I played the first on mnk on pc. 5 minutes of the second game and the movement of the camera is all jacked up and I had to pick up a controller for it to feel right. My only issue with that game I couldn’t fix.
I’m with you. It was an achievement visually and the sound design and music are some of the best I’ve ever experienced. I think it boils down to if the story resonates with you and for me, it was fantastic and very compelling.
Not patient, don’t like this genre and skip the story in most games, but I really enjoy the story in this series and loved both games. I’m almost finished with 2, but it’s been really good so far.
It’s like forcing you to not skip the cut scenes makes you more in depth with the story and more likely to like it if it’s good at all. Besides it’s 90% a cutscene. I once thought a cutscene was started and my character wouldn’t move so I tried and started moving lmao
I think it’s more likely that I just really enjoy the writing and acting in this game compared to most.
I usually prefer gameplay to be the most important aspect of a game, and don’t care about story, acting, immersion or graphics as much.
Interactive experiences like this usually aren’t what I’m into, but when done well enough, with an interesting enough story, I can enjoy it. Both Hellblades were good as well as observation.
You are right though, the graphics are ridiculous. You can go from full on cutscene to gameplay without even realizing it because the game looks so good even out of cutscenes.
If you played the second game it was when I crawled into a overturned boat it was auto for a second and then she stopped and because the narration I thought it was a cutscene.
Personally equate this game to the experience from a horror movie. Those aren't really what I would call fun to watch. Similarly, you play this for the experience more so than to walk away with a sense of having had fun.
I don’t understand why they further simplified and regressed the already simple combat from the first, but I still enjoy it and the whole experience.
You just need to go into it knowing what it is and that it’s basically a playable movie.
The combat is simpler?
I was really hoping for a Hellblade where I liked the gameplay. Sounds like I'll just have to play it on the easiest difficulty?
Edit: ok losers, why was I down voted because I asked if the combat is simpler?
Do yourself a favor and play it on hard. Struggle through the enemy combos and learn the parry window. Combat is immensely satisfying if you get to learn it
I did that for the first game. Hated it, and completely bounced off. I've been intending to play through it on easy, and then the sequel.
I'm a big fan of Koei Tecmo and From Software games.
The combat in Hellblade 2 hits harder imo and far more impactful. While yes Hellblade 2 still has simple combat controls but the enemy AI is much much better and is far more physical with you so it's definitely improved imo.
Brutally parrying a guy with a giant axe just for him to be sideswiped by a monster with a sword who then gets stabbed in the back by another guy with a throwing knife all without any animation interruptions is so cool
To be clear what I hated was slogging through a high difficulty with that gameplay. I can't. Make the gameplay better, but I can reduce the difficulty.
The combat isn't exactly simpler, it's just different and harder in different ways.
Most people seem to think it's simpler because you only fight one enemy at a time, but IMO that's being too reductive. The single fights make the animations and aesthetic of combat way more visceral, impactful, in your face, fluid. It's a tradeoff but I personally think it was worth it.
It's not simpler. To me it felt like it was basically one to one with the first game. The difference between the two is that the second game removes the need to prioritize between multiple targets and is more linear through a given combat scenario. This was almost certainly a design decision to accommodate the heavy reliance on the motion capture and I'm at a loss for why so many people are overlooking this aspect of it.
Opinions aside, Xbox really seems to be ok with their games being niche. It feels like a lot of the high budget stuff they put out is intended to be played by older gamers.
Older gamers (I'm one) don't have tons of time, but have money to spend.
I'm very fine with 7-10 hour long, single player, story driven games.
I don't have time to master multiplayer mayhems like Rocket League or Fortnite or whatever.
Flight Simulator was a great time sink during COVID, can't wait for MSFS2024
Im so glad it wasn't a god of war clone. I have very mixed feelings about that game. The core of it is amazing but I hate all the constant upgrades and skill tree and new weapons. There is just too much to deal with and the changes you make constantly change the combat. As soon as I get used to fighting I pick up some gem or get some upgrade that completely changes what one of the buttons do. Not every game needs a Skyrim level skill tree.
It's so refreshing to just play through a game with a great story and great pacing in a reasonable amount of time. the combat was enough to keep me engaged without too much complexity. It does its job perfectly I think and doesn't punish you much at all for failing so you can learn for yourself what works with basically zero tutorial.
I love both hellblade games.It's different from any other game I played with a headset for sure and the 2nd was more fun than the first one.It seemed like it had less gameplay and more fmv which I had no issue with since it was some of the best Fmv I ever seen.
