Hellblade 2 is a Pathetic Excuse for a "Game" | Hellblade 2 Review

[@GriffinGaming]

Help me out with a like if you can. This video’s comment section is probably gonna get heated lmao

[@acev3521]

Got you dw

[@1MinuteMan60]

Nah

[@danriver6363]

I love you, then hate you. But love you!😘

[@ryanmiller-nh4cl]

Yeah man, the Xbox fanboys are going to do damage control for this game.

[@Vulpas]

Paper Mario TTYD remaster, please make a video on it.

[@ddog4171]

It's like a launch title game with no substance but just to show off what the console can do....but it's 4 years too late.

[@GriffinGaming]

👍

[@highkeysaltyy]

You saying there's no substance is indicative of your lack of ability to delve into deeper thoughts and understand mental health struggles portrayed in this game.

[@ddog4171]

@@highkeysaltyywow that's abit of an assumption to make...trust me I'm more than capable to delve in mental health, have more than my fair share of experience on that front.all I was saying was they showed it in the advertisement for the series console and advertised it as look what this console can do and it came out 4 years later with questionable amount of content for the full price tag and alot of people underwhelmed or disappointed in it.which more is a example of how disappointing this console generation has been and kind of sums up the state of xbox at the moment.

[@NkosanaMakhubele]

​@@highkeysaltyy 😂😂😂

[@itzalion]

Why buy it when you can "play" it for free on KZbin?

[@hircine92h]

ikr $50 saved

[@yipperdeyip]

50 bucks may be a bit much, but there's definitely a place for games like these and having these goddamn Redditor mindset can and will lead to every publisher only releasing Ubisoft style, soulless, terribly written unfinished garbage just because that's what people buy.

[@stevecavalle]

😂

[@christianvondruska8244]

​@@yipperdeyip I'm sorry for wanting video games instead of interactive movies.

[@hadifelani]

FitGirl and DODI to the rescue

[@cookiecreep9204]

You know, when a game has less gameplay than Scorn, it's something special...

[@maddasher8471]

it doesn't even look as impressive as scorn

[@rogergapski540]

Scorn had awesome visuals, good puzzles and serviceable combat in my opinion. If it were like 3 or 4 times longer it would have been very good, but it's still way better than Hellblade 2

[@DylanZ1201]

Scorn had a very interesting premise and visuals, the story was morbid and awesome sci fi goodness. Hellblade 2 was just bad in every way.

[@MetalCharlo]

The part where Senua says IT'S WALKING TIME and proceeds to walk for 5 hours was majestic.

[@hircine92h]

LMAO XD Same as the first game. This "series" is a joke

[@MetalCharlo]

@@hircine92h I tried really hard to enjoy the first because of the hype back then but never could.

[@hircine92h]

​@@MetalCharlo enjoy what exactly.. it was walking simulator with stupid puzzles that did not make any sense.

[@Haiden1111]

i thought this was a gaming channel not movie reviews

[@GriffinGaming]

Bidenomics got me branching out

[@GodsDevastation]

@@GriffinGamingwhat bro? 😂

[@CharlesVanexX]

Lmao😂😂😂​@@GriffinGaming

[@cwidd1929]

@@GriffinGaming wow, didn't even have to look that far

[@tarheelpro87]

@@GriffinGaminglmao

[@babayaga4320]

Hellblade was received well, because it was so unique, there's just nothing like that experience, the extremely short game length, and very average combat was overlooked, because of the story, and atmosphere. Seven years later, we're already had that experience, so Hellblade 2 needed to be a full length game. This game should have been at least 10-12 hours long, and should have improved greatly on the first, in many areas, especially the combat. Instead, they put out an even shorter game, the story isn't nearly as good, and the combat actually devolved somehow.

[@balthazor44]

That and the mental health aspect. I made the mistake of getting the first one, in part because it had 7 trillion 5 star reviews. Several hours into it and I was about ready.to slip into a coma. I could not understand how anyone could consider it a 5 star game. So I went back and took a closer look at those 7 trillion 5 star reviews, and one after the other after the other, the only damn thing these reviews mentioned was the mental health aspect. Like automatic 5 star review because the game deals with an issue they found important. That POS was the worst game I've ever played, and I've played Atari E.T. I would rather set $50 on fire than spend it on this turd.

[@mikeity2009]

Was hellblade unique though? It's slow walking for 5 hours. It's a glorified movie.

