I had Senua: Hellblade on my wishlist for years, was gifted it recently. I don't know what I expected, but what I played through (about 40min of tutorials) was unbelievably disturbing and...
I had Senua: Hellblade on my wishlist for years, was gifted it recently. I don't know what I expected, but what I played through (about 40min of tutorials) was unbelievably disturbing and beautifully executed. I was however deeply concerned for the friend who bought it for me, since they were interested in and bought it for the two of us after seeing it on our lists, they have schizophrenia.
I just cleared this one out for Backlog Burner May! I'm not schizophrenic, I've experienced psychosis though and I found the in-game portrayal done excellently and with sensitivity. Some of the...
I just cleared this one out for Backlog Burner May! I'm not schizophrenic, I've experienced psychosis though and I found the in-game portrayal done excellently and with sensitivity. Some of the flashbacks are really sweet.
The game was developed with psychiatrists, neuroscientists, and members of the voice hearing community weighing in. They communicated that they felt heard and represented by their portrayal of Senua, her struggles, and the game's depictions of symptoms. I don't know your friend, but I would hope they'd be touched rather than triggered.
I got the game (and the accompanying VR version) a while back via either a deal or bundle or whatever... it's been years and I've not had the brain to try it. A friend that played through it in VR...
I got the game (and the accompanying VR version) a while back via either a deal or bundle or whatever... it's been years and I've not had the brain to try it. A friend that played through it in VR was absolutely blown away, which is why I still think about installing it every now and then
Ha, that aged like milk. What's being talked about is that a $50 game is about 5 hours long to fully complete. I'm sure the game is alright, but that's a bit short though. I do like how the...
While Hellblade II ups the scale, the raw emotion of its lead performance and its handling of Senua’s mental health will no doubt be talked about most.
Ha, that aged like milk. What's being talked about is that a $50 game is about 5 hours long to fully complete.
I'm sure the game is alright, but that's a bit short though.
I do like how the article is just focused on the lead actress and her performance, it's a different type of assessment that doesn't look at the general discourse (like the one I hamfisted in just now).
I tried so hard to get through it, but I found the gameplay loop to be shockingly unsatisfying and repetitive. No hate to those that enjoyed it, but I believe that game should have been a movie.
I'm sure the game is alright, but that's a bit short though.
I tried so hard to get through it, but I found the gameplay loop to be shockingly unsatisfying and repetitive. No hate to those that enjoyed it, but I believe that game should have been a movie.
I realise it's not for everybody, but I actually really enjoyed the game's length - I thought it got in, told a story, and got out. I played it in two sittings, which was great: I have difficulty...
I realise it's not for everybody, but I actually really enjoyed the game's length - I thought it got in, told a story, and got out. I played it in two sittings, which was great: I have difficulty finding the time to finish a lot of games nowadays. The production quality was amazing.
As a caveat, I'm more into story than combat in games (e.g. I just love a TTRPG session where weapons aren't drawn), so I like that companies occasionally release games that are more like interactive movies.
It definitely felt weaker than the original game, IMHO:
My main complaint is that overall it felt safer (e.g. the voices felt more supportive than intrusive - I really liked the original's representation of intrusiveness... but at the same time on this, her character has grown so it's hard to knock them not choosing to have her stuck in the same emotional hole as the original)
The combat felt simultaneously more intense and less interactive than the original, and wish they had some thumping Heilung-backed powerful combat moments (maybe that speaks more to my skill in button pressing of course... it almost had some of that near the end)
It felt a little thin in the back 1/3rd, like they were pushed to get it out the door
I don't think it stuck the ending like the 1st game did (in particular, I found the final boss battle frustrating rather than challenging - and that made the ending fall a little flat because I wanted to do something completely at odds with the character)
That said, $10/hour (assuming 1 playthrough, which I assume is all most people will do) strikes me as quite reasonable given the production standard (throughout the first half of the game the voices are nearly constantly talking, and the image quality was breathtaking all the way through). I also don't know emotionally that I could have managed a 10 hour game at the level of intensity of the 1st half... they could have made combat longer, I'm kinda glad they didn't use that to pad the length.
Yeah, great summation of modern gaming discourse. That "I want shorter games" meme sure did stand on its own two legs (tbf it does not in fact have "worse graphics"). Guess the fine print said...
Ha, that aged like milk. What's being talked about is that a $50 game is about 5 hours long to fully complete.
Yeah, great summation of modern gaming discourse. That "I want shorter games" meme sure did stand on its own two legs (tbf it does not in fact have "worse graphics"). Guess the fine print said "cheaper" somewhere, because that's how you get people to be paid more to work less, huh?
