180°
10.0

Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 review - a triumphant return to a challenging story | Eurogamer

Eurogamer's review of Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2, which continues Senua's story with grace, confidence, surprising brutality and utter conviction.

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eurogamer.net
PrinceOfAnger12d ago

Nice, a perfect score from eurogamer.
Cant wait for Digital foundry analysis for the game.

solideagle12d ago

you know they will praise the hell out of it :)

repsahj12d ago

From Digital Foundry? c'mon man, you know how unbiased that site is from MS Games. XD

Aloymetal12d ago

IGN and Eurogamer to the rescue...All is needed now is the ''technical'' review from Microsoft's surrogates...Aka Digital Foundry...

Abear2112d ago

Does DF analysis validate your decision to purchase?

PhillyDonJawn12d ago

I'm really interested now. Getting a lot of 9s and perfect scores with a sprinkle of 6s.

InUrFoxHole12d ago

7 or 8. Like xbox but I'm realistic

Father__Merrin12d ago

Shill review had this been ps5 only they would sing to different tune

GamingSinceForever12d ago

They literally just gave Stellar Blade a perfect score.

Abear2112d ago

Proof that apples and oranges are both delicious but if you could just choose one…

MrNinosan12d ago

No, they didn't.
They gave Stellar Blade 4/5.

Einhander197212d ago

If you make a real game with actual graphics modes and a story that's longer than a tv episode with some actual game play and it's tied to Sony the best you can hope for is an 80.

If you make a 6 hour walking sim that can't even preform at 60fps 10/10 as long as it's on xbox.

If this game was on PlayStation it would have been 6/10 at best.

Granblue Fantasy: Relink - 60
Helldivers 2 - 80
Pacific Drive - 80
Silent Hill: The Short Message - 60
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth - 80
Rise of the Ronin - 80
Stellar Blade - 80
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 - 80

Petebloodyonion12d ago (Edited 12d ago )

You know that they have a 5 points score system right?
so they basically gave 1 point less for your PS5 game so wow they must be so biased and bought by MS unlike the folks at Eurogamer who stood their ground to give Starfield their well-deserved 3/5 (60%) when all MS-bought media gave Starfield 8 and above.

Have you considered that perhaps the reviewer simply loves this kind of game and he was impressed with REAL next-gen graphics and REAL use of 3d sounds? something was supposed to define what was the Ps5 and Serie X?

Einhander197212d ago (Edited 12d ago )

Petebloodyonion

Actually you bring up a good point on how they constantly overlooked Tempest which was doing real 3d with ray traced audio way back in Forbidden West. And I almost forgot AstroBot which came with the console for free also had Tempest 3D at launch.

But it's all similar to how they praised Starfield for having graphical modes like 40fps and unlocked framerrates like it was some kind of new thing and they were so innovative while ignoring the fact that Sony has had that for nearly every single exclusive going back to Miles Morales.

But yes, I think rating this game higher than FF7R a game which has longer mini games than this entire game and easily 10x the hours of spoken dialog an actual world to explore and 10x main the story length with 90 to 150 hour+ plus worth of content to be a travesty. Especially when you realize the game is only 30 fps and doesn't even hold that with a resolution at 900p on Series X.

In fact every game I listed except Silent Hill The Short Message which was free and almost the same length but more dialog was at least 20 hours with most of them being over 40 hours.

If this is all you want from Microsoft so be it, they will be happy to give you 6 hours worth of gameplay every 7 years, I'm sticking with PlayStation where games are expected to be of a much higher quality and value.

andy8512d ago

Eurogamer that gave both Horizons a 6/10 😂

Eonjay12d ago

Something is off with these scores. All I am seeing are 6s and 10s. You either have to go overboard with praise or basically hate it?

Einhander197212d ago (Edited 12d ago )

DF actually lies in their comparisons, cross reference them, nearly every time they will say xbox "is the same" graphics as PlayStation even when PS5 clearly has better draw distances higher res textures at distance better or lighting over all.

If they say "same" cross reference it, nine times out of ten they are lying.

Or how they will cherry pick a frame drop on PS5 and show it in the first 10% of the video even if the game performs at 60 FPS 99.9% of the time.