[@Seraphina_FF14]

@@balthazor44 7 trillion 5 star reviews? Check metacritic user reviews (both games already have around the same review numbers). There, Hellblade 1 has a 7.8 on PS4, while Hellblade 2 has a 7.5. And I would say that Part 1 is slightly better and also benefited from the fact that it was a new concept. Meaning, that the game didn't really get more praise on PS4. The critic score is also the same for Hellblade 1 and 2 = 8.1. So the narrative that this is a typical Sony game that Playstation gamers would enjoy (because cinematic gaming experiences are often well rated there) doesn't hold up. It also needs good gameplay to score higher (in most cases at least).

[@StrunDoNhor]

Hellblade 1 walked so Norse God of War could run. They're basically the same game, down to the over-the-shoulder camera & the "NPC yells at you to warn you of incoming attacks" gimmick. Fast-forward to the present day, though, and Hellblade 2 is still bloody walking.

[@eloverlord96]

​@@StrunDoNhor Hellblade has almost nothing related to and almost no comparison with God of War, apart from the things you mentioned (that doesn't make it the same game lol) and that both games are about nordic culture (in a very different way), comparisons end there Basically the same game¿? Dude, GoW has far more gameplay, length, exploration and mechanics, idk what you smoked but "Hellblade 1 walked so Norse God of War could run" is totally wrong

[@AshCosgrove]

For every hour that you play this game, it took 1 year of development. Jesus.

[@Discombobulate453]

COVID hit in the middle of development

[@Ghost101]

@@Discombobulate453 And...? This game would have had the same results as the first game regardless of Covid or not.

[@ArielCleirigh]

To think Until down having more gameplay combat than hellblade 2, Lol.

[@arpadszabo661]

@@Discombobulate453 That can be said about a lot of great games that came out since. It’s not an excuse for a $50 AAA interactive 5 hour long movie (just look up a full playthrough and randomly click around in the video and there is a 90% chance that you won’t see anything else other than ingame walking or cinematics)

[@reinsmano]

@@Discombobulate453 Rebirth was developed during Covid too and it’s a lot more than 5 hours lol

[@Super_AC1]

WTF were they doing for 7 years? Game's so short you'd expect it to have been made in just a year

[@liamflan9553]

It’s a small team of 60-70 people

[@majorspoiler]

@@liamflan9553 "Small"... 🤭Manor Lords is made by a team of what...? One?

[@neilranson4185]

That not how modern high fidelity game creation works. Takes years to bring this amount of polish and detail unfortunately

[@bmdzcarlos130]

They started dev in late 2020

[@Nightmitten]

development didn't start until 2020, and with that you have to think of the pandemic

[@ericascencio9507]

7 YEARS for 5 hours , let that sink in…

[@BoleDaPole]

There's no way this game recoups it's development cost let alone a profit large enough to justify a 3rd game.

[@ChoKeller]

@@BoleDaPoleGoing 3rd is the only way it’ll recoup a fraction of the sunken development cost.

[@davidpelaez7176]

I'm 1 hour in and I feel like it's been 8 hours already, this shit so slow and boring

[@martykeno5613]

Wow great point

[@Alex-bw3jj]

They went from DmC to this..

[@KABLAMMATS]

"Lets talk about the positive first" "I fuccin hate the black bar" 😂😂😂

[@sukamadik5983]

NGL the part were Griffin walked forward really hit me in the feels, I almost shed a tear as I gave a round of applause. Then out of nowhere the unthinkable happened, Griffin actually walked forward yet again and at that point I bursted into tears of joy. This wasn't just an amazing game, it was an amazing experience. I know Griffin is a changed man after this playthrough.

[@XTheManX]

This is so beautiful 🥲

[@karatachi69]

10/10 would walk again!

[@Chan-md2hb]

@@karatachi69 which direction tho?

[@nader91]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 this is exactly how i imagine all those hellblade apologists when playing the game

[@DioBrando-qr6ye]

​@@Chan-md2hbforward, always forward.

[@SizzLor1336]

Wait WTF the reward for completing the game is narrator voices?!? HAHAHA

[@Ryuken27]

😂😂

[@claritymovies]

Damn I would love that😂

[@1MinuteMan60]

The only positive about this game is that Griffin is up $500

[@anshukandulna1844]

It all started with FBI suggestion

[@Dregomz02]

He would need to spend way more to heal his mind.

[@kagekun7689]

They should be a shamed as a matter of fact. Ant no fucking why I'm spending 500 on a random person...

[@MisterModder123]

​@@kagekun7689 right!? I don't get it

[@alastor8091]

Cringe as fuck donating to streamers.

[@thomaslanders2073]

Hellblade 2 is not really a game because there is not much gameplay. Most of the the game is on rails. It's more of an interactive movie or tech demonstration of UE5.

