After a long silence Ninja Theory came out at Gamescom with the announcement of Hellblade, which they define an “AAA indie” game and is going to debut only on PS4, at least initially.
DualShockers had the chance to chat with Product Development “Ninja” Dominic Matthews and interrogate him about a variety of topics, from the team working on the game to its AAA ambitions.
Former Hellblade director and Ninja Theory co-founder has offered an explanation regarding his departure from the now Microsoft-owned studio.
It is a good studio.. i really enjoyed their dmc game that i platinumed it.
I did not try hellblade, because it doesnt tell me much.. Enslaved was very mehhh
Heavenly Sword was good not great. Amazing graphics back in the day but so repetitive and not so engaging in the long run.
I really enjoyed Enslaved and Heavenly Sword back in the day. Wish they'd return to that sort of game. Hellblade isn't really for me to be honest. Not saying it's not a good game, I just couldn't get into it.
That is fair. I enjoyed Hellblade but can definitely see how it isn’t for everyone.
Would like to see how Heavenly Sword would have turned out if developed today. It’s easy to forget that games like Heavenly Sword were unprecedented and in their infancy.
Enslaved has been their favorite game for me. Loved the atmosphere.
Heavenly sword was a staggeringly good game!! One of the most memorable of the PS3 generation in my opinion.
Heavenly sword was good. It had ambitious graphics and as a result the frame rate suffered and as a result the gameplay suffered. But the story was phenomenal. Great acting, especially Andy Serkis as the king.
"Microsoft" we all read between the lines. We have seen the exact same thing happen with many of their other acquisitions
One thing that pleasantly surprised me, was the Switch port, as back then it was my only console. The graphics were amazing and the artistic design helped a lot to enhance the visuals.I took some really impressive screen shots while playing which I still revisit them from time to time to remind me what a capable developer (QLOC) can achieve with weaker hardware.
According to FTC filings, Microsoft acquired Ninja Theory for $117 million.
Ninja Theory is made of very talented and passionate developers.
I´m glad that saw that studio´s potential and chose it to be part of the Xbox family!
Now under Xbox they´re AAA and has all the freedom and resources in the world to deliver amazing games for us!
Thank you Phil and Tameem Antoniades.
@Obscure_Observer
"oh thank you so much Xbox! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! I bend the knee for you my lord!" 🤣🤣
Ninja theory is okay. Not great.
The potential??? Remind us all who they've tapped their potential? What new IP are they working on???
Oh wait...that's right. They needed a cinematic story driven IP ...hellblade was well received so they bought them for peanuts.
And let's see.. what are they currently working on and to what scope compared to before??
Basically the same game but #2
Similar situation to the tomb raider sequel except this time they made this sequel a permanent exclusive.
@knush
Oh crap you're right. Lol that thing was definitely a result of the Microsoft acquisition.
Ninja Theory has alot of potential, but Hellblade 2 needs more action gameplay before I get excited. They did well with Heavenly Sword & DMC games so hopefully we'll see a full blown new action IP from them after H2.
@4sh0W
Just imagine what they could do...people falsely claiming hellblade 2 is like god of war...Heavenly sword, which was a playstation exclusive, was more in competition with god of war.
"Oh wait...that's right. They needed a cinematic story driven IP ...hellblade was well received so they bought them for peanuts."
MS paid $117 million for Ninja Theory which at the time was an indie studio made of only 20 people.
Sony paid $229 million for Insomniac which at the time were made of 400 employees.
That was a steal! Lol!
"And let's see.. what are they currently working on and to what scope compared to before??"
The original Hellblade was developed and produced by only 20 people (Melinda included).
As an Xbox first party studio, Ninja Theory has now 200+ employees and Hellblade II will be full AAA game powered by UE5. In term of scope, the original Hellblade only features only small areas to explore, while in Hellblade II gamers will be allowed to explore all areas of Iceland.
"Basically the same game but #2"
Lol. You´re in for a major shock! XD
@obscure
There will be shock...but It think itll be all over you.
The same but number 2 wasnt meant as an insult. I liked the first one..so I know I'll like the second. You probably didnt care for the first one for a couple of reasons.
1. They were you referred to it as a small indie game
2. It wasnt an xbox exclusive
Youll be in shock when its pretty much the same but number 2. Number 2 of any game is ALWAYS bigger.
God of War Ragnarok is essentally God of War but number 2. Same kind of game but bigger in scope.
Obscure
You really think he gives a damn about you or me thanking him? Seriously man does it not bother you at all that you are such a huge fanboy of Xbox and your comments come across like cult members
Be a gamer for gaming these corporations don’t care about any of us. We are dollar signs to them
On topic
I am glad for NT because their last game they struggled so much just to complete it and companies even provided equipment just for them to get the work done. Now they have peace of mind with resources they need. Hopefully they can naturally grow into a bigger studio and make some amazing games
They're mid tier devs at best. Failed to nail one of their biggest shots with Heavenly Sword, went way over their weight limit with DMC: DmC, and got lucky with apparent one-shot, B title Hellbalde. Which MS expects them to make into a franchise?