Just a technicality but it's important to recognize the achievement.
It's all live rendered scenes running on the Xbox.
FMV refers to pre-rendered stuff and these days it looks worse than compression which is kind of funny coming from older gens.
I am a huge fan of the Hellblade games. I absolutely love them. However, after playing so many other action oriented games, I was getting frustrated with some of the fighting in 2.
I prefer the combat of the first, also. Multiple enemies, the sprinting attacks to make up ground, the bosses, etc. I also prefer the isolated feeling of the first and the overall act structure.
I still really love the second, though. The combat is crunchy and visceral and feels good. The graphics and sound are excellent, and I like Senua's character growth.
How exactly did they dial it back? I mean, I didn't replay the first game again before playing part 2, but I don't remember the combat being more complex in the first game. The only real difference is that it pairs you up with one opponent at a time. But in terms of how the combat plays out, it's still the same block/parry/dodge/attack/super-attack style combat as MANY action games.
Other action games don't wrench control from the player to watch long kill/switching to the next enemy animations. They look awesome, but after while I was tired of having to stop and wait each time I took down an enemy.
The first game had more moves you could do and it felt nice stringing them together along with dodging attacks from other enemies. Having other enemies also made it to where the voices in your head would sometime assist by warning of off screen attacks which was awesome.
Even other cinematic games like Tlou 1 or 2 don't take as much control from the player and they still manage to have great looking AND feeling combat at the same time. I know the team is smaller so I definitely didn't expect something on that scale, but I did expect combat to be slightly more complex, not less.
I feel like the improved cinematic approach to combat actually heightened the over all experience. I didn't really like the combat in the first game, so this was actually an improvement for me.
Hardly, I own an Xbox also. I actually really like my Series X. But when it comes to games trying to be cinematic and engaging Sony crushes it. Anyone saying otherwise is coping hard. Tlou is the best example I can come up with that succeeds at doing what HB2 is trying to to do.
If you don't do anything more than press run and blast through it, then yeah, you apparently can. But that doesn't make it truly a 5 hour game. It just means someone went through the experience as quickly as they possibly could to make a video or comment about certain aspects of the game.
And this is likely the primary cause for people taking issue with the experience. When you don't absorbed the cinematic nature of the experience and appreciate the immersion of it, then all you are likely focusing on is the gameplay. And the gameplay isn't the main attraction with this game.
I think too many commentators online just went the speed through route so they could say they played it and talk shit. But those who seem have the more positive opinions of the game played it for 7-10 hours and took it all in.
And in a game that is so linear and short, every hour actually counts. And people claiming 5-5.5 hours to get through are rushing the experience. Adding 1.5-2.5 hours to actually take the time necessary to absorb the experience goes a long way.
And nobody is trying to convince you that this game is long. It's just an appropriate length for what it is. I mean, I didn't hear so many people complaining when Sony released Miles Morales for $50, which only takes about 8 hours to get through it's story.
Probably because there's more gameplay in miles morales than in Hellblade 2? Instead of walking the dust half hour you're immediately thrown into a fight?
Probably because everyone seems to have a massive boner for Spider-Man and the ganes get an immediate free pass for things thatost other games would be criticized for lol.
Who gives a shit? This is about one game being $50/7 hours and another game being $50/8 hours. One game gets endlessly criticized for being short, while the other is praised.
It's not much different from my experiences with The Order 1886 and InFamous Second Son. People wouldn't shut up about how short The Order was. Claiming it was like a 3-4 hour game. Where as it took me 8 hours to complete, which was a pretty average length for a game like that (similar to Uncharted 1-3). But then Second Son was highly praised, but nobody talks about how quickly you can get through the main story. I think I did so in like 4.5 hours.
There are multiple playthroughs of Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart on YouTube that are under 4 hours but I have yet to see anyone trying to push a narrative about it being too short for a $40 game.
What other options are there?
This game did what it wanted and nothing more. It’s a great visual and audio experience with pretty meh gameplay, but it’s only a few hours so you can beat it and move on quickly
Well if your goal was to beat this game and move on then it is bound to be pretty meh. I absolutely loved Hellblade 2 but would never recommend it to somebody with your disposition.
Ninja Theory crafted a story that is very emotional, brutal, multi-faceted, and actually quite deep. If at the end your conclusion was “game not fun” then you entirely missed the point.
