#gbgl25

[corvidgames]

#2 Hellblade 2: Senua's Saga

THIS IS NOT A SPOILER FREE REVIEW

I was reluctant at first to dive back into the series after how impactful I found Senua's Sacrifice, scared that I would be frustrated with the sequel, or feel a lack of connection to the same degree as the first. But, here I am, back with Hellblade 2, and I am not disappointed.

Hellblade 2 was a big leap in terms of the graphical and mechanical limits of the series, and, whilst some elements were a swing and a miss, others were nailed incredibly well. I can't outright say that either game is better without feeling like I'm being too general, so I'll just say this.

Hellblade 2 is far more focused on its story and new characters than on Senua herself. The time for her narrative is somewhat over, and the story shifts from that of self discovery to one of Senua learning to connect with and lead others to the same strength that she has. It's not a bad departure by any means, but it's definitly jarring at first coming from the first game.

The graphical improvements on the game are incredible, and getting rid of the awkward green-screened real actors from the original game was definitley a good move in order to feel more grounded in this new world. Ninja Theory did a great job with their increased budget.

There's some new puzzles to be solved, new perspectives to explore, and the improved soundtrack was gripping and immersive. I'd definitley say to give it a try!

Rating Calculation

Story: 7/10

Whilst Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice focused heavily on the theme of forgiving and empathising with ourselves, Hellblade 2: Senua's Saga places its narrative around the concept of empathising with others. It isn't the self-contained story of Senua herself anymore, and, if anything, her psychosis and it's impacts on the world around her are hardly the key of the plot. There's a much larger focus on her as a hero to the people she encounters, a perspective shift to see her as a leader, someone wise and caring.

For me, the scene with Ingun was the easiest example of this newfound shift in the concept of empathy. We fight through the fires of a hellish battleground, to free a chained giantess who fights with all her might to save her child. Ingun will destroy everything in her path if it means protecting the one she loves, which is a side of Senua that we see crop up throughout the story as we continue through it.

Senua is given the option many times throughout the narrative (though I do find it important to say that the player does not make these choices) to destroy others to get what she wants. She is given the option to kill Thorgestr, to abandon Astridr, to ignore Fagrimr, and yet, she does not. She places herself in harm's way, allows herself to empathise and connect with others, and this is her ultimate strength.

The narrative is a moving tale of loss and love, though there is hardly anything remotely romantic, and I would highly reccommend it for that reason alone. However, I do really miss the introspection that we had so much of in Senua's Sacrifice. As much as I love getting to meet a new cast, it does feel at times like it has strayed a little too far from the story that the original game presented us with.

Character(s): 8/10

Hellblade 2, as previously mentioned, is no longer a solitary story, the island is alive with new characters, and we follow along with a trio of new allies.

Thorgestr's arc across the game was satisfying, although fast, and his similarities in his past with Senua makes for an engaging plot beteen the two of them. He teaches Senua to trust, even if he is, as the plot presents at first, her enemy. They're an engaging duo, and I wish there was some more time spent with their back and forths.

Astridr and Fagrimr however... whilst they were good characters in their own rights, and I didn't dislike either of them, didn't get a chance to really do much of anything throughout the plot. Sure, Fagrimir held a ritual one time at Senua's command, and Astridr was there for the fights and was the reason for the second giant's appearance in the island, but neither of them really had any development due to the short story of the game. I would have really loved getting to know more about them, about how they felt when facing these insurmountable odds and beating them, rather than just how it affected Senua.

Atmosphere: 7/10

Hellblade 2 definitley leant more into the horror sides of psychosis than Senua's Sacrifice. It held a dark tone, much like the original, but there were a lot more overtly disturbing scenes that stuck out from the original. This, whilst chilling, feels at times like it detracted from the atmosphere that Senua's Sacrifice had spent so long creating, the monsters in the shadows and in the back of her mind were real (kind of, I know they were a metaphor, but they were presented as real throughout the game and were never directly questioned until the very last second), the giants were tangible threats, and the world was full of life. It just didn't hold the same weight as the original.

