Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 How to Remove Black Bars

Tired of seeing those black bars and not playing the game in a true full screen? This article explains how to remove black bars in Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2.

Helllblade 2 is the newest adventure game from Ninja Theory, available on Xbox and PC. It brings an awesome new story with cinematic visuals. So much so that if you plan on fully enjoying what the game has to offer, you would need a more powerful gaming PC. However, concerning those cinematic visuals, the devs made the game in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio, and that will cause black bars to appear on the top and bottom of most screens. Ninja Theory stated: ”Our game camera is anamorphic with a 2.39:1 aspect ratio, meaning on your average display there will be letter-boxing.” So, is there a way to remove those black bars? Thankfully, there is. Read on to learn how to remove black bars in Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 and the pros and cons of doing so.

How to Remove Black Bars in Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2

There is a way to remove black bars that appear on the top and bottom of your screen, but sadly it is not in the game’s options menu. To remove the black bars from Hellblade 2, follow these steps:

• Close the game, if it was running.
• Go to your C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Local\Hellblade2\Saved\Config\Windows folder.
• Look for the Engine.ini file, and open it using Notepad.
• Add the following at the button of the file:
  • [SystemSettings]
  • r.NT.Lens.Distortion.Intensity=0
  • r.NT.Lens.Distortion.Stretch=0
  • r.NT.Lens.ChromaticAberration.Intensity=0
  • r.NT.DOF.RotationalBokeh=0
  • r.NT.DOF.NTBokehTransform=0
  • r.FilmGrain=0
  • r.NT.AllowAspectRatioHorizontalExtension=0
  • r.NT.EnableConstrainAspectRatio=0
• Do not change anything else, save the changes, and close the file.
• Relaunch the game and the black bars should now disappear.

Should You Remove the Black Bars?

Removing those black bars will give you a larger picture, but it also has a downside. If you switch to a true full-screen, it may be more demanding on your gaming rig. In other words, you may suffer a FPS loss. So, we wouldn’t recommend that you do this if you are already struggling with frames. Only do this if you have a high-end PC. Moreover, the “camera” will be zoomed in to cover your screen completely. This means that the left and right-hand parts of your screen will be cut off, and thus your field of vision will be reduced.

On the other hand, it is a conscious decision by the devs to use the 2.39:1 aspect ratio. Most likely to give the game its famous cinematic feel. So if you aren’t truly bothered by the black bars on the top and bottom of your screen, maybe it is best to leave them be.