Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

[bigmike20vt]

So I'm about 10 hours in now.
Just finished the Sea of Corpses area, and I'm wondering when the award winning game that everyone was banging on about turns up?

Is it bad? Not really
Is it good? Not by a long shot.

I get the feeling that everyone who bigged up this game was just involved in a massive circle jerk and didn't want to be the first person to criticise a game that deals with mental issues.

I disagree completely (which is all good, wouldnt life be dull if we were all the same?).

perhaps it is because i play it in VR exclusively, but i find the art style excellent, level design good, mechanically it is simple but works well, and the audio is intense and slightly disturbing.

I would say one of the reasons it gets such high praise is because it was done by a small team on a limited budget and had an RRP set at a more than fair price...... the VR update really highlights the mentality of the development imo..... the devs said they made the vr version despite not expecting it to be profitable but because they felt it would be a good addition to the game. That is the sort of attitude i want to see more in games...... the 1st question being "will this be good for our game?" rather than the 1st question being "will this be more profitable for our game?".

Dont get me wrong, profitable is the ultimate goal.... just i hope not the only one..

 

[uncle_rufus]

I played this recently too... I enjoyed it and would recommend it, although it is rather light in terms of gameplay - just slightly closer to being a game than other titles that get called "walking simulators"... the puzzles were more interesting than your average walking sim, and the combat although basic and transparent still managed to be satisfying (even if it did start to drag on a bit towards the end). The real experience though was definitely the presentation and atmosphere, carried off by some decent voice work and acting, as Besty says above it felt very movie-like and parts of it were disconcerting/creepy as hell...

Luckily (?) I don't really remember much of what anyone was saying about it at the time it came out - I can sort of understand being a bit disappointed if you were given the impression it is some sort of phenomenal game and expected something with more actual gameplay, but going into it blind I didn't regret the time or money invested (perhaps I'd feel slightly differently had I paid full price and not got it with Humble Monthly)

 

[mid_gen]

Finally got round to completing this, after dipping in and out of it a few times.

It's definitely worth playing, a game experience I won't forget. The ending sequence is awesome. It's definitely worth slogging through the middle parts that drag a bit. Combat is simple but well executed and satisfying. Puzzles are tedious, just a matter of wandering around until you stumble onto the right area and a thing unlocks sadly.

It's a good game as is though, if they can expand the puzzle loop a little and make it less of walking sim feel it could be something great. Looking forward to the sequel.

 

[ShiWarrior]

just bought this, playing it through now

atmosphere is immense
stuck already lol

no idea whats going on

trying to cross the bridge by going "the other way"

get to a dead end looks like an open door way with 2 wood slats blocking it, cant use my sword? to break them, managed to find an "alternate" way and it becomes daylight, still cant get through though!

i don't want to know how to do it, but i need a tip if anyone can give ?

 

[ShiWarrior]

done it

 

[ShiWarrior]

Loving this so far! I've left it at default, but combat mode on auto

Died countless times, not just from combat either, thought my saves would be deleted by now?

 

[ShiWarrior]

bit confused

for those who have completed the game, need to ask :

Spoiler: ENDING

Got to the end, didnt manage to kill them all, so i thought i died , but LONG video sequence saying next part!, so is there 2 endings ? tempted to replay it and try and do the final battle without dying ?

14 hours it took me

 

[sgavan]

bit confused

for those who have completed the game, need to ask :

Spoiler: ENDING

Got to the end, didnt manage to kill them all, so i thought i died , but LONG video sequence saying next part!, so is there 2 endings ? tempted to replay it and try and do the final battle without dying ?

14 hours it took me

Spoiler: Ending

You are not supposed to kill them all, someone on youtube put it best that you keep fighting despite the voices telling you to give up, really good as I did, just kept fighting but you will die eventually. Really great game and made me listen and enjoy the story. Puzzles got a bit repetitive but can't wait for the sequel

 

[ShiWarrior]

Thanks

 

[RevBillyG]

A new patch appeared on my Steam today. Ooh Raytracing.....

Just over four years since launch we’re happy to introduce a huge new update to Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. Starting with visuals, we’ve integrated the enhancements we made to the recent Xbox Series X|S release of Hellblade, including updated materials, particles, level of detail and Ray Tracing.

This new build includes Ray Tracing presets (Low, Medium, High), with Ray Traced reflections, plus Ray Traced shadows exclusive to the High preset. We think this brings a new depth to Helheim never seen before, so we’re excited for people to retread Senua’s steps in an even more immersive environment.
Hellblade on PC now also supports both DirectX 11 and 12, with support for NVIDIA DLSS and AMD FSR upscaling for an optimised experience.

