Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

A very storydriven "Adventure"-Game. This is a strictly linear Game that still manages to make you miss Things if you rush it. It focuses heavily on nordic Mythology and human Psychology. To miss the Psychologypart is basically impossible but you can miss out a big Part of the Mythology if you don't look for the, sometimes hidden, Runes. I would highly recommend that you spent a little Time to look for said Runes, for they provide a deep insight in all that is happening around you and who you are on against. The entire Game gains a big Portion of its Life and Depth from the old Norse Sagas found there. The Controlls are quite good and on Point. The Fighting is fairly easy and the Variety of Enemies ist quite allright. The Game can surprise you in a good way with the Enemyselection and does not throw you into cold Water without warning but it does not hold your hand also. Headphones are a Must or a very good Surroundsystem. The Music of this Game is fitting and well chosen and the Sounds are on Point. But. I did not like the Song played at the very last Part just before, and which continues into, the Endingcredits. Some might say this is but a miner Complaint and I should shut up because this Game is good and they would be right. But nonetheless it troubled me and broke immersion, for me at least. This game is not Dark Souls and it does not try to be. So if you are looking for something like that or a Hack 'n' Slash than this is not for you. The Playstyle of this game is like a new and refreshing Take on the Point and Click Way of Game. It is different from all the big Games of today and refreshingly so. You should give it a try. The 30€/$/Rubels/whatever are well spent in my Opinion, so much so that you should get a copy too!

Very atmospheric and creepy. Also generally looked good -- some bad looking textures here and there. Also, the game isn't super long. It's a hell of a ride though.

So how does all this work out together? For the most part, very well. Here is the breakdown. Atmosphere: The game nails this, level design, paths, and backdrops are amazing. I really felt immersed in the world. Story: While I can’t say much and remain spoiler free, I will say the story and Viking Lore were excellent. Puzzles: God I hate puzzles, puzzle games, and anything with a freakin puzzle. That being said, they made it work here. Combat: This is were I feel the game shines. It’s not The Witcher 3, but it has decent sword play. The game locks you in your camera angle on the opponents in front of you. This forces you to listen to the voices in your head to evade, and counter attacks from the rear. This got some negative hype, but by design it makes perfect sense, and once your in the groove, battles are very enjoyable. Verdict: A very solid play, well worth the $20 dollar sale price. If your not a puzzle person, youtube is a great tool to use. Overall the game does a good job on the Mental Illness issue, and by the end of it you may gain some understanding into their worlds. However I feel they push it just a bit too hard, mainly with the inner voices. And I get that was the point..But when it becomes annoying, you have to scale it back.

A great game. It has a good balance of exploring and puzzle solving versus the combat. The difficulty of the combat is also well balanced. The art and sound design is great as well. The environments all look really nice, and the design of the characters looks great. The story was interesting, as was the inclusion of all the norse mythology.

I enjoyed playing it, and far more than most of AAA titles that I have tried out lately. This is why I give this game five stars. It is not the best game I have ever played, but what is there is quite well done and certainly kept me playing until I finally finished it just now.