Hellblade Review - Senua's Sacrifice: More Than A Action
Game!
Along with Platinum Games, Ninja Theory is worth mentioning
as one of the developers of action games with lunge that no longer need to
doubt. Gamers who could have Playstation 3 may know his name through Heavenly
Sword is quite charming at that time. While not a few new to know through the
project reboot Devil May Cry DmC project that had triggered controversy because
of changes in the main character - Dante is quite drastic at that time. Now
they return after a few times through the process of delay. The latest project
- Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice finally slid into the market.
What makes Hellblade interesting? Since this is their first
project as an indie developer. This means, Ninja Theory decided not to involve
publisher at all and push the release of this action game with money from their
own personal pockets. While on the other hand, they are also ambitious to push
the quality of AAA games from it through the implementation of Unreal Engine 4
is optimal.
Hellblade's creative freedom without publisher intervention
manifests itself in a theme rarely touched by the gaming industry itself. A game
that is ready to make you question the reality itself. A game that will even
make you no longer able to distinguish what is real or not.
So what exactly is Hellblade offering: Senua's Sacrifice?
Why do we call it more than a mere action game? This review will discuss it
more deeply for you.
PLOTS
Like the name he's holding, you'll play Senua.
As promoted by his name, Hellblade will take you into the
world of a female character who lived in a Nordic civilization in the past -
Senua. A warrior with extraordinary sword skills who decide to take back what
should be his right.
Inspired by so many tragedy stories that adorn the mythology
not only of Greece, but also of the Norse in the past, Senua is in his holy
mission to challenge and fight destiny. Unable to accept the fact that his
lover - Dillion is no longer able to touch, kiss, and punish, Senua decides to
take it back from the ruler of Helheim (hell in the Norse) - Hela. Simply to
perfect the life that for Senua, now will never be the same again. Equipped
with swords, intentions, and commitment to him, he is ready to penetrate the
fog and death for one name - Dillion.
Of course, this trip is not easy. As one of the guardians of
the world who was not even daring to be interrupted by other Norse gods,
Helheim and Hela became an impossible goal. Even to be able to open the door to
hell, Senua must fight against the other two gods guarding him - Surt for fire
and Valravn for illusion. Not only that, a beast ready to pounce at a nearby
night will also hinder the journey of Senua. But in the end, Senua still has
one big challenge before he is able to take back Dillion.
Can Senua save Dillion from Hela? What kind of challenges
should he face? What's the biggest problem Senua will face? You can certainly
answer that question by playing Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice.
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is an indie game, in that
sense, it is not supported by the "big money" publisher standing
behind it. But such status, does not necessarily make Ninja Theory has no
ambition and commitment to make it as an action game with the approach of an
AAA game that we are familiar with. Especially from the side of the
presentation that he offers. Unlike most indie games that end up relying on 8
or 16 bit pixel visualizations, they rely on Unreal Engine 4 as a base. The
seriousness and dedication of this Ninja Theory succeeded in making Hellblade:
Senua's Sacrifice look amazing.
Unreal Engine 4 quality that is supported by the right
motion and face capture process produces a game that is not only beautiful, but
able to project emotions appropriately as well. He managed to make the
character Senua have its own depth as a human being, not just the main
character without feeling that just able to kill any monster or enemy submitted
to him.
Thumbs up is deservedly directed at the actress who plays
Senua - Melina Juergens who does her job very well. So powerful and accurate is
the emotion he projected, that you will be able to feel clearly when Senua is
scared, anxious, painful, until he reaches resolution to no longer retreat and
surrender. Everything is reflected through the motion of the face, eye details,
to the overall exposure handled Unreal Engine 4 with fantastic. Making it offer
an even more amazing quality than some AAA games though.
The world built by Ninja Theory as a
"battleground" for Senua also deserves its own appreciation. His
journey to save the lover from hell took him in and through so many creepy
places, from forests, swamps, ruins with stagnant water, to a temple with a
complex architecture. Everything is handled with a variety of visual effects
that make the journey and the battle that you have to pass feels dramatic. The
effects of light entering in the form of a gentle sunlight that illuminates
your journey while walking on the beach, to the fog with rain that accompanies
your intense battle over the ruins. Everything will make your eyes pampered.
Understand that, they also include Photo Mode in it.
From the presentation side, Hellblade also includes a
technique that we personally, have never found before. Namely create a
cut-scene presentation of the story by melting the 3D characters, which in this
game, of course - Senua with video characters taken directly from the actor / actress
who plays it without using a three dimensional model altogether. Integrating
the two in the story does produce a unique visual approach, but on the other
hand, it does not seem so flashy and tacky. Ninja Theory itself mentions that
techniques like this make them save a lot of development time because no need
to mess around with the problem of building a character model for him.
From the presentation problem, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
is amazing. For a game that carries the name "indie" without big
funding support publisher, Ninja Theory managed to produce games with quality
visualization and design that is not even hard to beat the title AAA games with
a large budget though. A journey that will make your eyes pampered.
A Personal Fight
alaupun make the story and character as the main attraction,
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice still contains what the strength of Ninja Theory
for this - an action game with solid content. That Senua's hard struggle to
defeat destiny does not end up just as a walking simulator game that asks you
to enjoy and hear the existing story only, but contains elements of combat that
are ready to overwhelm you at the same time. After all, you do act as a female
warrior with unquestionable sword skills.