One of the most egregious things they did was in The Finals video they repeatedly showed the game on PlayStation in the low 40 FPS, which was footage from the beta, the patch notes even talked about this bug and how it was fixed in the full version but they showed the footage for their full release video.

And don't even get me started about their absolute bs about the PS5 Pro.

Tacoboto12d ago

You seem mentally unwell.

mapeci12d ago (Edited 12d ago )

Seems strange.

darthv7212d ago

Agreed... there are plenty of other posts with scores in between 5-10 but it is only IGN (8), Metro (5), Gamespot (6) and this one (10) that are getting the lion's share of comments.

Einhander197212d ago

@Eonjay

Pardon me, I meant to reply to PrinceOfAnger

Show all comments (29)
180°

HellBlade 2 - Patch Notes – 31st May 2024

Ninja Theory writes: "We've added some fixes to improve the game experience"

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store.steampowered.com
purple1011d 13h ago

"Misaligned peach fuzz around Senua's neck and face has been corrected"

ahh, just the patch ive been waiting for, can jump in now, safe in the knowledge, misaligned hairs have been aligned...

what a Day to be alive

Sciurus_vulgaris1d 13h ago

You don’t even notice peach fuzz on most people, unless you look really close.

Scissorman19h ago

It's such a shame the game isn't selling too well.

jwillj2k419h ago(Edited 19h ago)

Boring + walking sim + QTE fighting = full r

Never go full r

CobraKai16h ago

I like it when devs do something different. I’d love to support every game that separates itself from the boring and tired FPSs.

My issue with H2 is that there is no physical release. Id love to play this game, but i need a physical release. If one never comes, then so be it.

babadivad18h ago(Edited 18h ago)

The story tramples over the foundations set in the first game. Senua is insane. She sees things that aren't there. Hears things that aren't there. The enemies she fights were monstrous "demons" but were they really?? Likely not. They were just men. In the old game, the voices in her head are openly antagonistic. It made you further question her sanity and her grip on reality.

In Hell Blade 2 (granted I haven't finished yet) the monsters ARE real. Everyone can see them. Gods and giants aren't just fables. They are there in the flesh threatening humanity. The voices in her head are cheerleaders now. Senua's story has taken on the "Chosen One" quasi-mary sue element.

Hellblade 2 erased the main reason Senua and her story was interesting. They butchered her.

It's been a long time since I played the original but in this game they have fully turned her father into a villain that was just "holding her back". Because of course he's just an evil man trying to hold her down. And now he's the one who led the mob that killed her mother and burned her at the stake.

Like I said before, it's been a while since I played the first game but from what I remembered, he loved his wife. She went insane like Senua and was killed. He started seeing the same signs of insanity in Senua and sequestered them away from the village to protect her from them.

If he's the one who lead the mob to burn his wife at the stake, why the fuck would he hide Senua away from the village? The puzzles are mind numbingly simple in this game too. That's secondary to the way they butchered the world they set up in the first game.

After I beat the first game, I always felt it was a mistake for Senua to have survived. She should have died at the end with her beloved like a classic Greek Tragedy. The first game was a beautiful story, the sequel ruins everything that was special about it.

Rynxie16h ago(Edited 16h ago)

I agree with everything you said, Xbox fan girls need to destroy their consoles and quit gaming.

babadivad15h ago

@Rynixe

Chill with the fanboy crap. The first time I played Hellblade was on Playstation. I obviously have an Xbox as well since I'm playing the sequel. I have had both consoles since launch. I'm giving my honest review of a video game and comparing it to its predecessor. Don't look any deeper than the words I put in my working review. I'm not a fanboy. To be honest, Playstation "fanboys" should be terrified if Microsoft really leaves the industry.

Sony with no competition is a terrible site indeed. People have the shortest memories. I have also been warning you guys about this. Microsoft leaving gaming is going to be the worst thing to happen to Playstation fans.

Ironmike14h ago

U are wrong they were real the demons the journey was real she wasn't crazy like her father said the developers have stated that the ending was her relising through her grief she couldnt bring him back no matter what and it was time to let go

Sciurus_vulgaris7h ago

The giants in the game probably aren’t real, they are a metaphor for natural disasters.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 7h ago
Tzuno12h ago

Wasted visuals, the game is interesting only at the 4th chapter, dumb ending
rushed and unfinished story

420°

‘Hellblade 2’ Launches As The 23rd Most-Played Xbox Game, What Does That Mean?

