Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
| Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | Ninja Theory | ||
| Publisher | Ninja Theory | ||
| Senior Developer | Tameem Antoniades (Director) Dominic Matthews (Producer) Tameem Antoniades (Author) Elizabeth Ashman-Rowe (Author) |
||
| composer |
Andy LaPlegua David García Díaz |
||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
August 8, 2017 Windows, PlayStation 4 April 11, 2018 Xbox One April 11, 2019 Nintendo Switch |
||
| platform |
Windows PlayStation 4 Xbox One Nintendo Switch |
||
| Game engine | Unreal Engine 4 | ||
| genre | Action adventure | ||
| Game mode | Single player | ||
| control | Gamepad, or mouse and keyboard | ||
| system advantages preconditions |
Windows 7, 8, 10 Intel i5 3570K / AMD FX-8350 8 GB RAM GTX 770 with 2GB VRAM / Radeon R9 280X 3GB DirectX: Version 11 30 GB available space Minimum screen resolution: 1280 × 720 |
||
| medium | Download , Blu-ray , microSD | ||
| language | Multilingual | ||
| Age rating |
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||
| information | Download version from the USK unchecked | ||
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (translated as: Hell Blade: Hassenuah victim ) is a 2017 published video game developed and published by the British studio Ninja Theory . Unlike previous developments, it was important for Ninja Theory to publish the game yourself so as not to have to endure interference or compromises. Therefore they call Hellblade an Independent - AAA game.
The game for the PlayStation 4 was first presented on August 12, 2014 at Gamescom in Cologne. A Windows version was announced on January 9, 2015. In the same year, an early playable version was shown for the first time at Gamescom. On August 8, 2017, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice was released worldwide. An implementation for the Xbox One followed on April 11, 2018, also as an Xbox One X Enhanced version. On December 4, 2018, the game was also released on disc for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Based on Celtic and Nordic mythology , the game tells the story of the young Celtic warrior Senua. It is noteworthy that the focus is primarily on their psychoses and that they make themselves felt through play. The game received a lot of critical praise both for its graphic and playful quality, as well as for the fact that the game deals profoundly and sensitively with mental disorders.
The sequel to Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 was announced at the Game Awards 2019.
Development and background
According to the developers, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice was supposed to be a classic hero's journey in which a Celtic warrior “ embarks on a visionary journey into the land of the Vikings ”. It should be a story of suffering , with the fantasy world only existing in the head of the protagonist. This, Senua, was named after the Celtic goddess Senuna, other influences resulted from Boudicca . Senua is as Piktin designed by Orkney originating Islands, with typical blue war paint from Waid and lime in your hair. Your particularly severe psychotic disorders are the focus of the game.
At the beginning of the game, a warning is displayed that indicates the drastic representations of these psychoses and that these could have a "disturbing" effect on players, especially those who have had such experiences themselves. Attention is also drawn to possibly “incriminating scenes of violence”.
The historical perspective of the Celts on mental disorders also flowed into the game. Men or women who were allegedly affected by a curse or who had gone insane from grief or from traumatic battles were referred to as "aged". Either rejected by the group or of their own accord, they lived apart from the community in order to experience punishment, atonement or purification. Another Celtic name that can also be found in the game is "Druth", which was mainly used to refer to fools or morons. The fate of the character of the same name is based on Findan , an Irish Celt who was enslaved by Vikings but who then managed to escape on the Orkney Islands.
A careful and sensitive treatment of the subject of mental disorders was important to the developers. They were aware that this topic was more of a taboo, especially in video games. If depictions were made in games, however, psychosis and psychopathy were equated; the depictions often even appeared offensive to those affected. According to the developers, video games are well suited for this topic, as they could represent delusions well, for example, and offer the opportunity to “experience and make understandable” the perspective of a person concerned. Panic, fear, schizophrenia and flashbacks should be understandable for the player. For the sake of immersion and in order to better empathize with the "voices in the head", the developers recommend headphones while playing.
Ninja Theory was therefore advised by four psychologists during development, as well as two professors from the University of Cambridge , such as Paul Fletcher, psychiatrist and professor of neuroscience , and Charles Fernyhough, professor of psychology at the University of Durham . Those affected from the Recovery College and the Wellcome Trust were also involved in the development.
The protagonist Senua was portrayed by the then 26-year-old German Melina Jürgens from Paderborn . She was employed as a video editor at Ninja Theory and slipped into this role by chance after the intended actress jumped off. Initially, it should only take over the motion capture recordings for test purposes . Juergens embodied her role so convincingly that she was firmly engaged for the role as Senua. In a conversation with the Westfalen-Blatt , she mentioned a "terribly frustrating diet". The role also includes lifting weights and training in mixed martial arts and Jiu Jitsu . “Today I sit on my living room couch and play myself as a video game heroine. I can't have it all yet. ", Says Melina Jürgens.
