Out of nowhere, the first hands-on previews for Ninja Theory's Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 began surfacing this morning, and based on what we've been reading so far, we're in for a truly special new Xbox exclusive this May.
The running theme across all of these previews is just how impressed each outlet has been with the game's visuals and overall use of tech, with Polygon even suggesting it'll "finally show us what an Unreal Engine 5 game can do".
Here are a couple of notable quotes we've picked out about this:
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Polygon: "I wasn’t expecting to experience a next-gen moment... but I got one. It’s an astonishingly lifelike narrative action game that applies UE5’s tech, Microsoft’s resources and the unique processes of a smallish team of technical artists to create something at once grounded and vividly hyperreal. There’s nothing else quite like it."
GamesRadar: "From what I've played of Hellblade 2, it's clearly on track to be one of the most important exclusives that the platform has hosted this generation. Not only is it a fluid and responsive action-adventure game, boasting best-in-class visual fidelity, but it's also an experience with something meaningful to convey."
Not much has been concluded about the story yet because of the limited time these outlets have spent with Hellblade 2 (less than an hour it seems), but the fully mo-capped combat system also sounds extremely impressive so far.
Here are some particularly enticing quotes about that combat system:
IGN: "Every combat animation has been recorded through performance capture, meaning every swing of Senua’s sword is one of many skillfully executed by the talented stunt team... There’s a real heft and flow to combat in Hellblade 2 that wasn’t quite there in its predecessor, and that's largely thanks to this newfound approach."
GameSpot: "Senua's movements in combat look and feel more realistic, prioritizing the heft of her sword, felt through her tired desperation during lengthier fights. Whenever Senua clashes swords with someone, Hellblade II makes it feel tense, as if life itself is challenging Senua to earn her right to exist in this world."
There's a whole lot more to discover in these hands-on previews, so we highly recommend checking them out for yourself, but the general consensus seems to be that Hellblade 2 has every chance of living up to the hype.
Polygon does mention that the game's "slow pace" and "highly scripted, cinematic presentation" may not be to everyone's tastes, but otherwise there's an awful lot of excitement for what's to come, with GameSpot's previewer even mentioning that they can't remember the last time a game preview left them so excited. Is it May yet?!
What do you make of these Hellblade previews? Let us know down in the comments section below.
Comments 61
If I play this it'll be on PC, I've no interest in my games looking or feeling "cinematic"
First game looked great too but was little more than a walking sim with annoying sound so hopefully the gameplays much improved
I don’t think anyone will be surprised that it looks visually stunning, it has done all the way through.
Hopefully for those who enjoyed the first one this one is even better.
next gen game running at 30fps. Has the standards gone down?
Can't stand overly cinematic tripe so not getting this one, hated the first game.
@BBB reviewers say that in terms of the gameplay it is pretty much the same as the first entry: walking, solving riddles and fighting 1 vs 1 on small arenas.
Only a few weeks left and really looking forward to playing it.
I'll believe all this when I see it the game will probably be ripped to pieces on digital foundry well the series s version will I'm sure don't care really about the fps 30 is perfectly acceptable to me
I just cannot get into the first game but oddly this is my most anticipated game on Xbox this gen. Have a feeling I'm setting myself up for huge disappointment....
Are they building these games in new bloated engines that struggle on Xbox? They should roll it back so we get 4K60. Xbox One games boosted to 4K60 still look really good.
30fps won't mean the Standards have dropped - in fact the Original WAS 30fps too at Launch and it was newer Hardware that enabled an 'OLDER' game Built to run on 'weaker' hardware was able to be updated to run at 60fps.
Maybe on 'next' gen Hardware, this will get updated to run at 60fps on 'budget' Hardware like a Console - like many older gen games now running on much newer and more powerful hardware to offer 60fps.
Believe it or not, most 'next' gen games on PS4/XB1 (after the PS3/X360 era) ran at 30fps too - unless they were PS3/360 era games 'remastered' for 60fps because 'next-gen' hardware had more power to run them. Even the PS4 Pro or XB1X often wouldn't run games at 60fps that are now '60fps' on Series/PS5 hardware.
Point is, Games built to really push 'next-gen' hardware will likely be 30fps as they have 'always' been on Console. They'll still have 60fps games and maybe some dumbed down graphically 'Performance' modes too but may have to wait until the 'next-gen' arrives to enable now older gen games to run at 60fps.
As for Standards, I'd say this is looking on a different Level - a much higher standard than its predecessor in so many areas....
"slow pace" and "highly scripted, cinematic presentation"
No thanks. I'm done with these "interactive movies".
The first one was fantastic wasn’t that upset with the gameplay because for me personally the game shines through its audio design
I didnt enjoy the first game at all.
6 hours of mainly cutscenes with some gameplay here and there is a disaster to me, no one at MS made sure they were getting value for money from this dev. But I hope I'm wrong and it turns out to be fantastic.
