Hellblade 2: Senua's Saga Critique - A Giant Misstep

[@MontyZander]

Thanks again to Factor75 for sponsoring today's video. Use my link to get 50% off and free shipping on your first Factor box! strms.net/factor75_monty_zander

[@grifini27]

Is this America only? I assumed with you being Scottish it would be a UK deal...

[@fionastirling986]

It would have been so cool if the Vikings started out looking like their monstrous forms from the first game (even Senua’s companions) but slowly over time as she gets to know them they become more human

[@neilcognito]

How would that makes sense? She's knows what they look like?

[@paulas.5852]

And maybe at the very end Godi would start looking human but slowly warp into a monster as she realizes there really isn't anything redeeming about him. Sometimes the monster is just a monster. Though I suppose that would be in conflict with some of the themes and Godi's characterization as kind of pathetic. Not sure, just an idea.

[@animelytical8354]

​@@neilcognito it's not about knowing what they are supposed to look like. Just how they appear to her

[@TaramiBedona]

In my opinion, another thing the sequel seems to overlook or misunderstand about the first game is that Senua's quest was deeply personal. She journeyed to hell (almost literally) and back to save the love of her life. That is to say, one can't just replace what she experienced on that journey with generic ghosts and goblins, no matter how archaically you name them. They are not her demons, she doesn't relate to them and she wouldn't hallucinate an elaborate plot about how she fights them. The fantasy of her experience in the first game had built up over decades; it was a culmination of her abuse, guilt and grief cast into the shape of Druth's stories. Also, attempting to frame Senua as a conventional hero sits poorly with me. Her heroism lay not in her deeds, but in her willingness to undertake them. Making her some kind of moral compass to serve an anachronistic point about the ethics of slavery is some really hacky writing. Senua is a hero only to the players, not to the people in the world she inhabits. To them she's just insane, with a side of cursed.

[@testtube173]

You have a great way with words and a fantastic understanding of Senua's dynamic struggle with mental health. I agree with everything you brought up but want to add that we the player see all that Senua struggled through but the people around her did not. She would just be a crazy person to them and least of all a leader to follow for change.

[@TaramiBedona]

​@@testtube173 Yes, agreed. This is a larger problem with the way the story wants to draw thematic parallels between the goði and Senua. The goði may be a poor leader (or at least a cruel one - he may be a very effective administrator for all we know) but his shortcomings are different from Senua's. Good leaders are reliable and level-headed and Senua is one of the least reliable people imaginable. Senua would also be a disaster as a leader, just another kind of disaster. You are not a competent leader merely because you're not sacrificing people in droves - this is, frankly, a childish view of a role that often means choosing between evils. What Senua needs psychologically is tolerance and stability, not power and responsibility. (And thanks - I try 😊)

[@paulas.5852]

While I agree with some of your points, there is nothing anachronistic about opposition to slavery. There have always been those who sided with hegemonic oppression, and those who stood against it. There are plenty today who support an apartheid state and their systematic gnc of a people. Morality hasn't changed nearly as much as you'd like to believe.

[@ianmurphy7460]

This one hurt. Hellblade was the first time in my entire life I had seen a character like me treated as a human being, and it's heartbreaking to see the series wither away before it even started.

[@Art1stical]

You have NO IDEA how vigorously I agree with this video. Wholeheartedly agree with every single point. I thought I was insane for being disappointed at something that clearly has involved millions of hours of work of a very capable team. But, indeed, all that effort definitely went to the wrong areas.

[@RaptieFeathers]

Fun fact: The first game's performance capture tech was arguably the biggest innovation to hit the realm of modern media creation... And almost nobody knows it. I'm not very good at explaining things, but you can find demonstration videos on KZbin that show exactly what Ninja Theory-in partnership with Epic-accomplished. This is a big part of why you'll see the Unreal Engine mentioned in the credits of so many movies and TV shows. :O What _really_ blows my mind is that this insane tech has also been _democratized._ Real-time performance capture tech is available to anyone who wants to use it. It's incredible Anyway, tangent over. Apologies for the long post-this is one of my autistic special interests hahaha

[@loubloom1941]

They made the tech so good they forgot to make an actual game.

[@Religion0]

Get yourself a decent microphone and make a two hour video easy on it!

[@Scubasniper525]

Isn't this what a lot of vTubers use for their rigs now?

