Hellblade 2: Senua’s Saga — Martin Stellinga

Hellblade 2: Senua’s Saga came out last month. I loved the first one, so how does the second one hold up?

Background

Senua is a Pict from Orkney. In the first instalment, we learned that Vikings raided Senua’s home and killed her husband. Also, Senua had a troubled youth, and she hears voices, like her mother did. The first game deliberately blurs the line between reality and myth and it never becomes quite clear how much of Senua’s mystical adventure is real, and how much of it is imagined. It could all be in her head, or it could all be real.

In this second instalment, Senua travels north, to try and stop the raids on her people. She wants to ensure that what happened to her won’t happen again. To that end, she let herself be captured by a Norseman. The game starts with her chained to a viking ship heading for home. A storm hits, and the ship goes down.

Starting at a disadvantage

So, before I even dig into the actual game, we have to talk about the elephant in the room.

The very existence of this sequel undermines the original. Hellblade 1 was a finished story. Senua was done. There was no real need for her to anything but move on with her life. What happened was horrible, but chasing the bad guys to their home? No, there was no reason to go all Charles Bronson on their asses. Well, that’s not quite true. There was reason to want revenge, but actually going out to do it… the first game seemed to end in a better place than that.

But, okay, let’s accept that for a moment. The bigger issue is that the first game never really makes it clear how much of what happened was real. The fact that in this second game Senua travels north to kick ass… well, at the very least it means Senua has actual combat prowess. Depending on how it handles the mythical elements of the game… the whole blurring of reality and myth goes out the window.

Without even starting it up we can already say one of two things will happen: either the game will toy with the same basic idea, which means it’s just more of the same, or it will try to take things in a new direction, which runs a high risk of undermining the first game. Not a good way to start.

The game

So, Senua’s Saga takes the second route, which I think is the better and bolder choice, even if it is riskier. The story tries to take Senua’s story in a new direction. It adds other characters to the tale, where the first part really mostly featured Senua and her inner demons. This new game has three others in it. I won’t spoil who.

On the mystical side, Hellblade 2 features Giants and the Hidden Folk. Small aside, the hidden folk are from Icelandic mythology. The game never really names the country, but there’s also a volcano in the game; again pointing to Iceland. Which makes sense, the Vikings settled in Iceland, and it is relatively close to Orkney.

Anyway, the bigger problem is what the combination of mythical creatures and other characters means. Where the first game really blurs the line between reality and hallucination, the second game rules out hallucination. Unless it’s a group hallucination, but that seems… a bit much to swallow. And that is a bit of a shame.

The story in Hellblade 2 is pretty good, but it undermines part of the mystique of the first game. And while the story and the way they are presented is good, I feel a slight sense of loss. I loved Hellblade 1, and now it’s… less than it was before.

Cutting Edge

That said, Senua’s Saga is a beautiful game. The first one looked great, and this second installment ups the ante. It uses the newest Unreal 5 engine, which has stunning graphics and light. Well, if you have the hardware to turn on stuff like ray tracing. But when you do… wow. It is amazing, and blurs the line between movie and video game like no game I’ve played before.

The sound is also very well done. Like the first game, the voices inside Senua’s head provide a running commentary, and accent the gloomy visual atmosphere to push it to the next level. The harsh, rocky, and rainy lands feel empty, and dark. Slowly, the horror of the story unfolds, rolling over you as you slowly pick your way through. It’s a brilliant way to make the dreary atmosphere and dark story combine to a very atmospheric game. As was the first one. My only grumble is that the game doesn’t support Atmos, only stereo.

Of course, the game isn’t all good. Even more so than the first game, it often feels like you’re not doing anything but pushing your thumb stick to walk forward. You cross large swathes of land while talking to your fellow travelers. The first game had no other characters, meaning less need for these walk-and-talk sections. There are times when you no longer feel you’re playing a game, but more that you’re in a walking simulator. That’s not a bad thing, but it does mean you sometimes feel like you’re forced to hold down a button just to make the cutscene keep playing.

Verdict

So, while Senua’s Saga is not as good as the first game, it’s still a fantastic game. At least, if you have the hardware to make it shine, and like slower-paced games. It is stunning and haunting in equal measure.

But, it is also a bit short, and not that interactive, making it feel even shorter. And while I loved the first game enough that I was willing to pay full price, it is expensive for what you get. It’s in some ways an eight-hour movie at the cost of five movie tickets. So, know what your are getting, before you fork over that much money — or wait for a discount.

If you want a long action-packed game with a challenging-and-or-diverse core game loop, or think you’re getting a long RPG-like experience, well, think again. This game is not that.

It is awesome; a beautiful, slow, deep-dive into the human mind and Icelandic mythology. Just not a looter-shooter. I’d highly recommend playing it.

Originally published at https://martinstellinga.com on July 5, 2024.