Along with the games that bring more or less a smile on my face while writing a review about my experience playing them, at the opposite pole are these which left me, literally, speechless, with their story, graphics and soundtrack, that I always thought about being the main elements for creating a treasure of a video game which worth every minute spent playing it.
Today, I decided to begin the new week with a throwback to the moment when I completed Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice which is a game that caught my attention from the first moment it was announced, but which I only afforded to get around one year after its release date.
Happily, I managed to stay away from spoilers all that period and that's why I'll also try to avoid giving too many details about the game because I don't want to ruin the impressive experience some of you can have if you haven't tried out this one yet.
The game comes from the developers of Heavenly Sword, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, and DmC: Devil May Cry, so if you played one of these mentioned I think you can pretty much make an idea of what you should expect from Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice.
However, do keep in mind that the game will get far away from any expectations you will have because it's perhaps one of the most complex video games ever played which won't make you mainly focus on the gameplay itself, but actually on the whole package shared between the 11 chapters it comes with, talking about raising awareness of psychosis.
The whole action is set in the Viking age and it presents the story of a broken Celtic warrior that embarks on a haunting vision to get into the Viking Hell and take revenge on her dead lover.
As interesting as it sounds, the game doesn't limit its gameplay to that because everything turns both great and terrifying at the same time while the walkthrough is mainly focused on a journey into madness where you'll also get to explore some of the deepest sides of mental health.
This is not just a cool way of presenting the game, because Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice was created in collaboration with neuroscientists and people who experience psychosis so do get ready to awake some of the emotions inside of you that you didn't know they exist.
The game is also recommended to be played with headphones for the 3D sound effects which will basically help you make the distinction between all the voices you will hear at the same time and which of them you should follow and which you should neglect because they are just playing with your mind.
I think there is no person here who at one point confronted with some serious situations in his/her life and that's how it ended up hearing lots of voices in his/her head and being in doubt on which of them should take note of and which don't.
Just as you might have already figured out, that's the moment when you are close to a thin line that makes the difference between keeping your sanity or slowly falling into madness, depression and anxiety. It's a situation that not many know how to deal with or have success in making the right picks, but it always ends up with a lesson that makes you stronger and teaches you how to deal with everything when the next moment occurs.
This is exactly what you are also going to experience while playing Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice which even though it comes with a pretty dark and rough story, it has some important lessons to be learned which in my opinion, is a lot better to be discovered in a game rather than in reality.
Along with the tags the game is defined with, there are also these: horror, blood, dark, violent and dark fantasy. So do keep in mind that the game is pretty brutal and not for a few moments you might get disgusted by the visuals which are incredibly real designed.
For me, it's been a few years since I played a game with a 'horror' tag, but somehow I got used pretty fast to everything the game comes with, understanding the meaning behind the story and visuals which made me finish the game in tears and in just two days of gaming, which is the real proof that once you start playing Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, it will catch your attention pretty fast, making you want to keep playing it and don't open it just once in a while to complete one more chapter.
Another thing you should pay attention to is the variety of puzzles that are met pretty often in the game. Of course, there will also be fights against mythical creatures, but also stunning cinematics which will make you want to press the screenshot button a few times.
However, the puzzles do play an important role and even though they might become frustrating at one point considering that are based on mythical words and symbols that will take a while to get used to, it's still worth every minute spent trying to complete them without using the internet to get through faster.
I'll end my review saying that at the point I'm writing this, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is the winner of the Best Performances, Best Audio Design and Games for Impact, for the BAFTA awards, The Game Awards, Best Indie Game 2017, Best Action Adventure Game 2017, and an Essential game on the judgement of eurogamer.net.
All these seen through my eyes, along with the outstanding graphics, sound effects, soundtrack and story itself, led to a great marriage of mechanical and conceptual design but also of the possibility to explore more the mental health.
Conclusions š¤
For me, playing Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice represented the right proof that we can experience games taken to the next level where playing a game is not just a thing anymore but actually something you can learn from and even help you or some people who are close to the border between keeping their sanity or following the journey into madness.
The game is definitely not for everyone considering all the gore and brutal scenes that could be a little bit too much for the younger ones, but it's still a game that worth being played at one point in your life.
If I have to resume on what's visually the game about, I can say that this is split between fights with mystic creatures, puzzles and cinematics, but the whole interesting action is taken in your mind because everything mentioned before will get you on a trip to some interesting sides of your brain that perhaps you haven't explored yet. So don't get too frustrated on the puzzles because they are smartly created to spend more time on some of them than the others, having more moments of thinking about the life and mental health in general.
Did you try it? š
I'm pretty sure it's a game that is already known by almost everyone either if you decided to play it or not, but if you did, what are your thoughts about everything?
If you haven't already, I suggest you to at least check out the trailer attached down below which will make you understand better what's the game about as well as those stunning 3D sound effects you will enjoy only by playing the game with headsets. š
NOTE:
- all the pictures attached are in-game screenshots taken by me (unless if other stated). šø
- this article is trying to stay away from revealing spoilers. ā ļø
- this is a personal review and should not be taken as a real advice of either playing the game or not because the opinion might be subjective. šÆ
A list with some other games that I wrote a review about and you might like:
- Strange Brigade š - 3/5
- TREE š³ - 5/5
- Lost Ember šŗ - 5/5
- Professional Fishing š” - 4/5
- Food Truck Simulator š - 2/5
- Don't Starve (Together) š„ - 4/5
- Late Shift ā³ - 4/5
- A Way Out š - 5/5
- Motorcycle Mechanic Simulator 2021 šµ - 1/5
- Car Mechanic Simulator 2018 š - 2/5
- Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice š - 5/5
- Life is Strange šŖ - 5/5
- Metin 2 ā - 4/5
- Euro Truck Simulator 2 š - 2/5
- Tell Me Why š³ļøāš - 5/5
| Game | Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice |
|---|---|
| Release Date | 8 Aug 2017 |
| Played On | Steam |
| Price | 29,99ā¬ |
| Genre | Atmospheric, Psychological, Female Protagonist |
| Completed | Main + Extras |
| My Rating | ā ā ā ā ā |
| Hours Played | 14.3 hrs |
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