[@jackdavis4657]

The first Hellblade is an absolute banger. One of my all time favorite experiences, not just games. It's hard to get through on an emotional level, but damn I love it. So let's see what the sequels like...not optimistic.

[@33melonpaws77]

Congratulations on your baby!

[@Sam_but_not_really]

Saving this one for when i finally play the game myself, but to be perfectly honest, given the response (or lack thereof) this game generated I'm not sure I have any real need for that left in me. The hype died in silence.

[@glowerworm]

There are select people who truly loved this game. I enjoyed Hellblade 1 but at the end of the day besides the psychosis and 3D audio aspect, it was yet another AA experiment game and largely unremarkable. Hellblade 2 on the other hand became my second favorite game of all time. I just mean to show that not everyone was dissapointed by this game. There are people who found it amazing.

[@christopherlyndsay8611]

It just baffles me how badly Microsoft manage sequels for their IP’s. Unlike Sony or Nintendo they don’t seem to have a guy to just say ‘this part isn’t good’, before it’s already fully integrated into the game.

[@KittyKatty999]

Because they know people will buy *literally anything.* If it wasn't for the mindless consumers, companies would *actually* need to care about their consumers and product quality

[@iHaveTheDocuments]

Agree but id say it's only Nintendo that has "that guy". Sony has been farming L's like it's going outta style with absolutely baffling decisions

[@Scarecr0wn]

I am sorry but I think that guy left Sony as well. Anyway, you are correct, we call it toxic positivity now. It is being more prevalent than ever now and it doomed quite a few games now.

[@christopherlyndsay8611]

@@iHaveTheDocuments Sony’s a mixed bag, they have both microtransaction loving managers and also people who love games. We can see it in the split between Concord and Astro Bot. Fortunately they usually stay away from eachother, meaning their franchises remain good. Even if they falter sometimes, it’s no where near to the degree of Microsoft.

[@christopherlyndsay8611]

@@Scarecr0wn the Sony guy was too busy with Astrobot to pay attention to Concord sadly.

[@Blundellmemes77]

A Monty Zander video that's barely over an hour and a half? He's starting to rip us off boys.

[@RevenantPoet]

Man. For a team obviously so passionate about their project, there's, well, a surprising lack of passion in this sequel to a game that's defined by the passion put into it, imo. Thank you for the amazing video as always, and congrats on your baby!

[@Hersendood]

My man out here slaying another long-form video essay. Great work and thank you!

[@tnecniw]

Ah Hellblade... One o the more recent examples of AAA corrupting artistic experiences.

[@UberNoodle]

@49:40 RE the orbs and their connection to her psychosis: I saw in one of the first orb puzzles outside what seemed to be a flock of spiralling birds around where an orb was, and when I got closer the orb appeared. It made me think then that the orbs are to do with living patterns in the environment. But they also appear underground, so I'm not sure.

[@seeinred]

"If only we could better fulfill our vision, too bad we didn't had enough money for that". And so, monkey's paw curls a finger. This is depressing on the whole different level, because i've had first-hand experience in the same.

[@TheOnlyTaps]

"Replacing catharsis with beautiful visuals" 📌📌📌

[@savagedlirious1892]

I made the mistake of playing them back to back. The first was great. The sequel is boring, tedious and the combat was terrible. I couldn't wait for it to end.

[@jonasrichter2306]

I have a 6 hour bus drive tomorrow and I am not happy about that. But now I can watch a new critique from you while stuck in the bus. Thank you for that. Perfect timing.

[@briannaramey7890]

I have literally been waiting for this critique since I finished Hellblade 2

[@Jerriz_Dabster]

56:15 I remember walking through this section and one of the voices rewarded senua for her good deeds by making her see the world as super colourful and beautiful music began playing in the background 😊I was like wow this is nice and it never happened again

[@misslethal2355]

About five seconds before you invoked Alan Wake 2's Writer's Room I was thinking, "Man you know what solved this problem really elegantly? Alan Wa-" and boom 😂 Anyways glad we can agree that Sam Lake could singlehandedly save the gaming industry a lot of time, effort, labor, and money if the industry accepted that you can just hire actors for FMV

[@schuylercozzens5036]

Great video dude! Had to leave this comment cause I just finished Arkham shadow and need to tell you it’s worth your time. A review on this game is 100% a must

[@amelieh9499]

congrats on the baby ❤ wishing you and your family all the best! also, great video!