We have also used this opportunity to add some key accessibility features to make Hellblade available to more people. These include full controller and keyboard remapping, subtitle customisation, and colour blindness presets for Deuteranopia, Protanopia and Tritanopia.

For returning players and those who have yet to experience Senua’s journey into Helheim, we’re excited to provide this free update, making it the best looking and most accessible version to date.

 

[ShiWarrior]

yep

dont think im going to replay it through again though
i did it normal and a bit of VR , and im waiting for part 2 now

 

[Glanza]

Picked this up when it was on the Steam sale for £3.74 , finally finished it today as it's not a game I've been able to 'binge' through and took a chapter at a time. Amazing game that really does play with your head. Looking forward to part 2.

 

[smogsy]

I disagree completely (which is all good, wouldnt life be dull if we were all the same?).

perhaps it is because i play it in VR exclusively, but i find the art style excellent, level design good, mechanically it is simple but works well, and the audio is intense and slightly disturbing.

I would say one of the reasons it gets such high praise is because it was done by a small team on a limited budget and had an RRP set at a more than fair price...... the VR update really highlights the mentality of the development imo..... the devs said they made the vr version despite not expecting it to be profitable but because they felt it would be a good addition to the game. That is the sort of attitude i want to see more in games...... the 1st question being "will this be good for our game?" rather than the 1st question being "will this be more profitable for our game?".

Dont get me wrong, profitable is the ultimate goal.... just i hope not the only one..

i think it reallys depends on the how you listen to this game i played it headphones and it was amazing

wife played it on the TV & it was like a tottally different game and we both hated playing it & found it boring

 

[D3K]

Giving this a blast in prep for the sequel.

It's hard to describe. I wasn't enjoying the pace at the beginning, but I pushed through. Now I know what it is and what it's trying to be, I'm really appreciating it. The style, the narrative, the fear are all well done. Still looks great, especially with RT and HDR on. Think this is the best I've seen for eye realism. Starfield really makes you wonder...

I'm about halfway through, had to take a breather after

Spoiler

the second shard. The fire thing stalking you inside the hut was a bit too intense after a few rums

PSA Edit: turn off steam achievement notifications if you start playing this. They pop when you complete a section, but quite often there's a cutscene reveal about whats happening coming right after. So literal spoilers. Thanks steam.

 

[ShiWarrior]

Good for you, I love the end part, love the battle you do at the end, makes me feel good and push right till the very end

 

[bigmike20vt]

I wish Microsoft had not bought ninja theory. It is totally unsurprising to see their attitude has changed from - we released a VR update because it made the game better

to no plans for VR which mirrors the Microsoft stance on the format. Damn shame. After playing the 1st in VR i just could not motivate myself to play it on a monitor. There is still hope that it works well on that unreal engine VR injector. if it does i may still buy the game, but not having it officially supported definitely has dampened any enthusiasm for the game for me.
With no need to motion controls or anything and that injector proving just how well non vr games can work in VR, this is surely a deliberate choice to drop VR and I would bet some cash that that was a Microsoft decision not a ninja theory one.

 

[ShiWarrior]

Wow, not realised MS bought them
No wonder there's no plans for VR in the up coming sequel

 

[D3K]

I wish Microsoft had not bought ninja theory. It is totally unsurprising to see their attitude has changed from - we released a VR update because it made the game better

to no plans for VR which mirrors the Microsoft stance on the format. Damn shame. After playing the 1st in VR i just could not motivate myself to play it on a monitor. There is still hope that it works well on that unreal engine VR injector. if it does i may still buy the game, but not having it officially supported definitely has dampened any enthusiasm for the game for me.
With no need to motion controls or anything and that injector proving just how well non vr games can work in VR, this is surely a deliberate choice to drop VR and I would bet some cash that that was a Microsoft decision not a ninja theory one.

I was intending to play on VR but was swayed by HDR on the OLED monitor. I also hadn't realised it was still in 3rd person when playing through VR. What do you think made it better in VR over flat?

 

[bigmike20vt]

I was intending to play on VR but was swayed by HDR on the OLED monitor. I also hadn't realised it was still in 3rd person when playing through VR. What do you think made it better in VR over flat?

even tho it is 3rd person, (and just speaking for myself here) i find once i am playing i get sucked in anyway and am just so much more immersed into the environment than i am on a monitor..... ie i am in the middle of the action rather than a spectator on the monitor.