Hellblade really feels like an important game for the medium (Gaming)

by Korny , Dalton, Ga. US. Earth, Sol System, Friday, August 18, 2017, 12:19 (2664 days ago) @ cheapLEY
edited by Korny, Friday, August 18, 2017, 12:23

You convinced me--I bought it.

I'm always happy to be a positive influence. It's what I live for, really. :v

Only played about an hour or so, but I've really enjoyed what I've played so far.

I've seen most reviewers finish it in 6-8 hours. It bummed me a bit that they seemed to have rushed through, because it took Sammy about 10 hours, and I'm over a dozen hours into the game, and I'm just under 3/4 of the way through (judging from the Lorestones, which I'm making an effort to find every single one on my first playthrough). There are a lot of hidden Lorestones that give you context for the areas that you are in, mostly through short retellings of Norse and Celtic mythologies. I can't go into them without getting into spoiler territory, but Sammy and I had some neat talks about the actual mythologies versus how they fit into the context of the game, and what lessons Senua was meant to learn from them, but it seems like most reviewers have skipped them for the sake of getting to the end credits.

The presentation alone pulled me in (seriously, headphones are a MUST for this game). Between Uncharted 4, Horizon, and now this, I'm a genuinely amazed at how good PS4 games are looking.

There aren't many games in recent memory that have brought tears to my eyes, but this game really hits you hard once the credits start rolling, and I couldn't even hear the last hour of the game, since Sammy had her headphones on. I could really go on and on about it, but despite a few nitpicks (early on, the game leads you to believe that you'll be able to revisit previous areas, but after a certain point, that is no longer the case, and if you miss a Lorestone, you've missed it for good), it's a fantastic experience from beginning to end, and even my nitpicks have subtle solutions (Each Lorestone has a mark on it for each area, which lets you know which ones you missed before you head to the next region. And Lorestones aren't required for anything, but there is an acknowledgement for finding them all in a single playthrough, and like I said, they really add to the experience).

Plus, it really stood out to me that Sammy went from frustrated, angry, and scared in the beginning (so much so that she had me do a particularly spoopy segment for her) to charging in face-first against hordes of enemies and a multi-boss fight in Hel itself for Senua's sake. The story really gets you to care about the characters that well...

Anyway, I really recommend watching the documentary included after you finish the game, because it really puts into perspective how much effort was put into nailing the psychosis elements of the game. As PSLifestyle's Michael Bryers put it, "by working closely with neuroscientists and those unfortunate few who have been diagnosed as psychotic, Hellblade carefully avoids those cheap, half-assed tropes that render a character insane and, therefore, woefully one-dimensional. Not only does it act as a disservice to those who suffer with mental illness, this practice of painting in broad strokes only minimizes the room for nuance, but Senua’s Sacrifice boldly cuts through the white noise". It's not only a great game in terms of story or the experience that it gives, but it also uses the medium to say something worth saying, which I feel is worth recognizing.

Anyway, since I have far too much rushing through my head that I don't want to talk about because spoilers, I'll end my post with some non-spoilery 4K screenshots that I hope you enjoy...