Shane
The story of Senua continues, her struggles with the voices, her mission of revenge in Ninja Theories epic masterpiece, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II.
A game of cinematic proportion, you assume the role of Senua, who has learned to accept the inner voices that used to plague and confuse her, but is still somewhat intimidated by ‘Shadow’, a hallucination of her abusive father.
After her love was killed by the Northmen she allows herself to be captured and captured as a slave. On a boat from Orkney to Iceland Senua is chained – but this is all a part of her plan to free her Orcadian people.
Senua is a warrior. A survivor.
But what neither the Northmen or Senua herself ever suspected was that the wild sea would divert her destiny and essentially set her free, only to be trapped within her own all consuming need to avenge the wrongs done to her.
Barely making it alive as the ocean washes her up on to the shore, Senua finds herself face to face with the slave master. Here we encounter the first nemesis Thórgestr that Senua will battle and she ends up taking him prisoner, so he can lead her to his village, Borgarviki.
You will encounter many NPC’s that play a crucial role to sSenua’s story and the gameplay itself and battle all manner of creatures, including giants.
Graphically Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II will blow you away. It was more than I expected.
From rich detail through to subliminal flashes as Senua deals with visions that accompany her inner voices.
Gameplay is mostly free roam bar environment blockers and there are times where things will take a slower pace as you work through the ever engrossing narrative.
If there was ever to be an example of a sequel that was better then it’s predecessor Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is it.
And for those with Xbox Game pass, the game runs perfect on PC (and handheld PCs) via the Xbox Game pass app.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is so far my pick for the game of this year (2024).
Best played with headphones or a high quality home cinema sound system for binaural audio, Senua’s Saga Hellblade II is most definitely a game you’ll find yourself replaying many times over.
A stellar example of what a video game can be and should be.
Released: May 2024
Rating: R16
Platform reviewed: Xbox Series X
Genre: Action
Developer: Ninja Theory
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios