Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

Senua's Sacrifice allows you to experience what it feels like, to suffer from OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) and related mental health issues. I have had the same affliction when I was a teenager, and it is stunning how spot-on the description is. Every single detail is accurate. Starting from the nonsensical task of brining a severed head to hell, to retrieve the soul. A quest that makes sense only if you are trapped in the mystical hellscape the affliction will create for you. It's like a nightmare you can't wake up from. The path may be real, but she stands in front of a door, and her mind tells her, it is locked by a magical lock (it isn't), and she must do something apparently useless to open it--or suffer the consequences. Senua feels, she has to align objects and shadows to resemble shapes. Once she does, the inhibition fades. She then pushes the door open, and her mind tells her, that it were her actions, that "unlocked" it. All this is exactly how it feels in real life. I have been there and done that. I once spent 3 hours aligning the position of a fork, out of fear, something bad might happen if I couldn't place it to the millimeter. So, what Senua does is 100% what people do in actual life--except, they might spend hours, not minutes like in the game. In between these puzzles, Senua repeatedly fights monsters, only real to her. While this is more symbolism than accurate, it still catches the real struggle. And then there are the voices. When you suffer from the condition, you might be fully aware that they are not real. But, they very well might be--because you, still, can't, stop, listening. They are always there. Nonstop. Day and night. The Nordic mythology is equally accurate, and well done. So, yes: This game is as close to experiencing what it feels like to suffer through this, as a neurotypical person might likely get in their lifetime. It really is that well done. Up to the point where, sometimes, it strikes almost too close to home.

I bought because of the overwheming reviews, but I was let fooleld by the critics an let down by the devs. Stupid, boring, nauseating repetitve gameplay. The Idea with the voices in your head giving you advice instead of a HUD is not enough to carry a whole game. Stupid Time/Space Puzzles, boring and frustating slow running through (beautiful landscapes), unfair, long, boring repetitive Swordfights against, hm, I Dont`t know, human shaped Deamons?! and repeat. Bad checkpoints, bad Performance, even crashes. If you want a good english indy Title get "get even"

Wunderschönes Spiel mit einem grauenhaften Inhalt. Grauenhaft, weil es einem wirklich das Grauen durch Mark und Bein ziehen lässt. Aber das ist wichtig, da es um eine reale Thematik geht, nämlich Mental health. Akkurater Mix aus storydriven Actionadventure mit so starker Immersion, das ich erstmal 'nen Kakao brauche. Bis auf 1,2 Clippingfehler technisch wunderbar umgesetzt. Uneingeschränkte Empfehlung

I prefer most PS1 and PS2 and early 2000s PC games. I prefer having no invisible walls and falling off bridges / other high grounds. I prefer moving foreword and pressing the action button to open the doors and not just watch a film (overdramatically) - watching an animation. Combat is basic but ok 7/10 Graphics are 8.5/10 Repeatition is high like going through hundrets of mirrors (3-5 per area? ) Audio is high quality but normalized to 1 volume level. If someone wispers it should be quiet. If someone speaks it should be around 50db and when some screams it should be loud! 7.8/10 I do not want to play a film but a game with a story. Last of Us, Deus Ex, Resident Evil Zero to 4 and my favourite story telling game Silent Hill 2 and 3 with even more focus on narrative. It is a good game but I prefer the Ok Boomer times (sarcasm). Don't take the players controls away but let them do simple moves to open doors or do interactions than just hiding the UI completly. Dying to often will deleate your progression but WHY in this game. It is no survival horror game and no Dark Souls type of game. It delivers only the basic gameplay imo. I did not bother to play more than 2h at max. I already forgot the story. How should I remember foreign story bits without contect. Buy it if you can play it with someone you can quietly experience the game.. like a GF or someone new to gaming maybe. The game is empty for my taste. It is on the same level as The Forest to me. 7/10

This game was a huge disapointment for me. After reading all these reviews I expected something way better. The first two hours was good but then... Go there, look around, find the right viewpoint, go back.. I was fed up with these puzzles very quickly. The enemies I fought made me want to play the game further, but they soon became borring and repetetive as well. So in the end I had to make much effort to complete it before deleting for good.