Style/Graphics: 8.5/10

The graphical upgrades of Hellblade 2 cannot be overstated. The game is beautiful, and the use of modern technology leaves Senua's Sacrifice in the dust in comparison. The lighting, face tracking, and environments are richly detailed, and really felt like stepping right into the world alongside Senua herself. I think the only area of the game where the graphics were a questionable were those that focused heavily on moving water, but that would have set my PC ablaze if it were rendered as detailed as the rest of the environment.

Sound Design: 10/10

Much like Senua's Sacrifice, the sound design of Hellblade 2 is incredible. 3D audio of Senua's pychosis is just as well done as the original, and the voice acting is even better than in the first. The increased budget of this game compared to the original has done a lot to perfect the few flaws that were present.

The score in boss fights, especially Ingun had a great backing track, and the use of rhythm thorughout was a really nice touch. It drew me right into the action. I felt like a real hero throughout them.

Mechanics: 4.5/10

Gone is the fast paced and clangy combat of Senua's Saga in Hellblade 2. The fights are slow and brutal, every hit is a lot more weighty and there's far more of an emphasis on dodging rather than parrying every attack you take.

Whilst this feels more "realistic" it doesn't really feel as fun as the original. The fights took a lot longer due to the slower nature of them, and the previously overwhelming (in a good way) combat of the original kind of felt like a slog at times. I wasn't that big of a fan, if I'm completely honest.

Performance/optimisation: 8/10

The performance issues that I mentioned in Senua's Sacrifice are nowhere to be found throughout Hellblade 2. The frames almost never dropped below 60fps even on higher graphical settings, and the stuttering that I experienced with the original was nonexistent. I also, pleasantly enough, experienced no issues with glitches in this installment, whereas I had problems a few times in Senua's Sacrifice.

The only issue that I think I faced with performance was the occasional issue of ghosting, which occured a few times in more graphically intensive areas.

(7 + 8 + 7 + 8.5 + 10 + 4.5 + 8)/7 = 7.57 = 76/100

Date of completion: 02/02/2025

Genre: Psychological RPG / Horror

Time to beat: 6hrs 24mins

Level of completion: Main Story + some side content

Trophies/Gamerscore: 800G 9/11

1-100 rating: 76%

Platform: PC/Gamepass

[corvidgames]

January Full Stats

I had hoped to polish off a few more titles this month during the christmas break and my time off from University, but with my sudden and crippling addictions to both Helldivers and Marvel Rivals, and more focus into my other hobbies, I got very little in terms of backlog completion done this month. However, progress is progress, and I'm happy with what I played this month regardless :)

I'm trying to be less stressed about the number of games I complete this year, and just drifting through my backlog to create a more positive environment in which to experience the stories I'm choosing to engage with. Rushing through games just to finish them isn't doing me any favours in maintaining a fun relationship with gaming as a hobby. So, even though I'm still hoping to beat my number of games from last year, I don't care all too much if things are slow at times.

Backlog length: 59

Owned/accessible games: 53

Currently playing: Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2, Mass Effect, Balatro

Next up: It's a toss up between quite a few games at the moment, waiting to see where the wind takes me

Games completed: Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

Games removed/DNF: N/A

Games added: Another Crab's Treasure, 1000X RESIST

Hours logged: 7hrs 24mins

-

game of the month:

🗡️Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice🛡️

Not really much choice here considering I only finished one game this month lmao. But, I really did enjoy Hellblade!

See my entry on Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice here

[corvidgames]

#1 Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice

THIS REVIEW IS NOT SPOILER FREE

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is one of the most uniquely captivating games I've played in a long time. It was able to draw me into a world and character that I have very little prior experience with in my personal life. The representation of psychosis is something that I've rarely seen done positively in media, especially in such a violent and emotional world as the one Hellblade presents.

In any other game Senua would likely be presented as a throwaway villain, but Ninja Theory created a sympathetic and highly heroic character out of Senua, without shying away from the horrors that she experiences in her own mind. She's both a victim and a fighter, and is given room by the story to express both incredibly well.

