Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

Amazing game, and best played with spacial 3D audio. I love the mental health research that went into the game found on the documentary about the game's creation. Highly recommend :))

Just finished Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. 10/10. The game was beautiful, the story has a great hook, the walking narrative sections with puzzles in between combat moments were intriguing not too challenging, the enemies and combat were enjoyable and ever adapting, the constant lore drops for Norse mythology were thoroughly enjoyable, and the ending sealed everything together perfectly.

I'm beyond excited to see what will come for Senua in the second game as it will be entirely new territory I'm sure.

It looks like a walking simulator but is a damn good game. Its short, but gives an experience of a lifetime. Its very low price so its steal deal as per the value of experience it provides

A stunning journey through Norse mythology and mental chaos. The voices in your head are moree reliable than your GPS, but the creepy puzzles and shadowy fights will still mess with your sanity. Beautiful, haunting, and totally worth the existential crisis.

I am absolutely in awe with this game. It took me a while to get in into the mood because it's so different your standard FPS, but I'm honestly amazed with the story, immersion, as well as the complexity of the riddles and the fight mode. You are NOT supposed to figure out fighting at once, you are supposed to learn and improve over time and that's such a satisfying feat.
The story itself is amazing.
If you like you standard FPS game - this may not be for you. But, if you are - like me - a sucker for a story driven games, for things that are not obvious at a first glance, that take time to "get it" - things like "Death Stranding" - than you MUST play this.
10 out of 10

Awesome game, unique sound design and camera work. Will definitely play the sequel

Highly Recommended.
Great Puzzles,Awesome Action play, May require improvement in Rot mechanism but good try to new mechanism.
Graphics are brilliant.(Can't imagine they developed in 2017 itself)
I give 8/10

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is a captivating journey through a beautiful mess of reality and illusion, where multiple perspectives intertwine without definitive right or wrong—only what is. This game resonated deeply with me, as I saw a reflection of myself in Senua—a person navigating a world that labels them as cursed for perceiving and feeling things others cannot. I am profoundly grateful to the developers for crafting an experience that authentically portrays the darkness we all confront. It serves as a powerful reminder that, with determination, even the deepest shadows can be overcome.

My favorite game of all time . The voice acting in this game is insanly good . I love everything in this game <3 <3 <3 <3 . Keep up the good work <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice offers a unique and engaging experience, with a strong focus on storytelling and atmosphere. The game does a great job of exploring mental health themes while immersing you in a dark, mysterious world. The combat is simple but effective, and the sound design adds a lot to the overall experience. While not without its challenges, it's definitely worth playing for those interested in narrative-driven games.

The game seems repetitive, the combat is very basic, and the puzzles are extremely boring.

This game is so boring, you do the same puzzles for hours on end. I played the game in total for 1 hour and 40 minutes, and I wish I didn't. The voices that spoke to you were interesting but got so annoying, I just wanted them to shut up while I was thinking on how to solve the puzzle but they didn't. Played the first hour on DirectX 12 which I wish I didn't because the game stuttered so much I have a 4060 Nvidia Gforce RTX and this is the first time I had problems like that, the game would drop to 30-40 FPS. I have played many games and even boring once's and finished them till the end. This is the first game where I have played only an hour and 40 minutes and just quit. I never want to play this game again, I got this game on sale and i regret buying it. If this was even a free game I would never play it. Do not play this game, It's so boring and tedious.

I have really big expectation. As it seems as good entertaining story. However the game mechanics really get me booring and didnt keep me focused. I was forced several time to close the game as searching for symbols are really booring. Also quests are for me quite simple and space is really limited with clear paths. Its like 25 years games. However all respect to the actors and schyzofrenic main character.

Rich story. Simply liked the game and battles

Amazing graphics, good story.

This game just wasn't for me.

I tried to like it, but it was so boring, the gameplay is a joke, and the story isn't compelling enough to make me care. Basically you're just doing the same thing over and over again, and it gets tedious and repetitive. The game itself is so easy, it makes it almost unbearable to play. The story was mediocre and the fighting style was abysmal. Sorry, but I cannot get over the fact that people actually enjoyed this game. Thank goodness I never have to play it again.

Dark, very story driven game. The gameplay is OK, but the story combined with just the overall aesthetic is definately worth experiencing.

3/3: lots of good stories, philosophical. Immersive sound. Feels lucky to play this game.

pretty remarkable game. Certainly worth experiencing even if it's tough in places. I've never quite experienced this level of immersiveness before in any game I've played before.

