Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is not an easy game to describe and even less so to review but I’ll give it my best shot. Developed by Ninja Theory (Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, DmC: Devil May Cry), it follows the story of Senua, a (late) 8th century Pict warrior (for reference, the Picts were also depicted in the 2004 version of King Arthur) who ventures into Viking territory on a quest to find the underworld (Hel) and resurrect her beloved, Dillion. However, Senua’s journey is anything but straightforward as she suffers from severe psychotic mental illness. Consequently, she’s plagued by visions and voices in equal measure while, at the same time, fighting a darkness that threatens to consume her.

Where to begin?

While I cannot attest to the accuracy of the game’s representation of psychosis, from what I’ve seen and read it would seem Ninja Theory has done a commendable and thorough job. The developers used binaural audio to simulate a three-dimensional space with a result nothing short of astounding. I played the game wearing a headset and I could hear the voices all around me, some near, others far, always insistent. Sometimes they would mock Senua’s stubborn determination to spot patterns and solve puzzles, but they could also be helpful and warn me when an enemy was sneaking up behind me. The voices are truly maddening and you’ll be glad to be rid of them, if only for a little while. But that’s not all Hellblade does to mess with your mind, far from it.

As I explained above, because of her illness, Senua is prone to having visions and seeing things that aren’t objectively there for most of us. She has a tendency to look for patterns that the game cleverly introduces and reinforces by having you find them in order to unlock doors and progress further into the underworld. It is difficult to say how effectively this represents psychotic mental illness as it’s basically left up to the player’s interpretation. Mechanically, you cannot progress until you find the patterns as the door will not budge. Psychologically, it could be argued that the door can be moved but it is Senua who refuses to advance until she has obliged that part of her brain that is constantly hunting for patterns. And this is barely scratching the surface of what the guys at Ninja Theory have done with this subject matter throughout the game.



The pattern… Can you see it? No. That’s okay, few people can.



Accompanying you in your descent through Hel are a few narrators that will alternate in different segments of the game. The most prominent of these however, is Druth, a former prisoner of the Vikings who managed to escape and come across Senua. It was he who told Senua about the Northmen’s customs and beliefs (in particular, the existence of Hel) and it is also he who provides the narration for the many lorestones you’ll find scattered throughout the game, describing episodes of Norse mythology. Druth and his tales are a welcome companion in our journey, providing a few much-needed moments of levity from time to time.

I guess this is as good a time as any to commend Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice for its superb, and I don’t use the word lightly, voiceover work. Every one of the narrators came across as emotionally-invested in the story of Senua and they served their roles admirably. Druth, voiced by Nicholas Boulton, was probably my favourite, but the Narrator (the main one), voiced by Chipo Chung, is a very close second. She reminded me of Cate Blanchett’s monologue during the prologue of The Lord of the Rings. Ah, who am I kidding, Oliver Walker as Dillion was pretty good too, not to mention Senua herself, played and voiced by Melina Juergens.

Speaking of Melina Juergens and Senua, Ninja Theory made the right call going with a full digital double as so much of Senua’s story is told, not just throught her inflection, but through her facial expressions as well. We’re treated to numerous close-ups of Senua where we witness her fear, desperation, anxiety, sadness, anger, joy, and relentless determination. In many ways, Hellblade feels very much like we’re being treated to a one-man (well, woman in this case, naturally) play (a Shakespearean one most likely) as Melina/Senua has to carry the brunt of the narrative on her shoulders and, for my part, she passed with flying colours, delivering a powerful and sincere performance.

A curious fact I picked up from the video feature that comes with the game is that Melina Juergens is actually the studio’s video editor. That’s right, she’s not a professional actress! (mind=blown) In fact, she was pretty terrified about acting at all. She was supposed to serve as a stand-in for Senua while Ninja Theory perfected their motion capture techniques and found a professional actress to play the part. Seeing as she had done most of the work already, they offered her the role, one that demanded a great deal of training, both mental and physical, from her. I encourage you to watch this dev diary about how Melina became Senua while I take a moment to applaud her even more impressive performance.

Time to dive a bit more into the gameplay.

As you might have guessed from the trailer and gameplay videos, Hellblade is a linear experience, and progression is blocked either through the puzzle-solving bits I mentioned earlier or instances of combat against a variety of enemies. The latter can be a bit of a mixed bag depending on how you look at things. Firstly, Senua is strictly a melee warrior so you can only choose between light or heavy attacks, while also being able to block or dodge enemies. Furthermore, if you time it right, your block can stagger your enemies and leave them wide open for a devastating counter-attack that also powers your Focus. Focus in combat is an extension of Senua’s ability to spot patterns and signs and, mechanically, it allows her to slow down time to the point you can easily dispatch enemies to your heart’s content. Having recently watched Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur I would be remiss if I didn’t draw a parallel between Arthur’s wielding of Excalibur in the movie and Senua’s wielding of Gramr in the game. Not only are they both magical swords, powerful in their own right, but the combination of Gramr’s power and Senua’s focus mirrors the devastating effects of Excalibur in the 2017 movie rather remarkably. Rest assured you will feel powerful in battle… so long as you can see your enemies.