[@DauntedThrower9]

I know it's a snowball's chance in hell, though what I wouldn't give for monty to do the Mass Effect trilogy. I love this channel and I genuinely want him to analyze my favorite series ever but I know it's probably not going to happen. Please keep making videos, they always make my days better!

[@CyrusTheFrog]

My console finally gets back from the shop at the end of the week, super stoked to have an MZ video to help pass the time! And congratulations to you and your family!

[@Alex-ip1dn]

Awesome work, Monty. Thank you. I really enjoyed the video.

[@DimaShortPlay]

Fell asleep twice to this. Just as I planned. Great video 💤👍

[@Jopeth23]

Years ago, I was so hyped when I saw the Hellblade 2 trailer with the badass Heilung soundtrack. As a huge fan of the original, I was anticipating the release of the sequel. Thanks to your and my friends' reviews, looks like I can sit this one out and either buy it on sale or play it on Gamepass. Congrats on your baby, btw! And more power to your new family, and your channel! ❤

[@TheXygos]

This had to be one of the biggest gaming disappointments of 2024. I absolutely adored the first game & it's surreal, tense, & tragic story, but it's sequel make the same mistakes that all of the over-ambitious & undercooked sequels that came before it. The old adage of 'don't fix what isn't broken' is acutely applicable for Hellblade 2. I'm sad to think that this could be the last we get to see of Senua, because she is a truly compelling character that deserves a better story than what she got in H2.

[@pereinar1568]

Lets go! Northing like a Monty notification!

[@kamikazemelon787]

I was just rewatching all your vids - glorious coincidence! Thank you!!

[@romxilda]

Oh I’ve been waiting for this one, feel like rubbing my hands together like a villain watching this

[@eddiemonahane]

Excited to watch this! Do you think you'll do an Arkham Shadow Critique?

[@MontyZander]

Probably not - I’ll cover it on Lore Dump one day, I really loved my time with the game, but I can’t justify wearing a VR headset while we have a baby - it’ll block me off from him if he needs help!

[@onyxseal24]

i didn’t even play this, but if monty uploads, i watch and i like the video regardless

[@jamjox9922]

I just finished playing it. For me, the biggest flaw was that the story wasn't as engaged with mythology--and because of that, it had trouble engaging Senua's mental reality. Her psychosis came across as "out of touch with reality" just like many other games and media, while Hellblade 1 really felt like it understood why people who experience psychosis make sense with the symbols of the world they know. E.g. Schizophrenics in happier cultures tend to hear cheery voices versus oppressive cultures where people experience voices as antagonistic. By dimissing Senua's culture in Hellblade 2, as a player, it was hard to FEEL her own struggles mentally. I felt like I was playing two games, one with Senua making sense of what she learned in Hellblade 1 (which sucks for people that DIDN'T play the first game--which means a lot of people will not understand her "darkness" like I did and will find it kind of empty storytelling). The second game was the new characters and Senua becoming their leader, but even that feels a little empty. I don't understand their reality much at all, and I find it hard to understand why they follow Senua. All of it feels impersonal and it makes me wonder if Microsoft sacrficed parts of the game that had deeper exploration of Senua's mental anguish. The first game had longer parts for Senua to come to one small piece that made her feel better, but she still struggled until the very end of the game. At the end she feels better, but it's hard to say if she will actually traverse the world better--because the point is that she finished her quest, in a very real way, fate pushed her and she accepted the call--even if she was imperfect. And that's what made me love her as a character. In the second game I'm not sure what her character is supposed to be about, it feels very fragmented all around.

[@perversemite519]

Hell yeah a new monty video🔥🔥

[@SidPhoenix2211]

Haven't played the game yet. I LOVED the first one. The various, varied opinions I've heard about it gives me pause. But i intend to check it out. So I can't watch this video... YET. But here's a comment for engagement anyway lol

[@zeratul8]

I love your reviews. SO MUCH I love the in-depth game design and literacy driven. Please can you review the "A Plagues Tail" series? I think you would enjoy them and i would like what you have to say good or bad.

[@SleepyDrummer]

Well, at least I got some really pretty virtual photography shots out of it...

[@kizunadragon9]

"Above all games should only be one thing; fun" - Satoru Iwata

[@eugene9122]

WHAT!!! JUST AS I WAS PREPARING FOR BED MONTY DROPPED A GOODNIGHT LULLUBY THANK YOU!!

[@dincanpierson]

I jumped on the notification. I can't wait to watch it!

