose, because with mental illness it's your frame of mind that interprets the world, and that can cause you distress." Reid McCarter of ''
PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ma ...
'' strongly defended Ninja Theory's move, calling it "great game design and a modern expression of unreliable narration". He stated "As the story progresses, the nature of the corruption becomes clearer as the player comes to understand a correlation between Senua's backstory and psychology and the way they perceive the game's dangers. It is a beautifully executed bit of narrative design, game systems and story working in tandem." ''
PCGamesN ''PCGamesN'' is a British online video game magazine focusing on PC gaming and hardware. It has a full-time team of over a dozen writers and is the oldest owned-and-operated site within publishing group Network N. History Parent company Netw ...
'' called it a "clever decision", as it "focuses on Senua's own fear of her enemies and degrading mental state". ''
Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson. Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...
'' called it "a cool trick that makes the player feel a sense of dread as they're playing the game. Dread, anxiety and death are all themes ''Hellblade'' revolves around. It certainly fits".


Sales

While only released in
digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Technology and computing Hardware *Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals **Digital camera, which captures and stores digital i ...
form, ''Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice'' was a commercial success. It was the best selling game on the
PlayStation Store The PlayStation Store (PS Store) is a digital media store available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 game consoles via the PlayStation Network. The store offers a range of downloadable content ...
in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
for the month of its release. According to director Tameem Antoniades the game sold "better than expected" and
broke even Broke may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Film and television * ''Broke'' (1991 film), a 1991 British television film by Stephen Bill in the anthology series ''ScreenPlay'' * Broke (2009 film), a Canadian documentary film * '' Broke*'', ...
in approximately three months, ahead of the six to nine months the developers expected. ''
PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ma ...
'' stated about ''Hellblade''s success that "the news can only be positive. Perhaps if other developers see an experimental game like ''Hellblade'' finding commercial success then they'll be more likely to take risks on their own titles—and that, ultimately, will lead to more interesting games". To celebrate
World Mental Health Day World Mental Health Day (10 October) is an international day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy against social stigma. It was first celebrated in 1992 at the initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health, a global m ...
on October 10, 2017, Ninja Theory donated all profit made from the sales of ''Hellblade'' on that day to
Rethink Mental Illness Rethink Mental Illness is a mental health charity in England. The organisation was founded in 1972 by John Pringle whose son was diagnosed with schizophrenia. The operating name of 'Rethink' was adopted in 2002, and expanded to 'Rethink' Mental Il ...
. By June 2018, the game had sold over a million copies across all three platforms.


Awards

In addition to the awards received by the game, the team of ''Hellblade'', including Antoniades and Juergens, won the award for Best Real-Time Graphics & Interactivity at
SIGGRAPH SIGGRAPH (Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques) is an annual conference on computer graphics (CG) organized by the ACM SIGGRAPH, starting in 1974. The main conference is held in North America; SIGGRAPH Asia ...
in 2016, for a showcase demonstration of a technique they called "Realtime Cinematography", during which they performed and filmed live a scene from ''Hellblade'', which was "shot, captured and edited to final quality in minutes, a process that would normally take weeks or months".


Sequel

''Senua's Saga: Hellblade II'' was announced during
The Game Awards 2019 The Game Awards 2019 was an award show that honored the best video games of 2019. The event was produced and hosted by Geoff Keighley, creator and producer of The Game Awards, and was held to an invited audience at the Microsoft Theater in Los ...
, with plans for release on
Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
and
Xbox Series X/S The Xbox Series X/S are home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. They were both released on November 10, 2020, as the fourth generation Xbox, succeeding the Xbox One. Along with Sony's PlayStation 5, also released in November 2020, t ...
. The game soundtrack will be composed by
Heilung Heilung is an experimental folk music band made up of members from Denmark, Norway, and Germany. Their music is based on texts and runic inscriptions from Germanic peoples of the Iron Age, and Viking Age. Heilung describe their music as "amplifie ...
and will be set in
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
and will use Epic Games's new
Unreal Engine 5 Unreal Engine (UE) is a 3D computer graphics game engine developed by Epic Games, first showcased in the 1998 first-person shooter game ''Unreal''. Initially developed for PC first-person shooters, it has since been used in a variety of genr ...
.


Notes


References


External links

* * {{Xbox Game Studios 2017 video games Action-adventure games Art games Dark fantasy video games Fantasy video games set in the Middle Ages Video games set in the Viking Age Fiction with unreliable narrators Hack and slash games Indie video games Interactive Achievement Award winners Ninja Theory games Nintendo Switch games PlayStation 4 games PlayStation 4 Pro enhanced games Psychological horror games Single-player video games Unreal Engine games Uxoricide in fiction Video games about mental health Video games based on Celtic mythology Video games based on Norse mythology Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games featuring female protagonists Windows games Works set in the 8th century Xbox Cloud Gaming games Xbox One games Xbox One X enhanced games Xbox Series X and Series S games British Academy Games Award for British Game winners British Academy Games Award for Game Beyond Entertainment winners