Hellblade - 9/10

Imagine walking into the grocery store. You know exactly what is on your list and you know the right path to take to be the most efficient on your shopping trip. But when you reach the door, you start hearing voices. They’re telling you to turn back. You don’t need anything. Your pantry is full. Your pantry is empty. If you don’t go shopping today, your family won’t have dinner. Your list has everything you need, and you know what aisles the items are on. Have you ever been to this grocery store before? Do you need help? Can you afford this? Go shopping. You need groceries.

Throughout the experience of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, you play as Senua, a female Pict warrior, as she journeys into hell to save the soul of her dead lover, Dillion.. Senua, though, suffers from psychosis. She is constantly hearing voices that are encouraging her, doubting her, warning her of incoming danger, attempting to convince her that her journey is pointless and that Dillion can’t be saved. Playing through the game in the mind of Senua leads to a gameplay experience like no other. In Hellblade, your journey to and through hell will challenge you with visual and audio puzzles, combat against demonic presence, and constant fear and doubt.

The puzzles in Hellblade utilize Senua’s psychosis as the major mechanic. You will find gates that allow you to proceed to the next area, but these gates are locked. In order to unlock them, you must find runes hidden in the world. These runes are shapes that Senua sees in her mind. It might be a cross made out of the shadows on the ground or a triangle formed out of tree limbs. Once you align whatever it may be, Senua must “focus” (hold the right trigger) on the ____ until the rune lights up. This mechanic happens a handful of times throughout the game, but the exposition kept it from becoming stale for me. A few other puzzle mechanics occur (is that the correct verb?), but going into too much detail would spoil some of the cooler parts of the game.

The combat that Senua must face is not entirely too challenging. You have basic combat moves, such as a light attack, heavy attack, shield, parry, and dodging. Senua can also hold her focus in combat to make the enemies move slower and more susceptible to attack. I found the parry mechanic’s timing to be quite forgiving, which I appreciate. Overall, the combat isn’t complex while not being totally unengaging. (awkward—3 negatives…reword)

The highlight of the game is getting immersed in Senua’s psychosis. You will journey with her as she deals with trauma caused by her father when she was a child. You get to experience the highs and lows of Senua’s attachment to Dillion all told through a gripping narrative style. No other game has made me feel like Hellblade has. Ninja Theory truly knocked the ball out of the park by depicting Senua’s mental illness.

It should be mandatory to play this game with headphones. You will not regret it.