Analysis of the Senua saga: Hellblade II

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is Ninja Theory’s masterpiece that eclipses Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice.

The funniest and most stressful thing about writing about a video game is not knowing where to start. This happens in two antagonistic cases, when a title is quite weak, or when the game we are talking about is a work of art. The Saga of Senua: Hellblade II It is, without a doubt, in the latter ranking.

For me, this generation of Xbox is marked by several releases. He first one of them was undoubtedly in 2021, with the arrival of Forza Horizon 5 and its photorealism which left us all speechless. He second the great moment of this generation was A Plague Tale: Requiema title that did not boast of photorealism, but offered graphic quality and details never before seen in a video game.

He third big event of this generation arrives today, May 21, 2024, where The Saga of Senua: Hellblade II has managed to combine photorealism that makes you doubt what you see with a level of detail never before seen in a video game. And without fear of making mistakes, The Saga of Senua: Hellblade II This is the technical ceiling of this generation.

Thunderbolt

The graphic aspect of the game is undoubtedly what attracts the most attention when you start playing. A while ago, when the trailer for The Saga of Senua: Hellblade IIMany of us think that Computer graphics (computer generated image) wouldn’t be the standard of the game, but everyone, including me… we were wrong.

Swindle The Saga of Senua: Hellblade II We are going to star in a film that is far from resembling a video game, visually and narratively. And the fact is that their level of work in the visual and artistic section is unique. We could spend hours contemplating the landscapes, the rocks and the gestures of the characters.

The individually created details of each rock, tree, stone, moss, cloud… make every corner of this masterpiece unique. The drawing distance is spectacular, there are no artificial tricks like fog, to alleviate the graphics load. And that’s it Ninja theory, developer of the title, has achieved what no one has done so far by making the most of what the Xbox Series has to offer, but will the rest measure up? Let’s see then.

Revenge or help

The Saga of Senua: Hellblade II It’s a story, a beautiful story, that above all. If in his first part he told us how Senua, the protagonist, fought against her head to find herself; In Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, the enemies are more real and more dangerous.

We begin the story of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, with Senua placed on a northern slave ship. Our protagonist allowed herself to be captured in order to be brought to those responsible for her misfortune and that of her people. However, their plan is cut short when a storm capsizes the entire fleet, leaving a beach on a remote island littered with the bodies of Northerners and slaves.

Senua will wander in a new land, Iceland, where the northerners who govern it, the Bjorg, roam freely and subjugate all the peoples of Iceland. But she will not be alone, as always Senua will be accompanied by her voices. Voices running through your head constantly with conflicting ideas and thoughts that cloud your judgment and cloud your consciousness. The shadow, the long, dark shadow of her father will also accompany Senua, making her doubt every chance she gets.

On this path to decapitate the slavers Senua comes face to face with reality. Slaves are not cheap labor or currency. The northerners enslave people to use them as offerings to appease the giants who are ravaging Iceland. Senua will then have to decide whether to kill the northerners or help kill the giants.

This entire plot is perfectly told by Ninja Theory, with an undeniable visual section and a powerful narrative. Which leaves us with the gameplay of the title as the only unknown, will it be up to the task?

Protagonist of our own adventure

Basic part of that The Saga of Senua: Hellblade II It is, as these titles are called, a film-game, the “playable” section left us with pleasant surprises. To begin with, the combat system hasn’t changed in terms of form, but it has changed in terms of content.

I explain this because we continue to fight in the purest style hacker and slash, with light attack button, heavy attack button, dodge and block. However, forget about facing multiple rivals at the same time, now they will be one at a time. Although this may seem like a step back in gameplay, on the contrary, the immersion obtained in the fights is much better than in the first part.

We will have absolute control of the situation and the fight. Rivals come out and appear behind us, they approach you, they attack you, they kill you and kick you all the time. We will have to act quickly. The fights are very dynamic, unpredictable and exciting. We will constantly experience an action scene worthy of any Hollywood film.

Riddles that are not riddles

We’ll also have moments of pure joystick skill. Some sections of the game require us to run while avoiding a fiery rocket that disintegrates us or a wave that drags us into the depths. These are all simple mechanics but they increase the feeling of immersion much more.

The Saga of Senua: Hellblade II has managed to combine gameplay and graphics in such a way that we feel like the protagonists of our own film. No prompts, no health or stamina bars, no talent trees, just us, Senua, the voices and our determination.

If we focus on the puzzles, the central element of the first opus, they continue to be very present. If you played the first title, you will be familiar with the rune theme. This is still present, but in a more immersive way. Finding and identifying them isn’t as complex as in the first game, but they’re much more integrated into the setting.

Alongside this, another characteristic enigma of the saga is that of delusions. In The Saga of Senua: Hellblade II Illusions have another approach which, from my point of view, has taken a backseat. The alteration of reality is quite simple and is done using fairly guided watermarks. These leave no room for error or interpretation, making them less difficult and sometimes becoming tedious.

This part of the illusions has been merged with other specific mechanics, such as removing barriers to access places to reach runes or inaccessible exits, but it still suffers from simplicity.

Less linear despite its nature

Concerning the linearity of The Saga of Senua: Hellblade II, it is indisputable that it is a guided game (one of those “to palante” or “pasillero”). However, Ninja theory introduced some secondary paths, which will lead us to discover the stories of the totems. Those who in the first part told us about Nordic history and mythology are no longer a gift. We will now have to look for them in the secondary branches.

If we talk about its sound aspect, we have to talk about binaural sound. And that’s it The Saga of Senua: Hellblade II It follows the same paths as its predecessor, constituting a unique experience for our hatred. Binaural sound is nothing more than a sound recorded with two microphones that has our head as a reference, it tries to create a sensation of her 3D similar to physically being in the room or place where the sounds are produced. And that’s exactly what they get The Saga of Senua: Hellblade II. We are going to be the center of an impeccable repertoire of creaks, sounds, voices, flowing water, colliding stones, waves and an infinite number of things that will, that, when you close eyes, will transport you to the same place. Iceland.

Conclusion on the Senua saga: Hellblade II

The Saga of Senua: Hellblade II It is without a doubt the best game graphically of everything we have in this generation. You’ll never have seen anything like this before. Its story does not disappoint, its immersion in the story and the action are splendid despite the presence of a “game film”. It is true that the story of the first part generated more anxiety and stress, but this one is much more complete. The Saga of Senua: Hellblade II It focuses on other aspects to improve on its predecessor, such as visuals, story immersion, and combat. The inevitable comparisons make Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice seem like a game tiny.