[@firexallst4rz277]

It shouldn't have been released to the public it's terrible.

[@Mr_Mistah]

Sure but The Matrix UE5 tech demo was completely free on Playstation 5. This game is $50 dollars

[@e4gl17]

​@@firexallst4rz277 it's free with Game Pass

[@x-Bsyde-x]

Unreal engine 5 sucks

[@Mr_Mistah]

@@x-Bsyde-x Wrong. It's one of the best game engines alongside Unity Engine and RE:Engine.

[@wolfofiowa1244]

Most prolific haters: 1: Kendrick 2: Griffin whenever Hellblade gets brought up

[@THEFISTOFTHESTONEDSTAR420]

Dude rap is dead

[@khalidamajoud4114]

Hellblade did not need a sequel, at all. This somehow cheapens it. It adds nothing to Senua's arc, while reducing player's agency...MS supported it because they needed a visual stunner, which it is...but a good game, it is not. This having gotten a 80+ score is ridiculous...

[@ukaszpazera5951]

Journos love it cuz they don't need to actually play it. And it's over in an afternoon so they have all the time in the world to think about how to inject their social politics into their "reviews".

[@randybobandy9828]

This is the exact game journos love

[@abear2874]

waaahhhh waaaaaah games require me to use my brain cells

[@mikeity2009]

@@abear2874 Ah yes such braincell usage, holding the left stick forward for 5 hours. Riveting. What a revelation.

[@mr.harmuzad4201]

@@abear2874 This game murders my brain cells more like.

[@got.a.raging.clue.]

There's also an option in accessibility were the game literally plays itself for you

[@Baerchenization]

I guess that's nice when there is nothing on TV...

[@LiberatedMind1]

@@Baerchenization I'd rather watch Rosie O'Donnell

[@whoishim2998]

Ehh deleted already…at most I’ll watch on KZbin but probably not😅

[@travisgeorge1553]

Gaming journalist's mode?

[@Dogboydadon]

You gotta be joking right?

[@h0nkey4life06]

Why did they even make this as a video game? Why not just make a movie?

[@ericwalker6477]

To show off UE5

[@tayyarsungur4513]

​@ericwalker6477 we already had that with matrix

[@AshCosgrove]

Because it'd be laughed out of theaters. Most game stories are good "for a video game." They're typically trash "for a movie."

[@whoishim2998]

@@AshCosgroveTrue but I’d imagine it’d have a more developed story with investing in writers and story boards ….

@@ericwalker6477 You can make movies with UE dude.

[@aaronz4307]

Well good thing it’s only 5 hours long imagine walking for 50 hours in a game lmao

[@Deadeye012011]

Glorified tech demo.

[@MillywiggZ]

So was ‘Half-Life 2’, but they remember to make a game in their game hahaa!

[@TwoHandedChargedBonk]

It's not just an interactive movie, it's a *bad* interactive movie. It would have bombed as a movie, it will bomb as a videogame.

[@Alex-bw3jj]

They went from DmC to this...

[@Qballiz2kool]

Really puts into perspective just how good of a game DmC was……damn.

[@RichardPhillips1066]

I seriously doubt a single person from dmc is left

[@Ralphunreal]

dmc was terrible

[@justareligiouszealot]

@@Ralphunrealleast intelligent bait

[@JosephSiket]

​@@RalphunrealHow so? A terrible game is buggy, sluggish, non responsive and in some cases fundamentally broken. Neither of these could ever be said about DmC.

[@LCTOAN]

This feels like a game that should have been released same time Series X came out.. to showcase the upgraded details games could have.. yet, years later and zero gameplay.. this was not it.

[@Hunyeter]

If you would’ve told me 10 years ago this is the type of stuff Xbox would be releasing, I wouldn’t have believed you. How the mighty have fallen.

[@karatachi69]

Why wait to wonder? There is Xbox fanboys TODAY that still don't believe how bad gaming has become. They just shut brain off, and consume product. Keep an eye out, they in the comment section of most videos that criticize their console.

[@cristianacosta5478]

This is exactly what 1st party ps5 games are.. everyone hates on it because it's only on xbox.

[@gv2212]

Come on man even gow ragnarok got a gameplay focused dlc.​@@cristianacosta5478

[@ewjiml]

@@cristianacosta5478please don’t act like Xbox has PS5 exclusives like Ratchet And Clank, Returnal, Last of Us, God of War, etc. because it doesnt.

[@jdcp8976]

10 years ago it was 2014... I think you would have believed it lol.