[@Jescribano1]

I am so incredibly sad on them deciding to make the world real. I wish it was a low magic setting where her psychosis happened to interact with such magic

[@tamagothchic]

I'm not entirely in agreement with the opening. I'm not disagreeing that the game itself isn't disappointing or frustrating, that's a valid complaint. But while limitation can breed innovation, it's also demanding, exhausting, stressful and causes burnout. I can't help but feel empathy for developers who, after taking a huge risk and potentially gambling their own livelihoods on a game most of my friends still haven't played, chose to accept the stability and security working with a large corporation and new tech provided, especially in a time of utter turmoil and, too often, hopelessness for artists. Realistically, this had to cost at least some creative control. As someone looking for work in an industry on fire, I would happily do the same. I am not saying it makes the game any better, it does not, but I do have an appreciation for beautiful art, especially when they genuinely did innovate in some areas that laymen may not recognize or care about. Realism is not the epitome of "good art" either, but I just don't like so much negativity seeming to focus on the artists for doing their jobs (and doing it well) rather than more appropriately blaming the bosses for insisting so much time be spent on graphic quality - especially when motion capture and texturing needs a lot of time and work and artistry to actually do well - when other aspects needed more work put in. There's an assumption here that the developers never questioned whether the opening was too long or slow, rather than equally plausible (and likely more realistic imo) idea that someone high up demanded that focus shift away from story and gameplay in favor of showcasing *FIDELIDTY TM*. Maybe I'm nitpicking and that was the intent overall, but it's not what I got out of this script, so I apologize if that was lost in communication. I'm sad the sequel wasn't great and the sheer inaccessibility of the title, I just think the development process is more nuanced than it's often credited as. To be clear, the game has a LOT of faults, I'm just of the opinion that the fault is more likely in the hands of the attempted monopolies of large corporations refusing any artistic efforts they deem a "risk" rather than assuming the same developers who created the first game from scratch just suddenly lost all ability to create good games and self edit as they previously had done.

[@AnythingForSouls]

I don't get how he could just of made up the giants ? Maybe I'm dumb but they ALL reacted to them they ALL see it they ALL fought it in the cave and onto the beach so it cant just be a story Senua heard and projected through psychosis if others were involved in the fight. If they wanted to do this then they had to have no one else fight and have people questioning where it is maybe have senua jump the gun and start throwing fire around and then everyone gets madly confused and runs away from her throwing stuff around not wanting to get hit in her rampage but we wouldn't know that they could have the camera and ambiguous voice lines that fit in like "whets happening " "run" " grab that spear quickly don't let them have it " stuff like that. The way they done it everyone running and commenting on it throwing fire at it means THEY SEE IT how could like 5 people just see something that's not there. Its so weird. They had to of just not had companions and had a rampage story butchering everyone having the furies compliment or other gods praising you pushing you down the path but its ALL real people you fight and at the end its a well what now huh you done what you wanted got your revenge now what's the plan ? Or had a story around getting better maybe another one that ALL enemies are in your head just projections as you learn to get over everything that happened and its a trip back to the village and you lose furies one by one as you learn to accept different parts ? I dunno its just a mess to me.

[@ralphengland8559]

This is exactly right. Having a character suffering from psychosis deal with supernatural monsters works so well in the first game because you never know what is real and what is in her mind. Having the giants be real essentially undoes the first game. I mean, if giants are real, why couldn't Senua have been the cause of all the problems her father accused her of? It's ridiculous.

[@AnythingForSouls]

@ralphengland8559 but they specificly say say giants arent real so all of them just imagined the same thing in the cave and onto the beach its so weird. They just wanted some big twist of haha i made it alll up none of it was real you losers i just wanted power.... but then how did they all see and fight one at the same time i just dont get it

[@torq21]

I've never known just exactly how much of a game the first game was. All the marketing told me was that its got pretty cutscenes. That, and a main character with GIANT TEEETH. I've developed a big teeth phobia ever since seeing the trailers for the first time.

[@UberNoodle]

I absolutely hated the combat, And it kind of ruined the game for me. I was frequently frustrated and often furious while wrestling with the terrible combat. The way it locks you on a rail with enemies, constantly ambushes the player in scripted events, and takes away the player's agency in catastrophic ways to the gameplay. The dodge and especially the parry are completely broken, or they're terribly designed. But it's impossible to tell with this game, because it takes so much agency away from the player even when it's supposedly allowing the player agency. Thus, you don't know whether you ACTUALLY failed, or the game has simply scripted it. AND even IF success and failure ISN'T scripted, the game doesn't give remotely enough feedback so that the player knows the reason why. And the sad thing is, this was all done on purpose. I have no faith anymore that game developers pay attention to any feedback like this.