The first one… I hated the gameplay. Just being honest. However, I am really looking forward to watching the cutscenes on Youtube
So, when the first game came out and it was multi-platform "everyone" loved it. Now that the second game is xbox only "everyone" hated the first game. Funny that.
I think it will review really well but be divisive with fans. Not everyone will enjoy the slow pace and quick time event nature of the gameplay. Some people will love it and some will find it boring.
If I had to bet on one upcoming xbox game that eventually goes to ps5, its this one.
I still just don't understand how 8 hours of game took this long. Regardless of graphical fidelity.
Disappointed in current gen consoles. Corpos pushing games out before they are ready and without any option for higher frame rates is frustrating. 60fps is what felt next gen to me, I can’t see much change with ray tracing. I mean, we didn’t even really start to get current gen only games until the last several months either. Lame. Its all just lame.
Enjoyed the first one and completed it on Series X. I was looking forward to this but my (old!) eyes suffer at 30fps so really hope there is a performance mode option patched in later. Not completely convinced about the ultra-widescreen look either - don’t mind for cut scenes, but not for gameplay.
Sorry, but I'm not playing any game at 30 FPS in 2024. There is no amount of graphical fidelity that makes 30 FPS worth it. The "cinematic" argument is long debunked and tired. These days I'm almost exclusively gaming on PC because of this.
It will be all about the game play for me and also how much I get.
Take TOTK or Mario Odyssey, nothing really special graphically but they push the Switch hard.
But the gameplay is spot on and plenty of it.
I enjoyed the first, and look forward to this release.
It would be nice press for MS if this becomes a critical hit in the cinematic story telling arena, where God of War and Last of US tend to get all the attention. Although the preview comments about sword combat feeling hefty, etc. have me thinking combat will be improved.
If it doesn't hit for me, back to awaiting Avowed
@Tyrant_T103 It is just the reality of consoles. I've consistently built and upgraded PC for 30 years because as you can see, we are still waiting for consoles to hit and hold the 60-fps mark. Thirty FPS is simply inevitable on consoles.
In fact, PCs have blown so far passed it, 60-fps is a "something's wrong" warning. Console game libraries came to PC and PC still has their "exclusives" due to resource requirements and happenstance.
I plan to bounce between PC and Xbox when playing Hellblade 2, starting on Xbox to examine performance and use the larger display.
Enjoyed the first one, looking forward to this one.
Why do people complain so much. No one is ever happy. This game looks amazing and I will gladly play it at a lowly 30 FPS on the Series X.
A shame people are not only missing out on this but Dragon’s Dogma 2, which right now is my GoTY and is an amazing game, just due to frame rate. And this game isn’t nearly as fast paced as DD2. But to each their own.
@Tyrant_T103 Well don't buy a Console. They have 'limited' hardware and built to a budget to sell. If you want 60fps, invest in Hardware - a decent CPU will cost more than PS5/Series X.
Every 'new' generation of Console with games built to push that generation 'forward' have been 30fps. Its not until the 'next' gen arrives that the 'new' hardware can offer those old last gen games at 60fps due to significant Hardware upgrades. All the games that were built for and also 'release' on Last gen are 'releasing' on Current gen with the option of 60fps - but that's because they had to designed for Last gen hardware too...
Over the decades, the vast majority of Game of the Year contenders and winners have been 30fps on Console - and only '60fps' if they go a remaster or some 'update' post release for 'newer' hardware. Games like Uncharted, Assassins Creed, Hellblade, Skyrim, Fallout etc were 30fps on release or at least 30fps ONLY on Last gen hardware indicating they were 'built' to run on much weaker systems so enable 60fps on 'better' newer systems.
There maybe a LOT more 60fps games in general this gen - partly because so many releases are Cross-generational and partly because of many remasters and/or updates/patches etc on last gen games to enable '60fps' on New gen hardware.
Therefore, if you want to play Hellblade 2 at 60fps, you may need a PC to play at launch or 'wait' until MS release a NEW more powerful Console and update HB2 to run at 60fps on more powerful Hardware - just like Hellblade...
@awp69 I miss the "old days" when games just released and no one really knew what framerate a game was running - nor was it even reported by anyone.
I had no idea that Ocarina of Time ran at like 25fps or that Star Fox was like 15fps. I just played the game and was never bothered. Heck, I still don't care.
While I certainly love Digital Foundry analysis because I am fascinated about technology and how developers do what they do, but, at the same time, they kind of popularized performance metrics being a "thing".
Developers should just release games how they want to release them, offer no modes, and never report performance metrics and DF should just focus on the visual aspects and leave the framerate analysis out.
60fps is a design choice, not some "option" that gets shoe-horned in because..."60fps or bust".
