Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

So, there's a sequel in the works called "Senua's Saga" that looks absolutely amazing.

It got me thinking about the original.
Played a bit, then put it on the backburner for a time I could afford it better attention...
Since then, I've started focussing on one game at a time, or say one PC, one console at most.

So it's a game by "Ninja Theory" who were the team behind the PS3 games "Heavenly Sword" and one of my personal favourites of that generation "Enslaved: Odyssey to the West" which was a futuristic take on the "Journey to the West" tale, starring Andy Serkis.

Senua's Sacrifice is hm...a strange tale of Senua, a grieving pict female warrior that basically travels into norse levelsof hel, or "helheim" to release the soul of her husband who was killed in a Viking raid, from well, the "Gods" ending with Hela.
She carries her dead loves head around in a satchel - He talks to her as a ghost/apparition.

Now what's interesting to me is that the character believes she has a "curse" which her mother had as well.
Thing is, it's not. It's psychosis...and of course, being presented as an 8th century game, the perception is explained.
However, whether or not the events of the game are all in her head, an internal struggle, or actually things like the afterlife, and Gods/titans roaming the Earth is never really determined.

They actually got a psychiatrist/professor of Health Neuroscience from the University of Cambridge to consult on the game, making sure the portrayal of mental illness was accurate.
It's very weird.
You see things in the corner of your eye...you hear whispers...your perception warps throughout the game, and the narration is told through 4 different voices in your head - who talk about your character and the events unfolding, and also bicker among themselves.
So strange. Have never seen this in a game before but goddamn it absorbs you...it actually puts you in the headspace pretty well.
They actually suggest for "full immersion" to play this one in a surround headset...lol not for me, the shit weirds me out enough. Super atmospheric. Great musical score too.

BEAUTIFUL looking game...it's art...
I'd recommend it pretty highly based on what I've played so far...and it's pretty cheap right at the moment as it's a few years old at least...still remarkable looking given it's age.
Play it if you want something of a unique gaming experience.

Also here's a trailer for the sequel.
Doesn't show much at all, but it looks like one of the best looking games I've ever seen, and all this is actually in-engine footage

 

Great decision...it's quite different from a lot of games, gameplay style...but if you have some interest in games like the original God of War titles, dark/demon souls (but not as difficult) or things like Horizon: Zero Dawn, you'd enjoy it...super cinematic, very engaging...atmospheric and weird as fuck.

The first one was released in 2017 so doesn't look quite as impressive as the trailer to the second one, but I was still quite floored by how good it looked at the time, and I'd say it's one of the more unique experiences of the current/last generation of games.

 

Hope you both enjoy it.