Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 review: Xbox’s new exclusive is a fierce sequel
Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 MSRP $50.00 Score Details Pros
- Well-written narrative
- Stunning visuals
- Industry-leading sound design
- Excellent performances
- Intuitive photo mode
- Derivative gameplay
- Runs at 30 fps on console
If Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice was about accepting trauma, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is about learning to live with it.
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Senua, Hellblade’s tortured hero, goes through a lot in her sequel. She winds up shipwrecked, faces off against overwhelming giants, constantly experiences the grisly deaths of people around her, sees the return of the darkness represented by her father, and more. But Senua fights through it all and makes more connections in the real world than she did in the very isolating narrative ofSenua’s Sacrifice.
Though I initially worried that Hellblade 2‘s dark story about psychosis would trigger my anxiety, it’s a surprisingly inspiring sequel about perseverance in the face of pain. It tells a story about overcoming what holds us down, and finding solace in others. It doesn’t quite reach instant-classic status because of uninspired gameplay that’s much less creative and ambitious than its stunning presentation, but Ninja Theory’s latest is still an absolute must-play for any Xbox Game Pass subscriber and an experience I certainly won’t forget anytime soon.
A saga, not a tragedy
Hellblade 2 begins with Senua as a captured slave. She’s looking to get revenge on the slavers who destroyed her village in the original Hellblade. The slaver ship crashes, and while Senua captures the captain, she gets swept up in a hero’s journey as she attempts to rid the island of the giants that torment it. Xbox Game Studios and Ninja Theory have made it no secret that Hellblade 2 prioritizes its narrative first and foremost, and the single-player
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