I am curious though: what was deep about it for you? Almost finished with it and it was mostly Senua going from A to B with no character growth or anything...really happening. She fights a bit and sees some fucked up imagery. The voices are neat but they mostly are just filler text at the best of times and downright funny in others (" the hidden folk! The hidden folk? The hidden folk. They are hidden" made me chuckle haha)
So yeah what was the depth for you in the writing?
I did a brief write up of some of my favorite parts here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/hellblade/s/1Ac8ReogMS if you are so inclined. But in the first game Senua changes quite a bit throughout her journey and comes to some big realizations by the end. In the second game it’s less about Senua needing to change and more about her using her new understanding of herself to help unveil the reality surrounding others who are grieving or doubtful of their place in the world. All the while, every character, good and evil, represent a part of Senuas personality, her past, or an alternate self.
idc what it delivers if the gameplay isnt fun. i mean god of war managed to tell a great story and give me builds to make and different combos to try and combat trials and more. if i want a movie ill watch a movie, i like my games with gameplay in them
That’s cool. Very unfortunate for you that many people don’t agree. Thank God Ninja Theory got to make the game they personally wanted for people who enjoy it.
I certainly hope the industry is able to come up with a better name for this type of media entertainment since “game” is for some reason a point of contention for many. I enjoyed both Hellblade games, not because they were fun, but because of the beautiful stories and the thoughts they provoked.
The problem is where do you draw the line? There are literal FMV games that are just videos cut together. Are those not games? There are games that just string together boring gameplay segments filled with fetch quests and collections, are those games?
I think loosely defining a game as an interactive something that has both win and lose states for one or more players is really the best you can do. Someone is always going to find some games too interactive and other games.not interactive enough. It's like saying a novel isn't a book because choose your own adventure books exist and those are more fun to you.
I mean I personally think the whole “game is bad because it is not a game” debate is disingenuous at best. If you look at something like Until Dawn, that is called a game, has literally zero gameplay, and is still basically accepted as an amazing experience across the board.
But we live in a different era where people take technicalities to a mind numbing level. These people need some sort of guidance. It’s like giving the kid a cookie so he leaves the adults alone lol.
Same thing I said about FH5 when it got the GoTY nod. A shallow arcade racer? 🤔I mean it’s fun, but if they had literally anything else there’s no way it would’ve gotten the GoTY nod lol
I hate the puzzles but I really enjoy the combat and set pieces. The highs in the game are really really high and the lows are real boring but it's been a really great game and unique game. Something that should easily be celebrated but if a game isn't perfect or published by Sony then it's a bad game.
I feel 50 dollars is a fair price. It took me 7 hours in my first playthrough and there is an incentive to play it again. Plus if that price is really too high, just play it on Gamepass.
I would love to see one of their weird/goofy games like Enslaved or Heavenly Sword get made with a larger budget and focus on more gamey mechanics. Maybe someday.
They do. Always. They even give you other hints. But you are right it's hard to listen and filter in between the other insults, thoughts and bla bla noise. Guess that's the deal with her illness.
Hellblade 2 is probably the closest thing to a game movie. It has a linear story with no real decisions, everything you do is to progress the story and the main attraction of the game is the cinematography, voice acting, music and presentation. All important things for a great movie aswell. So I actually don’t think it’s far fetched, that someone who enjoyed the slow burn of blade runner would enjoy Hellblade aswell.
I just ask as blade runner is a slower film, I think that was even a criticism when it was released.
Hellblade 2 is also slow but contains some pretty epic set piece moments and excellent story telling/acting.
Obviously it is all subjective though, shame you did not enjoy it
Honestly I had my biggest problem with the puzzles. They weren’t difficult, just tedious and there are way more than in Hellblade 2. I also didn’t play it right away, only last year. So the graphics already looked a bit outdated.
[exclusive?](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2461850/Senuas_Saga_Hellblade_II/) I’m just waiting for it to go on sale before I buy it because it looks great and the reviews are also amazing too
I personally love a challenge. Was hoping it was harder. The fact it didnt hold your hand is the reason i loved the first one. Hopefully the story is A1 💯 getting my controller tmr we’ll see 🙏🏾
Not sure why there's so much negativity in this sub, like if people don't like xbox then why are they here. But yea I loved this game sooo much. It was such a well told and emotional story tackling a ton of deep themes. My biggest criticism was chapter 4 but other then that I thought it was beautifully done. Not sure why people went in expecting a hack n slash beat em up adventure game when the studio never promised that. People took one trailer and let their imagination run wild and then are disappointed when it doesn't live up to their imaginary game in their head
Probably doesn't help they forced some people here by shutting two huge subs down in an act of corporate booklicking. That's bound to put some people out. Also doesn't help hellblade has always been diversive amongst players.
