'Hellblade II' is bafflingly disappointing… [REVIEW]

👉 All my links: linktr.ee/lukestephens 👈
Senua's Saga: Hellblade II is an action-adventure game developed by Ninja Theory and published by Xbox Game Studios. The game serves as the sequel to Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice and is set in 9th century Iceland, drawing inspiration from Norse mythology and culture.
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TIMESTAMPS:
Intro: 0:00
Graphics: 4:39
Story: 7:12
Gameplay: 10:39
Length: 15:40
Conclusion: 20:30
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[@LukeStephensTV]

TLDR: Despite my love for the original game, I found Hellblade II to be shockingly disappointing and ridiculously short. I got through the game in 5 hours and 28 minutes, and I struggle to find anything it does better than the original. To be fair, I wasn't trying to find every secret in every nook and cranny, but I feel I played the game the way an average gamer would, and what I got was a game that I found profoundly disappointing.

[@Craigish93]

You did call it with how little marketing they put into the game

[@SamuelCatsy]

Angry Joe Scream: FIVE HOURS!?

[@HegoDamaskll]

Psychosis simulator isn't pleasant...really? What did you expect?

[@shifterzx]

If you're getting through this game in 5-6 hours, you're clearly going in with the wrong mindset. The dark, gory, psychotic mindset of the game isn't meant to be 'fun' in the way you think of a game. It's not 'arcady'. You feel the fatigue when you get knocked down, swing a sword, fight for your life etc. The game is meant to be a slog in this way. You aren't meant to 'enjoy' it the same way you enjoy other action / adventure games. You clearly went in with the wrong mindset or expectation. It's a polarising game to be sure. You love it or hate it. There is no middle to be found here

[@ronf6]

I’ll play it for myself… thanks

[@Akain777]

So the lack of marketing was because there was nothing to market... we lost

[@octavianpopescu4776]

Who's we? What did we lose? Against whom did we lose?

[@0biRonKenobi]

​@@octavianpopescu4776We lost our marbles.

[@Akain777]

@@octavianpopescu4776 The game could have been great. Now its just another mess thats probably gonna get people laid off. no good game for us, and loss of jobs for others. that's a L

[@vreevroow]

@@Akain777 Have you actually played it?

[@bugsnax4145]

I'm playing the game and i like it. I was looking for a game that was presenting me with a story and immersion. I'm getting this from the game. It's people's own fault for going off the high end and expecting something more that was never aimed at. The game tells a story and your in it for the ride.

[@SameerAli-266]

5 years in development, 5 hours of game play. 1 year irl = 1hour ingame

[@theodorebear6714]

I recommend the 1st hellblade. I can't recommend this.

[@GG-zv9ku]

Some interstellar meme in there

[@thorpedo8735]

just like goodbye volcano high

[@MrZRACER]

When this inevitably comes to ps, thats going to be wild to think about while playing.

[@Antros23]

Since when 6. Hours of gameplay is bad? I take it you don't watch movies or tv series? Simply unbelievable.. finally a polished game with no glitches

[@Vartazian360]

When all you care about in your game is graphics: Glorified tech demo

[@Qballiz2kool]

Pretty much.

[@humorinpolitics56]

Reminds me of The Order 1886 but worse.

[@thegamersconclave8709]

These High Graphic Walking Simulators are going to start getting game companies shut down.

[@BoBurnham69]

Lets hope so

[@sunderwire]

Ninja theory is done for. Microsoft def shutting them down

[@someusername1872]

These glorified interactive movies need to die sooner or later, there's so little gameplay in these games that they really aren't games anymore. If I wanted to invest myself in a plotline I'd simply watch a movie. Big game studios have forgotten that videogames need to be FUN TO PLAY before anything else to be worth playing, and if a game isn't exactly fun to play then it isn't a game worth playing.

[@GG-zv9ku]

Walking sims can be great if done right

[@samserpent]

Atleast death stranding was amusing and beautiful.

[@PerfectFitGE8]

I remember the order 1886 got slaughtered for being a short game.

[@DP12321]

Assassins Creed Origins & Odyssey also got ripped apart for being too long and drawn out. I prefer shorter games myself.

[@shalindelta7]

​@@DP12321well it's not that black and white. You get short and underwhelming and you get short and awesome ( like Nfs The Run or Heavy Rain which i played multiple times and will definitely play again ) and you get long and worthwhile like The Witcher 3 and long and boring like Odyssey. For longer games I'd say Ubisoft is the worst, not only is it filled with shite that no one suffer through but they've turned all their franchises into a samey experience. So for Ubisoft it's pretty much played one played them all.

[@DP12321]

@@shalindelta7 Good point. Witcher 3 is the antithesis to another copy/paste Ubisoft snorefest.

[@jadenpokemon8952]

Yeah but that at least had fun gameplay lol. This is a walking sim. Honestly embarrassing imo.

[@apotekmanfaatinsani1954]

DAMN TRUE BRO IF NOT BECAUSE THAT BACKLASH SHORT GAME NONE SENSE WE WILL GOT A SEQUEL TODAY

[@soup2684]

Challenge: Luke tries to not put the word "Skeptical" in a video Difficulty level: Impossible

[@kylethorsrud1692]

Also going through a whole video without saying, “tremendous”

[@TheLongestTake]

And here it doesn't even make sense. If he played the game his thoughts are no longer skeptical smh.

[@m4nt1c0r3s]

And yet disappointing would have been more appropriate given he uses that qualifier multiple times, but i guess it was too overly negative for a title. Skeptical is for when you are not sure about something, and havent really had fully experienced it, this isnt it.

[@MoRoMeTe_]

Owning an xbox is depressing……..

[@Siyintax]

No cap

[@FadedKai]

It's not a game, its a 3 hour cutscene with 2 hours of walking.

[@55rz55]

This isn't a game for gamers, it's for investors and other developers so they hire Ninja Theory for their games facial animations and cutscenes.

[@LostHope1982]

Right, because they spend 5 years worth of manpower and money to create a demo reel. 🤦

[@55rz55]

@@LostHope1982 they actually did

[@guguigugu]

yea, they seem to have focused primarily on showcasing the Unreal engine's abilities

[@casbyness]

Been the driving force behind all AAA game development since the early 2010s. Everyone just makes games to show off to other companies and potential employers/employees. The actual audience for the product is entirely taken for granted. Happens in every creative 'industry' eventually. Music, for example, has been operating this way since the 90s.

[@gavo117]

When Luke popped out of nowhere and said “it’s skeptin’ time” and skeptic’ed all over everyone I felt that

[@Karlach_]

This made me skept all over my hands and chest

[@jdg1251]

Memes been dead for 5 million years holy shit

[@XablazedX]

@@jdg1251 Normies, bro.

[@huricanethreeonesix]

@@XablazedX People who call other people normies or npc's are cringe af! grow up, lad.