[@jhit2026]

It's a testament to how a player can imagine the lore/plot/gameplay/hype and then actually playing it.

[@thelonetraveller]

i think there has rarely been drawn a more scathing conclusion to a disappointing sequel than: at least the rocks were pretty.

[@bepkororoti8019]

Another one of those cases where severe limitations and a vision lead to something remarkable... followed up by meh

[@-PVL93-]

Sometimes it really feels like developers have *too much* in terms of power and technology. All of these gigahertz of professing and compute available in modern CPUs and GPUs and they produce most boring slop instead of maximising every bit and byte like what the industry used to do starting all the way back with the Atari 2600 days and up until around late PS3 era

[@danialyousaf6456]

​@@-PVL93- I'd say this is more publisher/executive meddling than anything else. These fat nerds just look at market trends and force devs to focus on certain aspects when creating games.

[@MorbidEel]

It is similar to how startups slowly morph into the things they disrupt/replace.

[@PenguinDT]

I was there from the get-go with the first one, rooting for the team. I loved their stuff and after seeing them being dealt dirty by likes of Capcom and Sony, I wanted to see them become an independent juggernaut. It really WAS the core of the campaign for Hellblade 1; The team documented the whole journey and kept repeating that they wanted to show you could do high-fidelity games without the paymasters. And the tech innovations of theirs alone was worth staying tuned in. And six months after the release, the announcement came that they sold themselves to Microsoft. Followed by a 180 degree reversal video speaking how the whole indie thing is hard and Microsoft brings stability and better resources and... I don't know what else because at that point I felt like I had been taken for a ride and tuned out.

[@sulijoo]

It sounds like the sequel made the same mistakes as The Order 1886, they made a glorified tech demo. Such a shame. When will they realise that a bigger budget does not automatically guarantee a better product. I wish they'd leave these indie studios alone.

[@volpa7408]

This whole "let's forgive and redeem a slaver" plot, then repeated with "let's respect and pity a village-destroying giant" is what made me drop the game. Just unserious and dangerous bullshit.

[@loubloom1941]

Oh no, sooooo dangerous!!

[@EastyyBlogspot]

With me and i know there will be people who disagree...a story is a good bonus but its all about the gameplay, if i can get a similar feeling watching a video of a playthrough its not my cup of tea

[@hylianxbox6586]

New monty video LETS GO

[@shajita]

Hey, congrats on the baby! Remember to sleep whenever you can, talk honestly and often with your partner, and enjoy every moment of it, because kids are always onto the next stage faster than you hoped for. Shame about Senua. They wanted to be AAA so bad, and the monkeys paw curls yet another finger. The early days of the Xbox 360 seems like a lifetime ago with how Microsoft is running things. I just want Fable and Perfect Dark to break my heart so I can move on. As always, excellent video, will be sharing around.

[@aefirthrift]

Nobody has the stomach for pizza 7 days a week? The hell you say? :D

[@1000MilesAway]

I'm absolutely in love with the first one, was super excited for this one, and unfortunately was disappointed. It was like watching Joker 2. I had to take a few days to accept that I don't love them, barely like them, and it's not my fault. I clicked to see if you can put to words what I feel

[@lcoyle1998]

Hellblade 2 genuinely stands as my biggest video game disappointment ever. I've never seen a sequel drop the ball so absolutely as much in my life.

[@williamtimonen6814]

If the point of bringing back the shadow was to show how she is becoming like her father wouldnt it make more sense to give it Senuas voice actor?

[@TheOnlyTaps]

Grabs popcorn 😀🍿 as soon as i hear that "1-2-3."

[@talesfromtheknottedgrove]

I don’t know nothing bout this game but I know ima enjoy this video

[@Xehanort10]

I can't believe the game treats a slaver being told by Senua to just stop taking slaves like it redeems him.

[@angrychef9693]

When corporate comes in, the soul leaves. Every. Single. Time.

[@JustFun-ho6qy]

I think in the case of Hellblade 2, having corporate step in every once in a while, asking just what the hell the team's been doing all these years, would have been a good thing. HB2 feels like the misguided passion project of a rockstar with limitless funds and no one to question him along the way.

