A lot was made of Hellblade, Senua's sacrifice upon it's release last year; not only because of the pioneering graphics and use of facial mocap, but the touching and realistic way they portrayed mental illness.
This week, I delved back into it, to see if the praise was worth it, and whether it stood the test of time before it's sequel- hell blade II is released at some point next year.
(Edit: might end up being 2022, at the time of writing Ninja Theory were very optimistic.)
All I can say is- praise well earned.
Now facial mocap is nothing new in games- it's been tried in everything from LA Noir to Star Wars Fallen Order, but like a blind piñata contest, it has been largely hit and miss. A lot of this has to do with a lack of emotion in the eyes- or outright ignoring them. The Polar Express for years stood as filmic proof that yes, Tom Hanks can play pretty much every character in a film if you sheath him in a ping pong suit and ask him to do different voices, but the cold dead eyes and identical movement of every character also proved why motion capture was a long way from being the animation cure all that producers hoped.
With Hellblade, however, Ninja Theory have honed the art. No more are the eyes vacant orbs, as inanimate and lifeless as the ping pong balls strapped to the actors. In fact every character makes eye contact with the player, and during the more violent moments, it can be quite jarring to see these characters rent asunder or injured.
Melina Juergens gives a stirring performance as the eponymous character, and you can't help but be drawn into her narrative as she describes her struggles, or when she is seen visually beaten on screen because your clammy sausage fingers failed to defeat her enemies in time. And there are many enemies, the game pulls no punches, and luckily neither does Senua. Taught by her boyfriend Dillion, for whom you have decided to traipse to hell in the first place, his head in your back pack ( yes, it is a cheery game) she is no stranger to a sword. Combat is swift and streamlined, rewarding players for well timed blocks and parries with time slowing abilities and certain advantages later in game. The combat takes a little time to master, but once you have, each bout is immensely satisfying. I broke into a sweat on more than one occasion.
It's not just physical slings and arrows that Senua must face, but her troubled past and a darkness that still haunts her. Well, you...
As touched on, the game conveys psychosis in a very elegant way. Colours shift, glyphs glimmer in the corner of your vision- sometimes obviously ( and often to draw you towards a puzzle's solution) sometimes just to play tricks on your mind. Like Senua, told throughout her life she was either a clairvoyant or a mad woman, you are never totally sure if what you see are premonitions and the answers you seek, or just delusions.
The voices don't help either.
Their whispers are constant, and very rarely do they reassure.
Examples of their cheer-leading include
"She'll never make it"
"Don't go!"
"You're too weak."
"Her father was right, you brought death to all of us..."
The voices of those you've wronged... Your own doubts? Loud nits living in Senua's unkempt mane?
The voices persist, are rarely silenced, and sometimes seem to come from you.
Indeed, she often shirks away from the camera, as though the player's presence is felt and despised as much as the voices.
Of course, Senua has no idea we're here, gawping over your shoulder, but such paranoia is only natural, and occurs regularly throughout the game.
As I have just admitted, I once or twice came out in a healthy sweat while pummelling some of the bigger bosses- or running running away from the darkness itself in one heart pounding abattoir scene. While we're getting things out in the open, I might as well say I started to talk to the voices too.
"She's going to die."
"Yes of course I am, I've died five bloody times already at this bit."
"You're the cause of all this darkness."
"Yes, but you're not helping."
The talk over themselves, they argue, and although no game can ever truly let you embody the psyche of another, it goes some way to conveying what Senua must go through.
But there are lighter moments too.
Without these, it may be a dark slog.
But the exploration aspect- seeing your mother's face carved in stone, or a collapsing roof and using Senua's sixth sense to coalesce this apparition into something tangible and have a chat to the dead parent. Or simply running round in the sunny meadows, the brief periods of rest bite we are afforded before Senua's dark fears take hold again. And the sound track. Husky northern voices narrate great Norse myths and the orchestra booms with almost operatic drama throughout.
The visuals are startling, but luckily the sound track is on point too, offering more than just vindictive whispers.
I enjoyed the contrast between combat and puzzle solving- the latter breaks up the former just enough, you are afforded down time and breathing room to get your thoughts in order. Characterisation, another key player for me, was all present too, and in all I found it difficult to fault.
Small things- Senua's inability to run when holding a torch ( yes kids, it's fine to go to hell with your boyfriend's head in a duffel bag, but for heaven's sake, don't run with matches) and the obscurity of some puzzles will lead to frustration, but it is ultimately forgivable ad any frustration short lived.
all in all, a great experience. And you even get some fancy myth learnin' to boot.
9/10
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