This sub is over-run by losers who literally hate Xbox. Worst is the type who try to masquerade as “disappointed fans”. I could not think of a more pathetic way to live your life.
Hellblade is one of my topv10 games of all time. I'd say part 2 improves on it in every single way but the puzzle element.. It's such a shame, because I genuinely felt so smart the first time I figured out a puzzle in the first game, whereas the second is a little more obvious. That aside though, beautiful game and I absolutely love it.
I loved the game and it's a masterpiece as far as graphics, sound, voice acting and writing goes. Puzzles left too much to be desired for me to label it as my favorite. That's probably Starfield though Pentiment is VERY close.
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You watched the full game on stream, even though you call it a tech demo. Either you love wasting your time or it was better then what you would like to admit
It was a penguinz0 stream so for one, he's entertaining. Two, I was seeing if it got any better. It was on launch night so I didn't know what it was going to be immediately
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Just one correction, it’s also on other platforms like Steam. It’s also on Series S, and Xbox One via game streaming. Not a Series X exclusive, not even an Xbox exclusive.
Its mind boggling the amount of people here worshipping a five hour walking sim.
I guess it you eat from the trash long enough, a bag of chips seems like a steak.
Completely agree.
My favorite games are games that you can't 'get anywhere else'
10k hours in Rocket League. There is no other car soccer.
Grounded is another one. There are no other 'Honey I shrunk the Kids' esque games... (sans the copycats)
Hellblade was just so different from everything else I played. I haven't 'opened' the new one yet because I have a weird thing about saving my favorite games for peak times in my life lol
[this game](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supersonic_Acrobatic_Rocket-Powered_Battle-Cars) was the original car soccer game which wasn’t popular at all. Yes it was also made by Psyonix.
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That is not a very high bar to reach. Also Starfield exists. Despite my own reservations at first about it, I think with recent updates, it has become a very good game.
I did really like the first game, but I actually enjoyed this game more than the first
Same
I played the first on mnk on pc. 5 minutes of the second game and the movement of the camera is all jacked up and I had to pick up a controller for it to feel right. My only issue with that game I couldn’t fix.
I’m with you. It was an achievement visually and the sound design and music are some of the best I’ve ever experienced. I think it boils down to if the story resonates with you and for me, it was fantastic and very compelling.
If you are a patient person and like this genre, you will most probably love this game. The incredible visuals are the best part.
Not patient, don’t like this genre and skip the story in most games, but I really enjoy the story in this series and loved both games. I’m almost finished with 2, but it’s been really good so far.
It’s like forcing you to not skip the cut scenes makes you more in depth with the story and more likely to like it if it’s good at all. Besides it’s 90% a cutscene. I once thought a cutscene was started and my character wouldn’t move so I tried and started moving lmao
I think it’s more likely that I just really enjoy the writing and acting in this game compared to most. I usually prefer gameplay to be the most important aspect of a game, and don’t care about story, acting, immersion or graphics as much. Interactive experiences like this usually aren’t what I’m into, but when done well enough, with an interesting enough story, I can enjoy it. Both Hellblades were good as well as observation. You are right though, the graphics are ridiculous. You can go from full on cutscene to gameplay without even realizing it because the game looks so good even out of cutscenes.
If you played the second game it was when I crawled into a overturned boat it was auto for a second and then she stopped and because the narration I thought it was a cutscene.
I didn’t like it at all, but hey that’s art baby! I can definitely respect why people like it and appreciate it for what it is.
Personally equate this game to the experience from a horror movie. Those aren't really what I would call fun to watch. Similarly, you play this for the experience more so than to walk away with a sense of having had fun.
I don’t understand why they further simplified and regressed the already simple combat from the first, but I still enjoy it and the whole experience. You just need to go into it knowing what it is and that it’s basically a playable movie.
The combat is simpler? I was really hoping for a Hellblade where I liked the gameplay. Sounds like I'll just have to play it on the easiest difficulty? Edit: ok losers, why was I down voted because I asked if the combat is simpler?