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

It's like Ninja has a version of Robert Zemeckis Disorder. Like how RZ got so absorbed in "hyper-real" animation his storytelling & directing has totally suffered & everything he works on now feels like a weird tech demo.

[@Hellborn_666]

It's not pronounced Thorgester,Fargrimer or Astrider - more like Thorgest,Fargrim and Astrid bc the "r" is mostly silent in norse names,same as Jörmundgand instead of Jörmundgandr for the World Serpent. Besides that,the Draugr were the Beserkers of the Vikings,who harmed themselves to build up adrenaline and become more powerful in battle - they weren't "viking zombies". However,I really love your content,especially the entire Lore Dumb stuff around the Remedy franchise - keep up the great work and have a good one. And☝🏻best wishes for your "new" family👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@bepkororoti8019]

I still want to play part one in VR but I need to be in a better place emotionally, the pancake version alone did a number on me back in the day.

[@JesseDanielSmith]

My favourite commentator 🎉

[@josecolon7267]

I cant wait to watch this video... So I never have to try Hellblade again... or spend money on pt2 :)

[@josecolon7267]

never mind... this game is so npretentious and boring... ugh.

[@Auchaser643]

The aad thing is, higher ups will blame the IP and cite it as the problem in how it performed and not the complete disrespect and unnecessary makeover they gave it. A small team is perfect for this IP, it helps keep things tight and personal. Not everything is meant to be a flagship console seller.

[@19Rinka86]

Funny, I didn’t dislike the game until I watched this video. Now I’m griefing the game it could and should have been. 😭 Excellent analysis. Thank you.

[@CrimesNewRoman]

I'm going to have to go against the grain of a lot of the other comments here. I appreciate the thoroughness of this look into the game, but I'm someone who thoroughly loved the sequel and found it better than the first one, to be honest I don't really agree with much of what you're saying. Particularly in regards to the story. I'm not going to go through everything, but the big thing that I feel the need to correct is your misinterpretation of the Godi and the stories themes which is severely incorrect in my eyes. You say at the beginning of chapter 6 that the game is not making any sense by not "looking beyond the monster" when we don't have an option to sympathize or give the Godi the same treatment as the giants, that the game does nothing to humanize him and you said don't really get the point and that it's a "refutation of the games own message". The Godi is humanized because his humanization is the most real thing a person can do, lie and cheat and use voilence to cement himself into power. Not all humanization is positive. This is a direct reflection of real life with so many who do this, and the other giants are actual victims he took advantage of, they deserved redemption. Senua was able to use her past and present experience of breaking free of her father, and societies chains, to help all of these people do the same. The godi also was not killed by senua, and her monologue at the end of what she wanted to be was beautiful and fit the message perfectly. Who does she want to be? continue the cycle of hate and violence like her father and the Godi, or be something better? This game is about people coming together to realize when one of their own creates the myths and lies that cement them into power, breaking free of that, and building a better path forward. There is no error with how the game handled the Godi, and people who are saying the devs "don't get the first game" are clearly missing something. You further state the the game tries to give concrete answers to what's real and what's not, what's magic or psychosis or real, but i completely disagree. the entire series is this deep blend of metaphor and unreliable narration and trying to look for an exactness of one or the other is only going to make it so you're ignoring the forest for the trees because the message is what's so important. I think the biggest error people assume is because the environment's are less crazy and more "real" automatically means there is less psychosis and visual metaphor at play. Just because it looks more real, less obvious disruptions to reality, doesn't mean the game is trying to be less interpretative. Whether the giants do or do not exist in reality is entirely pointless to argue because what they stand for is what is important. I agree that I wish they had pushed some elements of the gameplay farther, but from a visual and thematic sense i was wholly satisfied and the continuation of senua's arc was beautiful and i very much hope we get a 3rd game because the storytelling in this near unrivaled for me.

[@irotinmyskin]

I really really wanted to like this game. But it felt like a chore to go through

[@jmh8817]

harsh, but fair

[@O_Draws]

Not only is the clumsy inversions and conflations of psychosis and mass hysteria (religious belief?) really insulting, plot-wise, it all perpetuates a presentist bigotry toward humans who lived in historical times. That is to say, it perpetuates the notion that things like, basic rationality, and the ability to instinctively parse reality outside of a mythic lens was impossible for ancient peoples -- the notion that they're minds and cultures were both too primitive, and that this primitive modality was all-encompassing to the point of being inescapable. As a secularist and an atheist, even I hate this, as it's simply not the case. If human history before, say, Copernicus was characterized by everyone constantly hallucinating that natural phenomena were mythic beings or whatever, nothing would have ever gotten done. I just imagine a bunch of idiots punching rocks on a beach, because a volcano erupted. It's like a Monty Python sketch. Hrm. Come to think of it, Hellblade 2 with a laugh track might be a great commentary on the entire undertaking.