I first tried this on Game Pass and did not like it. I know I didn't give it a fair chance so I went and played through it again getting pass the first door this time and quickly found I was wrong. Couldn't let the sale pass on this one.

i know you are debating on it
listen if you like god of war youl love this game
tip : change control buttons to make it more easy if needed

I think I loved every aspect of the game. Especially the voice acting and sound design, this has to be my favorite of all the games I've played.

THe combat was fun! swordplay animations looked great, puzzles were ok. THe story and lore just seems to drag on and on u cant skip cutscenes. I tuned out most of the time. Interesting take on psychosis throughout the game slightly unnerving which was good, its somewhat like a clunky point and click story game with puzzles n combat. But honestly u can skip this game n watch it played on youtube. 2017 it wud be great but has not aged well for modern age tbh. meh

I played this game first time now at the end of 2024, it's okish, you can kind of feel the age of the game on the combat mechanics and such, I experiences a couple of bugs that I got stuck on random trees and had to restart, but story wise, and art & design the game is great, I'd give 8/10 for this game, again, considering its 2024 almost 2025 at the time I'm writing this, having in mind it's a 2017 game, you can understand the many awards it got.

While I do think the puzzles are very of their time, and don't age particularly well, this story of this game is one of a kind. It is so beautiful, and heartbreaking going with Senua on her journey to save the one she loves. A game that honors, and humanizes mental illness.

Stunning game in most aspects, I was overwhelmed by the graphics, sound and most of the gameplay. Some of the puzzles are irritating and I found it all a bit hard to get to grips with in the beginning as there is zero tutorial, you have to find your own way around the controls, etc. The only real downside is the overall length, though I got it on a mega sale discount price so it was more than worth what I paid (somewhere around £5 as I recall, easily worth 3x that)

All in all a damn good game, shame the sequel isn't getting the praise that this one does but then some developers do get complacent , especially in 2024.

I was not ready for this... This game was indeed short, also no menu or items, pretty much nothing in fact. But it felt so FULL. Full of feelings and ambiance, the sounds were excellent, the landscape is beautiful, the story is great... I would recommend this game to anybody who wishes to play something different for once.

hellblade won't appeal to everyone, and it may overwhelm some players. but if you enjoy intense, thought-provoking experiences and don't mind taking creative risks, you should give it a try. the game explores the main character's challenges, strength, and mental health in a world that's both stunning and real. the gameplay and story work together making you feel like you're with Senua on her quest. the graphics will amaze you, the sound design will give you goosebumps, and the attention to detail stands out. while it might not have the replay value of other games, it's an experience that will stay with you long after you finish. :)

This game is very unique, and 100% worth playing. Play with some good headphones, it's an experience like no other game! The soundtrack, the haunting voices, and the graphics are all so well done. Its kind of refreshing to play a game you can beat in a weekend. I liked it so much that I paid full price for Hellblade II the day it dropped.

I did not understand anything that happened in this game.
But this is one of the few video games that I call my favourites. Mainly, it's because of personal reasons: as an adolescent, I suffered from psychosis and this game is by far the most realistic portrayal of the condition I've seen in media. Ever.

This game emphasises how reality, something we take for granted, something we think is solid, is so fragile. It's a layer of thin ice. You're one horrible day away from falling through into the icy waters of psychosis and being stigmatised for it.

Hellblade portrays it all. The shattered, corrupted reality, the stigma, the pain. Everything.

This game is very special to me, and it will forever be one of my favourites.

If you want to feel like you're going insane, play this game. It has some beautiful moments but mostly it's just gritty, dark, and confusing. I was personally more annoyed than anything by the constant voices and distorted visuals. Senua is a great protagonist.

Great audio and soundtrack, very stunning as a game and very good story. Tedious puzzles at times tho!

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☑ Beautiful
☐ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS

---{ Gameplay }---
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't

---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf

---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☐ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ Grandma

---{ PC Requirements }---
☑ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☐ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{ Game Size }---
☐ Floppy Disk
☐ Old Fashioned
☑ Workable
☐ Big
☐ Will eat 10% of your 1TB hard drive
☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it
☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data

---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☑ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

---{ Grind }---
☑ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding

---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☐ Good
☑ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life

---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☑ Average
☐ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond

---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☐ Worth the price
☑ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money

---{ Bugs }---
☐ Never heard of
☐ Minor bugs
☑ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☑ 8
☐ 9
☐ 10

Feel a psychosis experience from the middle ages. It's more of an experience than a game, all created by actress' play and art direction.