[@thelightsilent]

Just a reminder Microsoft Xbox acquired Bethesda studios they didnt want Ninja theory studio it was just forced bundled in. The Very founder of Ninja Theory studios the CEO during the Bethesda studios sale sold Ninja Theory and ran off with his money the state of the studio was a mess as it seems to be a quick pump and dump type of studio where they make one semi good game then sell the company as soon as possible. Microsoft was left with the IP but not all of the original devs including the old CEO who ran off with his money.

[@junechevalier]

So basically, 1 year of development produces 1 hour of gameplay

[@DonJohnston-lc8yv]

Xboxera 10/10 LOLOLOL what a joke

[@homem-pobre]

Considering the game is 3.5 hours of cutscenes and 1.5 hours of gameplay, they did 18 minutes per year of actual gameplay.

[@dusermiginte4647]

Its 5 hours long?

[@dusermiginte4647]

​@@homem-pobrethey started making the game 2019..

[@homem-pobre]

@@dusermiginte4647 Yes, that's 5 years.

[@ytnewhandlesystem42]

Luke: "My disappointment is tremendous and my day is skeptical."

[@TheTwinkelminkelson]

Y'know what, in this day and age, a game making you disappointed instead of mad actually kinda feels like a breath of fresh air.

[@BrandonClark-StocksPassports]

Agreed

[@andreypokesaround]

So that's why there wasn't much press regarding the release of the game...

[@alfredmitchcock8518]

yep they knew it

[@Name..........]

​@alfredmitchcock8518 doubt that there wasnt any press on the first as well. Not to mention everyone hated the first on release as well.

[@giorno6086]

@@Name.......... at least back then it was Ninja Theory on it's own, now it has Xbox brand on it which draws a lot of negative attention.

[@kingjordan248]

Goodbye, Ninja Theory 😪

[@MR3DDev]

They already greenlight another game from that studio

[@bennyblunto973]

@@MR3DDevyeah the game is called “The death of ninja theory”

[@lordxeno8270]

Who actually cares honestly? Hopefully they redistribute the devs into Bethesda or Activision

[@kingjordan248]

@@MR3DDev Good, let’s just hope Xbox doesn’t have a change of mind

[@shoff29]

@@lordxeno8270whoa whoa… why do we want Bethesda to be invested in?

[@illmatic6306]

I’m actually enjoying the game. It’s been keeping me on my toes throughout the story but I can see why people were disappointed with the combat. It could have used a bit more variety. It’s also interesting to see the plethora of opinions about this game.

[@devineartwork2827]

The voices in the original game too provided neat gameplay features sometimes. Like when you'd fight an enemy, sometimes one would spawn in behind you that you wouldn't know about. In most games that'd be unfair, but in the first Hellblade, your voices would give you a last minute warning. They served a purpose to simulate a mental illness, and gameplay function. In this new game, because enemies are now one at a time, the voices largely lose their function which is a shame.

[@Qballiz2kool]

The voices also loose their luster pretty quick due to them never being quiet, even during cutscenes with other characters WHILE THIER TALKING their just blathering on, it grates on your nerves quickly, and starts to become more a nuisance than an interesting gameplay component like it was in the first game.

[@AdminAbuse]

Lose and their

[@yatharthrai4658]

And people have the gall of calling the likes of God of War and The Last of Us 'walking simulators' lol

[@inuclearpickle8628]

Fudge even Alan wake II has more gameplay and you do a lot of walking in the game at least there the environments we did have were great specially coffee world I can navigate it like the back of my hand

[@Alex-bw3jj]

Last of us 2 at least has 20 hours of gameplay rushed

[@AD3SPG]

This is an imaginary walking, fighting simulator all going through a in-game character thoughts.

[@TexasChop512]

It still is

[@hazelcrisp]

From what it seems it's a watered down version of every other similar game. It lacks the decent to good gameplay of TLOU, and lacking the narrative impact of other "walking sims" like Life is Strange or A Plague Tale. So it just ends up kinda meh.

[@shiteyanyo1111]

5 hours for 5+ years of development? And then it's $50!?

[@danthelambboy]

Gamepass doesn't cost $50. Why would you give $50?

[@floydland3509]

@@danthelambboyGP costs more the longer you have it. It’s a subscription service. People think they’re getting games for free but you’re eventually paying for them.

[@theprowler18]

That’s literally the price tag for buying the game. 😆👎🏼

[@cjmk5923]

​@@theprowler18which they want to you to do.

[@callmesxege1878]

@@cjmk5923nah they want you to play it on gamepass

[@mr.electronx9036]

It's not a game, it's a "UE5 tech demo".

[@casaroli]

That’s how I felt watching the reviews. No way I’m buying this for 50€.

[@captainthunderbolt7541]

imho it sounds like Hellblade only ever had the legs for one budget-length experience, because the main hook is something that can only be tolerated for a short while. How could this ever work as a game franchise? Maybe a better follow-up would to be to play as a different character who suffers from visual distortions, or some other mental impairment?

[@Qballiz2kool]

Yea……the voices that would sound off in Senua’s mind were really interesting in the first game, but in the second, they are constantly going off, even in effing cutscenes where characters are talking, and it just starts to grate on you after awhile. I mean I get what they’re trying to do but man…..going through hours of uninteresting combat encounters, walking sections either exposition dumps, and uninteresting cutscenes for a story I find really hard to care about, only to constantly have the voices yammering in my ear…..at every waking moment……c’mon.

[@samserpent]

​@@Qballiz2koolthe most hurtful part is we all loved the first one flaws and all. It feels such a huge punch to the gut of the fans to be letdown like this. Especially when they took their time and budget for things this time. Just a shame

[@y345vash9]

I have said this several times for several different games, saying "Well the game looks pretty..." just isn't a selling point anymore. If a studio spends several years developing a single game, then the visuals damn well better look good! What about the characters? What about the story? What about the GAMEPLAY. Those are the things the studios need to focus on. Nice graphics are just an added bonus.

[@foreignuser_]

nice graphics only sell games for inexperienced players and family members as gifts to capital G Gamers. graphics are marketing and marketing is only effective on those who are not that familiar with the industry the marketing is in

[@pennywisethedancingclown7139]

​@@foreignuser_A Plague Tale : Requiem has more beauty than this Hellblade game. It's better in every way and has the graphics to boot!

[@nicholasnajibi3082]

You know not what you speak of

[@dediualex3554]

@@nicholasnajibi3082he right I know

[@moongoalie2410]

This ‘game’ really should have just been a film.

[@StealthReconNexus]

I heard the game was originally called Hellblade 2 Senua's Speedrun, but the developers feared that the title would spoil the gameplay.

[@zigghie8285]

If you played the first game and don't like it you wouldn't like this one either and this game is not for everyone

[@x0Fang0x]

​@@zigghie8285your right that this game is not for everyone, nothing is. But a sequel should improve upon the first. The only thing that this game improves upon is graphics everything else is lesser. There's less puzzle and combat and more walking than gameplay. Story? I'd say about the same as Hellblade 1.

[@zigghie8285]

@@x0Fang0x no, if you're a fan of the original you will also like this game and it will have a cult following just like the original

[@pocketglove]

​@@zigghie8285he liked the first one, but didn't like the second one.