Most of the Hellblade gameplay is not dominated by this
aspect of action. That's different from hack and slash action games mostly like
Devil May Cry or Bayonetta for example, which asks you to fight against waves
of enemies consistently from one area to the next until you get the next story
progress, action is just one part of Hellblade. It has plenty of quiet periods
to move the story and sometimes, contains puzzles for you to accomplish.
That's right, puzzles. While not fighting, Senua's
exploration side in the linear world is often confronted with a series of
puzzles rooted in the same concept - looking for a pattern. Often the door you
have to go to ends up locked with one to three different symbols. Your mission
is to look for similar shapes and patterns around you, especially through a
series of objects that you never expected before. You do not have to think much
of it logically, just have to pay a little extra attention to guessing about a
combination of objects like what could end up being the "key" to this
pattern puzzle. Along with the progress of the game, this puzzle is a bit more
complex because it requires you to see it from a certain point of view or even
find an extra way to be able to get it from the required angle.
Of course, in the end, Senua must fight to protect himself
or make sure his journey to Helheim will not stop there. Ninja Theory here,
again proving themselves as one of the veteran action game developers who can
not be seen with one eye. The Hellblade battle itself can be called a mix
between DmC thanks to its fast combo system and Dark Souls, at the same time. A
camera approach that locks you to one specific target will make it easy to make
quick decisions when to attack, hold, or even roll to minimize damage. But not
1 vs 1, you are also sometimes faced with many enemies at once.
So the key is to play strategically. Not just attacking
blindly with your main sword, you also have to survive. If you have the right
timing, you can reflect enemy attacks and unlock their defenses to throw light
heavy + heavy kill combos that sometimes can produce different animations. Not
just quantity, the quality of each enemy you face will also offer a higher
challenge as progress. You will meet a larger enemy with a deadly giant ax, a
gladiator with a shield, until the druids are able to strike quickly with the
existing sword. The good news? Senua is also equipped with a special ability
called "Focus" which makes it able to slow the time for a while and
attacked blindly.
No doubt, every battle in Hellblade does feel personal. You
are faced with situations with camera effects and mechanical battles that make
Senua have to finish them off, one by one, as difficult and as much as
anything. You also have to pay attention to the visual clue and sound that
comes from it, because not infrequently, you will be attacked by another enemy
behind. Each battle will keep you alert, because if you are a little negligent,
then you will end up getting consequences that you do not want to bear of
course.
One of the basic mechanics injected by Ninja Theory at
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is the absence of a game over system, unlike most
other games. But whenever Senua dies or fails to accomplish the ultimate
mission, a black liquid attached to his right hand will become widespread and spread.
If you die quite often and this fluid arrives to his head, then you can say
goodbye to your travel progress. At least, that's what the Ninja Theory
promised itself.
So, what about the gameplay side offered by Ninja Theory in
Hellblade? Standards are the words we choose, but the design of the battle they
offer in them is to be recognized, resulting in an intense, serious, and
personal sensation at the same time. A battle that feels "heavy" in
every swing of Senai sword. It is not as difficult and as complex as Dark Souls
for example, and it only requires your ability to guess the timing of enemy
attacks to parry or bounce their attacks for extra bonus attacks. Animated
attacks made Senua comes with a presentation that deserves to thumbs up.
Conclusion
So nothing else deserves to be given to Ninja Theory,
besides the two big thumbs up for what they managed to do with Hellblade:
Senua's Sacrifice. A commitment to ensuring an indie project with limited funds
is not only able to offer the quality equivalent of big-budget AAA games, but
even lease it. The optimal implementation of Unreal Engine 4 produces a game
that is not only beautiful and dramatic, but also capable of projecting deep
emotions. Intense and satisfying weapon battles wrapped with stories about
psychological diseases rarely discussed by the creative media, especially the
gaming industry. Supported with fantastic audio technology, the implementation
of Photo Mode for you who like to show off, to just a collection of stories
about Norse mythology that you can gather from it does produce a game
experience experience that although brief, but memorable.
But of course, Hellblade can not be called a perfect game.
If you have to talk about the weaknesses that exist, then the presentation of
stories and puzzles can be said to be the two great points that deserve to be
discussed. Story? So true. Hellblade may produce special effects for gamers who
not only understand deeply, but at least have a rough knowledge of what
psychosis or schizophrenia is. Because Ninja Theory itself will not help you
gain more explicit understanding of the story that he stretcher, produce a plot
that may be very confusing in the eyes of some gamers. The puzzle he offers,
although it supports one of the elements of the story, is hard to enjoy. Just
looking for a symbol by turning the camera around here can not be spelled out,
as something interesting.
Beyond that weakness, Hellblade is an action game that
deserves high praise. Offered at an affordable price, the creative freedom of
Ninja Theory in this project is projected through a unique and different story
presentation, in a quality that will likely provoke more conversation and
appreciation in the future. Extraordinary!
advantages
A unique psychological theme
The visual quality is cool
Melina Juergens (Senua) is fantastic
The sword fight was intense
Design the world
The design of multiple missions is ready to make your heart
beat fast
The audio design is fantastic
Deficiency
Puzzle design feels boring
Stories may be confusing to some gamers
Easy to feel repetitive