[@bennetbanda-i2j]

Gamers wanted graphics well you got your graphics and sacrificed gameplay, you voted and bought AAA big bad games letting studios think that's what you want, so here we are now simulation cinematic bad games every year.

[@oukeith]

It's not a game it's an "Experience".

[@j0nnyism]

There’s nothing wrong with that if it’s a great one

[@GM-xk1nw]

Elden ring is an experience and it's only 20 dollars and 130 hours more

[@ivanz91]

​@@GM-xk1nwthen play elden ring

[@bass7100]

​@GM-xk1nw Not everyone is From Software genius.

[@stairwaytoinfinityandbeyon293]

Hades is an experience and its only 15 dollers and 80 hours more.

[@1stclassdork578]

The gaming equivalent of an arthouse film, because very few people will honestly enjoy playing this "game". Pretty graphics with little substance and a abrupt ending. It really feels like just the graphics was the focus for them in those 7 years

[@acev3521]

1,49% completion rate for a 5 hour game? No way lmao. Also if you put black bars in gameplay you should be never allowed to ever work on a game ever again.

[@got.a.raging.clue.]

They work with death stranding a treat in wide aspect ratio mode but I get ya

[@Dregomz02]

98.51% of people died out of boredom after first hour

[@mikeleiliev7563]

The black bars are an optimization for rendering less of the scene - giving about 20% performance on top to get to 30fps on consoles.

[@Luis-rp2lm]

The evil within had those black bars but they updated it to have the option to remove them

[@MrFox101]

​@got.a.raging.clue. They must be an option in Death Stranding because I don't remember the game having them?

[@Haterator]

Can we give the visuals really that much praise if it's basically a game "on rails", meaning there's basically almost no RNG, most of the "gameplay" is pre-rendered. There's no way they could do a "real" game with "real" gameplay, such as a sandbox game, or a RPG with that level of high fidelity graphics.

[@GriffinGaming]

Yeah pretty much like a racing game. It’s more surprising if it doesn’t look amazing

[@SammEater]

I say it is even worse than a racing game. In a racing game you actually have a challenge and you can ruin the race by going backwards and hitting the other cars. Even an arcade style racing game like those generic Fast and Furious machines gives more player freedom than this.

[@kostastube2010]

What about Red Dead Redemption 2?

[@SammEater]

@@kostastube2010 It suffers from almost the same things, only being saved by the immersive open world. The fact you can have more fun playing the game outside of the mainstory missions is proof that the Rockstar model of missions is dated already.

[@Luis-rp2lm]

It’s the reason indie horror games can have amazing graphics. Because not much dynamic actions happen.

[@MarkYeeDaMajor]

Hellblade 1 $30 about 8 hrs. Hellblade 2 $50 about 6 1/2 hrs. Major problem.

[@arianoooamari6949]

it’s 5 hours and 20 mins

[@Uknown76]

Its 5 hours dawg even worse

[@yewtewbstew547]

tbh I don't mind so much if full priced games are short assuming they're actually good games. A couple recent(ish) examples of games that clock in at a similar length are things like Resident Evil 2 Remake and Metroid Dread, but the difference with those is their gameplay is good enough that you'll likely want to revisit them again and again. Most people will play Hellblade once, uninstall it, and then forget it ever existed, because it just isn't interesting to play.

[@arianoooamari6949]

@@yewtewbstew547 I wish you guys had said that when complaining about Spider-Man 2 story length. 😕

[@MarkYeeDaMajor]

@@yewtewbstew547 u just named 2 PERFECT examples because I have finished both games at least 4/5 times each.

[@adam-v7w-w9i]

I figured you meant the cutscenes have black bars, which is annoying enough, but the longer the footage went on, I realized even the gameplay has black bars. Unbelievable. There's a reason IMAX is such a hit these days; it's immersive. It has the potential to make people feel like they're almost falling into the frame. That's what you want in an immersive game. There's a reason why I played the first game standing in front of my giant movie projector - I felt like I could get lost in that world, and it felt appropriate given how immersive the sound design was with all the voices and sounds going on all around you. Great review.

[@jediknightgaming5109]

The positives of this game is that you only have to suffer through five hours of it

[@x-shift8937]

Imagine paying money to suffer…

[@nighthawkviper6791]

Nah, it takes longer if you don't use guides, 'cause you'll be looking back and forth at each dayum rock looking for the faces. LOL It was so aggravating.

[@nighthawkviper6791]

The ending was so aggravating as you literally just walk for an hour, then have to deal with woke schizoid daydreaming in the middle of the final boss fight, so our Bjork character gets killed by his dad cliche. It just fkn sucked on almost all accounts. Wouldn't have made a good movie either.