[@zigghie8285]

@@pocketglove he's lying

[@aaronjg77]

Sorry, I don’t know anything about this game. But listening to some of the reviews it seems like it’s Microsoft’s “The Order 1866”. Would that be correct?

[@muzamilnabinadroo]

Yes but Hellblade 2 has lesser gameplay so it's almost the same thing.

[@GeekPlusGamer]

Basically a netflix movie, a perfect "game" for gaming "journalists".

[@user-xu5rv6oe2s]

Hellblade 2 is the result of a game studio that’s more interested in making film than they are in making games

[@PlagueInjected]

Lots of fart huffing at Ninja Theory for sure

[@thesagaofblitz]

kojima is the same why but at least his games are still games.

[@TheErikjsm]

​​​@@thesagaofblitz kojima is way overated too. if spawning one good franchise is enough for endless praise then the creators of cod argueably deserve more praise and genious status than him since cod 4 had more of an impact and reach than mgs selling almost 2 sixths of the entire mgs franchise combined. everything he does past mgs is pretentious and boring.

[@Hmonks]

@@TheErikjsmso are you saying Metal gear series are overrated 😂

[@user-xu5rv6oe2s]

@@TheErikjsmat least kojima has the brass to back up his name, opening a studio named after yourself is no small feat. He’s earned his spot as a legend in this industry.

[@frs1375]

So you are telling me the lack of promotion on the side of Xbox was warranted ? 😅

[@SKHYJINX]

Games so short any marketing would be considered too much of the percentage of playtime shown I guess.

[@CanIHasThisName]

@@SKHYJINX A game could be 4 hours for all I care, as long as I get a good experience I'm happy. Nowadays I honestly find that games being 20+ hours long is detrimental to the experience. It's a tremendous time investment and I rarely find myself finishing these games.

[@oberonvortigern4138]

⁠@@CanIHasThisNameThis should be priced at around $30. 5 hours for $50 is crazy. And y’all gonna excuse it by saying wait for a sale. Another Xbox L

[@BigWrangler]

@@CanIHasThisNamebro please stop defending nonsense. You sound insane

[@nickhard7615]

​@@CanIHasThisNameI agree, but not for anything above $20. Like Farcry 3: Blood Dragon, now that was an excellent 4 hours for what I paid. This might be too, I am interested, but not for that. This is a Game Pass exclusive

[@russ3190]

F*CK Hellblade 2! After your Witcher 3 background music I want to play this masterpiece again!

[@LOUGAone]

The game looks perfect in screenshots and ads ... but 5 seconds of gameplay and you understand they put everything in the visual part of it. I wish the power of our gaming system and dev time would be rather more used in credible physics, clothes and character animations ( here we crank facial animations to 11 and the rest feels kinda old lol ) , gameplay , interactive destructible environnement..... not just graphics

[@wallacesousuke1433]

Amen to that

[@Qballiz2kool]

Yea……I’m pushing to finish it now, and I’ve almost dozed off twice from just outright boredom. The game is just an uninteresting graphical showcase with no substance.

[@gab_gma]

what i feared is happening, a game that tries so hard to be photorealistic as a movie, starts to lose it's gaming nature and at this point it would be best to just release a movie instead, if the gameplay is walking, simple puzzles and a combat that you don't feel like you can do much and it's a trend i hope people realize and start thinking about it at least.

[@gman7497]

Idk man, indie walking Sims are a genre that has existed for years.. this one has a sizeable budget attached but it definitely has a niche, whether it is a big enough niche to be profitable remains to be seen.

[@thirdcoinedge]

Well, it's better than David Cage games, which are mostly just composed of interactive cutscenes linked by brief sequences of third-person gameplay. Besides, Soma has pretty much the same level of gameplay, with lots of walking and relatively simple puzzles, and people think that's a good game. Granted, there are a number of differences (lesser budget, first-person perspective, etc.), but the fact remains that Soma also could've been a movie/book. It's not whether this story works for the medium, it's about how the medium shapes our experience of the story, and there are a number of advantages a video game has in this regard over a film.

[@danialyousaf6456]

It's basically the order 1886 but with somehow less gameplay

[@jordanwhite352]

​@@gman7497The difference is is that all of the good walking simulator games were still engaging as games and them existing as games fed into the narrative. The issue is that this game has so limited barely qualifiable gameplay And that it's so incredibly linear even by linear video game standards that it should have just been a TV show or a movie. Which honestly I think Microsoft should invested that with the IP considering the success of the Fallout show.

[@randomchannel323]

Yeah the game pushes the limits of laser scanned environments and objects and motion capture but for no reason if the actual experience isn't fun or long enough

[@lorenzolupi6083]

5 h long is crazy, i mean i dont pretend that every game is 100 h minimum but 5h for 50$ is unaccetable

[@johngray6215]

Dude it's game pass £13 it's not that deep

[@anshukandulna1844]

​@@johngray6215that will be the fall for this game. It's too expensive for the playtime to be purchased at full price and playing through gamepass will generate significantly less revenue.

[@deluxo2901]

@@johngray6215 That's the problem, "Oh at least it was on gamepass" When everyone of their games on Xbox Game Pass sucks. Phil Spencer needs to go, Playstation isn't any better with their movie simulator games as well.

[@alus992]

ACG in his video said it's 9 hours long with "a Lil bit of extra puzzles". It's a huge disrepency between his and Luke's experience

[@jesustyronechrist2330]

I wouldn't mind 5 hours for 40 bucks if the game's narrative and themes were extremely gripping. But 99% of writers in the media business seemingly cannot write anymore and nothing is worth it.

[@jeremyzinn225]

This explains why there was zero marketing for this leading up to the launch

[@SENATORPAIN1]

I still can't believe the highlight of the game was shown off in full 2 years ago.that trailer has me expecting big things but that was the big thing.

[@navpun1989]

I was speechless when I realized it was going to play what was in the trailer scene for scene. I was also waiting for her to wear that cool rune warpaint, but it only showed up for like 10 seconds in a vision at the very end. Lame af.

[@Rex_Smashington]

Saw a fanboy on Twitter say "Not every game needs to be gamified." Like damn. I've heard of coping. But saying your game doesn't need to be a game is a wild form of it.

[@ManiLink]

I guess you don't remember big Sony hits like flower, Journey and Heavy Rain?

[@123cornflakeman]

​@ManiLink if you are really trying to compare Heavy rain to hell blade 2 then you truly are delusional.

[@ManiLink]

@@123cornflakeman Heavy rain was seen as "not a game" at the time and it was good graphics and little gameplay and the performances were awful. It was saved by its graphics which at the time were cutting edge on PS3.

[@dmitrybelkin8559]

​@@ManiLink At least Heavy rain had some semblance of choice and slightly branching plot

[@ChiefVince117]

Slash slash dodge is literally every souls game...

[@Noone-wo8mk]

Thank you for having the integrity to not blow smoke up our ass like most of the other review sites saying this is an 8 out of 10 purely on the fact that it “looks good”. A good looking game with zero gameplay is a movie, not a game.

