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Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice.

Started by bgmnts, June 17, 2019, 07:24:42 AM

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bgmnts

Has anyone given this a go yet? It is a little title developed by Ninja Theory, who have a bit of an odd history of games under their belt. I was going in with their dubious past in mind but hearing decent things about it and i must say after about half an hour it's fucking brilliant!

The protagonist, Senua, is engrossing, suffering as she is from some form of psychosis. She is constantly being spoken to by voices in her head, and I can't think of a game which has done this at all, it is very haunting I must say. The setting and plot is a very down to earth fantasy realm of Helheim, drawing a lot from Norse and Celtic mythology.

It seems to be split into walking, puzzling and hack n' slashing so far and it works well. The combat is pretty smooth for me and it didn't take me long to learn the controls - despite their being no HUD or tutorial to speak of - intuitive as they are.

Finally, it looks and sounds bloody gorgeous. For a game that was developed and published, presumably, on the cheap, it looks great. The designs are great, the animation is great, the voice acting is great etc. They have set the bar quite high now really, this is what AAA published games should strive to be. The guys at Ninja Theory obviously put a shitload of effort into this so far and it shows and I am excited to play on.

I'll be back in a few hours when something inevitably pisses me off to the point of frenzy.


Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth


bgmnts

Quote from: Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth on June 17, 2019, 10:31:51 AM
I've played it.  It is very, very good.

Oh shit sorry butt I should have searched this. How long did it take you to complete would you guess?

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

There's nothing sorry about my butt, I can assure you.

I completed the game over the course of a weekend, so maybe twelve hours in total. It wasn't mega epic in terms of playtime, but neither was it noticeably short, especially considering how cheap it is.

Kelvin

Is it actually good, or is it just about mental illness and graphically impressive, therefore massively critically acclaimed?

I mean, when I finish it, will I say, "That was a good game to play", or will I stroke my chin and go, "hmm. There is hope amidst the struggle."

Kelvin

I'm a bit pissed, so I can't currently decide if that's a bit cunty or not. Update tomorrow.

madhair60

Perhaps you should stick with Super Mario, hmm? Get yourself some of those coins...?

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Yes, it is actually a good game to play. Obviously, mental illness is a weighty theme to tackle, but it's hardly the first game that has, so I don't know if that is the primary reason it's been praised.

How are you getting on with it, bgmnts?

Quote from: Kelvin on June 19, 2019, 11:38:05 PM
Is it actually good, or is it just about mental illness and graphically impressive, therefore massively critically acclaimed?

I mean, when I finish it, will I say, "That was a good game to play", or will I stroke my chin and go, "hmm. There is hope amidst the struggle."

Your instincts are correct. Absolutely rubbish game but some trippy audio. Nobody DARE criticise anything about mental health because the entire middle class dyed hair gaming audience would have a fuckin eppy.

They should make a game about an overweight single mother who has to choose between getting a couple of Cornish pasties in town or getting her kid a new school blouse and then she gets wrecked that night because of the guilt of getting the Cornish and further emotionally neglects the kid. You know, people with actual mental health problems not a cool Viking havin a whitey.


This is psychological voyeurism for white people middle class people with nothin to worry about


bgmnts

Quote from: Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth on June 20, 2019, 12:00:34 PM
Yes, it is actually a good game to play. Obviously, mental illness is a weighty theme to tackle, but it's hardly the first game that has, so I don't know if that is the primary reason it's been praised.

How are you getting on with it, bgmnts?

Put it on hold for a minute to finish Dishonoured: Death of the Outlaw but from what I played it's great!

Gotta say I've not actually played it but I am a decent guesser. Probably need a break from everything.

bgmnts

Aye, get some Minecraft going mate.

Cold Meat Platter

Playing a mental illness-themed game sounds like eating a famine-themed meal.

Thursday

I liked it, but I don't think it was realistic at all. Psychosis is nothing like repeatedly fighting monsters in a celtic/norse mythological inspired world!

Cold Meat Platter

Quote from: Thursday on June 20, 2019, 11:55:36 PM
I liked it, but I don't think it was realistic at all. Psychosis is nothing like repeatedly fighting monsters in a celtic/norse mythological inspired world!

It was a freight management sim set in Portugal.

falafel

The early environmental puzzles were obtuse and the combat felt a bit rote. This messed with the pacing for me and alienated me from the early storytelling, which I think is the core of the game so that didn't set me up well. I didn't really enjoy it for the first half. Picked up and overall it was worth it for the set pieces, the last few big areas and some of the story. Not all the psychodrama rang true but it was a valiant effort. I had been expecting something a bit more substantial... I don't know. It was at once good and yet underwhelming.

bgmnts

So far with falafel on this but the atmosphere and the setting is keeping me going. It's doing horror quite well, in an unconventional sense, I just wish it weren't so formulaic, it feels like this game was just made as a vehicle to explore this theme of pyschosis, rather than a game made to be a game.

falafel

It really does nail the atmosphere. Ironically, I think it would be a better game if it tried a bit less hard to be... a game? In some of the sections at least. Actually the finale presented a really nice challenge so it might just be the early pacing that frustrated me. Dunno. Some of the imagery is really impressive.

bgmnts

I won't lie, I cannot do games anymore but I checked out after the first two bosses. It's not a bad game though, by any means.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

I recommend you stick with it. After the first two bosses, I felt like I had the measure of the game, but that turned out to be the point at which it really opened up.

Moribunderast

I loved the feeling of the combat in this game. Not especially hard or deep (phwoar!) but the sound design made it feel really weighty and brutal.

falafel

Quote from: Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth on June 27, 2019, 12:07:32 AM
I recommend you stick with it. After the first two bosses, I felt like I had the measure of the game, but that turned out to be the point at which it really opened up.

For me it was the [edit] oh spoiler tags don't work any more? When did that happen?

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Quote from: falafel on June 27, 2019, 09:12:08 AM
For me it was the [edit] oh spoiler tags don't work any more? When did that happen?
Change the colour to transparent instead.
[color=transparent]Like this[/color]

Elderly Sumo Prophecy

I'd have liked it a lot more if the main character could have kept her mouth shut a bit more. Maybe psychosis and mouth breathing are linked?

biggytitbo

I'm enjoying this a lot, especially the 2nd half where it ditches the somewhat clunky combat in favour of puzzles and exploration. It reminds me a lot of the also excellent Observer, a very different setting but a lot of the same kind of shifting reality and environment based puzzles. Really visually striking and imaginative too.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

What's with all the complaints about the combat in the game? I thought it was excellent.

Quote from: falafel on June 27, 2019, 09:12:08 AM
For me it was the...
I need closure on this anecdote.