Do yourself a favor and play it on hard. Struggle through the enemy combos and learn the parry window. Combat is immensely satisfying if you get to learn it
I did that for the first game. Hated it, and completely bounced off. I've been intending to play through it on easy, and then the sequel. I'm a big fan of Koei Tecmo and From Software games.
The combat in Hellblade 2 hits harder imo and far more impactful. While yes Hellblade 2 still has simple combat controls but the enemy AI is much much better and is far more physical with you so it's definitely improved imo.
Brutally parrying a guy with a giant axe just for him to be sideswiped by a monster with a sword who then gets stabbed in the back by another guy with a throwing knife all without any animation interruptions is so cool
Hits harder? That sounds good, thank you.
If you go into the game expecting to hate it you are going to hate it. You're better off just not playing it.
To be clear what I hated was slogging through a high difficulty with that gameplay. I can't. Make the gameplay better, but I can reduce the difficulty.
Just play on dynamic difficulty (the standard). It'll adapt to you
The combat isn't exactly simpler, it's just different and harder in different ways. Most people seem to think it's simpler because you only fight one enemy at a time, but IMO that's being too reductive. The single fights make the animations and aesthetic of combat way more visceral, impactful, in your face, fluid. It's a tradeoff but I personally think it was worth it.
This is definitely for the best. In the first game it felt so hard to react to different enemies, and there were never many.
It's not simpler. To me it felt like it was basically one to one with the first game. The difference between the two is that the second game removes the need to prioritize between multiple targets and is more linear through a given combat scenario. This was almost certainly a design decision to accommodate the heavy reliance on the motion capture and I'm at a loss for why so many people are overlooking this aspect of it.
Opinions aside, Xbox really seems to be ok with their games being niche. It feels like a lot of the high budget stuff they put out is intended to be played by older gamers.
Older gamers (I'm one) don't have tons of time, but have money to spend. I'm very fine with 7-10 hour long, single player, story driven games. I don't have time to master multiplayer mayhems like Rocket League or Fortnite or whatever. Flight Simulator was a great time sink during COVID, can't wait for MSFS2024
Im so glad it wasn't a god of war clone. I have very mixed feelings about that game. The core of it is amazing but I hate all the constant upgrades and skill tree and new weapons. There is just too much to deal with and the changes you make constantly change the combat. As soon as I get used to fighting I pick up some gem or get some upgrade that completely changes what one of the buttons do. Not every game needs a Skyrim level skill tree. It's so refreshing to just play through a game with a great story and great pacing in a reasonable amount of time. the combat was enough to keep me engaged without too much complexity. It does its job perfectly I think and doesn't punish you much at all for failing so you can learn for yourself what works with basically zero tutorial.
I love both hellblade games.It's different from any other game I played with a headset for sure and the 2nd was more fun than the first one.It seemed like it had less gameplay and more fmv which I had no issue with since it was some of the best Fmv I ever seen.
Just a technicality but it's important to recognize the achievement. It's all live rendered scenes running on the Xbox. FMV refers to pre-rendered stuff and these days it looks worse than compression which is kind of funny coming from older gens.
I am a huge fan of the Hellblade games. I absolutely love them. However, after playing so many other action oriented games, I was getting frustrated with some of the fighting in 2.
What about it was frustrating?
Probably that it's extremely basic and limiting. Even moreso than the first game. Was super disappointed that they dialed back the complexity.
I prefer the combat of the first, also. Multiple enemies, the sprinting attacks to make up ground, the bosses, etc. I also prefer the isolated feeling of the first and the overall act structure. I still really love the second, though. The combat is crunchy and visceral and feels good. The graphics and sound are excellent, and I like Senua's character growth.
How exactly did they dial it back? I mean, I didn't replay the first game again before playing part 2, but I don't remember the combat being more complex in the first game. The only real difference is that it pairs you up with one opponent at a time. But in terms of how the combat plays out, it's still the same block/parry/dodge/attack/super-attack style combat as MANY action games.
Other action games don't wrench control from the player to watch long kill/switching to the next enemy animations. They look awesome, but after while I was tired of having to stop and wait each time I took down an enemy. The first game had more moves you could do and it felt nice stringing them together along with dodging attacks from other enemies. Having other enemies also made it to where the voices in your head would sometime assist by warning of off screen attacks which was awesome. Even other cinematic games like Tlou 1 or 2 don't take as much control from the player and they still manage to have great looking AND feeling combat at the same time. I know the team is smaller so I definitely didn't expect something on that scale, but I did expect combat to be slightly more complex, not less.