I'll just wait for the first "Hellbalde better than GOW" article. Cause that's going to be fun...
Mid developer remains mid lol Wake me up when they actually put out something half decent haha
It's funny how no one called them mid tier until Xbox acquired them. People loved Heavenly Sword, Enslaved, Hellblade, etc, but now they're suddenly mid tier? Touch grass.
@porkchop
I mean, you called it out first and you're not wrong.
DmC definitely got the shaft, yet it was successful and a good game. The closest thing they ever released to be considered "mid" was Heavenly Sword.
It's Bad now but great here. https://n4g.com/news/208826...
Even saying support Hell Blade because Shadow Of Wars Microtransactions.
Scroll down a little bit and you'll even see Obscures comment. He may be A hardcore Xbox fanboy but at least he's consistent here. Can't say the same in these comment sections.
While the corporate xbox ass licking is as pathetic as it gets. How is it any different to the Sony usuals in here that sprout this pathetic crap on a daily basis!
They both need to get filtered elsewhere so the grown ups can talk like adults.
Enslaved was just mediocre. So I doubt they'll bring that back. Tbh most of their games were mediocre including Hellblade. That felt like a walking simulator
Enslaved was a sleeper hit which it was and is still a great game to play. If a person who missed out on it I would say snag it off Ebay and play it. It's still one of my favorite games.
It was a good game, but....just good, not great nor it interesting. Maybe the background of the characters aren't well told, lack of lore, just start and play. I gave it 8. Good but easily forgettable. Yeah you may call it mediocre. NT is quite talented, but they lack something.
@Knight
I never felt like their games were great. Just solid or mediocre but that's my opinion. I am still interested in playing Hellblade 2 on PC because of the graphics. I think this game is going to look fantastic on PC
Damn this really puts into perspective yet again how good a deal sony got for insomniac...the workhorse of the industry at this point.
That was the 1st thing that came to my mind, Sony got Insomniac for pennies and they've been pumping out great games since this gen started nonstop. Amazing.
I somewhat disagree. They bought Bungie for the expertise. The largest chunk of Bungie was for talent retention; they paid more to make sure everyone stayed at Bungie. Sony wants talent, IP's are just a bonus because they know they can and will create more.
@MEGANE I know I’m going to get downvoted to hell, because this is n4g and people here hate GAAS games. But how the hell did they lose on Bungie? Do you know how much money Destiny will bring and Marathon will bring? Lol
I get it, but a couple Billion more and they could have bought square enix… a publisher full of IPs… I don’t disagree with acquiring bungie but 3.5 billion and sony can’t even dictated exclusivity? Please.
They have High potential. Add some good combat mechanics and action to go with the graphics and story telling. Ad you got a mega hit.
Ninja Theory outlines the upgrades made for performance capture, leading to more realistic animations in the upcoming sequel.
This game looks incredible. Loved the first one, the story was good. I’m curious to see where they take it.
Yeah the story was really good in the first one and I have no doubt the story will be great in this one too. I just hope they can improve a lot on the gameplay side of things this time around, more specifically the combat.
Funny this is that the QLOC's port of Hellblade on Switch, was amazing graphically (given the limitations of the hardware that is).
I was amazed by the graphics, lighting and scenes and I couldnt stop taking photos with photo mode.
My only issue is with the next game (and I suspect that most people will agree on this), is that we have not seen much gameplay (few actual gameplay seconds back at Game Awards 2021).
If this is indeed slated for 2024 release, they should showcase some gameplay in Gamescom or at another event this year.
Guys! Ffs, just show a normal bit of the game. Yes the motion capture technology and graphics fidelity looks great, but my god… it’s like all that we ever see. I want to see another VGA level showcase where we see more of the combat or something other than a cutscene or showing off the tech.
100%!!!
Becoming a joke now, it's been 4 years, it's about dam time we get some real gameplay.
Enough with the dev diary's already.
Announced in 2019, and not a lick of gameplay. Might as well just produce a movie at this point.
If I was Sony I would've struck a deal to make this exclusive to only to PS4. I mean from a logical standpoint it makes sense because Sony needs more AAA exclusives and since this is a independent game it would provide low risk for Ninja Theory. Plus Ninja Theory has had more success as a exclusive game maker rather than a multiplatform game maker, so why not go with what works?
No that's not right how is this OK we need to start a petition
Well this confirms it is not a sequel to HS because the IP belongs to Sony.
Gamers and Developers near and far, prepare for insults and unprofessionalism and this game's release draws near then for more insults when it doesn't sell because they didn't listen to criticisms and lost sales because of their egotistical way of thinking.
I want a new Kung Fu chaos. Couch and online multiplayer. Up to date movies for the sets. Customizable characters. I think it would be great.