Believe me, no one was saying "gosh this framerate is unbearable" back in those days (well, unless slowdown was atrocious to the point of unplayable). They talked about the content and fun-factor of the game instead.
I found the first pretty boring. I can see why people enjoyed it but I am a gameplay over narrative type of player and walking through pretty environments with the odd bit of basic combat and puzzling doesn’t do it for me. I will try it next time I’m subbed to GP, mainly to ogle the graphics but can’t see myself getting very far before getting bored.
I loved the first one, adored it even. Really looking forward to 2.
They are restricting the franchise with the direction they are going though it could’ve just been a movie at this point . We need a souls / assassin creed / god of ware type game because Xbox has 0 at this point !
Next-gen graphical showcase maybe.
@NostromoXP
So, when the first game came out and it was multi-platform "everyone" loved it. Now that the second game is xbox only "everyone" hated the first game. Funny that
Yes, pretty much. And they loved it even more while it had an exclusivity time with Sony😅....
@BAMozzy Thanks for the history lesson I didn't need lol. I've been PC gaming since around 1995 and I currently have a 7800X3D/4090 build so yes I'm aware of the cost of PC gaming. Still doesn't change the fact that these consoles could easily handle 60 FPS in the large majority of titles if they would scale back the visuals and optimize the games. There were games on the Nintendo 64 that ran at 60 FPS lol. The original Xbox had some that ran at 720p60. The problem today is that they have set the floor at 30 FPS because a lot of gamers are willing to accept it. They could very easily raise it to 60 FPS. IMO 60 FPS should be the bare minimum performance target before anything else is considered.
@GamingFan4Lyf No one complained that horses and buggies were slower than cars until cars came along lol. What was acceptable decades ago isn't acceptable now.
@Tyrant_T103 The thing is, there were a ton of games that ran at 60fps back then and there were games that ran at less. However, no one really could tell the difference because no one knew the actual framerate because no one was analyzing it. Slowdown was the only thing people noticed.
Once these things started to get reported on and analyzed, it suddenly became a "problem".
Now, I definitely support your argument that developers (and gamers) should lower expectations, but I don't think 60fps should be a mandate. I do think a locked framerate on a console should be a mandate.
However, developers should be able to make the game they want to make without reprisal whether they choose to make things more graphically dense at 30fps or choose 60fps+ at the cost of visual fidelity.
If the developer wants to have "Modes" in these games, the highest performing mode should be main target during development and any lower-performing modes are secondary.
Trying to push a 30fps development target up to 60fps sours the experience as it generally leads to terrible image quality and unstable performance.
@Tyrant_T103 Then you'd be aware that Graphics alone isn't the reason 'new' games can't do 60fps. Games like Goldeneye and Perfect Dark would often run at less than 20fps.
You want improved Physics, improved Enemy AI, improved and 'better' character models, facial animations etc, better Cloth/hair physics, better environments and detail, more realistic lighting/shadows/reflections etc etc - all of which wasn't possible on older gen hardware. If you want games that 'look' like they were made 30yrs ago, the same type of Character models as Goldeneye with 'texture wrapped' low polygon models instead of character models that look much more realistic in much more realistic looking environments with more realistic lighting, animations, physics, AI etc etc, then 60fps would be easy today.
I'd rather they pushed the limits on Consoles today, even if that means only 30fps on 'relatively' low cost and 'dated' Console hardware. These are next gens 60fps games - just like last gens 30fps games pushed last gen hardware beyond what the gen before could offer...
Like I said, Perfect Dark struggled on N64 and 30fps was extremely Rare (LOL) and maybe Mario 64 did deliver 60fps - but an N64 wouldn't play Skyrim at 30fps, let alone 60fps like a Series X can. Skyrim wasn't even a 'locked' 30fps on 360/PS3 and only got '60fps' when more powerful Consoles arrived...
30fps is the 'minimum' I expect on Console and often dumbed down graphically from what a '4090' can offer at 60fps with much higher RT for example - because its a 'budget' or 'entry hardware' tier for these type of games...
@GamingFan4Lyf I definitely noticed poor performance even back then. For example Starcraft on PC versus Starcraft on N64 we used to joke about how horrid the framerate was. I agree that developers are free to make what they want obviously, but the only reprisal they'll get from me if they're 30 FPS is that I won't purchase their games. Also, again I'll say that what was acceptable back then isn't acceptable today. It would be like going back to a 1990s PC today... sure it was fine back then, but it isn't fine today.
I played through A Plague Tale: Requiem at 30 FPS and it is one of my GOTY. I don't forsee 30FPS being an issue with HB2. I think the bottom line is that if you enjoyed the first Hellblade, then you are going to enjoy the second one. Cinematic experiences are not everyone's cup of tea, but it is mine, and I am greatly looking forward to it.