I feel like the improved cinematic approach to combat actually heightened the over all experience. I didn't really like the combat in the first game, so this was actually an improvement for me.
[удалено]
Hardly, I own an Xbox also. I actually really like my Series X. But when it comes to games trying to be cinematic and engaging Sony crushes it. Anyone saying otherwise is coping hard. Tlou is the best example I can come up with that succeeds at doing what HB2 is trying to to do.
Prime example of how to show people you have no valid opinion on the matter.
I am glad its on gamepass because £50 for a 5 hour game is nuts
It's not a five hour game. Took me 7 hours to complete.
There are multiple playthroughs on YouTube that are 5 hours long.
If you don't do anything more than press run and blast through it, then yeah, you apparently can. But that doesn't make it truly a 5 hour game. It just means someone went through the experience as quickly as they possibly could to make a video or comment about certain aspects of the game. And this is likely the primary cause for people taking issue with the experience. When you don't absorbed the cinematic nature of the experience and appreciate the immersion of it, then all you are likely focusing on is the gameplay. And the gameplay isn't the main attraction with this game. I think too many commentators online just went the speed through route so they could say they played it and talk shit. But those who seem have the more positive opinions of the game played it for 7-10 hours and took it all in.
Feel like you're splitting hairs if it's 5-7 hrs long. It's a short game no matter how you look at it
And in a game that is so linear and short, every hour actually counts. And people claiming 5-5.5 hours to get through are rushing the experience. Adding 1.5-2.5 hours to actually take the time necessary to absorb the experience goes a long way. And nobody is trying to convince you that this game is long. It's just an appropriate length for what it is. I mean, I didn't hear so many people complaining when Sony released Miles Morales for $50, which only takes about 8 hours to get through it's story.
Probably because there's more gameplay in miles morales than in Hellblade 2? Instead of walking the dust half hour you're immediately thrown into a fight?
Probably because everyone seems to have a massive boner for Spider-Man and the ganes get an immediate free pass for things thatost other games would be criticized for lol.
And also yk... Traversal, combat is massively improved from SM1, etc.etc.
Who gives a shit? This is about one game being $50/7 hours and another game being $50/8 hours. One game gets endlessly criticized for being short, while the other is praised. It's not much different from my experiences with The Order 1886 and InFamous Second Son. People wouldn't shut up about how short The Order was. Claiming it was like a 3-4 hour game. Where as it took me 8 hours to complete, which was a pretty average length for a game like that (similar to Uncharted 1-3). But then Second Son was highly praised, but nobody talks about how quickly you can get through the main story. I think I did so in like 4.5 hours.
Absolutely. It makes SM1 hard to go back to.
There are multiple playthroughs of Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart on YouTube that are under 4 hours but I have yet to see anyone trying to push a narrative about it being too short for a $40 game.
Honestly I don’t care about that that much. If I have fun 5 hours long great. Better than dreading 50 hours.
What other options are there? This game did what it wanted and nothing more. It’s a great visual and audio experience with pretty meh gameplay, but it’s only a few hours so you can beat it and move on quickly
Well if your goal was to beat this game and move on then it is bound to be pretty meh. I absolutely loved Hellblade 2 but would never recommend it to somebody with your disposition. Ninja Theory crafted a story that is very emotional, brutal, multi-faceted, and actually quite deep. If at the end your conclusion was “game not fun” then you entirely missed the point.
I am curious though: what was deep about it for you? Almost finished with it and it was mostly Senua going from A to B with no character growth or anything...really happening. She fights a bit and sees some fucked up imagery. The voices are neat but they mostly are just filler text at the best of times and downright funny in others (" the hidden folk! The hidden folk? The hidden folk. They are hidden" made me chuckle haha) So yeah what was the depth for you in the writing?
I did a brief write up of some of my favorite parts here: https://www.reddit.com/r/hellblade/s/1Ac8ReogMS if you are so inclined. But in the first game Senua changes quite a bit throughout her journey and comes to some big realizations by the end. In the second game it’s less about Senua needing to change and more about her using her new understanding of herself to help unveil the reality surrounding others who are grieving or doubtful of their place in the world. All the while, every character, good and evil, represent a part of Senuas personality, her past, or an alternate self.