There are numerous rune stones in the game that tell the stories of the Edda and the Völsunga saga . The game offers no screen displays, no character menu, no inventory and no chapter selection. After playing through the game, the game will be deleted so that only a restart is possible. In addition to the game, the download also includes a 25-minute making-of. The game is an action adventure, but especially from the halfway point there are numerous elements that can be assigned to psychological horror. The difference between reality and Senua's delusions and flight from reality becomes increasingly unclear for the player. The game offers numerous puzzles, mainly optical illusions and perspective tricks. The playing time is about seven to ten hours.
In November 2017, Ninja Theory announced that three months after the game was released, 500,000 copies (250,000 after the first week) had been sold, generating revenues of around $ 13 million. Hellblade was thus more successful than expected by the developers, who expected this success after six to nine months at best. Ninja Theory also announced that it would donate £ 60,000 to a nonprofit to help the mentally ill.
A VR edition of the game for Windows was released on July 31, 2018. It is available for free to owners who purchased the original game on Steam or GOG.com.
In February 2019, a port for the Nintendo Switch was announced in a Nintendo Direct presentation . The port that QLOC is responsible for was released on April 11, 2019.
action
The game is about the young Celtic warrior Senua, towards the end of the 8th century. Even her mother Galena was considered "cursed", at the insistence of her husband, the fanatical druid Zynbel, she found the sacrificial death at the stake in order to find "redemption". Senua's father realizes the legacy her mother left in her. Full of superstition, he tried to isolate Senua from others in the village community as a child. The voices in her head, her hallucinations and delusions, he explained with the "curse of darkness". Senua increasingly accepted this and constructed her reality around this supposed curse.
The youthful Senua admires the warrior Dillion, the chief's son, secretly observes him during his sword fighting exercises and imitates this. After a tentative encounter between the two, a friendship and later love develop. Then an epidemic breaks out in the community for which the "cursed child" is held responsible. Under pressure, but against her father's will, and at gunpoint, she forces her to flee the village to find redemption in the wilderness.
Then there is a cruel attack by the Northmen on the islands. She returns to look for her loved one, but he was sacrificed to the gods by the Vikings as the son of a chief. The cruel method of execution of the blood eagle traumatizes Senua all the more when she finds him dead.
The voices in her head encourage and discourage her, warn and offend her. Nevertheless, Senua travels north alone, to the land of the Northmen. Your goal is Helheim , there to get the Nordic goddess of the dead Hela to bring her Dillion back and save his soul. She carries his severed head on her hip. In addition to encounters with beings like Valravn or Surt , battles with monstrous Vikings, although it is never clear to the player whether these also arise from their imagination, Senua is increasingly plagued by traumas, fears and delusions.
In the end she faces Hela. She gives up her resistance and accepts her fate. She curses her superstitious father who brought so much suffering to her and her mother. She eventually manages to accept Dillion's death and accept the voices in her head as part of herself.
reception
| Magazine / website | Rating |
|---|---|
| 4players | 90% |
| PC Games | 87% |
| Metacritic (PC) | 83% |
| Metacritic (PS4) | 81% |
| GamePro | 84% |
| M! Games | 90% |
| Gamestar | 82% |
“The most intense gaming experience of the year: a technically fantastic psycho trip with gripping sword fights. […] Its intensity, its sound and its ability to transplant you into the head of a virtual character make it a milestone. «Hellblade» gave me the most intense gaming experience in my 30-year gaming career. Senua's famous face, the mix of voices in her head, the visual impact of the last few hours of the game have literally blown away my anger at the initially honest puzzles and the limited game world. I take my hat off to Ninja Theory - for the courage to develop such an extraordinary game that not only excels technically, but also skilfully tackles the taboo subject of mental disorders. "
“Hellblade always treats the subject of psychosis with respect, but never shrinks from showing the very bad moments of the illness and thus making her protagonist suffer. The game is incredibly intense, captivating, and sometimes even exhausting. So far, no video game has succeeded so well in transferring the inner pain, confusion or simply the emotional world of the protagonist so much to the player. Hellblade is an immersive experience that [sic!] Is not afraid to repel the player. The voices, the missing explanations, the visions - everything serves to let the player slip even more into Senua's role. If you initially ask yourself whether the adventure is at least partially a reality or if everything only happens in Senua's head, it soon doesn't matter. For Senua this is reality and we are Senua. [...] I wouldn't have thought that Hellblade would blow me away like that. Yes, in terms of play, the title doesn't really make anything new and the relatively few gameplay components are not particularly complex, but I don't care at all in this case. They only serve as a vehicle for the story anyway, and from a narrative point of view, Senua's Sacrifice is just great. The subject of mental illness is treated with so much respect and so accurately and woven into the story that I can only take my imaginary hat off. Every scene has a meaning and Senua's illness and the suffering that goes with it are brought as close as possible thanks to the grandiose audiovisual implementation. Hellblade is one of those games that shows what the medium is actually capable of. No book, no film could put me in Senua so much. "
“It's not just the carefully researched psychological background that makes Hellblade a good game - the carefully designed and excellently staged character study make it a special and unusually intense experience! This is not only due to the technically outstanding facial expressions of its protagonist, but also to the powerful play of its actress. It is because Senua's fears are not only mentioned, but are constantly tangible - be it about the whispering and whispering voices in her head or the fire and darkness that must be overcome as real dangers. [...] In its entirety, however, the fourth great work by Tameem Antoniades is a captivating and above all narrative unique adventure! "
Awards
- DICE Awards 2018: Outstanding Character Drawing (four other nominations)
- The Game Awards 2017: Best sound design , best presentation for Melina Jürgens, "Games for Impact" (two further nominations)
- Game Developers Choice Awards 2018: three nominations
- British Academy Video Games Awards 2018: Best British Game , Best Artistic Achievement , Best Musical Achievement , "Beyond Entertainment" , Best Performance for Melina Jürgens (four other nominations)
- Annie Award 2018: One nomination
- Global Game Awards 2017: Best Indie Game (one more nomination)
- Golden Joystick Awards 2017: four nominations
- The Independent Game Developers' Association Awards 2017: Best Action-Adventure (three other nominations)
- National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards 2018: Best Game Design , Best Acting (Drama) for Melina Jürgens (eight other nominations)
- SXSW Gaming Awards 2018: six nominations
- Fun & Serious Game Festival Bilbao 2017: Best Indie Game
- New York Game Awards 2018: Best performance for Melina Jürgens (one more nomination)
successor
At the Game Awards 2019, a successor to Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice was announced: Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 will be released for Windows and the Xbox Series X. The game will be published under Xbox Game Studios. A release date is still unknown.