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 launched last week to solid reviews from both fans and players. But its playercount? That's another story.

helicoptergirl5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

That's awful. This combined with the really low Steam numbers paint a disastrous picture imo. Really bad timing too because Tango was closed down for a similar thing. Great reviewed game, and low sales and/or player count. Hi-Fi Rush reviewed a hell of a lot better and it was widely loved by everyone, Hellblade 2 nowhere near that.

I know the rumor is that the studio has their next game already green-lit, but if I worked at Tango, I would be furious. "Why do they survive while we get binned?" I'd be telling myself.

But the suit woman will have you believe "Oh we have different metrics for the success of one studio compared to another studio. We judge each studio and game on their own set criteria" or something like that, I'm paraphrasing here but you get the idea. But no one who works there knows what the hell that even means. I mean the DLC for Redfall was getting worked on days before they even got the news their studio was getting dumped in the trash. So what are these mysterious metrics to let studios survive and others perish? I bet this is all hogwash, I bet MS don't even really know. They just had to make cuts and certain studios just found their way on the chopping block. Someone had to bite the dust, why not you?

Well I bet all this does nothing for the confidence of other employees in other studios. The truth is you have no idea where your career will be in a year from now working at one of their studios that aren't the mega big ones. MS just have too many studios to manage efficiently. "We'll just throw money at them and buy them and worry about the details later on. I mean we can do it, we're Microsoft."

darthv725d ago

...have you seen what the top 10 consists of? Its things like fortnite, roblox, CoD, apex... etc. This being a new game that has a niche appeal is actually surprising to see at 23. Its also the 33rd top paid game on the PC through the MS store.

tay87015d ago

Those are dreadful numbers any way you slice it dude. They hyped this game to hell for the last 4 plus yrs. It was supposed to be xboxs big game this yr. Ninja Theory is probably sweating right now.

Scissorman5d ago

And it's already slipped out of the Top 100 on Steam. Meanwhile a port of the 4-year old Ghost of Tsushima is sitting comfortably at #8.

RiseNShine5d ago

One of the biggest games of the year, a multi million sequel and heavily advertised game, at 23 most played? There's no way to justify those numbers.

darthv725d ago

^^heavily advertised game...?

I mean, I knew the game was coming but outside of a boot screen ad for it, there has been little to no marketing. And yet it still managed 23rd. Make of that what you will.

Elda5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

Here in the East Coast on NY/NJ on cable tv Hellblade 2 has been advertised pretty well. I see the commercials every day at least 3 times a day for the past 3 weeks. It's even advertised as YT commercials.

Chevalier5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

What an idiotic comment. Let me guess the next comment would be GTA V outsold everything so....

Absolutely terrible numbers all round for this game. Ghost of Tsushima at number 8. Good games going to sell regardless of excuses

CobraKai5d ago

Nice try on spinning it but it debuting at 23 isn’t a good thing. It’s one of MS anticipated exclusives.

Cacabunga4d ago

That GP adds no value to a game..
ninja theory got it all wrong, from being sold to MS to only prioritizing graphics

jwillj2k44d ago (Edited 4d ago )

23 is high just shows how shite Xbox lineup is. Game should have come at 70’s.

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 4d ago
RpgSama5d ago

What a disaster, 2 failures in a row for Ninja Theory, first Bleeding edge, now Hellblade 2, any way you slice it these are not the numbers the most awaited game of the year for Xbox should show (before Activision purchase), also player numbers is extremely low and even more surprising considering is day 1 on gamepass.

Crows905d ago

If they worked on heavenly sword instead then they would have something worth playing and waiting for... unfortunately that won't happen.

Terry_B5d ago

It means that it will be the..50th? 75th? most played xbox game in June.

anast4d ago

I think it's well below 75th on Steam.

CrimsonWing695d ago

That people played it 🤷‍♂️

Terry_B4d ago

The graphics are great though *fixed it

ChasterMies4d ago

The lowest common denominator isn’t after great games. Look at xDefiant player numbers.