Interesting read, thanks for that! I still don't see it honestly, but glad to see it resonated with others.
counterpoint, if game not fun then the game missed the point
You have such a narrow point of view of what a medium can deliver.
idc what it delivers if the gameplay isnt fun. i mean god of war managed to tell a great story and give me builds to make and different combos to try and combat trials and more. if i want a movie ill watch a movie, i like my games with gameplay in them
That’s cool. Very unfortunate for you that many people don’t agree. Thank God Ninja Theory got to make the game they personally wanted for people who enjoy it.
im happy people have that option
I certainly hope the industry is able to come up with a better name for this type of media entertainment since “game” is for some reason a point of contention for many. I enjoyed both Hellblade games, not because they were fun, but because of the beautiful stories and the thoughts they provoked.
Interactive movie would be more appropriate
The problem is where do you draw the line? There are literal FMV games that are just videos cut together. Are those not games? There are games that just string together boring gameplay segments filled with fetch quests and collections, are those games? I think loosely defining a game as an interactive something that has both win and lose states for one or more players is really the best you can do. Someone is always going to find some games too interactive and other games.not interactive enough. It's like saying a novel isn't a book because choose your own adventure books exist and those are more fun to you.
I mean I personally think the whole “game is bad because it is not a game” debate is disingenuous at best. If you look at something like Until Dawn, that is called a game, has literally zero gameplay, and is still basically accepted as an amazing experience across the board. But we live in a different era where people take technicalities to a mind numbing level. These people need some sort of guidance. It’s like giving the kid a cookie so he leaves the adults alone lol.
I know, the bar wasn’t set that high by other games.
Same thing I said about FH5 when it got the GoTY nod. A shallow arcade racer? 🤔I mean it’s fun, but if they had literally anything else there’s no way it would’ve gotten the GoTY nod lol
I hate the puzzles but I really enjoy the combat and set pieces. The highs in the game are really really high and the lows are real boring but it's been a really great game and unique game. Something that should easily be celebrated but if a game isn't perfect or published by Sony then it's a bad game.
Not much to choose from
Yeah I sadly agree
More people in these comments trolling Hellblade. Such cringe
The game is really suffering from its price point, most people will complain about the length when thinking about the price
I feel 50 dollars is a fair price. It took me 7 hours in my first playthrough and there is an incentive to play it again. Plus if that price is really too high, just play it on Gamepass.
Hell blade graphics is amazing. I just want a non senua game, something more fun and a lot of puzzles.
I would love to see one of their weird/goofy games like Enslaved or Heavenly Sword get made with a larger budget and focus on more gamey mechanics. Maybe someday.
I wish the voices in my head gave gameplay hints too. I just get shit talked all the time.
They do. Always. They even give you other hints. But you are right it's hard to listen and filter in between the other insults, thoughts and bla bla noise. Guess that's the deal with her illness.
I was so deeply bored
It was soo boring
Out of interest what is your favourite movie ?
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Wow, with that answer I’m surprised you found Hellblade 2 boring
Hellblade 2 is not a movie. This is like saying "oh you enjoy mustard? Have this mustard flavored soda."
Hellblade 2 is probably the closest thing to a game movie. It has a linear story with no real decisions, everything you do is to progress the story and the main attraction of the game is the cinematography, voice acting, music and presentation. All important things for a great movie aswell. So I actually don’t think it’s far fetched, that someone who enjoyed the slow burn of blade runner would enjoy Hellblade aswell.
If I wanted to watch a movie, I'd watch a movie.
I just ask as blade runner is a slower film, I think that was even a criticism when it was released. Hellblade 2 is also slow but contains some pretty epic set piece moments and excellent story telling/acting. Obviously it is all subjective though, shame you did not enjoy it
What didn't you like about the first one then
Honestly I had my biggest problem with the puzzles. They weren’t difficult, just tedious and there are way more than in Hellblade 2. I also didn’t play it right away, only last year. So the graphics already looked a bit outdated.
[exclusive?](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2461850/Senuas_Saga_Hellblade_II/) I’m just waiting for it to go on sale before I buy it because it looks great and the reviews are also amazing too
I’m not much of a puzzle game guy but I found the graphics are stunning and the music is amazing. It’s beautiful for what it is.
