Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II review: Remarkable experience, okay game

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Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II was stuck in development for a long time. First announced in 2019 and long known as the game that showed off the graphical muscle of the Xbox Series X, it was finally released on May 21, 2024… to unexpected silence. So, it was with trepidation that I embarked on this adventure.

Storytelling over action

On the surface, Hellblade II might look like any action or adventure game, like God of War or even Zelda.

But Hellblade II is no ordinary action game. It’s a game that scales down its gameplay moments to instead focus on its storytelling—a narrative that revolves around the outcast warrior Senua and her fight against both inner and outer demons.

This isn’t to say that classic game sequences are missing. There are secrets to find, enemies to destroy, and a few puzzles to solve. But the way forward, between all the action moments, consists mostly of marked paths with little opportunity for significant exploration.

Despairingly beautiful

In Hellblade II, you’ll be treated to many dialogue-filled walks through beautiful environments. From rainy beaches and terrifying caves to vast fields and smoking volcanic rocks. Across overgrown plains, gilded with magical sunrises. Through burnt villages where bloody, masked bodies cover the ground.

No matter where you are as Senua at any given moment, Hellblade II is incomparably beautiful—both in terms of technical visuals and environmental design. The fact that many scenes offer magical lighting, enhanced by excellent use of HDR, is icing on top.

Desperate voices

The dialogue in Hellblade II is of a high standard, whether spoken between friends or within Senua’s tortured mind. The character gallery isn’t large—and I would’ve liked to get to know the side characters more—but the dialogue that’s there is delivered with bravura.

And, in fact, the sound of the dialogue might just be the strongest aspect of this adventure. The voice acting, the sweet music, and above all Senua’s inner voices.

It’s easy to understand why the developers recommend playing with quality headphones. (I used Logitech’s Astro A50 X.) The immersive experience of her voices whispering around my head is phenomenal, and it takes a noticeable hit when I play with a regular soundbar.

Cinematic limitations

In terms of sound and graphics, Hellblade II is nothing short of masterful, but not without sacrifices.

For example, the game world mostly consists of little more than a pre-determined path through fancy scenery—and even some details in the scenery (e.g., grass and plants) are completely static, including when Senua walks through them.

There are few objects to interact with, and it isn’t always obvious where the limits of an environment are. This can make some parts unnecessarily difficult to navigate, and some of the puzzles can be ridiculous to solve when there’s really nothing more than a fence or meter-high rock in the way.

Fortunately, the environments feel more vibrant than they actually are thanks to clever use of particles that whiz around in the air.

Fleshy battles in a small space

Something else that’s limited in Hellblade II is the game’s combat system. This limitation, however, is mostly benign and fully intentional on the part of the developers.

Instead of cutting down hordes of enemies by the minute, Senua never fights more than one enemy at a time. This creates intense, close-quarter battles where each opponent feels significantly more dangerous than the ones you typically find in action games.

However, I can’t shake the feeling that Hellblade II‘s battles are partially autoplay. It feels like the game—not me—decides whether Senua makes a nice parry or is flung away by a hard punch. There’s little variation in the attacks and many duels play out in similar ways. It’s an obvious limitation of the simple controls and cinematic setup.

The bigger they are, the harder they fall

While I buy the developers’ choice to go for stripped-down battles, the biggest highlights of Hellblade II‘s adventure are the times when you’re up against really big beasts. (I’m keeping it vague to avoid spoilers, but imagine vast areas torn apart by fire and water, accompanied by majestic music.)

The fact that the big battles, behind the thunderous setting, are actually relatively simple can be forgiven because whereas the usual battles feel more monotonous than they really are, the opposite is true here. It’s a shame that the adventure doesn’t contain more such sequences.

A grand saga in a limited game

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is a powerful experience that ticks most of the boxes, but it’s also a game—like its predecessor—that’s relatively short and limited as far as gameplay.

What disappoints me is how the story never fully grabbed me. Similar story-heavy adventures have stayed in my memory for days afterwards, but with Hellblade II it’s the graphics I remember most.

That being said, if you want an action-packed audiovisual smash hit with a thrilling plot, there isn’t much that beats Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. Just don’t expect anything like God of War or Zelda.

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