Hellblade 2 Coverage Returns As Ninja Theory Drops New Dev Diary

Could have least shown some footage of Senua just walking through a couple of landscapes in series x, showing full character control of in game footage in landscape.

One has to wonder, would Ninja Theory be able to do this kind of work for its next game had Microsoft not purchased the company - or really any publisher with significant cash flow, for that matter?

I do like to see developers being allowed to achieve their goals and be proud of their achievement, rather than simply becoming a game farm.

@Kaloudz had lots of fun with DmC, still think it was damn good.

@Kaloudz
You never know we might get a bit of hack and slash with Hellblade 2.

@KaijuKaiser Differences is attitude?

I mean, look, if this was a trip they took last month, I'd be upset.

But much of this work was going on before and during the pandemic with some of the on-site work being done in 2022 to help finalize some artistic details.

Now, if all subsequent diaries don't show any actual game progress, then I'll start wondering.

If the goal is to capture the full history of the game's development, you have to start before there is game.

@GamingFan4Lyf Yes (they have already shown gameplay as well) but I think that the general critic towards the overly long dev cycle on all games from XGS is something that is valid. Imagine if you had a Netflix subscription and all you got for years was footage of movie makers talking about their vision and focus and so on. At some point patience wears thin and Xbox has been in that "they better show something soon else..." state since 2013.

@BrilliantBill Fair enough.

In Ninja Theory's defense:

• It is a smaller studio.
• Development more than likely started on UE4 and then transitioned to UE5. That takes time (no matter how much Epic wants to say it's a smooth transition)
• The Coalition has been working on optimizing UE5 for DirectX12/Series, so I am sure that had an impact that trickled into aspects of Ninja Theory's development cycle.
• Microsoft announced it way too early

I just don't necessarily equate Ninja Theory to a larger studio and am willing to give that developer a little more leeway than others.

Not much more, though. I mean, at this point, any release beyond February 2024 would be met with backlash - unless Ninja Theory comes out and says it's open world that the spans across the entirety of Iceland.

Yes, overall, Microsoft does need to start showing us the fruits of their investment in purchasing all these studios.

@GamingFan4Lyf Yeah, I think that generally one of the biggest culprits is how quickly Microsoft announced this. I believe at the time of announcement probably there was very little of it developed. NT is a small/er studio but with Xbox studios somehow each studio finds their issue/struggle/challenge in one way or other (looking at our default whipping boy 343i 😂).

Also, Xbox really went crazy with that one E3 where they announced so many games (like Avowed etc). It created this illusion that those titles are the first wave of exclusives and all of them are releasing soon. But in fact I think they announced everything they had in the pipeline. This paired with the slow speed of basically all studios under Xbox worsened the situation.

@Kaloudz That is my concern for the game. The devs can't just drop everything and make Senua like Kratos or Dante. That would be kind of silly. Tonally, the games are disparate. So how do you find a balance with more, further developed combat and retain the feel of the series?

@BrilliantBill Spencer intentionally dropped several bits on information in his interview the other day. He said he was going to Ninja Theory to check on Hellblade on Wednesday, and that Everwild was in active development . If not proof of life, there were at least signs of life.

@Dezzy70 that would make it appeal to me much more. This game will be a graphical showcase tho. I expect them to work closely with MS and use the full RDNA 2.0 and Shaders that PS5 don’t have and that can set this game apart for the years to come. Not sure it will be a game that suits my play style , but i would bet money that it will be one of the best looking games on any platform for a while. Maybe until Gears 6, if they can push the engine to it’s max.

@GamingFan4Lyf Yes, overall, Microsoft does need to start showing us the fruits of their investment in purchasing all these studios.

Come June i think we will all be seeing what they got cooking and be very happy. Covid slowed HB2 down with its video capture. Not making excuses but it did and i am sure they are grinding away the best they can to make some of that time back. I think this game graphically turns heads in June.