Guess it makes it easy to point to this game the next time people wonder why the next AAA open world mcGuffin hunt or GaaS extraction shooter is announced and that same community groans. The industry in some ways does it to themselves. The vocal won't put their money where their mouth is, the silent majority just follow the marketing and buy the game. If you don't need to support a game for years, you don't necessarily need that good will nor even critical a claim to sell.
On a personal note: I was never interested in this series, but I'm fairly niche in my tastes and price flexible if my tastes are met. I boughg Crash 4 day 1 and have zero regrets, and many non-AAA Japanese games sell for $60 for cultural reasons that I grab when something looks appealing. I'm not chasing every bit hype wave and am an adult with plenty of disposable income. I won't think twice paying $150/month or so for 3 games on a busy month (especially since often enough i simply don't have games I'm interested in for 1-2 months afterwards).
Given the Bethesda layoffs, lots of devs out a magnifying glass on Ninja Theory as the next target of "make a good game and then layoffs". My hearts out to the team, no one to blame but a bad market and unconfident publishers who focus on the short term over building proper talent and portfolio.
I had Senua: Hellblade on my wishlist for years, was gifted it recently. I don't know what I expected, but what I played through (about 40min of tutorials) was unbelievably disturbing and beautifully executed. I was however deeply concerned for the friend who bought it for me, since they were interested in and bought it for the two of us after seeing it on our lists, they have schizophrenia.
I just cleared this one out for Backlog Burner May! I'm not schizophrenic, I've experienced psychosis though and I found the in-game portrayal done excellently and with sensitivity. Some of the flashbacks are really sweet.
The game was developed with psychiatrists, neuroscientists, and members of the voice hearing community weighing in. They communicated that they felt heard and represented by their portrayal of Senua, her struggles, and the game's depictions of symptoms. I don't know your friend, but I would hope they'd be touched rather than triggered.
I got the game (and the accompanying VR version) a while back via either a deal or bundle or whatever... it's been years and I've not had the brain to try it. A friend that played through it in VR was absolutely blown away, which is why I still think about installing it every now and then
Ha, that aged like milk. What's being talked about is that a $50 game is about 5 hours long to fully complete.
I'm sure the game is alright, but that's a bit short though.
I do like how the article is just focused on the lead actress and her performance, it's a different type of assessment that doesn't look at the general discourse (like the one I hamfisted in just now).
I tried so hard to get through it, but I found the gameplay loop to be shockingly unsatisfying and repetitive. No hate to those that enjoyed it, but I believe that game should have been a movie.
I realise it's not for everybody, but I actually really enjoyed the game's length - I thought it got in, told a story, and got out. I played it in two sittings, which was great: I have difficulty finding the time to finish a lot of games nowadays. The production quality was amazing.
As a caveat, I'm more into story than combat in games (e.g. I just love a TTRPG session where weapons aren't drawn), so I like that companies occasionally release games that are more like interactive movies.
It definitely felt weaker than the original game, IMHO:
That said, $10/hour (assuming 1 playthrough, which I assume is all most people will do) strikes me as quite reasonable given the production standard (throughout the first half of the game the voices are nearly constantly talking, and the image quality was breathtaking all the way through). I also don't know emotionally that I could have managed a 10 hour game at the level of intensity of the 1st half... they could have made combat longer, I'm kinda glad they didn't use that to pad the length.
Yeah, great summation of modern gaming discourse. That "I want shorter games" meme sure did stand on its own two legs (tbf it does not in fact have "worse graphics"). Guess the fine print said "cheaper" somewhere, because that's how you get people to be paid more to work less, huh?
Guess it makes it easy to point to this game the next time people wonder why the next AAA open world mcGuffin hunt or GaaS extraction shooter is announced and that same community groans. The industry in some ways does it to themselves. The vocal won't put their money where their mouth is, the silent majority just follow the marketing and buy the game. If you don't need to support a game for years, you don't necessarily need that good will nor even critical a claim to sell.
On a personal note: I was never interested in this series, but I'm fairly niche in my tastes and price flexible if my tastes are met. I boughg Crash 4 day 1 and have zero regrets, and many non-AAA Japanese games sell for $60 for cultural reasons that I grab when something looks appealing. I'm not chasing every bit hype wave and am an adult with plenty of disposable income. I won't think twice paying $150/month or so for 3 games on a busy month (especially since often enough i simply don't have games I'm interested in for 1-2 months afterwards).
Given the Bethesda layoffs, lots of devs out a magnifying glass on Ninja Theory as the next target of "make a good game and then layoffs". My hearts out to the team, no one to blame but a bad market and unconfident publishers who focus on the short term over building proper talent and portfolio.