So does "Next Gen" mean the generation we've had for 3 years now, or is this the generation after that? Because I've not really seen much that's made this gen stand out as anything but the smallest increase over what we've had before.
@GamingFan4Lyf
Comparing older games and systems with todays is simply not comparing like with like. CRT's behave very differently from LCD, which is again different from OLED.
I can cope fine with 30fps on my main TV which is still an LCD, but in the same room I have a LG C1 OLED and I genuinely find it uncomfortable playing the same game on the OLED if it at 30fps.
Add to that the fact that different people have different sensitivities to this 'flicker' and its almost impossible to make blanket statements about comfortable FPS.
It's quite clear though, that the 'issue' is not simply one of people 'jumping on a bandwagon' (though there's many people that will), but it's very clear that different people, using different display technologies can have very different experiences without 'inventing them' as you seem to dismissively suggest.
As my main TV is an LCD where I'm happy enough to play 30fps, that's the least of this games issues for me. But I accept that for some people it's an issue, but its an issue they will have with lots of games...
@PhileasFragg I think we're past the times of huge generational leaps in the console market sadly.
30fps is now next-gen?
Boo 30fps. I don’t touch much at 30fps.
Sometimes 40fps through VRR at 120hz but that is way better than standard 30fps for some technical reason.
Some previews say the game is like the first one, so that’s me out anyway.
If so, this game could have been a massive type of in its own way god of war type game which if in very good AAA condition, could have got Xbox noticed. Instead after all the years in development it will be niche and disappear and have no impact on helping Xbox the brand.
Having said what I said though and now watching four video previews and listening to them.
This game will score very well.
I’m predicting 90 plus average.
Can’t wait for this game. Been patiently and patiently waiting… absolutely loved the first. With headphones on, it was an audio gaming experience unlike any I have ever had and this looks like it’s gonna up that ante in a significant way. The first was just a unique gaming experience through and through. I am expecting very good things from this.
I thought the first game was an annoying mess. Good to look at but just not fun. Average combat, dull puzzles and the voices in her head annoyed me more than anything. Thankfully it was only short so I got though it.
I’m only interested in the sequel because it looks graphically phenomenal and the combat does look improved. I’ll give it a chance at some point but I’m not expecting anything special.
@Sol4ris 🙄🥱 Doesn't that fanboy rationalizing get old?
I very much remember these exact same complaints around the 1st game.
60fps on PS5 Pro
Next Gen?
Several years into this generation and you still call it Next Gen?
6 months? 1 year before ps5 version possibly?
I thought the first one was boring trash imo the fact you can only walk really drove me insane, if this is more of the same I will put a restraining order so that it stays far away from me. Now if they actually make it into a fun game with fast action and running then I'm in!
@CallMeDuraSouka
Doesn't that fanboy rationalizing get old
Nope, there are enough fanboys sharing their opinions (on all things Xbox ) to make sure that rationalizing valid points is alive and well....apologies that this bores you( I'm sure we'll both live)😅
@KillerBoy 30 fps for ambitious new console titles is the norm across all console generations over the years. 60 fps is possible if developers drastically scale back their ambitions. Then console gamers would complain about the lack of “next” gen feel or look. Or console manufacturers can release high end bespoke hardware but that won’t work either because of costs that console gamers will complain about. Then will all the power console developers could be even more ambitious thus resulting in the same issue. So it is up to console game developers how they use the resources and what priorities they have for their titles. 30 fps isn’t a problem for most gamers throughout all generations if the game is good. Now for the DF YouTube crowd then sure it can be a problem.
@OldGamer999 ambitious titles for any current console generation are always a challenge. People only care so much about fps since most are accustomed to remasters over the past few years plus DF’s “analysis” (criticism) of titles which is very popular.
@Vaako007
I get what you mean for sure.
I just fancy running those games at a maximum potential on console, so fancy a big mid generation update to give us the power to do so.
30 fps will make this Not a next-gen title. They will lose millions in projected revenue. Dumb move.
@Vaako007 I rather take 60fps and lower resolution than 4k 30fps. Nice to have that option there. Wouldn’t it.
Once again, the promise of the series X is shown to be a lie. Fantastic graphics and 60fps. No, it's fantastic graphics OR 60 fps. The only games that seem to run at great frame rates naturally seem to be "pixel art" games (of which there are an annoying amount) or cartoony looking games (of which there are an annoying amount).
X box series X is NOT a next gen console. It's very clearly mid gen. By the time the next gen consoles come out, games will have moved ahead again. The argument is actually tedious now. It's a mid gen console. End of.
30FPS is one thing when games like Starfield and Dragon's Dogma 2 have some excuse, with CPU-draining stuff like complex open worlds full of objects with physics and lots of NPCs doing things... but a "next gen showcase" game where gameplay consists of fighting 1 enemy at a time and some puzzles? Really bad that a game like that is being released at 30FPS.
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