@Green-Bandit
Yes it seems to be heading towards being a graphical showcase, but it as to have the gameplay for me whatever that turns out to be.
Not sure if it will be a console or game pass seller though. Has always felt so far like a niche game to me and if so I’m very surprised as I thought Xbox might try and make it a general public AAA game some how.

@Dezzy70 we will have to wait and see, but the nature of the first one doesn’t strike me as mass appeal. Great game. But not a system mover.

@Green-Bandit
I know I’m being me, but if I was spending all that time and money developing a game as a business I would want it to be a system / game pass seller. A general public must have game.
I think that is the way I would approach every big AAA game. It must make money and bring in lots of new console sales and game pass subscriptions.
What’s the point of trying create a gaming empire like Microsoft are trying to do if you don’t get the sales and the money in and increase your percentage stake in the gaming market over you competitors.

@Dezzy70 You generally need both system sellers and critic darlings. I think Hellblade is the latter, the sort that that wins awards at Bafta, TGA etc and gets 8s and 9s from critics. A highly rated game can also sell very well but even with a modest sale it increases the overall prestige of the console.
I don't think Xbox will have system sellers other than something like Starfield. All Xbox IPs are either new IPs which are not known entities to the masses, or they are the good old Halo, Gears, Forza which are only dear to existing Xbox fans anyway. I doubt in 2025 somebody is going to see Gears 6 and suddenly scream "I gotta get myself one of those!". Because the image of the Xbox system sellers like Halo and Gears has been slightly damaged by a combo of some lukewarm critical reception and generally very divided reaction from fans, which means there is little positive word of mouth going around.

"I think that is the way I would approach every big AAA game. It must make money and bring in lots of new console sales and game pass subscriptions."

By this logic you should basically go the Activison route and make the entire XGS a Halo/Gears factory churning out sequels every year. Frequent releases that are guaranteed to sell well and unique IPs with innovation and character never go together. Every franchise that releases new games every year and sells a ton of them is purely a "reskin" business. Look at AC,CoD,Far Cry, FIFA, etc.

My #1 most anticipated game right now! I can’t wait for this, but I’m so happy they’re taking their time with it.

@Dezzy70 i agree with that, but at the same time, so games are tailored to the mass market and some are for the hardcore players. Take Elden Ring for an example. Sure it sold way more than just the hardcore, but most of those players hated it, cause it was hard and they couldn’t advance. It wasn’t tailored to their play style and commitment. HB2 is kinda that, not so much from a challenge level, but more from the character being someone that talks to herself in her mind and has mental illness. Not sure thats up for Harry Potter level of mainstream. I do agree that Xbox needs more games that sells systems and are big GP hits and i think they will have some of those, i think Banjo is still a game they need to take a shot at that 10+ year old market. You make an excellent Banjo game and bundle it with the Series S for $250 and that would be a system seller around the holidays. But i agree with your point completely and think that HB2 is just not a title that is 20 million in sales like a Spider-man.

@Kaloudz Yes, that is kind of the scenario I envision. Could be that Senua has more fleshed out combat or tailored & varied combat scenarios. A Plague Tale told a story about children losing their innocence before the sequel introduced far more killing. Still, the devs tried to keep it somewhat grounded.

Senua, likewise, isn't a murder machine nor incredibly powerful.

@BrilliantBill
You can still have new IP that sell well and make money and sell systems and also set up great system sellers for follow up game.
Look at HFW, last of us, Uncharted, GOW reimagined and spider man to a degree.
Xbox just need to create that game. But just as important get some momentum and advertising behind them and become the games to have and console or game pass to own. That is their issue they have very little public awareness and the competition have years of public awareness due to various reasons created over years.

I mean they could have started that trend with Halo Infinite and produced a BOTW a GOW both established IP that got reimagined and big advertising budgets etc for public awareness.
Instead we know what happened.

@Kaloudz Thanks. It is a good game, well put together. It's not that I don't want Xbox to put out an action heavy adventure game, just that I think it would be a tough switch for Hellblade. We'll see.