When Ryse: Son of Rome (XOne) was released in 2013 and The Order: 1886 (PS4) in 2015, the walking simulators were just establishing themselves on the indie market. The platform operators’ top cinematic titles without any gameplay depth were dismissed with the accusation of “graphics blender”. With “Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (2017), Ninja Theory, still an indie developer, delivered an atmospheric board. In 2018, the studio was taken over by Microsoft and is now releasing the long-awaited sequel as an exclusive title. And if we base ourselves on the benchmark from 10 years ago and ask ourselves again “Is Hellblade II a graphics blender?”, then the answer is clear: yes, but the most powerful blender there has been so far.
A clear recommendation in advance: Play the predecessor first! For newcomers or those who are forgetful, there is a summary of the previous events, but since the game otherwise simply throws you into the intense action and an important aspect of the title is your bond with the main character, you may be missing many of the building blocks for a well-rounded experience.
The story, as thin as a beer mat, takes you back to the role of the psychotic warrior Senua in the seven-hour campaign. You and some tribesmen are kidnapped by a slave trader and stranded on the coast of Iceland. After the shipwreck, Senua makes it her mission to end slavery. This time she also meets a few minor characters who unfortunately only gain more depth as alternative narrative voices in the New Game+. We don’t want to reveal any more about the main plot and the characters here.
