Review: Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 Enhanced (PS5) – Cinematic Spectacle Offers Little Else

by

The game titled Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 offers an unconventional gaming experience, despite its non-traditional quality, it remains engaging and worth exploring.

Continuing from the 2017 version’s storyline, this sequel amplifies both its strong points and weaknesses, emphasizing captivating narratives, stunning graphics, and innovative audio design. The visual and aural experience places developer Ninja Theory at the forefront of their niche, making it hard to find PS5 games that look and sound as good as it does.

Despite the striking features, the gameplay itself remains quite elementary, which somewhat diminishes the overall impact. Hellblade 2, however, manages to balance its scenes well, but offers too much walking, unsatisfying puzzles, and elementary combat, resulting in a rather inconsistent gaming experience.

In this new installment, Senua once again takes center stage as she delves deeper into her struggle with psychosis. Her mission is twofold: to liberate her people from captivity and venture to Iceland, the native land of the Vikings. Stranded on the shore after a shipwreck, she seizes a Viking captive and uses him as a guide to navigate through their community, ultimately leading them to their leader.

In just six hours of gameplay, I managed to uncover every nook and cranny, yet the story seemed to unfold at breakneck speed, introducing a host of intriguing companions with captivating tales about giants and the elusive folk. But did it all happen that fast? Or was there more to the narrative than meets the eye?

The game immerses you deeply into Senua’s world, making it challenging to distinguish reality from illusion. Characters appear and disappear intermittently, while the setting subtly transforms as the camera pans, further blurring the lines between what’s real and imagined.

This action is beneficial because it makes the title less trustworthy, thereby enhancing suspense and drama throughout scenes that would otherwise be peaceful countryside walks for Senua. The audio design is exceptional; background voices will softly speak into your ears, shifting between headphones to provide commentary on Senua’s actions. This can be quite unsettling as it keeps you in a state of tension even during seemingly ordinary moments.

An additional level of complexity would significantly enhance the game, since the core gameplay is currently quite simple and lacks depth.

In essence, Hellblade 2 primarily focuses on exploring breathtaking landscapes and eerie soundscapes, rather than engaging in a significant amount of gameplay like walking, solving puzzles, and participating in sword fights, which are typically found in many PS5 games.

As I ventured back from the harrowing experience of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, I found myself encountering intriguing symbol puzzles. These brain-teasers required me to scour my surroundings for items that needed to be positioned at particular angles to unveil the hidden pathways. A fresh addition to these challenges was a new puzzle style, where I had to collect orbs from pedestals by manipulating the environment around me.

These problems are so straightforward that one might question whether they truly qualify as puzzles at all. With the focus feature, your camera automatically locks onto the solutions when you’re near a symbol. Gathering the orbs is as effortless as transforming a single piece of the landscape to match their shape.

In simpler terms, the battle system isn’t particularly impressive. Senua possesses both standard and heavy attacks, along with the ability to block and dodge incoming attacks from enemies. She discovers a mirror that gains power by striking enemies, which enables her to temporarily slow down time for an easier kill. Even in encounters involving multiple opponents, the camera primarily focuses on one enemy, transforming each confrontation into a solo combat scenario.

Regardless of their varied appearances, every battle in this game, from the second chapter’s mirror pick-up right up to the final boss fight, follows an identical pattern. The repetitiveness of these encounters grows tiresome as you progress, making the gameplay feel more like a mundane task than an enjoyable experience. At some point, even the most basic command – strolling through the game’s stunning landscapes – becomes the most appealing aspect of it all.

The game boasts visually stunning landscapes reminiscent of Iceland, captured beautifully by the camera’s sweeping pans. Detailed rock formations line the winding paths, adding to the game’s aesthetic appeal. On a par with Death Stranding 2 in terms of visual charm, it’s available on PS5. The game’s landscapes are breathtakingly beautiful, and its lighting system is particularly impressive, casting realistic shadows even in cave systems illuminated only by a flame. Its characters stand out for their convincing performances and striking design.

It’s unfortunate to encounter such a breathtaking universe, yet find limited opportunities for interaction within it. You can appreciate its beauty, but not engage with it hands-on.

As a result, while the core game may fall short of expectations, it still has its merits that are worth noting. The gameplay might not live up to satisfaction, but the stunning visuals and immersive sound design certainly do. Melina Juergens delivers an outstanding performance as Senua, and the haptic feedback effectively connects the protagonist’s internal voices with your controller’s rumbling sensations.

In an unusual twist, Hellblade 2 shines most when it comes to aspects that don’t necessitate skilled gameplay.

As a dedicated gamer, I’ve been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Enhanced edition for PlayStation 5, following its 15-month exclusivity on Xbox consoles. This new version comes packed with additional modes and technical updates from Ninja Theory, making it an even more immersive experience. The original release ran at a smooth 30 frames-per-second on the Xbox Series X|S, but now, I can enjoy a smoother 60fps Performance Mode on both the standard PS5 and the PS5 Pro. It’s moments like these that make gaming an exciting journey!

On the recently introduced gameplay setting for that platform, we tested our game, and it delivered a highly enjoyable, fluid experience without any noticeable frame rate issues – this seems to be the ideal method for playing.

In this game’s enhancements, you’ll find developer commentary and an intriguing new feature called Dark Rot mode. As a reminder from the initial game, Senua’s Sacrifice warned that if you perished too frequently, her body would be engulfed by Dark Rot, forcing you to restart from the beginning. However, it was a clever trick – no matter how many times you died in the original game, the Dark Rot never actually took effect.

In Hellblade 2, choosing the optional challenging mode means that the warning about potential setbacks becomes a reality. This mode, which is harder than “Hard,” allows for three deaths before starting anew. Upon the fourth death, all your progress gets erased, and you’ll have to restart from the beginning.

As a dedicated player, I’ve discovered that delving into this mode, complemented by the developer’s insightful commentary, is an achievement reserved for those who conquer the initial game. And there’s a solid explanation behind this – it’s mercilessly challenging. My team and I have yet to advance beyond the second chapter in our attempts. The combat, while still rather mundane, gains a significant edge with the addition of Dark Rot mode, ramping up the tension noticeably.

Read More

2025-08-08 10:08