I remember loving this gamer on Xbox back 17 years ago, but boy do I hate this game now. The camera is terrible, the controls on pc are clunky at best, the AI for both enemies and your squad mates is abyssmal, and the game is just plain boring. I gave this three stars because I used to love and because there are so few games that give you squad based tactics like this - the Arma series being one of the few that come to mind.
I absolutely hate this game. I cannot begin to describe just how much I hate this game. First off, if you like a slow paced adventure game with puzzles mixed with some action, then you will love this game and it's worth the asking price. Anyone who says they liked the story is a liar. It's a jumbled, confusing mess with an ambiguous ending that will be very unsatisfying. Playing as a psychotic nutjob was not fun at all. If the game didn't tell you that the main character suffers from mental illness I believe it would not be getting the praise that it has received. The combat starts out fun, but becomes such a chore as you progress to the end. The terrible FOV, worst dodge mechanic in the history of games and tight spaces really hamper what I think could be a fun combat system. I admit that I'm not the most patient person when it comes to puzzles, and Hellblade pushed my patience to the limit. They ranged from really easy to just annoyingly frustrating to pad out game play time in an already short game. And the walking. I found that I held down the run button more than anything because if I didn't, the game would have taken twice as long to finish. The game looks great, has wonderful sound design and the setting is pretty cool. The most interesting part for me were the lorestones you find that give detail on various Norse mythology. Like I said, if you're a patient game who enjoys adventure games, then you won't be dissapointed with Hellblade.