InUrFoxHole4d ago

Not sure how I feel about that game yet.

Scissorman5d ago

If this game cost more and took longer to develop than Hi-Fi Rush, then I would worry if I were Ninja Theory. Projects may have been greenlit, but the increased scrutiny over at MS may very well put them on the chopping block. The incredible irony here is that it was PlayStation players that pushed the original game passed its 1 million copies sold milestone. With that purchasing power cut out, and the Game Pass effect having trained Xbox players to not purchase games, it seems that the sequel may have been set-up for failure.

italiangamer5d ago

And that's exactly what pisses me off about Hellblade 2 not being on PlayStation, Sony promoted the original game and I bought it basically on D1 back in the day because I liked what I saw and ended up really enjoying it!
I really hope Hellblade 2 is next on the porting list because I would buy it in a heartbeat, asshole microsoft robbed me of this game!

darthv725d ago

Just get an xbox. Then it will be YOU that is robbing Microsoft. Gamepass is a hell of a deal and an addictive one at that.

AndrewM5d ago

No darth, buying an Xbox only helps xbox lol he can play gamepass on com if he wants to take advantage of them destroying themselves.

Scissorman5d ago

If anything I would say that these sales figures and player counts may actually fast-track its PS5 port.

Bathyj5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

Just get an Xbox? You're kidding right? No one paddles out and jumps on a sinking ship.

I wouldn't buy an Xbox for this lacklustre game and I wouldn't sign up to gamepass if I did. People want to trade their long term sustainable games industry for a short term saving, go ahead and see how it turns out.

Actually we're seeing how that turns out. Unsatisfied Devs. Mediocre games and a failing Microsoft games division.

Rhythmattic5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

Hay Darth.. "Just get an xbox"
so.. explain.....what is Xbox ?

GotGame8184d ago

You can play it on PC. Heck you can play it, on just about anything, if you have decent Internet. It is an amazing looking game.

anast4d ago

@Darth

I would have. But ES6 is coming to PlayStation after all, so there's really no need.

MrDead4d ago

darthv72 activity promoting studio shutdowns with that comment.

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 4d ago
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90°

Hellblade 2's Excellent Presentation Goes Far Beyond Its Graphics

Hellblade 2 has great presentation, and that includes more than graphics.

Read Full Story >>
gamerant.com
anast5d ago

74 user score on meta. I wouldn't say it includes much more.

PrinceOfAnger5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

81 meta-critic
Steam user score 85% from
(2,677)..

Death stranding
7.4 user score

Last of us part 2
5.8 user score on meta..

Days gone 71 meta-score.

MrNinosan5d ago

All you proved with those numbers is that Xbox fanboys do everything they can to make Sony games look bad and Xbox games look good, while Sony fans mostly are busy playing games instead of review bombing Xbox games.

romulus235d ago (Edited 5d ago )

Death Stranding
82 meta-critic

The Last of Us 2
93 meta-critic

Figured I'd give some context since you conveniently left those scores out.

MrNinosan5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

Btw, why not use Meta for every game or doesn't it fit your agenda?

Current Gen scores:
Hellblade 2 - 7.4 User Score (81MC)
Death Stranding 2 - 7.6 User Score (85MC)
Last of Us Part 2 - 8.1 User Score (90MC)
Days Gone - 8.5 User Score (71MC)

Death Stranding on Stean has 91%
Days Gone on Steam has 92%

anast4d ago

Low player count, 23rd played, the game isn't doing well.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4d ago
Crows905d ago

Let it die already. Nobody cares...they should have expanded the games systems

Inverno5d ago

Yeah and many games before it have done what it did and more. Why are we impressed by features that have been standard in many games before? Sites are gonna keep up these fluff pieces for a while longer while everyone has already moved onto some indie game that costs less, took less time to make and does more with gameplay. So many games have been killed off by negative reviews and negative opinion pieces for being more of less like Hellblade 2, but nah this one's special.

EternalTitan5d ago

It dosent even go beyond beyond its mediocre combat.
Graphics will get outdated in a mere two years.
And there is no combat system to hold it up.

PrinceOfAnger5d ago

I hope NT show their next game Project Mara in the coming showcase

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