[@DetectivePikachu37347]

Ninja Theory 6 years to made a 5 hour game while Tango and Arkane multiple games within that time but Microsoft shut them down?

[@randybobandy9828]

It all depends on cost.

[@Uknown76]

Unpopular opinion hellblade 2 could very easily have been a good movie instead of game

[@luvstagrind]

It legit felt like a netflix show I spent 5-6 hours binge watching

[@StarContract]

7 years of development for a 5 hour cringe movie is just not sustainable. It's over for Ninja Theory

[@danb4900]

Microsoft culling loser studios left and right, not even sure if you can blame them for it

[@matthewniederberger9367]

Kojima wanted to make movies but still manages to make engaging gameplay. Ppl say what that want about MGS games but at least you can skip cutscenes then are put right into the game.

[@ashleythomas4112]

Kojima also managed to put some multiplayer modes in later MGS games too, which is just gameplay.

[@CainDB]

Except Death Stranding, which is both a poor extremely boring and pointless game with sudo-intelectualism put basicaly everywhere and piss poor movie that genuinely thinks it's smart and deep but doesn't realise it's as smart as 11 year old boy and as deep as a puddle of piss left by some dog

[@ashleythomas4112]

@@CainDB Real facts, that game was absolute garbage.

[@OGplushvideos]

the schizophrenic voices in her head is enough to drive someone to insanity when playing this 'game'

[@RJN9008]

That’s the point

[@Tysonhollingsworth2008]

@@RJN9008🥺it’s not garbage its a feature pweass feed me more garbage

[@ewjiml]

@@RJN9008So the point is for me not to buy the game?

[@Darkness1984]

​@@Tysonhollingsworth2008Bet you love death stranding 😂

[@chino436]

​@@Darkness1984he was joking it's obvious

[@AdonanS]

I didn't even know this game released until today. Well, maybe they'll make a profit since their lack of marketing would have saved some money.

[@unimusha77]

I cannot beleive that these losers paid him $500 to play hahahah wow our society is truly doomed!

[@EmperorOT436]

7 years for 1 walking sim that's worse from the original "game". Close down Ninja Theory next

[@Gruntvc]

I agree. They should be closed down. Instead, Microsoft shuts down Tango Games. A tragedy...

[@iluvmusicqwe]

Only pretentious critics would be outraged this time.

[@bass7100]

What a gay comment.

[@Alonnnn]

You? It's a idiot? It wasn't 7 years fanboy Maximum 3 to 4 years in 2019 the ninja theory itself said they hadn't even started the game

[@hircine92h]

yep. This "series" is a big fcking joke.

[@goldy_on_pc930]

These gaming companies need to realise if I want to watch a movie I’d go to the cinema

[@TheAbandonedAccount7]

Who goes to the movies anymore? Rather stream my movies on the internet from the comfort of my own home

[@s4juno693]

Tell that to Sony

[@ArthurTactical]

People came into this game with the wrong expectation. If you were expecting something different than the first game that's on you. Yes, this is an improvement on the first game in every aspect, it has a great combat, tells a good story, and we finally have a game that shows the true potential of the Unreal 5. If you did not like the game, that's fine, but people telling that it's a bad game because their expectation was not achieved, well that's on them.

[@GriffinGaming]

Don’t ask questions, consume the slop

[@ISGAMINGFORNERDS]

This game is horrible not our fault you like movie slop

[@ArthurTactical]

@@ISGAMINGFORNERDS 👍

[@diegeticfridge9167]

So this is the type of game people think God of war is

[@s4juno693]

Kinda with more action amd gameplay.

[@CainDB]

Because GoW 2018 and Ragnarok is almost like this, compared to literaly any other entry in the series they are pathetic in terms of gameplay and even music

[@trentinlamar2026]

This game makes foam stars look fun

[@ferenc-x7p]

I wrote this to another reviewerer: Just for the record, there has been a couple of games like this in the past, we can go back to early 00's or even the 90s. Some "games" are nothing more than a graphics-galore for a couple of hours with very little gameplay. It's usually done when a small company trying to sell itself (or sell something) by showing off what they can do. It's like having a concept of a supercar, but of course the car never really for sale and never finished and never intended to be more than tech demo. You can still buy the mockup version of it if you feel like. Hellblade II is just that.

[@Shadowl]

This is a "game" made by people that have never played a game. That's the best I can think of to describe this "game".

