Game Cover

The hardest battles are fought in the mind.

Platform played on: PC, Xbox Series X

# Review

Hellblade follows the Pict warrior Senua (Melina Juergens) into Helheim, the Norse underworld, in order to save the soul of her deceased lover Dillion (Oliver Walker) from the goddess Hela. The player quickly realizes that Senua suffers from psychosis and experiences symptoms such as voices in her head and hallucinations. The player follows Senua on her quest through the macabre realm.

Macabre setting of the game

The game is very atmospheric, the game takes its time to build the backstory behind the characters and the locations. The artstyle is visually striking, filled with hellish imagery and pagan symbols. The game is filled with cryptic messages about Senua’s life and Norse mythology. I didn’t understand the story until later on in the game where everything came together, but the messages still helped build the mystique surrounding the story. The game is primarily an action adventure game where the player controls Senua in a third-person perspective. The movement, while a bit slow, feels very smooth and the combat is very satisfying.

Satisfying combat

There are puzzle elements which are pretty cool. While most of the puzzles involve visuals, my favourite puzzles are those which involve Senua running from the hellish environment and enemies. The game has a very sense of progression but there are definitely some very frustrating parts where the game design and quality control fails. For instance, there is a maze where Senua has to collect runes while running away from an enemy. The maze has some issues with recognizing that the runes are collected and it breaks immersion. Overall though, the game is fairly polished.

Environmental puzzle

I’ve completed this game twice; first time in 2021 when I built my PC and the second time very recently. I would say the game doesn't have much in terms of replay value. It does, however, have perhaps one of the best characterizations of mental illness in the gaming genre, as the developers hired qualified professionals from the mental health field as consultants. For the full experience, I would highly recommend playing the game with a controller that has rumble as well as with a good pair of headphones.

# Conclusion

A very compelling narrative with some interesting mechanics.

# Overall rating: 8.4

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