Summary
Announced all the way back in 2019,Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2has been a prominent part of the Xbox Series X’s marketing for five years now, appearing at just about every big annual Xbox Showcase in the process. After each new trailer, fans would excitedly speculate on whereSenua’s new journeycould take her, and how the events of the first game would shape not just her abilities as a warrior, but as a person struggling with psychosis.
Though it comes in at around just 7 hours to complete, the firstHellbladeputs protagonist Senua through the wringer, making her travel through the Norse realm of Hel to face off against the god Hela and try to resurrect her dead husband Dillion. By the end ofHellblade, Senua learns to live with the Furies inside her head and sets off on a new adventure. But whileSenua’s Saga: Hellblade 2is technically that new adventure, it really doesn’t feel that way, at least not during its opening few hours.
Hellblade 2 Spends Too Much Time Recapping The First Game
Hellblade 2’s Initial Recap Is Short and Sweet
Upon startingSenua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, players will be presented with a relatively short, but in-depth recap of the events of the first game, the same recap that was originally uploaded on Xbox’s official YouTube channel a week ago. Over the course of five minutes, Druth - a key character from the first game - narratesSenua’s harrowing journey through Hel, and the horrific events that lead up to that moment, all while the camera pans around various wood-carving interpretations of the story.
This recap effectively covers just about everything that newcomers would need to know going intoSenua’s Saga: Hellblade 2. All of Senua’s key relationships are explained thoroughly, her battle with thegods and giants of Norse mythologyare detailed, and her constant battle with her own psychosis is described well. It’s an efficient recap, so much so that it unintentionally makesHellblade 2’s opening hour feel like a slog.
Hellblade 2’s Opening Hours Feel Like an Extended and Unnecessary Recap
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2opens on Senua having been willingly captured by the sameNorthmen who killed her husbandand slaughtered her home village. But before she can reach their base of operation, Senua’s ship is capsized, and she’s forced to fight her way out of the wreckage. It’s an exciting start, but one that soon begins to lose its momentum, as Senua starts to experience some all-too-familiar visions.
Thefirst 1-2 hours ofHellblade 2sees Senua remembering and experiencing much of the first game’s events all over again. Players see Senua’s mother being burned again, see her husband being tortured, hear her father berating her, and learn all about her village being decimated. While it makes sense that Senua would still have these key moments on her mind - and that her psychosis would always be bringing them back to the surface - it doesn’t feel like a great way to start the sequel.
Experiencing all of these key moments from the firstHellbladeyet again really drags the sequel’s pacing down, as the game isn’t really exploring any new themes or plot threads. Players are given very few new narrative hooks to keep them invested duringHellblade 2’s opening hour, and that can make the intro feel a bit meandering. This also inadvertently lessens the impact ofthe ending of the firstHellblade, as Senua seemingly needs to overcome all the same mental hurdles that she already passed in the predecessor. WithHellblade 2only being around 5-6 hours long, there shouldn’t be any room for wasted time.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
WHERE TO PLAY
The sequel to the award winning Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, Senua returns in a brutal journey of survival through the myth and torment of Viking Iceland. Intent on saving those who have fallen victim to the horrors of tyranny, Senua faces a battle of overcoming the darkness within and without.A crafted experience of cinematic immersion:Sink deep into Senua’s world and story, with beautifully realized visuals and encapsulating sound.Senua’s unique perspective:Experience the world through Senua’s eyes and ears, as a Celtic warrior who experiences psychosis.A journey into Viking Iceland:An epic journey across 10th century Iceland, recreated from real locations in stunning detail.Every fight tells a story:Brutal and visceral combat as Senua battles for survival.