[@KUAMA]

pretty sure Ninja Theory have played games before, and have made games that are “games” before. weird comment

[@danb4900]

Doesnt mean anything if the creative lead and directors are a bunch of soys ​@@KUAMA

[@Jinsei24]

Tango Gameworks gets shut down while this studio is still open... xd

[@blastradius9136]

Yeah it's really upside down lol

[@saxoncook]

Company went to shit after Shinji Mikami left honestly. I love the first Evil Within but everything else they made was garbage. I agree they've never made anything as bad as Hellblade 2 at least.

[@armorking481]

​@@saxoncookhifi rush was amazing. What ya talking bout

[@saxoncook]

@@armorking481 It's fine I guess. I'm disappointed they didn't make another Evil Within.

[@armorking481]

@@saxoncook evil within 2 was also pretty good. Wasnt it?

[@autoscopy]

Played on an oled tv and a good headset. Absolutely eye candy. It was enjoyable for the $8 I payed for gamepass to play it and now cancelling.

[@Calawey]

Western AAA “games” are screwed. Cinematic bullshit is the death of gaming.

[@frankthetank6364]

Too many game developers are wannabe film directors without combat and actual gameplay it’s just a narcissistic show for developers to say look at me I don’t care how it looks if there ain’t no gameplay

[@ShadowEvil345]

How Ninja Theory is still open after this is beyond me. 7 years for 5 hours of walking.

[@Dregomz02]

Don't worry xbox going to shut them down next month.

[@Fallanshadow]

Insert Phil Spencer meme(GAMING)

[@Darkness1984]

Bet you love death stranding.

[@m4nt1c0r3s]

first Spencer will say how Ninja Theory has their full support, but give it 6 months and they will announce their "restructuring" into a non existing studio.

[@CMONCMON007]

Satya Nadella will be like...7 years of money we funded for this...where's the return Phil? Ninja Theory says we want to make Hellblade 3....Nadella will be like nope... not another 7 years. Shut it down

[@Bcd31997]

The fact you can beat this game four times in one day really shows just how stupid current gaming is, i dont play games to watch them i play them to play

[@jtglegend989]

G4G GAMES FOR GAMEPLAY

[@SammEater]

You can finish Sonic 1 in half a hour, but even that game is better because each playthrough you can try going faster, trying to get the optimal route to finish the game faster than last time, giving you a different experience, something a walking simulator can never do.

[@david328ci]

That's what they mean by "Games for everyone". Press 'F' to pay respect.

[@MrFox101]

​@SammEater But you can't and won't finish it in 30 mins the first time you play. It takes a lot of practice before anyone can do a speed run. As a kid, it took me months to finally beat Sonic. It took me one boring session to beat Hellblade 2.

[@SammEater]

@@MrFox101 True.

[@erikdandurand3124]

I disagree that gameplay is the main thing for every game and every gamer. It’s good to call out though when it’s not there. I haven’t watched it but the lack of a compelling story according to the reviewer concerns me more for the title

[@2BachShakur]

The inability to disable motion blur is what did it for me.

[@rijusnar1994]

Went to see a xbox fan channel and one of the top comment was : "Hellblade 2 is the best Xbox exclusive and its miles better than any of PS exclusives " words by words 😂 They are purely delusionnal

[@ZephrusPrime]

When I went to school for a degree in Game Design, the number one fact that got drilled over and over is "Game play is King". No matter how good the visuals or the idea, if the player gets bored then there is no good game play.

[@MikeWazowski-zj4yg]

I never understood the appeal of this game. This push for movie "games" is really negatively impacting gaming as a whole and the people spending $50+ for admission to watch these "games" has got to be the biggest fools there are.

[@MatPat832]

Movie games are fine as long as it’s not actually just a movie like this game. Gow, spider man, last of us and uncharted are all movie games. But they are done welll unlike this crap.

[@SENATORPAIN1]

Why did you spend 50 dollars? It’s on gamepass.

[@MatPat832]

@@SENATORPAIN1 he didn’t spend 50 dollars bro read the comment.

[@kellanaldous7092]

Idk, I thought it was pretty cool for a one-time playthrough. If I had to buy it, I'd be disappointed, but since its on gamepass, it's well worth checking out if you go in expecting more of a story than a game. And the game is jaw-droppingly gorgeous, which is why I wanted to try it to begin with.

[@Youraveragegamer_97]

Its sad when telltales the walking dead has more reasons to play vs watching it over hellblade 2, at least that game had dialogue options

[@JethrosFriedChickenEmporium]

I had to record Griffin playing this garbage so I feel for him

[@iSylar18]

Lmao you actually went through with that!?