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☑ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS

---{ Gameplay }---
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't

---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf

---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ Grandma

---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☑ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☑ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

---{ Grind }---
☑ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding

---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☑ Good
☐ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life

---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☑ Short
☐ Average
☐ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond

---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☐ Worth the price
☑ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money

---{ Bugs }---
☑ Never heard of
☐ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☑ 8
☐ 9
☐ 10

---{ Opinion }---
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is one of the most unique gaming experiences out there. The way it handles mental health is powerful, pulling you into Senua's mind with stunning visuals, emotional storytelling, and incredible sound design—headphones are a must! The combat is simple yet impactful, and the puzzles tie perfectly into the atmosphere. It’s dark, emotional, and unforgettable. While it’s a shorter game, every moment feels meaningful. If you love story-driven games, this one is a must-play!

Pros: ✅

1. Captivating Storyline: Follows Senua's haunting journey through a Norse underworld to rescue her beloved. The narrative
deeply explores themes of loss, trauma, and mental illness, making for an emotionally charged experience.
2. Stunning Visuals: Features highly detailed environments with dark, atmospheric settings that immerse players in its
mythological world.
3. Authentic Representation of Psychosis: Developed in collaboration with neuroscientists and individuals with lived
experience, the game portrays Senua’s hallucinations and auditory delusions with respect and realism.
4. Immersive Audio Design: Binaural audio technology creates an unsettling, immersive experience. Playing with
headphones enhances the whispering voices that simulate Senua's psychosis.
5. Unique Combat System: Intense, one-on-one combat sequences feel visceral, though straightforward, emphasizing
Senua’s struggle rather than complex mechanics.
5. Environmental Puzzles: Engaging, symbolic puzzles that integrate well into the narrative, often requiring the player to
shift perspectives or spot hidden runes.

Cons: ❌

1. Linear Gameplay: The progression is mostly linear, with limited exploration opportunities, which may feel restrictive to
some players.
2. Repetitive Combat: Combat mechanics, while intense, can feel simplistic and repetitive over time due to limited enemy
variety.
3. Pacing Issues: Some segments may feel drawn out, particularly the puzzle-solving sections, which could affect the
game's momentum.

Overall Score: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ (4.5/5)

It really isn't combat focused - the fights are awesome though. The puzzles were a bit tedious at times. The psychosis aspect was wild and i truly feel for those that suffer from it in real life, that must be very difficult. Great game overall. Play with headphones for the best experience, the audio is epic.

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☑ Beautiful
☐ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS

---{ Gameplay }---
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't

---{ Audio }---
☑ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf

---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☐ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ Grandma

---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☑ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{ Game Size }---
☐ Floppy Disk
☐ Old Fashioned
☑ Workable
☐ Big
☐ Will eat 10% of your 1TB hard drive
☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it
☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data

---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☑ Easy
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

---{ Grind }---
☑ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding

---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☐ Good
☑ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life

---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☑ Short
☐ Average
☐ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond

---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☑ Worth the price
☐ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money

---{ Bugs }---
☑ Never heard of
☐ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☐ 8
☑ 9
☐ 10

A journey filled with fear and voices to save a lost dear one. Such a great game. maybe the gameplay aint top tier but it aint boring. Hellblade has a rich story and cool fight mechanism and animation. What I really enjoyed bout this game was the psychological part, all those voices in her head and those battles in Senua's mind, the ending and the way they narrated the story was amazing.

"The hardest battles are fought in the mind, not with the sword."

solid 8/10

• It is a game that is not like the games I have played before, it has a different, unique structure.

• It is a game with puzzles built on psychological elements, a bit of action and a different story narrative. I think it would be a correct explanation if I said that we are playing what our character named Senua experiences in her mind.

• It is a game with very satisfactory graphics, without any technical problems or errors. In my opinion, one of the most important things I can criticize about this game is that the walking parts take too much time, and the other is that the action part is a bit lacking. But I can say that it leaves a good impression in general. I also think the price is reasonable. My score is 8/10.

Have fun!

A Journey Through Madness and Myth

First of all, what a phenomenal game. The only thing I didn't like was the excessive voices in your head. Don't get me wrong I understand that it's a crucial part of the game, but sometimes when you're solving a puzzle and there are all these voices whispering in your ear it can be a bit annoying. Everything else was perfect.

Refreshing. And absolutely brilliant. Not the most innovative in terms of gameplay mechanics, but the story and the world-building that this game presents are spectacular to say the least. Its portrayal of experiences of psychosis will give you a lot to think about long after you’re done with it. It’s one of those games that leaves you with experiences that’ll stay with you for a lifetime.

Senua teaches us, no matter our condition, how deep the grief, how hard the fight, we can overcome. Ninja Theory this isn't just a game This.Is.Art. I remember art the most thank you.