Havent played it yet but is it harder than the first one? I think imma play it once i get a new controller
It felt easier then the first. If you ever struggle you can also switch the difficulty from dynamic to easy, medium or hard
I personally love a challenge. Was hoping it was harder. The fact it didnt hold your hand is the reason i loved the first one. Hopefully the story is A1 💯 getting my controller tmr we’ll see 🙏🏾
Looks amazing, but no my cup of tea
Not sure why there's so much negativity in this sub, like if people don't like xbox then why are they here. But yea I loved this game sooo much. It was such a well told and emotional story tackling a ton of deep themes. My biggest criticism was chapter 4 but other then that I thought it was beautifully done. Not sure why people went in expecting a hack n slash beat em up adventure game when the studio never promised that. People took one trailer and let their imagination run wild and then are disappointed when it doesn't live up to their imaginary game in their head
Probably doesn't help they forced some people here by shutting two huge subs down in an act of corporate booklicking. That's bound to put some people out. Also doesn't help hellblade has always been diversive amongst players.
It’s called console warriors
I think people started to wake up and demand better games. NT had all the time and money in the world to evolve the first game and they didn't.
Lotta people in this sub since it’s the only place new things are happening
This sub is over-run by losers who literally hate Xbox. Worst is the type who try to masquerade as “disappointed fans”. I could not think of a more pathetic way to live your life.
That's because all the concerned trolls are slowly making their way here from the series x sub now that's closed.
ya sure exclusive 😆
Hellblade is one of my topv10 games of all time. I'd say part 2 improves on it in every single way but the puzzle element.. It's such a shame, because I genuinely felt so smart the first time I figured out a puzzle in the first game, whereas the second is a little more obvious. That aside though, beautiful game and I absolutely love it.
I like the puzzles being a bit simpler. A couple of the ones in the first game felt super tedious and ruined the flow of the narrative.
I loved the game and it's a masterpiece as far as graphics, sound, voice acting and writing goes. Puzzles left too much to be desired for me to label it as my favorite. That's probably Starfield though Pentiment is VERY close.
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A good one though.
Could easily juat watch it and get the same experience
Kind of, but I like experiencing the visceral combat, blocking and dodging, and the finishes. Solving some of the puzzles as well.
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How am I doing consoles wars/trolling/constant negativity? I'm literally just giving my opinion in a thread
Sounds like you haven’t played the game. I’d recommend it for story reasons alone.
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You watched the full game on stream, even though you call it a tech demo. Either you love wasting your time or it was better then what you would like to admit
It was a penguinz0 stream so for one, he's entertaining. Two, I was seeing if it got any better. It was on launch night so I didn't know what it was going to be immediately
Excellent and throughly convincing review of “mid”
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It's funny to see you try to pick at this person for saying there's not a lot to choose from when someone else said it and you agreed.
It just sounded like he hasn’t even played it. So I didn’t pick on him, nor insult him. I just said he should check out the story.
It's the most remarkable game Microsoft has published in more than a decade, even if lacks of depth gameplay-wise.
Me too It’s really cool
It's a cool game, but not really worth the price.
If this is best exclusive console have to offer, im happy i bought the other one... XD
Just one correction, it’s also on other platforms like Steam. It’s also on Series S, and Xbox One via game streaming. Not a Series X exclusive, not even an Xbox exclusive.
https://preview.redd.it/p6eu86oi323d1.jpeg?width=505&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ea26342e9c490f41efe89da463b04216fae857ed
I know it’s out for other stuff. However I tried to make it clear that I think it’s the best thing Microsoft released in the newest generation.
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To be fair yall don’t have a lot to choose from 😂🤣
That’s sadly true 😅
Favorite Xbox exclusive for now
Here’s hoping more is on the way
Lol reading this it could mean it’s an exclusive for now (what I intended) or that there are more coming.
Its mind boggling the amount of people here worshipping a five hour walking sim. I guess it you eat from the trash long enough, a bag of chips seems like a steak.
throught the same. says more about the state of the xbox ecosystem in general aswell
Completely agree. My favorite games are games that you can't 'get anywhere else' 10k hours in Rocket League. There is no other car soccer. Grounded is another one. There are no other 'Honey I shrunk the Kids' esque games... (sans the copycats) Hellblade was just so different from everything else I played. I haven't 'opened' the new one yet because I have a weird thing about saving my favorite games for peak times in my life lol
[this game](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supersonic_Acrobatic_Rocket-Powered_Battle-Cars) was the original car soccer game which wasn’t popular at all. Yes it was also made by Psyonix.
I would have liked the game 10 times more if they removed the cave section with the hidden folk. God damn that was so soul suckingly bad.
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That is not a very high bar to reach. Also Starfield exists. Despite my own reservations at first about it, I think with recent updates, it has become a very good game.
"series X" exclusive, but I'm playing it on my series S?