[@GetYourDailyFix]

You guys know there are options in game play menu for self-play movement, and combat 😂 means the game will play itself💀

[@AlanTheBest97]

Well, I'm glad the game exists and I accept and enjoy it for what it is. It is a fun and imersive ride. Some of the decisions the devs made were real stinkers like the always 1v1 thing but the cinematic direction was bold and something fresh. The game is a spectacle. I hope that a sequel keeps this cinematic direction on the presentation but introduces more gameplay deapth.

[@billclay2701]

making games for digital foundry ain't the way to go.

[@Doggystyledaydream]

I really liked this game but I can admit it was pretty repetitive at points and I feel like it had a little too much filler. Which isn’t a good thing in a game that’s 5 hours long. It’s amazing score, premise, graphics, and gameplay can’t save it from some of that.

[@kpsk8031]

Now I understand why Microsoft didn't promote this thing at all. It's unmarketable and a trainwreck as a game.

[@DylanZ1201]

Yes the developers thought it was a good idea to add black bars and forced ugly post processing settings like film grain, depth of field, chromatic aberration, etc to the game. It makes the game look awful and blurry. Luckily you can disable all that crap on PC by messing with an ini file but I feel sorry for console players that had to play the game like that, or PC players that didn’t know you could disable it.

[@mushroomcrepes]

only 13% of players finished the game...

[@POPMaxsterGod]

You lost me at "hated the first one" Anyone who hates the first hellblade is a no brain bot. First hellblade is a work of art and while not perfect, the story, atmosphere and overall experience make up for the lackluster gameplay.

[@ashtonjackfanny]

True trash graphically the most empty game world of all time

[@eastsiderage5532]

I don't often agree with your reviews, but you're spot on this time. This game is like you're heading down a one-way street where a cop is directing traffic and you're not driving. Way too much hand holding and it's way too scripted.

[@Augury666]

This ''game'' is such a movie, you have to play it at the theater

[@skbproject5589]

This game reminded me of the Pirates of the Caribbean: At worlds End™ videogame from 2007. The dueling system and how it transitions from duel to duel in single combat is extremely similar, even then enemies look similar, it's uncanny that game is almost 20 years old.

[@mikeg5039]

You can put lipstick on a pig it still doesnt make it fun to pork

[@karatachi69]

Tell that to a furry! LMAO! But seriously, this slop game isn't worth the entry fee.

[@whoishim2998]

@@karatachi69Should’ve been something to come out with the Xbox like the ultimate tech demo

[@kagenotatsumaki]

Every time Xbox fanboys say "Sony's games are all walking simulators" throw this game in their face lol

[@pittsbillarious]

That’s only one game. That’s all of Sonys games.

[@rijusnar1994]

​@@pittsbillarious actually no Days gone, spiderman, horizon, Ghost of tsushima : Open World TLOU games : more than boring walking simulator and have actual great gameplay Ratchet and Clank rift apart : platformer Demon souls , Bloodborne : souls like Returnal : rogue like GoW : hack n slash beat em all semi Open Thé only game i Can think off who IS like Hellblade IS that trash game called the order 1886 😂 . Short and scripted for the most part with generic tps shooter .

[@b1thearchitect401]

@@pittsbillarious All of Sony's games that people call "walking sims' aren't at all walking sims by definition. They all have legitimate, fully featured gameplay systems and depth/ replayability. This is just salty jargon that weirdo fanboys throw around cause they don't have a PS

[@MiguelRodriguez-lp9et]

​@@b1thearchitect401Actually they been saying this since the PS3/360 generation, they think Sony hasn't evolved at all.

[@xRazorWirex]

Imagine showing a demo for your tech 4 years after your console launches lol

[@RazgovorIsDialog]

Like i said before, a game that takes agency and control away from the player, in order to throw a prolonged, bland, uninspired, unskippable cutscene in your face, does not deserve the game part in the word "videogame". Neither do walking sims, where you press forward on your controller for prolonged periods of time. This game is a glorified UE5 tech demo with absolute focus on being a walking sim with immaculate audio. But it does so at the expense of gameplay with bland, aimless puzzles and one dimensional combat which somehow manages to be worse than that of the previous game. And it's 50 dollars for a 5 hour game with an 90/10 split of cutscene/"game"play

[@blastradius9136]

Man when did "Game designers" forget how to design a game or make a game? Man the games industry is looking very bleak.

