Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

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10 min. gameplay footage. First 5 minutes gives a sense of how the combat feels/looks.

 
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Today we are happy to share with you the Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice Official Trailer.

We are also excited to reveal that Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice will be enhanced for PlayStation 4 Pro.

PlayStation 4 Pro players will have the choice between experiencing Hellblade with enhanced resolution or at a higher framerate of 60fps. High-end PC owners will have the option to play Hellblade with an uncapped framerate and in resolutions up to 4K. Hellblade on PC will also support 21:9 ultra widescreen.

Official trailer:



All actual in-game footage

From the makers of Heavenly Sword, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, and DmC: Devil May Cry, comes a warrior’s brutal journey into myth and madness.

Created in collaboration with neuroscientists and people who experience psychosis, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice will pull you deep into Senua’s mind.

Rated Mature: Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Intense Violence, Nudity

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My thoughts. Heavy. Intense. I don't usually play those types of games, but I'm going to end up playing this one, unless the reviews stink. I'm not going to be able to get it on release, because I'm in the middle of Yakuza, but I'm definitely interested -- not for the combat, but for the story and visuals.

I like how ambitious it is with the subject matter. I also like that Setsuna is an ordinary-looking girl, not a perfect, beautiful woman like you typically see in games (no offense, Aloy).
 
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Rated Mature: Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Intense Violence, Nudity

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I mean, yeah... i'll probably check it out....
 
Btw, the game uses binaural audio," which is something I hadn't heard of before. According to the thread on GAF,

"Binaural recordings are reproductions of sound the way human ears hear it. In fact, the word 'binaural' literally just means 'using both ears.' When you listen to a binaural recording through headphones, you perceive distinct and genuine 360° sound."

It is best (or perhaps only) appreciated when using headphones. Apparently, few games utilize it, although it can add to the sense of immersion. What makes it unique is that it's a method of recording that replicates the shape and distance of human ears.


Look at the device they use to capture it:

Pro2_2_WebReady_grande.jpg






I think that's very cool. I can see how different that is from normal stereo sound. If you can, listen to the video above with and without headphones.

It also makes sense to use this method to replicate "voices in the head," which are going to be a big part of the game.

Lots of interesting stuff going on in this game...
 
Btw, the game uses binaural audio," which is something I hadn't heard of before. According to the thread on GAF,

"Binaural recordings are reproductions of sound the way human ears hear it. In fact, the word 'binaural' literally just means 'using both ears.' When you listen to a binaural recording through headphones, you perceive distinct and genuine 360° sound."

It is best (or perhaps only) appreciated when using headphones. Apparently, few games utilize it, although it can add to the sense of immersion. What makes it unique is that it's a method of recording that replicates the shape and distance of human ears.


Look at the device they use to capture it:

Pro2_2_WebReady_grande.jpg






I think that's very cool. I can see how different that is from normal stereo sound. If you can, listen to the video above with and without headphones.

It also makes sense to use this method to replicate "voices in the head," which are going to be a big part of the game.

Lots of interesting stuff going on in this game...

That's awesome! I was wondering when we'd start getting this in media outside of youtube. It really does have a great spatial presentation. Cool part is it only needs stereo
 
That's awesome! I was wondering when we'd start getting this in media outside of youtube. It really does have a great spatial presentation. Cool part is it only needs stereo

Yes. The developer is recommending that the game be played with headphones.

Lots of unique things going for it:

- Venture into AA, $30 space
- Game about the inner experience of psychosis, externalized; they did good research here, to make it as authentic as possible
- Binaural audio
- Strong emphasis on story
- Impressive visuals

The voices in my head are telling me to buy this.
 
I'm impressed with how much work they put into understanding psychosis and translating it into a game. If you listen to what some of the participants (patients, I think) say in this clip, this was "no token effort," but a serious and sincere attempt to listen, understand, and integrate what they heard into the game.

This is a brief preview of a 25 minute featurette in the game, detailing all the work they did on the subject.



Yeah, I'm going to have to get this.
 
You're so buying this, Andy. You might as well just make peace with that fact
 
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That's why we love him. You can count on Andy to give us the scoop on the less popular games.

Thanks, TD. I think D-V-ANT is getting this, too. Or at least he seemed to be leaning in that direction.

I just started Chapter 13 of 15 of Yakuza 0. Hopefully I can finish that before Hellblade releases. I like finishing one game before moving on to another.
 
Thanks, TD. I think D-V-ANT is getting this, too. Or at least he seemed to be leaning in that direction.

I just started Chapter 13 of 15 of Yakuza 0. Hopefully I can finish that before Hellblade releases. I like finishing one game before moving on to another.

Yeah I'm getting it. Might not be right away though.
 
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Hmm didn't want to get this right away because I'm playing other games, but I also like to support smaller devs, especially those that make smart, gamer friendly decisions. I may just end up grabbing this and sneaking it in before Kingdom Battle releases. Sounds like a shorter game anyways...
 
