SUMMARY
Hellblade Senua’s Sacrifice is a third person story driven hack-n-slash esque game that follows Senua, a Celtic warrior, on her quest into Helheim to save the soul of her lover from Hela. She will have to traverse the dark underworld conquering its many trials if she hopes to defeat its ruler and save her beloved.
WORLD
The whole game takes place in Helheim, the underworld of Norse mythology. To progress deeper into the Helheim, Senua will have to face and overcome a number of challenges to reach her destination. Using the fire trial early on in the game, Senua will start a fire and have to flee the area before being burned alive. As she progresses further into the fire trail, Senua has to find different ways to escape as the fire covers the path she previously used. Along the way, she is plagued by voices in her head that doubt and discourage her. The game recommends the use of headphones through Senua’s story to add to the experience. The voices almost sound real when immersed into the game this way. The game also starts off with a warning for the player, saying that as Senua dies, the darkness will spread throughout her body. If it reaches her head, then its game over.
There are some collectibles in the form of lorestones spread throughout the world. They add more background to the game, and if you find them all, an extra cutscene near the end of the game unlocks as well as a trophy/achievement.
COMBAT
Combat in the game is done in a hack-n-slash fashion. Senua’s attacks consist of a light and heavy attack along with blocking, parrying, and dogging. Outside of the bosses, enemies tend to be spirits that appear out of nowhere in great numbers trying to overwhelm Senua. They also come in variety via standard soldiers wielding a sword or bigger enemies with an ax sometimes carrying a shield. They also like to surround Senua forcing the player to always pay attention to their surroundings, because you never know when an enemy will appear behind you.
OPINION
It took me a little over 5 ½ hours to beat Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice and get the platinum trophy. I really enjoyed the story and the gameplay play. The combat was seamless, and I had no problem staying invested in the game for the whole playthrough.
RECOMMENDATION
If you like story based games or are even a fan of mythology, then this game is a must. I did think that the $30 price tag was a little much for 5 ½ hour game so try and wait for a game sale if possible. I got my copy from a PSN sale for around $18 and felt that it was money well spent.