[@dennygunawan208]

Interactive movie maybe...if its going to be like that, isnt it better to do something Heavy Rain?

[@webbie7503]

Ya for sure, his review is amazing and direct. No shilling at all unlike other reviewers.

[@AteszmadmanHDPC]

@@webbie7503 Or it could be that they actually liked the game? The game is currently sitting on 86% positive on steam, clearly there are people who like it.

[@Karlach_]

Saw IGN's review of this game on Twitter and they gave it an 8/10 for having good visuals and audio. IGN is a fucking embarrassing joke.

[@mustaine136]

A movie is a movie 😅

[@user-wl2bf7yq2d]

bro just wrote a 5000 word essay on Hellblade 2, impressive

[@InkyMuste]

Expecting MS to announce the closure of the studio in the next few weeks.

[@Demigodish4o3]

During the "Friends Per Second" podcast there was an interview with the game director, which was absolutely foreshadowing. All his answers regarding gameplay improvements were "It's all in service to the story" and how "the story is everything" and how "if something doesn't add to the story we cut it" In the end I was left wondering why is this even a videogame.

[@Thorn_416]

video games make so much money now, that people that have no genuine love or interest in gaming are ending up taking jobs in the industry.

[@bubalfred260]

Then don't play video games old man, or play older ones instead. Story is debatably the most important thing

[@Damianator77]

​@@bubalfred260I wouldn't say it's the most important thing, but for a lot of games it does help give the player a motivation to keep playing, but the gameplay is also capable of doing this. It all depends on the what game is trying to accomplish, honestly. If I had to choose though, I would want to play a game with better gameplay than story instead of one with a better story than gameplay. Ideally, I'd want an even balance of both because together they are capable of making overall amazing experiences, when done right. There have games I've played that I question why they even had to be in a video game format when they focused way more on telling a story and expected that to make up for the barebones gameplay. But again, it all depends on the game itself, and it's approach.

[@Wonderbrut]

@@bubalfred260story isn’t everything in a medium where the products you’re making are literally called video games gameplay is and always will be more important if you don’t like that then don’t try to pass off an interactive movie as a game🤷‍♂️

[@MostWantedWannaBE]

there are a lot of story based videogames that are walk around and read+listen while looking at pretty settings not every video game has to make you sweat through puzzles or mechanics

[@Slothyy333]

Ah, this is why there was such little marketing for this game

[@joeld2956]

Saying that a game is worse because it is a short game is something I think could only damage the gaming industry. Just because a game is short doesn’t make it bad. And for the “abrupt” ending, it is on par with the previous game as making it that thorgestr’s father created the giants in order to keep control of his people through fear is a great way to tie it all together as all of the characters are motivated by fear for their loved ones and their people of these giants that were created by leader. It is a similar plot test to that of the original. Making a game that doesn’t “improve” isn’t a failure. Many say that RDR is better than RDR2 but we don’t say that RDR2 is a failure.

[@et2k166]

5 years for 5 hour game where most of the time you can let your gamepad a rest and in the most intensive parts there still less gameplay than in any of David Cage games, yeah...what a blast

[@ipot399]

Reminds me of Scorn, that other game that was in development forever and the actual game is 3 hours long, with no voice acting or story.

[@jacquesventer3170]

Meanwhile, BG3 said it has 80 hours of gameplay and after 600 hours, there are still things I haven't experience

[@speider]

the dev team for BG3 is about.. 6 times bigger than the one for Senua's Saga?

[@jacquesventer3170]

@@speider thats not the point. It’s about over promising. I don’t care how big the dev team is.

[@MightyGachiman]

@@speider it is 6 times bigger NOW, during the majority of developement they had less than 100.

[@GetterRay]

BG3 isn't even that good. Its just accessible to people who don't play RPGs and it doesn't do anything better than a game like Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous or Wasteland 3. Its a mediocre game dressed up for a crowd that doesn't know anything better, which isn't too far off the mark for the kind of pretentious slop that Ninja Theory games tend to be. If you want to compare dev sizes as if that matters, Pathfinder had a far lower budget and a smaller dev team and a smaller dev cycle than BG3 and ends up have far, far more content than BG3. Smaller teams don't mean that you necessarily make less fulfilling games, not that time really matters. There are plenty of great short games out there, its just that 5 hours is a hard ask for 70 dollar unless you have some replayability like Resident Evil.

[@jacquesventer3170]

@@GetterRay what is pathfinder?

[@juanmd26121]

So the game’s purpose is, keep your subscription for 5 more hours

[@preston6676]

Pretty much

[@band0lero]

No really. It is keep your subscription for months on anticipation of the game. It's a psychological trick, people won't disable their subscription because of what's to come, as unrational as that is.

[@juanmd26121]

@@band0lero yup, maybe en 7 more years they give an excuse to have you for 5 more hours or a few months, top business model

[@forhyrule8428]

💀

[@kingofnara]

@@band0lero that's pretty dumb

[@parikshithmo]

Basically they made an hour of gameplay every year.

[@BrandonClark-StocksPassports]

Work smarter not harder Took the money and ran and went into something entirely different They were smart Buyers were dumb....

[@bfstudios9163]

is the back ground music from witcher 3?

[@ViktorAndy]

So, anyway....I downloaded Ghost of Tsushima on PC and played it yesterday for the very first time ever. When it first got announced, because i never owned a PS i didn't even bother watching a trailer. Seen screenshots on game news tho. Besides that, i experienced for the first time and i'm in love.

[@Xerodm]

I can only imagine how good it looks on PC if it's a good port. I took way too many screenshots when I played it just from getting cool shots.

[@danielsmid3777]

​@@XerodmReviews say it s one of best ports on pc😊

[@Emma_madison]

​@@Xerodmwait till the graphics mods comes out 😅

[@ViktorAndy]

@@Xerodm It looks incredible on PC even tho i have no idea how it looks on PS. But thats only image quality. The world, story, main character, minimalism in menu design, combat, actually made emotional for a moment. You PS guys are actually really lucky to have experienced it so long ago. This made want to buy a PS lol

[@Xerodm]

Gonna have to add it to my Steam wishlist with those replies in mind.

[@ThatKidTony]

To be fair, when they said it would take 8 hours they were probably talking to a games journalist...

[@DMTuefel]

If you slow walk everywhere, discover all of the voicelines, and take an hour lunch while it's running I think you could sqeeze 7 out of it.

[@nabieladrian]

​@@DMTuefel That's still baffling they should've called it tech demo instead.

[@DMTuefel]

@@nabieladrian I seriously believe Microsoft forced them to release an incomplete game.

[@yousefali7777]

I left the game running around 2/3 through the game, went to walk my dog, clean the kitchen, did my room, and some other housework. Came back, completed the game " I literally didn't comprehend the fact that the ending credits actually rolled", and the time I got was 9 hours, 9 fucking hours with literally going through my day and coming back to the game while it was running. I love a lot of stuff about this game and I enjoyed most of it, but it is actually really short.