I would've paid $40 for a physical copy if they would've just been nice and made one.
 
Physical would be nice so I could use my Best Buy gamer discount but oh well.
 
Still on the fence on this, but mainly between PC or PS4 version. My PC minus the video card is quite old so not sure how well it would run, although other games like Gears 4 runs maxed out at 60fps so hard to tell.
 
Still on the fence on this, but mainly between PC or PS4 version. My PC minus the video card is quite old so not sure how well it would run, although other games like Gears 4 runs maxed out at 60fps so hard to tell.
Eurogamer review of it was pretty decent. Average is 80 on Metacritic right now.
 
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Jim Sterling gave it a 1, because he had a game-ending bug at the end.

That is because he is a parody account. He is a tool.

Reminder, this is "first to consoles" on PS4.
 
That is because he is a parody account. He is a tool.

I didn't realize, but Sterling later asked Metacritic to pull his review. That Metacritic average (81) does not include his review.

I'm glad he did that. I know he makes his living off of vitriolic rants, but scoring a game as if it's worthless trash, based on a game-ending bug (when you enjoyed the game otherwise, as he did) seems harsh and impulsive.
 
I didn't realize, but Sterling later asked Metacritic to pull his review. That Metacritic average (81) does not include his review.

I'm glad he did that. I know he makes his living off of vitriolic rants, but scoring a game as if it's worthless trash, based on a game-ending bug (when you enjoyed the game otherwise, as he did) seems harsh and impulsive.
Oddly enough, some were linking to his youtube video of the review and it showed the video had been pulled. Not sure if it is back up.
 
I loved Enslaved. I don't care about gameplay hours. In fact, it's a plus, these days, for a game to be shorter. It means there's positive for me to finish it.

Many times I wait on a game or don't play it at all because I know I don't have the 40 or 80 hours to dedicate.
 
I loved Enslaved. I don't care about gameplay hours. In fact, it's a plus, these days, for a game to be shorter. It means there's positive for me to finish it.

Many times I wait on a game or don't play it at all because I know I don't have the 40 or 80 hours to dedicate.

Yeah, me too. I've got plenty of games I'd like to play, but I have to ask myself, "Is this going to be worth spending 50 hours on?" A game like this, only 6 to 8 hours, is a lot easier to buy into.

Besides, I don't think I want to live in her head for 50 hours. I played a little of the game last night, and between the visuals and the binaural audio, it can get pretty immersive. I felt some anxiety in my gut, by the time I finished. I'm glad it's not in VR.
 
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I'm honestly kind of shocked that it's scoring so well. I thought it would get trashed.

I may get it at some point. But digital only? Idk
 
The game has a perma-death system. If you die too many times, you're done, and the game will erase your save.

However, it's supposedly a rather mild implementation of the mechanic -- more to reinforce themes and add a bit of tension, rather than to make it challenging or punishing. It didn't come up in any of the reviews, and no one has reported it yet.

Some details: You have multiple lives, not just one. It requires "a lot" of deaths to trigger ("you'd have to go out of your way"). The game has an easy mode, if you want to reduce risk of it happening.

p.s. Now these guys are saying the permadeath thing is a "bluff," so I dunno.
https://www.pcgamesn.com/hellblade-senuas-sacrifice/hellblade-permadeath-bluff
 
More than anything, I hope the game is a commercial success for Ninja Theory. While Hellblade may not be my cup of tea, I generally like Ninja Theory games and hope the score with a well received hit.
 
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I was thinking of finally starting Pillars of Eternity and holding off on this but now I'm back on the buy this game wagon. AAGGHH!!

Edit: Found someone on Reddit with same processor as me although overclocked and a slightly better GPU and he runs it at 120fps. Thinking I should be good for 60 then even if I have to back off on settings a bit. Sorry Pillars think you will need to wait a bit more.
 
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More than anything, I hope the game is a commercial success for Ninja Theory. While Hellblade may not be my cup of tea, I generally like Ninja Theory games and hope the score with a well received hit.

I hope it sells well, too. I've got two reasons:

1. It might encourage more devs to try this model (AA title with good production values, $40 price tag), which could be a way to keep good SP games and the AA-type experience alive and well in our increasingly GaaSy and blockbuster-focused market.

2. Making a game featuring a mentally ill protagonist is difficult and risky. I'd like to see them rewarded for that.
 
I'm about an hour in. First impressions: it's good. It's slower paced than I thought, because I'm spending a lot of time trying to figure out the visual puzzles (maybe that's on me). I use the run button a lot, because I'm covering the same territory, trying to figure out what turn I missed.

Combat is better than I expected, based on those early videos. It feels pretty good. Easy, so far, but I've only encountered a few enemies, so I'm sure it'll ratchet up.

I'm still not sure what's going on, story wise. I get the general outline, but I'm not sure if this whole thing is happening in her mind, or what. There seem to be "characters," in the form of recurring voices, but I don't have a handle on those, either.
 
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