Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice Impressions

After the first 45 or so minutes of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, I’m feeling a bit conflicted. If I’m honest with myself, at least part of that confliction is simply because the game isn’t what I expected it to be. When it was first announced, I really thought it would be more like Ninja Theory’s other games. The most recent gameplay trailer released before the game’s actual debut proved that the combat would differ, but I was still expecting a deeper, more level-based experience. As it is now, the game is very direct in telling you that there are three areas, showing a gate where your ultimate goal lies, and two more which lead to the mini-bosses you’ll have to face to unlock it. So far, getting through the areas is pretty direct. I’m hoping that as I get further in, the traversal will become more complex and surprising.

The other side of this conflict comes from some of the mechanics in the game. I feel that they’re simultaneously over and underwhelming. You go from 20 minutes of walking an unnerving sight-seeing, to the sudden introduction of all the combat mechanics (both physical, and the voice-warnings), and “the Rot”. I started the game before the perma-death thing was debunked, so the game’s already high stress level increased significantly for me once enemies and the chance of losing my save were brought to the table. At the same time, the combat doesn’t seem to be all that important, and now that “the Rot” isn’t a looming threat, I’m not as impressed with what’s going on as I thought I’d be.

Two mechanics I don’t have much of an opinion on are the voices and the puzzles. Having the voices speak constantly in the background makes the game intense and stressful, but I won’t comment on how effective the representation of mental illness is, since I have no experience with this kind of situation (@dialacina has a thread going into this more deeply if you’re curious and want an informed take). As a bad gamer who is not into puzzles, I don’t mind the ones in Hellblade, but I can already see myself getting bored with them as I progress further.

Visually, the game is beautiful, and presents an effectively unnerving atmosphere, even though you don’t actually encounter any enemies until about 20 minutes in. I’m intrigued by the main storyline and want to see where it goes, though the pacing in the beginning felt a bit off. I hope that doesn’t continue.

Overall, I’m still excited to continue with the game. Due to its unsettling nature and my work schedule only leaving me time to play games at night, I probably won’t get back to it until this weekend when I can play it in the daylight.