[@uros.u.novakovic]

I loved the first game very very much. One of my all time favorites. This one however? Such a bore. EDIT: 20 hits to kill a single enemy is just not true. Most of them (all?) die in 3 to 4 hits. Certain enemies require you to use the Focus ability on your mirror in order to kill them, otherwise I guess they can take ~20 hits to kill, but I never tried to hit hem for so long. Regardless, the combat is still dull, but not THAT dull as you said. 20 hits per enemy is not correct. I also find it funny how the puzzles in this game are braindead easy, but every time you solve one the voices in your head treat you like you are the smartest person in the world hahahaha. It was so cringe to get so much praise for simply walking forward and pressing the interact button.

[@TurtleChad1]

Xbox shouldn't even call it's video game company anymore. This is pathetic.

[@Gruntvc]

The Xbox that made Xbox 360 awesome is truly dead.

[@iluvmusicqwe]

@@GruntvcThat was more a fluke and Playstation screwing up more than Xbox doing well

[@OwtDaftUK]

To be honest I think a livestream playthrough is a terrable basis for a review. I have watched people livestream games before and they chat over the story, they get lost or confused on easy puzzles because they are distracted by the chat and the chat also elivates bordem if the game sucks.

[@blowmonkey51]

I have the equal hatred for walking simulators and interactive movies. This is gonna be a big PepeLaugh.

[@tarusbriggs7415]

I downloaded the game and then Uninstalled it the same day.. Its basically more of a movie than a game if im being honest🤷‍♂️... And the little action you do get, which is far and in-between, is totally lack luster🙄.. The gameplay mechanics isnt on par with the graphic fidelity.. I felt as though I was playing a 2010 title😑

[@The_Claymores]

3/10 is a fair score for a pretentious movie pretending to be a game

[@joey.renaud]

I don't have Xbox (i heard its on steam, too, but I don't have that). To me, this series is like an interactive movie. And a movie has to start and run to its end, rewinding will only repeat what you've seen. I played this game to enjoy the visuals and eat up the story as it unfolds. I feel bad that you were expecting random npcs to spawn at random moments. It's a roller coaster ride. You watch people go on the ride while you're waiting in line. You know what's going to happen. And you still get a slight exhilarating feeling while on the ride. After, you're just like....cool.

[@trentinlamar2026]

Where is Sebastian Cooper now I thought the game was going to be good

[@rmwilliams8193]

I tried to play this game but my controller kept dying cause I was falling asleep

[@TheRogBG]

Glad my man didnt say Final fantasy 16. That game was trash

[@nighthawkviper6791]

The Quarry and Until Dawn is how you do these types of games. Otherwise, we'd have loved a Plagues Tale Requiem gameplay for this Sequel and everyone was expecting that with the commercials showing her rallying an army while chanting thrum music. LOL I tried playing this inebriated and sober, it sucked no matter what I tried. Then after you get all the collectibles, you got another hour of walking straight to the final boss, which too was underwhelming.

[@whiskeysour1179]

Journos love this stuff because they CANNOT HELP self-reporting as nutcases.

[@karatachi69]

I expect they'll report how they "feel" as opposed to what playing the game was actually like.

[@MegaR3DD3VIL]

A KEY thing that many forget or seem to have forgotten. WHY DID HELLBLADE2 TAKE SO LONG TO RELEASE? If you remember correctly, when hellblade2 was announced UNREAL5 had not yet been released, only after the announcement of UNREAL5 was NINJATHEORY announced that they would move from UNREAL4 to UNREAL5, so when they say that in all those years they did little, in reality you have to count NOT from the date of the announcement of HELLBLADE2 but from the release and release to the developers of UNREAL5

[@externalsubway]

I liked it. It looks awesome, the story is quite interesting. This game is definitely not for everyone. It's more like a cinematic walking simulator and I just love it. Very meditative experience.

[@FlamespeedyAMV]

I am SICK of boring cinematic movie games

[@mhmtakeyatime9000]

You dont get it, you're all just big babies. This is a MATURE GAME for BIG BOYS! Walking around for 5 hours is much more mature for gaming! True adult media is just looking at it, interacting and immersion is for babies.

[@maxmikester8185]

We need to outlaw Contractors for these studios. This is why Microsoft is the way they are, refusing to pay employees and still expecting games like Hi Fi rush after dumping Tango in the trash for making it.

[@demus89]

The first game was a masterpiece. It was enough we didn't need a sequel. As much as i respect ninja theory for making it i dont think it had the same level of gravity in the story.

[@extra_cheesy]

Xslop coming in with their bangers as usual dood

[@skbproject5589]

The graphics weren't really every impressive, the first game did it much better.

[@Zentrixu]

50 Bucks for 5 hours of 80% Cutscences, 15% walking and 5% combat 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