The combat and puzzle-solving mechanics of Hellblade were well-made and smooth for the most part, and things felt weighty and responsive. I rarely felt like death wasn't due to my own mistakes, and the difficulty was fair and scaled nicely as the story progressed, all the way to its final, dramatic battle.

Despite my comments on mechanics, at its heart Hellblade feels like a highly cinematic game. There are many long cutscenes and sections where you're wandering around listening to the narrator and voices in Senua's head teaching you about the world and it's history. Some of the cutscenes could have probably benefitted from being a little shorter, but nothing in them feels inherently distracting, just moreso unexpected. A few times I just sort of, took my hands off of the keyboard and mouse and watched for a while, with the scenes long enough to feel like I wasn't quite playing a game anymore.

The soundtrack is minimal, and because of that, you really end up paying attention to the sound design of Senua's hallucinations and Druth's stories. This makes for a highly personal experience as a player, everything worked to draw me in for a visceral experience that'll be hard to forget.

The one and only thing that often stole my attention away from this game was how glaringly unoptimised it was in some sections. There were extended sections of the game where my frames dropped significantly, and I encountered a few glitches where I got trapped and had to reload my game to continue, though they weren't often enough to discourage me.

Altogether, Hellblade is not a game without flaw, but it's definitely one that I think of highly. I really recommend trying it out, especially if you have Gamepass on Xbox or PC!

Rating Calculation

Story: 8/10

Hellblade's story is gritty and harrowing. There's a real sense of empathy that I found myself gaining over the course of the 7 or so hours I spent getting to know this world and it's history. The clash of the Celts and the Northmen, the real mythology sprinkled through the voice-notes from Druth, and the environmental storytelling of the scenes all add together to tell a story that really draws you in from the get go. Even during it's quieter sections, Hellblade never stops feeling like a delve into Senua's psyche. The ending, learning to let go of Dillion's death and accepting that maybe the world we've played in isn't quite real, was emotional, especially with the final fight scene of the game coming right before it.

In a hoard style scene we stuck fighting an endless swarm of the Northmen enemies in front of Hela, in order to try and finally get a chance to attack her with a sword made to strike down the gods... except we never get that chance, no matter how hard you fight, you will eventually be overwhelmed, and there is no winning. You always always end up dying, and being finished off by Hela... only by accepting that Hela, the darkness and the Gods aren't the reason for Senua's suffering, and giving up, can we find peace. We try with all our might to fight the truth, that Dillion is gone, and he isn't coming back, but there is no way to avoid it. It's a tragically beautiful scene.

Character(s): 7/10

Senua as a character was compelling and a great look into a whole new world through her position as a representation of psychosis. Her struggles and perseverence felt real and weighty, and experiencing her development was immersive. I really felt connected to her character throughout the game. The side characters such as Druth and Dillion, whilst interesting in their own rights, weren't as strong in my opinion, they felt a little more flat, though their presence as hallucinations throughout the game somewhat excuses that.

Atmosphere: 9/10

The atmosphere of Hellblade is bleak, heavy, and manages to throw itself back and forth between being lonely and full of other life. The voices that follow us around over the course of the game, and the incredibly creative level designs toward the sections of Hel sold the horror of Senua's mind perfectly to me.

Style/Graphics: 6/10

Hellblade has a style changes back and forth between surrealism and realism, in a manner that is often disorienting. This, considering the story that Hellblade is telling and the perspective of Senua as a protagonist, is entirely understandable. The character models of Senua, the enemies and the environments they are in are well made and, as mentioned earlier, the designs of Hel were my favourite section of the game, even if it was shorter than the rest. However, the use of real footage for NPCs such as Dillion and Druth were often distracting and their difference in comparison to Senua was occasionally laughable. The writing and direction made up for it most of the time, luckily, but had it not have, I'm sure I would have laughed at a few of the interactions between Senua and her hallucinations.