[@glowerworm]

My dude I don't know how to say this but as an atheist I can tell you most of the world still hallucinate these things constantly. They see a rainbow or a hurricane and see it as a sign from God or the devil. A volcano erupting and bringing 50 years of famine and mass extinction would very believably lead to mass hysteria, I think.

[@Ghkugbdghbmkgvbnh]

From what I recall, during the first game's production, they briefly incorporated Senua's symptoms as a gameplay mechanic in some significant way. They quickly decided against that, specifically because of the implicit narrative it would create for the player (e.g., "you should trust the voices"). It's disappointing that this game doesn't seem to have taken that same level of care with the narrative.

[@MontyZander]

This is ABSOLUTELY what I was thinking towards the end and then I remembered the underground!

[@seeinred]

Sometimes i wonder, who was the first developer to sacrifice fantasy for bitter gaslighting that "realism is unequivocally good" when it comes to videya. So many games died on this hill - or at least, suffered heavily - and yet there's not a SINGLE game that is remembered for it's "realism" first and foremost. Learning on the experiences and mistakes of others is tremendously important part of game development. But the industry disregarded it, and now is going up in flames.

[@themissinglink7126]

Didn't even know it released...

[@mrgrim75]

I have Game Pass and when Hellblade 2 released I played Hellblade 1

[@LoneRatatouille]

Senua's bougalou

[@Scarecr0wn]

I personally think that some scenes in this game are insanely well done as an audiovisual experience and those are the reason I probably don´t see it as badly as many other people. That´s not me defending the game, that´s just how I can enjoy things. I completely get the criticism, graphics and audio do not make the game and the gameplay overall was a lettdown. Also the intimate, heartwrenching feel of first game got kinda lost which is a shame.

[@johndodo2062]

The first one was amazing. There zero reason this sequel should have cost that much to make. Clearly just executives embezzling again

[@plaguedoctorjamespainshe6009]

Hey Monty Idk why, probably because you're Scottish, but i always thought an analysis of the Killzone and Resistance series from you would be amazing, specially Killzone 2

[@jonetgames]

The way you describe the game reminds me of The Order: 1886, graphically and technically impressive, but extremely lacking in actual gameplay.

[@davidcorbandaka3488]

I completely get this analysis and completely right and valid but I think time will be kind to this game. Thórgestr was established as a mirror to Senua. He is what she could have been if she stuck to her father. And she only started to notice it after talking to Fargrímr. She struggled with the thought and this should’ve been more fleshed out but it was made too subtle. The furies were the most and worst utilised though. They took out of the experience. They get a little repetitive and tell what you already know. Unlike the first game. That is the first narrative issue. But it really is great but so flawed because of expectations. If taken as what it is it’s not the worst. Is it disappointing, maybe. But with new technology the cost rises exponentially rather than directly. I think it’s impossible for the scope to match the first in a AAA scope. Xbox wanted it in a AAA scope but not a hellblade 1 conceptual scale. I think people expected Alan Wake 2 scale but hellblade 1 writing.

[@egilskallagrimsson2941]

A 5 hour game isn’t worth $50.00 They deserve to go out of business.

[@jesustyronechrist2330]

To me, this game felt like a tech demo. And considering how everything else is compromised other than the graphics, it makes me think vast majority of the development time was spent of troubleshooting and messing and tweaking around with the technical side of the game, to the point they ran out of time to really do anything artistic with the tech

[@RH1812]

I ended up playing it on easy just to get it over. I’m sure that’s not what they wanted. I’m not even sure what Senua’s point was after the conclusion of the first game. Some games do not require continuation

[@glizzygoat]

123... LETS GOOOOO!!!

[@1992Rainbowdog]

Im in the minority but I actually didnt enjoy Hellblade 1 that much. I didnt play it at release so when I played it, the graphics felt outdated and it was just a slog. Didnt connect with senua and her story. Didnt have high hopes for Hellblade 2 but thanks to Gamepass I tried it. For some reason I loved every second of it. The graphics for sure help and that Im playing it right at release when nothing comparable came out helped too. However I just enjoyed the story way more than the first one, it was less cryptic and I enjoyed being around other characters. So i get why people dont like it, but for some reason its my favorite game xbox has released in the last few years.