[@anwartuha7277]

Why was the aspect ratio like that? You can't even change it

[@ryanwhite9103]

do i hear "The Fields of Ard Skellige" playing in the background?

[@Fantomas24ARM]

The game almost feels like a tech demo.

[@Damianator77]

The first one did too, honestly. That's why I was hoping for them to expand on the combat/gameplay for the sequel, but I guess not.

[@zigghie8285]

If you don't like the first game you wouldn't like this one either, this game is not for everyone but it will have a cult following just like the original

[@Damianator77]

@@zigghie8285 I actually like the first game, but you can tell they prioritized story way more than gameplay which makes you question why it's a game in the first place. Half-baked combat and puzzles that hardly evolve over time make the parts you're actually playing feel like filler. Studios have definitely made great strides in making video games a more cinematic experience, but they also understand that it's still a game that needs more than pretty graphics and amazing performances by actors. There needs to be fun and fulfilling gameplay that evolves throughout, showing progression in the character and the player. Watching a cutscene, or an "interactive cutscene" where you walk forward and watch something happen doesn't exactly warrant it being a game. Even if it does effectively help you understand the character(s) more, it doesn't make overall compelling gameplay. I was expecting more emphasis on combat and better puzzles for the sequel, but it's clear that they wanted to still keep it just as simple as the first. That's okay, it's just not my kind of game I guess. Also, I always see cult followings as people thinking they're somehow special because they don't have the same mentality as "casuals" and they "get it". A cult following for something doesn't inherently mean it's good.

[@vdochev]

@@Damianator77 I personally liked it. I was right at home with the controls and it felt familiar. I found myself using the mirror more this time around.

[@Walt_Xander94]

​@@zigghie8285Cult followings wont help a game sell(unless you're FS, but even then, most buyers quit their games). This game being disappointing is not a good look for Ninja Theory.

[@jassykat]

Now it makes sense why there was literally 0 marketing

[@majorshepard2]

Can't make a 3 minute trailer when it's short like this game. People not seeing this coming after devs said it was this short is baffling to me. If they made a trailer it would be worse. Look at that gameplay, she is walking.

[@jassykat]

@@majorshepard2 I don't mind the length, or anything about this game. From the consumer perspective, this is just another cool game you can play on Gamepass. The business side is what's unfortunate, because you know they're not going to make their money back, and we all saw what happened to those studios who didn't make their money back.

[@majorshepard2]

@@jassykat players like different things. I just wanted to comment on the reason to why there is no trailer probably. It would spoil too much. For me personally I have a golden rule of 1$ per hour I play when I buy it myself. But if I would get it through gamepass I don't mind it. Yeah they can't even get hit with layoffs by only 80 devs, so they will shut them down probably. Let's hope they move them to Bethesda and teach them how to use ue5 for elder scrolls 6 so there won't be a starfield again.

[@jassykat]

@@majorshepard2 I've seen a couple of trailers, but yeah, they're pretty short. It would be crazy to see a Bethesda game on UE5. Closest thing on the horizon would be The Witcher 4? The problem with Starfield is that the Action RPG formula they used for decades didn't changed much, and it's starting to feel old. You could argue that the Technical Limitations played a role on that, but I think that weight carries over the the whole team across all areas, quest design, narrative, and gameplay. But for what it is, I actually enjoyed Starfield quite a lot. It can be very inmersive if you choose to play it in specific ways.

[@majorshepard2]

@@jassykat I never played it. I don't have xbox or pc so my closest thing to starfield is no mans sky. And that has all the same problems despite them making big steps every update. Their formula is a big part of it, but I think they are limited in what they can do in their engine and they don't know how to utilise it, otherwise ai would not be worse than skyrim or fallout. You are totally right that their design decisions feel old and outdated and the setting makes it even worse. Their decisions are not futuristic, they are outdated. It's like they are stuck in 2012. I totally forgot about cdpr switching to ue5, thanks for reminding me

[@Hattori_Fujiyama]

8 hours is already embarrassingly short for a full price game... the fact they didn't even get it to last that long is honestly just sad.

[@devinloew7681]

Now we know why there was no advertisement

[@JmannTW]

Microsoft was like: "Okay guys, show us what you've been cooking for the last 5 years, we can definitely beat Sone with this! Wait, what do you mean 5 hours?! Are you kidding me?! Ok, fuck you, release what you've got, we won't spend a dime on this further, marketing including"

[@mikeryan1043]

Only way to explain the utter lack of marketing

[@LordKosmux]

Don't think that's the case, they probably planned a short playable movie. Waste of potential.

[@tajwxr]

The beautiful Witcher 3 music while you’re ripping this game apart is a good contrast 😂

[@sladelius6174]

Shit game contrasted by a vastly superior game's OST.

[@TomLee-lv8ql]

Amazing game for real people.

[@nidungr3496]

@@sladelius6174 Hellblade was supposed to have an OST by Heilung, but it turned out they did 1 song and some ambience. So that was also a disappointment.

[@sebastienaguila2107]

An important point I think you miss about the voices in Senua's head, is that in the first installement, theuy were not only in service of the narrative, but also in service of the gameplay. you'd constantly get a directional sound of a voice warning you of a threat behind you, telling you to duck or dodge, which at the time I thought was an excellent gameplay element, and an innovation beyond the scope of anything anyone had ever envisionned as part of the gameplay. it felt revolutionnary... and somehow they decided to get rid of it in the second game. I'm quite baffled by this choice... Also, TLOU gameplay was fine... nothing special about it. it isn't the greatest stealth game, it isn't the best action game, it isn't above average at anything other than story telling or graphics/animations. but the gameplay wasn't even getting close to "phenomenal"... it was barely above average, and imo it's mostly due to the incredible animations doing a lot of the heavy lifting for immersion.

[@amharbinger]

I think the 8 hours+ is the 2 additional alternate campaigns that swap the narrator out.

[@ras_alhim]

No Luke video without at least one mention of Suicide Squad lmao

[@EisOfSpades7]

lesson to remember kids, A pretty face doesn't always make up for a bad personality.

[@g3ar75]

This is deep

[@Killswitch1411]

Couldn't hold anymore true than modern day.

[@somethingyouhave]

With that analogy, this review sounds like a guy that said, “I was in love with this girl when we were kids. She had such a unique personality. Then we grew up and she became incredibly pretty, and I was disappointed that she was still quirky in all the ways I loved when we were kids. Gosh she’s such a loser.”

[@shalindelta7]

​@somethingyouhave i mean, naturally you're supposed to grow and change as a person. So an adult acting like a child IS a problem.

[@EisOfSpades7]

@@somethingyouhave I think you’re thinking about this a little too deeply. I was merely saying good graphics don’t make up for bad or boring gameplay.

[@ReachTea]

The way the map layout is done, you can actually just see the giant invisible walls everywhere

[@RipFritzer65]

Are you playing Witcher 3 qwent music in the background of the video?