Sound Design: 9.5/10

The sound design of Hellblade is stellar. The voices that follow you around swirl around in your headphones and never let you feel truly alone. Good sound design is one of the biggest parts of selling Senua's hallucinations and psychosis and I really feel like it was without fault. The only thing that kept me from giving it a 10/10 was the voice acting of the narrator/darkness that we hear during the fight with Fenrir. I understand that Ninja Theory was trying to make him sound dark and ominous, but it was so gravelly that it just sort of felt laughable. I couldn't take his performance seriously.

Mechanics: 6/10

The fighting mechanics in Hellblade aren't anything massively special, there's a dodge, a light attack, a heavy attack and a satisfyingly clang-y parry system. It's pretty basic and it get's the job done, I can't complain about it. The level design and puzzle mechanics were unique, though sometimes with the rune discovery puzzles it did get frustrating to find alternate angles that were, by all means, correct in displaying the shape of the rune required, but weren't the solution intended by the game, and were therefore incorrect and a waste of time. When it works, the perspective sections of Hellblade really drew me in, and when they didn't they completely threw me out.

Performance/optimisation: 5/10

The optimisation on PC for this game is... not so great. For a good half of the game I was able to run 150+ frames in 1440p high settings, but for some sections, particularly in the middle of the game when in the docks during the storm, my frames dropped as low as 20 and stuttering became very apparent. It was only very specific areas of the game that weren't optimised, but when you encounter one it draws you completely out of focus with the story and makes it hard to pay attention to anything. Turning down the settings even to the lowest presets possible did nothing to fix this, I'm not sure what the issue there was. I've heard it's more common on Radeon cards and when running the PC Gamepass version of the game, both of which are true in my case, so I'm not sure how these areas will run on console or when launched through Steam or with an Nvidia card.

I also faced a few issues with glitching and getting stuck in areas where I couldn't move at all, this happened 2 to 3 times throughout my playthrough, and every time I had to reload my save in order to get free. The autosave system is forgiving enough that it was never more than a few minutes of progress that I lost, but it was still disheartening at times. When Hellblade works it works great but when it stumbles it can be really frustrating.

(8 + 7 + 9 + 6 + 9.5 + 6 + 5)/7 = 7.21 = 72/100

Date of completion: 06/01/2025

Genre: Psychological RPG

Time to beat: 7hrs 24mins

Level of completion: Main story + most side content

Trophies/Gamerscore: 900G 13/14

1-100 rating: 72%

Platform: PC/Xbox Gamepass

[corvidgames]

GBGL 2025 - Introduction!

Hey there! I'm Sacro, or Krowe, or any other moniker you might have seen me go under before, I'm a bored uni student with simultaneously too much and too little time on my hands, and I really like games :) As of last year I made a resolution to start documenting my experience with games I love throughout the year, as a way to be able to look back on my year, and hopefully make a dent in my endless backlog.

This blog and it's contents, the Great Big Games List (GBGL) were inspired by the Backlog series by DarylTalksGames on Youtube. Ever since watching it I've taken the time to write reviews and little journal entries on each game that I finish, and it's been working out quite well as of so far! My 2024 results have already been filtered and collated earlier today (find them here!), meaning it's time to start the 2025 list.

This blog is mostly for myself, and I don't intend for many people to agree with my takes or opinions on games (I can have notoriously bad taste at times, hell, I rated Dragon's Dogma 2 an 80% last year regardless of it's many many issues). Regardless, if you stick around, feel free to send any recommendations you might have my way in the comments of posts or using the ask feature, I'm always down to add new a series to the list.

This year I'm hoping to try and be a little more conservative when it comes to my review scores, as my final score ended up being around 72~% on average. I'm not sure how I'll go about it, but I'll figure it out as we go.

I'll be making regular efforts to keep my howlongtobeat account up to date, also, which is linked below.

You can also find me on PSN @ sackofcrows and XBL @ Floorbeans

Score to beat is 31 games completed, excited to see how this goes!