One does not simply walk into Hel with a regular sword.

See, the problem with Hellblade’s combat is that it’s all too reliant on the often poor camera angles. Throughout the game, the camera sticks very close to Senua and follows her every move, something that is mirrored in combat. Thus, more often that not you will have enemies at your back that can easily sneak up on you (moreso when they can appear out of thin air) and you’ll have a moment’s notice at best to interrupt whatever it was you were doing and dodge the hell out of the way in a direction that, hopefully, will place all of your enemies in your line of sight. Perhaps this is an intended design choice and I’m leaning towards that option. You’re not supposed to feel like a badass in combat but rather oppressed, constricted, and overwhelmed. Besides, if we had an eagle’s eye view of the map layout during combat, it would defeat the purpose of having the voices warn you of incoming attacks.

Something similar happens with movement in the game, it feels sluggish and cumbersome, even when you’re running, as if the game were reluctant to let you proceed. Again, this could also be intended and it would fit the narrative, but where does one draw the line between a conscious design choice and an unpolished mechanic that accidentally feeds into the narrative? I have not yet watched all of the dev diaries (there are 29 of them) so this could have been something that Ninja Theory intended from the get go. Still, I feel I should bring up these issues and let you, the reader, make up your mind.

Going back to the story, Senua’s descent into Hel is also a journey into her tragic past. Being the daughter of a druid (Zymbel), her father took her symptoms to be a sign of darkness and thought that only through the gods’ interevention, and by extension his own, would Senua be rid of her darkness. It can’t have been fun growing up and being told you were the cause of every bad thing that happened around you. Contrast this to Dillion’s compassionate and understanding attitude; he didn’t fear Senua’s view of the world but embraced it and supported her at every turn (in fact, it could be argued Dillion has a very modern and open-minded attitude for the time). One can easily see why Senua would be willing to go to the ends of the world to get him back. In so doing we relive memories of Senua’s past and come to understand not only what drives her but also what shaped her into becoming the tormented, but determined, young woman she is now.

Even heroes can sometimes lose hope.

Curiously, if you manage to find all of Druth’s stories, you’re treated to a small cutscene towards the end that seems to hint at Senua’s next quest and the character at the heart of it. It doesn’t seem like the type of game that would benefit from a sequel (and god knows I’d love to see one), but maybe Ninja Theory has something up their sleeve.



I’ve mentioned already that Hellblade is a game where much of it is left to the player’s interpretation. Indeed, given how vivid Senua’s visions are, it’s difficult to tell what is real and what isn’t. Is Senua really journeying into Hel or is it all playing out in her mind? And if the latter, would it be any less real for her? After all, our perception of reality is filtered by our mind and Senua is no different in that respect. Is Hel a real place or a construct of her mind? I’ll leave it to you to play the game and find the answer.

Dom Matthews, the studio’s “product development ninja,” in an interview with Engadget back in 2015, called Hellblade “an experiment,” and a very risky one at that given the subject matter. Yes, they did their due dilligence, partnering with the Wellcome Trust, a medical research charity, and having a professor of health neuroscience at Cambridge University advise on the game, but there was no way to predict how the gaming community at large would receive the game. I am pleased to report gamers seem to have taken a liking to the game. As of last week, the game had reportedly sold over 100,000 copies on Steam and it was the best-selling digital-only game on the US and UK Playstation Stores. It currently has a Metascore of 85 on PC (81 on PS4) and is also being reviewed favourably by users. It doesn’t hurt that the game costs half the price of your average AAA title and delivers a compelling, if sometimes harrowing, experience unlike anything in the market right now.

Clocking at around 8 hours for a completionist run, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is an experience fully deserving of my time and money, so much so I played it twice already. Even if the subject of mental psychosis doesn’t particularly appeal to you, Hellblade still plays very much like a psychological horror game, with a thoroughly-immersive atmosphere enhanced by the outstanding soundtrack by Andy LaPlegua and David García (with additional music by Passarella Death Squad and VNV Nation). I hope it continues to garners the attention and praise it deserves, we could use more games that aren’t afraid to take chances. Personally, I think it’s well-positioned to compete for the GOTY title alongside titles like Horizon Zero Dawn and NieR:Automata. Time will tell.