[@Chevifier]

80% of the budget was on Graphics 10% on mocap and actors, 5% on audio and 5% on gameplay programming XD

[@memezurdreamz2203]

5% on audio/programming? You've got no idea what you're saying buddy.

[@Tazza19931]

That's definitely want the end result makes it feel like, yeah.

[@Volvagia1927]

This is, probably, going to go down like Fairweather Johnson, "Johnson, I like the Braves in '95."

[@olofpalme9812]

Nah not really. The audio is world class. I agree that the price is outrageous for 5 hours of gameplay. If they cut it down to around 15 - 20 dollars it would not have gotten this backlash. I personally enjoy that some companies make these type of ''experience'' games where you dont have to worry too much about choices or a skill gap. A game with a nice story and kind of a ''lay back and enjoy'' feeling

[@PaulM68322]

On the bright side, after years of hating 'Walking Sims', Xbox fan boys have finally come around to love them and only after playing one for 5 hours 💪

[@bstaples8726]

Just like how PS fanboys hated GAAS but suddenly loved them when Helldivers 2 dropped

[@band0lero]

@@bstaples8726 Which is an insanely good live service game, at $40 with reasonable microtransactions, rewarding gameplay loop and no nickel and diming as opposed to let's say, most other live service games? Come on. Blank statements like "all live service game sucks" or "x game is a walking simulator" are stupid, but so is comparing an enormously successful game done right by almost every metric to almost every other unfinished live-service crap that reaches end of life in 6 months.

[@chriscollins3225]

​@@bstaples8726helldrivers 2 actually made GAAS fun and not a rip off of the players money in comparison to the market While hellblade 2 is a $50 game that lasts 5hrs Make your point make sense

[@demolisher4437]

@@chriscollins3225 Fun is subjective and they had paid options day 1 in which you could take out your wallet to get ahead of everyone else in the game.

[@jordanwhite352]

​@@bstaples8726Also, to be honest about this, most of the sales and hype has been around the PC gaming side and barely the PlayStation side.

[@BlueLionsTVNiiNiiFC]

I agree with some of your assessments, maybe because i knew going in, that it wasnt a long game, the ending was clearly telegraphed. Yes, they spoke about a bigger threat, but, it was obvious it was not gonna get tackled in this sequel

[@liamcollinson5695]

I am using captions but did i read that right it is only 5 hours long

[@user-rt7eq7cw8o]

The conbat isnt largely untouched, they made it WAY WORSE. They completely removed the kick attack, and most of the combos. Now you only have 3 combat buttons instead of 4. And it is at least 4 times less respponsive. Also senuas roll has been nerfed completely.

[@wu-bangya4486]

I do miss the kick...but combat feels more realistic & challenging, especially on hard mode

[@user-rt7eq7cw8o]

​@@wu-bangya4486 Hard disagree. she lost her combat abilities between games which shows it wasnt even made for fans of the first. Also like i said she is WAY less responsive to your inputs. That isnt realistic. IRL you respond to your own inputs from your brain, pretty much instantly. Thats why all the games that feel the best to play are the most responsive ones. Hellblade 1 was actually decently responsive for this type of game. Hellblade 2 is one the least responsive games of this type ever made. 90% of the fans of the first game wanted the combat expanded a bit more, not cut down. Same with the puzzles. We wanted more variance, not just more of the same. Hellblade 1 was a good starting block, but instead of expanding the actual game elements in 2, they cut them down and made more of the game interactive cutscenes. YAY lets hold up for 15 minutes at the start of the game. Forced walking sections are also last gen AF. They basically added the stuff from the Tomb Raider square enix trilogy that aged the worst, the forced walking and interactive cutscene sections. Sometimes i was just sat there not realising i was meant press something. Couldnt tell if she was worn out and stopping or i was mean to press something. Voices were talking so it seemed like she had to stopped to listen, but no, had to move the rocks out the way in the interactive custscene. Im also British, so this series was important me on a deeper level and i want to support British game devs, but I cant overlook the gameplay. It is worse, full stop.

[@user-rt7eq7cw8o]

@@wu-bangya4486 oh also, its now obvious how they made the game look like a cutscene in the ''gameplay' trailors whilst claiming it was gameplay. They were just interactive cutscenes and they claimed it was gameplay because it wasnt just a plain cutscene. Thats just dishonest and basically a lie. Holding up on the analog doesnt make it a gameplay section no matter how they try to swing it. Oh and the build up videos , they said they had spent ages on the combat to make it better. Well, in my opinion, whoever did the combat for 2, failed miserably.

[@levi22es]

They also got rid of the voices telling you when there was an enemy attacking you behind. It was a cool feature because it gave you the ability to parry it. It was also cool because sometimes they’d tell you to watch out or look behind you and there was nothing there. It really added to the psychosis and immersed you. I wish that wasn’t cut.

[@sci-figaming8631]

And they promised the combat was going to be more in-depth and this was the opposite of that

[@tilenkobe]

5 years of development for 5 hours is crazy.

[@vdochev]

What is crazy exactly? If you want senseless padding, you can just take your time with it, no one is pushing you.

[@keithmichael112]

​@@vdochevare you being intentionally obtuse lol

[@vdochev]

@@keithmichael112 What makes you think I'm obtuse?

[@keithmichael112]

@@vdochev it just seemed like anyone would see this much time and money for this is absurd on it's face. But what do I know

[@vdochev]

@@keithmichael112 I think the length of the game is really good. In my opinion the intention was to play it in one sitting to get the full experience without any distractions. This is not a type of game that will give you side quests, missions, etc. The focus here, like in the first part, is the story, the characters and the experience. If we're talking about length it took me 7 hours, not 5 and I was rushing through it. Maybe you're a speed-running god and can solve all the puzzles right away without any guide, whatever, I'll not argue, but I'll gladly pay for a great 5 hour game than a 45hrs+ mess. I got what I expected and I'm happy. What difference does it make if it took 5 or 10 years of development? I don't understand. If we are using this measurement, Duke Nukem Forever, for example, should be 20 centuries long. And like I said, I can easily clock in 20-30 hrs in it if I want to explore and find every tree and every story in it. No one's rushing you to speedrun the game. If you don't like it, that's why reviews exist. I'm sure you'll find many other great games that will satisfy your taste.

[@VampireKa1n]

Embargo that go up to released date are ALWAYS a red flag. It shows a lack of confidence in your product.

[@facebookwasdown]

just as an aside, setting postprocessing quality to low actually improved image quality on my end.. I wish there was an option to just turn those effects off. I do the same with motion blur, depth of field and camera shake wherever possible.

[@greedyyawgoo5635]

Guys Remember, Sony Bought Insomiac for 100M and created so many games for the past 7 years, like Marvel Spider-Man 1 and 2 and Ratchet and Clank. Microsoft Bought Ninja Theory for 100M and for 7 years, they only made 1 game that only lasted for 6 Hours.

[@davidglenn2739]

Seems to be a recurring theme. Look at Rare for just one example

[@Lead_Foot]

Insomniac also has 3x the amount of staff and couldn't make enough money to avoid layoffs.