This game is a masterpiece.
You can finish it in about 10 hours or so and you will be gripped every minute of the game. As soon as I learned about Senua, her quest, and what she must do I wanted to see her succeed. Every fight, and every puzzle is done well and you feel a level of satisfaction when you beat them. The graphics are well done and the controls feel tight, I highly recommend using a controller for this game.
Where this game truly stands above the rest is with the sound work. The music and constant voice work in this game truly makes it something unique that make you really know what is going on and what Senua is feeling in every moment.
I would highly recommend this game to anyone who loves a deep, rich story that makes you feel something, the ending of this game will sit with you long after you beat it.

I was planning on skipping this game and jump straight into the sequel, thank god I didn't. This game is art. Insane visuals, great atmosphere, impressive story and amazing audio design. Wasn't a big fan of the first 2 hours because of the puzzles which I didn't find a lot of fun to do, but after that it kept getting better and better. Just wanted to give Senua a big hug after the credits rolled

Visually impressive, immersing experience with great audio design.
Game is short, but it's good, because the game itself is quite simple. Combat is straight forward and easy to learn. They clearly had a focus on the narrative, so the game is more like a interactive movie, which is not a bad thing, but might not be for everyone.
Definitely recommended

Oh my lord, this game was insanely frustrating. The combat and story are actually pretty excellent. But my god, the puzzles are so tedious and frustrating -- and they make up about 80% of the game! You will literally look up a guide on Google to AVOID having to do them. That's a sign of a frustrating, unsatisfying game.

Let me start this review by saying that this game had (at times) phenomenal acting, animations, set and sound design. The schizophrenic voices that were coming from different places were terrifying. When you had to run away and these voices got louder, up to a yell, then it just felt like I had to take breaks.

Despite these incredible feats, I still didn't fully like the game. There were too many things that did not sit with me well. For example, the cutscenes were great, but then when you were solving puzzles it felt like default walk animation with not much. In some running scenes, the running felt really hard to control which made me die for no reason. The fighting parts were pretty good, but they would drag on forever. The shrines, which would tell you a bit of lore, felt tacky. They reminding me of listening to descriptions of art pieces when you go to museums (sure, it gets the job done, but I just felt like the medium of video games is so much more than listening to a description). These shrines were optional, but they were still there.

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrife is an interesting "game". I put game in quotations, because it feels more like an interactive movie and an experience than a game. The game focuses on a story of Senua a celtic warrior suffering from mental illness. Developers put a lot of effort to depict Senua's mind with the help of several researchers and people who exprerienced similiar issues in the past. On the internet you can find an interesting documentary about game creation called "Hellblade: Senua's Psychosis | Mental Health Feature" which shows how they managed to create such a world and how they faithfully repreasent the mental illness. Their effort paid off with this beatiful experience, which hasn't been replicated since (at least that I know of).
Most notable positives about the game are:
-Beatiful landscape, surrounded by pleasant to look at and yet brutal nature, you can see dozen of ship washed ashore, filling beaches and seas. Whenever you're not by the sea or next to a mountain, you're in either cave or a refreshing forest. World of Hellblade is something I would advise to experience by yourselves rather then listen to someone explain it to you.
-Interesting story, most of the story takes place in Senua's mind which is filled with darkness. We're shown how our protagonist fights or at least tries to fight her weakness. It's keeping your attention from start to finish. My caveat about it is the ending itself which is confusing to say the least.
-Great voice acting, throughout almost the whole game you're traveling together with voices appearing in Senua's head. VAs did a good job, all the voices sound fenomenal. You're being drawn to the voices you hear the whole time and the moment they disappear you're suddenly dumbfounded and confused on what's going on.
-Memorable facial expressions of our main heroine, Senua shows various emotions during her story, ranging from sorrow to anger, they look alive and you don't need to guess what hero feels.
But this game isn't perfect and has some negatives:
-It's basically a walking simulator with some puzzles, while at the begging they are interesting and entertaining, the longer you play the more you're annoyed at how long it takes to get from point a to b to progress the story and how repetitive the puzzles are. It's not a bad thing per se, but it might get some players uninterested in the story.
-Difficulty of the combat is questionable, while fighting 1-2 enemies at the time should be manageable for most, encountering 3 or more foes is an insane spike in difficulty. While combat is very responsive and feels good, it is hard to control the battlefield while there are a lot of opponents.
Even tho the story and the way developers show mental illness is the main selling point, the gameplay might left some players dejected. Overall Hellblade is a good experience which I would recommend to everyone to at least watch it, if not play the game. This tale is a perfect movie, but not so perfect game.

The game looks stunning be it fails to innovate you are doing the same puzzle from the start to end also are is very small move set for combat which can get repetitive as well as there are annoying sound continuously, i understand the game is trying to be eerie but without any stop it just gets annoying by the end, apart from that story is good but the protagonist just keeps crying the whole game. the environment are build though someone who can look past repetitive of the game can definitely try the game.