[@matthewmcshane399]

I truly enjoyed both of these games. I think the first game might be better but I still thought the second was amazing as well. I feel like the point of the sequel was to show Senua trying to learn from her journey in the first game in order to help others through their own inner torment, be it her allies or by giving peace to the giants (excluding the Godi, who turned into a tyrant and had to be stopped).

[@andreasreinhardt8753]

The first game proved that talented studios can make a good game on a budget. The second game proved that they can make a worse game on a way bigger budget.

[@Graham-Plan]

The problem is that they made the game woke and turned mental illness into a super power

[@MontyZander]

What’s ‘woke’ about it?

[@Graham-Plan]

Grab a list of woke stereotypes and run this game through the list, and I'm sure you'll notice how many boxes are checked by the end of it. Speaking from a place of personal privilege, but schizophrenia isn't a super power, it's a condition. Not to mention how by the end of the game, the old white guy is the true evil. It's all very part in parcel.

[@Graham-Plan]

Run the game through a list of things that are "woke" and you'll be surprised how this game checks every box. Any time I try to leave a detail comment, my comment is deleted by KZbin, but it most certainly is woke.

[@Graham-Plan]

The game turns mental illness into some kind of power, it makes a mentally feeble woman the leader of a Viking clan, the younger white male is the only one killed, the old white man is the true evil, the giant woman is innocent and the victim of men, the game is very woke. It takes everything about the first game and waters it down, while introducing Man is bad narrative, and making Senua out to be a bestest ever Mary Sue who cannot fail or be wrong. It's not only bad, the interpretation of Norse mythology is purposely done incorrectly to be more inclusive to modern day girl boss politics. Not to mention the random inclusion of a strong empowered dark skinned woman who comes out of nowhere. I hate being this person , but I have schizophrenia myself, and I notice patterns. The first game is great, the second game is a flop failure that focuses on liberal politics.

[@TheNecroswanson]

Hellblade 2 is AAA in a nutshell. All the money, technology, and corporate backing in the world and all you can come up with is an overpriced bastardization of what creativity came before. It reminds me of a quote I too shall now bastardize: Art comes from limitations. Tell an artist what they can't do and they'll show you what they CAN do. But give them all the freedom to do whatever they please, and they will come up with nothing.

[@useless4692]

Ah Hellblade II The development cycle that was the exact opposite of Hellblade 1 And the game so disappointing that caused me to lose all hope for Project Mara I mean, Hellblade II essentially ditches most if not all the psychological horror aspects of the original, so why am I supposed to think that they can do a true survival horror that can take on Silent Hill, Resident Evil, and KojiPro’s OD that’ll be published by MICROSOFT I mean hell, the moments that they try to make the game horrific, it completely falls flat and doesn’t feel unnerving in any way unlike the original

[@mrfreddorenton]

It's a real pity that you've come away with this opinion Monty, given that your opinion on the previous Hellblade is on this KZbin channel.

[@-PVL93-]

I mean hats off to Ninja Theory for making Microsoft and players buy a glorified tech demo for 40$, not many studios in the industry are capable of that, except maybe Star Citizen devs But all the snark aside, it really does feel like NT have completely lost the plot both figuratively and literally. Like going back to that intro sequence with Senua climbing up a cliff or crawling underneath something - WHY is it just operated by pushing the left analog forward or pressing one button occasionally, instead of utilising the full layout of SIXTEEN buttons on a standard Xbox gamepad? Why not make you operate left and right sticks one after another for example? And frankly when I watched the full playthrough without skipping anything, after 4 hours it just..... Ends? That's not to mention the rest of the gameplay Oh well, at least it's pretty and yeah HB2 objectively is a phenomenal showcase of what Unreal Engine 5 is capable of, running in real time in console hardware

[@trevorturkaly3980]

amazing video for such a bad game, i felt the same way about your suicide squad video

[@Religion0]

Congratulations on the little new Noobus! I'm looking forward to all the essays on what children's games teach their players in 3-5 years. :þ You, somewhat inadvertently, hit exactly on why I've been saying that games don't need realism for over a decade now. A story is about a subjective reality, not an objective one, and this one more than most. Also the plot you pitched with Senua taking the war to Iceland sounds dope.