[@darugdawg2453]

before xbox bought bethesda they are already underperforming. they produced fallout goty. microsoft keep funding shit games and dying devs

[@123cornflakeman]

​@Lead_Foot pretty obvious that layoffs have nothing to do with the success of the studio at this point

[@phant0m_633]

They didnt even buy insomniac for 100 million...

[@MoistCritikalClips_]

it is genuinely shocking how little was done in 5 years, its baffling

[@hinchlikescake7592]

Too busy partying and living it up on Iceland and other trips

[@homem-pobre]

They made it 1 hour per year

[@aznhomig]

Lol, probably spent a lot of time dealing with their self-diagnosed "mental health" issues, I bet.

[@PhazeyBlur]

I guess it's true, M$ did really made a pub *inside* Ninja's Theory's office!!

[@user-xj3in5gv4p]

I think that of so many games these days. Like Halo Infinite, how the FUCK was all that time and money spent, for what we ended up with? For that amount of money and time we should have had an incredible boundary pushing halo game, massive explorable cities on a scale we haven't seen yet, etc. It's insane how underwhelming and shit these games end up, when they have record breaking funding, resources, manpower, decades of previous games industry knowledge, etc. And at launch after years and years we get a barely functioning game, a bland open world that can't even touch any far cry's even from a decade ago. like 3 multiplayer playlists which the most popular gametype slayer is missing.... and... can't be added? Because the UI won't allow it? And this is HALO. Xbox's fucking FLAGSHIP. Lolllll. This industry is a fucking joke and a scam. All the funds are being mismanaged, pocketed, and funneled to the top. The talent and passion is gone. It's a circus of overpaid clowns in the AAA space.

[@kevinkenealy1179]

Hellblade 2 was supposed to have Heilung do the music for it but I didn't hear any of it.

[@rankka_music]

Wait s minute!! No Heilung??? I was fine with all the other criticism and willing to give it a chance any way, but no heilung might be the biggest deal breaking disappointment for me.

[@thecoryguy]

I don't know but I feel like Senua gritting her teeth is her defining feature

[@GFBunnyHopER]

RIP Ninja Theory, should have made Heavenly Sword 2...

[@sachin72767]

I would have taken the sequel to their version of DMC Devil may cry too.

[@Alex-bw3jj]

Those people who made DmC are long gone

[@Alex-bw3jj]

Those people who made DmC are long gone

[@anshukandulna1844]

​@@Alex-bw3jjyeah all the existing employees are "new hires" now

[@lupin3rd82]

Sony owns that ip

[@aledantih6524]

As much as I'm saddened to hear this I'm gonna say its not that surprising. Most people are gonna jump on Xboxs neck understandably but I wouldn't even do that. People forget that Ninja Theory have made some absolutely atrocious games in the past and Hellblade 1 was their ticket out of bankruptcy because of it. And even though I really liked Hellblade 1 they never really showed themselves to be great at making video games but rather experiences and that's what Hellblade 1 was, something innovative and unique. I never liked that they decided to go the sequel route with it and it definitely shouldn't be the price that it is.

[@aynrandom3004]

Crazy how your easily swayed buy some KZbinr's opinion. Did not even bother to play the game first lmao.

[@shyfox7554]

@@aynrandom3004this KZbinr is a good one so honestly probably right

[@Nikelaos_Khristianos]

If you’re referring to DmC: Devil May Cry - then yes, I agree that it was a shocking game helmed by a director that “hated Devil May Cry.” But the bitter irony there is that he’s now living some rockstar life - having completely shat on DmC - and his old studio is the one dealing with all the shit now. The wrong guy won that battle, imo.

[@jez49647]

Yeah, a lot of people are blaming this inevitable trashfire on Microsoft already (which i get the temptation, i'm still not quite over the xbone reveal) but lets not pretend that Ninja Theory aren't the ones that actually made this boring walking simulator.

[@theatheistbear3117]

But DmC was actually good, though.

[@openboundariesofficial]

..I mean....I was absolutely engrossed in this. The game was a moving experience, the narrative was great, the visuals impeccable. Maybe those who view the world a little differently will resonate with this game more.

[@hanbill]

I think their manager or who ever does story boarding and plans how it rolls, just could not figure out how to make it effectively

[@crazy-acid-trip9765]

Hearing the developers talk on skill up , kinda said it all . Felt like they just wanted it out and cross fingers and with all the studios shutdowns not looking good for ninja theory

[@rodrigobogado8756]

Microsoft has to erase Ninja and bring back Tango

[@foreignuser_]

it looks great for ninja theory. if HB2 is the kind of trash they are making, it seems like they would all be better off split up and looking for a better fit for their skills and mindset

[@hayabusa09]

And now we know why Xbox didn’t want to market it 😂

[@weplayvrgames]

If they did you'd see most of the game before playing it

[@Xerodm]

What were they gonna advertise, walking?

[@Harry-tm3ck]

Damn unc you been on KZbin for 17 yrs

[@Emma_madison]

​@@Harry-tm3ckyhh that crazy like WTF 😂

[@Emma_madison]

Haya how was KZbin like during 2007😭

[@Gabes_Game_Cave]

5 years for 5 hours of gameplay. That is almost as bad of a time investment as setting up dominoes.

[@alcatraz6275]

The Witcher 3 soundtrack in the background is fire

[@flobbergassy]

I'm a photographer, and the fake DoF is so bad in games. They just blur everything in the background with no actual thought to how it would look. Drives me nuts.

[@marcdwonn9772]

The games i have played with DOF in the cutscenes had nice bokeh, so i idk what you're talking about. Can't stand DOF while playing though.

[@Ascendedninja6]

I have to turn off multiple graphics settings for every game before I start it. Motion blur and the grain filter are what annoy me the most. Whoever thought those were good ideas were wrong.

[@jdg1251]

What's your opinion on the use of lens flare in videogames? It's been bothering me for years

[@flobbergassy]

@@marcdwonn9772 I'm talking about in-game. The original Dragon's Dogma is one in particular that is terrible. Newer games have gotten somewhat better, but there's still just a difference between in-camera bokeh caused by the lens build and someone blurring the background. That's the problem, there's no subtlety to it. It's basically just a blur filter. I'd rather see the work they put in on the world and environment than see a bad filter covering it all up.

[@flobbergassy]

@@Ascendedninja6 Same here.

[@CanIHasThisName]

Things like chromatic aberration and overbaked depth of field effects really need to start getting flak from the community. It's become a really bad trend. There's no way anyone actually enjoys that, games have so much definition now and for whatever reason developers feel like smearing all that detail. FFS, WHY? There are technologically inferior games that look better than the modern ones, because even if they aren't as good looking, they aren't blurry. And don't get me started on fake HDR effect which usually can't be disabled at all.

[@ricardo_lavra]

Overdone chromatic aberration and DoF are videogame's equivalent to Zack Snyder's overuse of slow motion. It's good when used properly but once it became kind of a "visual trademark" of pseudoartistic content things went downhill.