Web links
- Official website (English)
- The voices they called at Zeit Online
Individual evidence
- ↑ https://blog.us.playstation.com/2014/08/12/hellblade-revealed-for-ps4-developed-by-ninja-theory/
- ↑ https://www.polygon.com/2015/6/10/8760093/hellblade-ps4-mental-illness-video
- ↑ http://www.4players.de/4players.php/spielinfonews/XboxOne/35998/2174064/Hellblade_Senuas_Sacrifice-Umsetzung_fuer_Xbox_One_bestaetigt_Termin_stands_fest.html
- ↑ https://game7.de/senuas-saga-hellblade-2/news/senuas-saga-hellblade-2-pc-version-bestaetigt-igRb/
- ↑ http://de.ign.com/hellblade/119332/news/hellblade-so-wurde-melina-juergens-zu-senua
- ↑ https://www.games-magazin.de/hellblade-wie-melina-juergens-zur-protagonistin-senua-wurde/
- ↑ http://www.westfalen-blatt.de/OWL/Kreis-Paderborn/Paderborn/3046773-Paderbornerin-Melina-Juergens-hat-die-Hauptrolle-in-Hellblade-Wie-eine-Reise-ins-Ich
- ↑ http://www.gamestar.de/artikel/hellblade-senuas-sacrifice-500000-verkaufte-spiele-schneller-erreich-als-gedacht,3322574.html
- ↑ http://www.4players.de/4players.php/spielinfonews/Allgemein/35998/2171755/Hellblade_Senuas_Sacrifice-Kommerzielle_und_kreativer_Eruis_500000_Verkaeufe_Gewinnschwelle_erreich.html
- ↑ http://www.gamestar.de/artikel/hellblade-alle-heutigen-einhaben-iegen-an-gemeinnuetzige-organisation,3320826.html
- ↑ Michael McWhertor: Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice comes to VR on July 31st , July 25th, 2018, accessed on December 30th, 2019 .
- ↑ Michael Sosinka: Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice now available for Switch , In: Game7.de ; dated April 11, 2019, accessed April 12, 2019
- ↑ http://www.sciencefocus.com/article/mind/hellblade-senua%E2%80%99s-sacrifice-psychosis-interview
- ↑ http://www.4players.de/4players.php/dispbericht_fazit/Allgemein/Test/Fazit_WANY/Allgemein/35998/82654/Hellblade_Senuas_Sacrifice.html
- ↑ http://www.pcgames.de/Hellblade-Senuas-Sacrifice-Spiel-56843/Tests/Review-Ein-erzaehlerischer-Meilenstein-1235560/2/
- ↑ http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/hellblade-senuas-sacrifice
- ↑ http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/hellblade-senuas-sacrifice
- ↑ http://www.gamepro.de/playstation/spiele/ps4/hellblade-senuas-sacrifice/51537.html#
- ↑ M! Games , issue 288, September 2017, page 73
- ↑ http://www.gamestar.de/spiele/hellblade-senuas-sacrifice/51969.html
- ↑ M! Games , issue 288, September 2017, page 73
- ↑ https://www.pcgames.de/Hellblade-Senuas-Sacrifice-Spiel-56843/Tests/Review-Ein-erzaehlerischer-Meilenstein-1235560/
- ↑ http://www.4players.de/4players.php/dispbericht_fazit/Allgemein/Test/Fazit_WANY/Allgemein/35998/82654/Hellblade_Senuas_Sacrifice.html
- ↑ M! Games , issue 294, March 2018, page 18
- ↑ Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 / News & Stories. Accessed December 31, 2019 .
- ↑ Alyssa Mercante 2019-12-19T11: 27: 12Z: Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2: Release date, trailer, and everything we know about the Xbox Series X title. Accessed December 31, 2019 .