[@jesustyronechrist2330]

I blame Instagram. It's really popular to do these "glitch" effects on any kind of art and especially anime illustrations that are mega popular. Undoubtedly these devs have rotted their brain with pop-aesthetics to the point they want to put these elements everywhere. It's kinda like putting ridiculous amounts of motion blur in your pre-alpha build.

[@w3bbi3]

It's the biggest thing that's going to stick out when you go back and play them after a few years.....like that Xbox 360 generation yellow/beige haze on everything

[@jose131991]

@@w3bbi3bloom era

[@samzilla567]

I always turn that stuff on whenever I boot up a new game. The extra bells and whistles devs put into making their games look "realistic" is unnecessary and pretentious.

[@Jayninja13111]

If you take out the cut scenes. This game is astounding short. What were they doing for 5 years?

[@fujiyamapanic]

5:00 Pay close attention to the tiny waterfall coming from the wall on the right. I think I counted 12 frames from 5:00 till 5:02... that's crazy.

[@ShadowWolfQc]

Walking sim tech demo for UE5.

[@HegoDamaskll]

It's actually a character study of schizophrenia and or psychosis. At least the first one. The first one was short too. If you play with headphones on you can hear disembodied voices talking to you saying both positive and negative things. She sees things that aren't real. I thought the first was great. It disappoints me to hear this about the 2nd. I was hoping to play 2.

[@ShadowWolfQc]

@@HegoDamaskll yeah...so basically a poor excuse for a movie disguised as a game where it's 99% movie 1% gameplay which is mostly pressing forward on the controller. ...so a boring walking sim tech demo...

[@Emma_madison]

​@@HegoDamaskllThe 1st game portrayed it better than this one. Apart from graphics everything feels downgraded,if you actually played the 1st game. Even the combat in the 1st is way better even tho they seem similar

[@aninfinitemindofmusicandreams]

​@HegoDamaskll It's a very neat concept and a very interesting way to make a game about mental health, I'll agree there. But neat concepts aren't enough to make a game great It's also treading pretty much the same ground the original was doing back in 2017 without much updates to any of the gameplay systems. It's cool if you like this, but you have to understand why many are disappointed after waiting so many years for a sequel.

[@Alex-bw3jj]

The order 1886 2015 game have more gameplay

[@doge4818]

5hr, 50 bucks, no replayability, no sale

[@zigghie8285]

People who like the first game will definitely buy it and if you don't like the first game you wouldn't like this one either, this game is not for everyone but it will have a cult following just like the original

[@MoinWoll]

I think $10 for a month of game pass is OK. It's not like you'll need more than a month to finish the game.

[@aramisheredia4724]

Gamepass?

[@nicholasnajibi3082]

They won’t miss your money…they already got alot from us gamers. There will be a senua 3. You’ll see ❤ 🙏🏼

[@mikeity2009]

@@nicholasnajibi3082 Cope.

[@aroccoification]

Sigorny weaver did such a good job in this role

[@rahuldhar5547]

Is that the witcher 3 bgm playing ?

[@TSmith2410]

Hellblade II: How Many Times Can Luke Say "Baffling" - A Challenge

[@LukeStephensTV]

“How many times will Luke say “baffling?” Answer: “Yes.”

[@blakbear6528]

“tremendous”

[@thatrandomkid8792]

Is that Witcher 3 background music? 😂

[@mza4739]

Yep

[@custardberrytart651]

It is indeed , Kaer Morhen music

[@voldrik1364]

Such a bummer, but I'm not at all surprised. I loved the original, but when MS bought Ninja Theory and announced they'd be making a sequel, I was immediately skeptical. The first was great because it had an interesting story to tell and it told it. What was there to do with a sequel except please the shareholders? You can't squeeze a franchise out of everything.

[@leecroft7311]

Why is the game cropped ? Can it be turned off, i can't stand the cropping. I had this issue with the first The Evil Within.

[@TheRetroPerspective]

"We are giving Ninja Theory unlimited budget to do whatever they want"

[@MostWantedWannaBE]

that almost never happens very few things actually get blank checks and i don't remember a game ever getting a blank check Riots MMO was theorized to be a blank check and they almost cancelled the project a few months ago

[@darianstarfrog]

Fumbled

[@qqgoblin]

Glorified tech demo

[@Discombobulate453]

L

[@DragonBallG69]

They had a way bigger budget and more developers, but it only led to better graphics and mechanical/design regressions everywhere else. Funnily enough, the game might have better graphics, but I think artistically the original is superior. Enemies had cooler designs and the environments were way more memorable.

[@Qballiz2kool]

Agreed, the environments in the 2nd game are very bland compared to the first.

[@DragonBallG69]

@@Qballiz2kool yeah I hope u like rocks and caves cos that is all Hellblade 2 has. Original Hellblade had forests, beaches, caves, forts, burning village’s, cliff sides, oceans, and tons of psychedelic imagery and environmental variety.

[@Qballiz2kool]

@@DragonBallG69 yea, the prolonged cave section in the second game with the blue light was cool at first, but quickly outstayed its welcome because it seemed to last SO long.

[@labber]

so, i just finished it and my balls dont feel or look blue. but i also havent expected something epic or at least lukes expectation of smth epic is different then mine. the end of the game, i really liked. it was good. i liked the ending from the first game more, but i appreciate it nevertheless and find it a very good ending to the story. it is shorter, yes. it costs more, yes. buy it on sale i would suggest. i agree with the voices, that they are worse than in the first game, where they were part of the gameplay especially in combat, but they havent bothered me too much. sadly the combat was tuned down, yes. i liked it in the first one that i sometimes found out moves i wasnt aware of i could do. in hb2, it is pretty the same, but i have to say, entering combat and "switching" to the next enemy is very organicly made. i presume that they wanted to make the transition between comabt and non combat sequments more fluidly. which i think it worked. the puzzles are not good, i agree on that too. but the rest. i liked it a lot. and for some reason, i got 8 hours. idk how differently we played, i looked around, i searched for the totems and the trees, but cant be 3 hours of difference? so idk. bafflingly disappointing is for me exaggerated. i can understand if someone is disappointed, sure. the game gave me a lot, to think about. barely games give me that.

[@hermanpewdiepiesbrother7888]

This is a great comment. The story is still massively immersive as hellblade is supposed to be. I love how they made combat on characters way more life like and fluid. The finishes and the cuts and animations are 10/10. Fighting the slavemaster is extremely detailed and smooth gameplay that really makes you feel like you are there watching. I have no problem with interactive movie games as long as it has a interesting world and keeps you on your toes as this truly does. Great intro with disturbing voices and the breathing and screaming from the dead bodies being washed around on the shore. Its way more immersive than the first one, but i really wish it was longer because the higher quality really makes you want more

[@OurLou]

Ah so 0% marketing makes sense

[@blerdstatic8187]

I play this game for the story. Do you feel that the story was better this time?

[@GremlinSkatewear]

The amount of time they spent marketing this game for it to be this short is unreal