Senua's Saga: Hellblade II

Last updated

Senua's Saga: Hellblade II
Senua's Saga Hellblade II cover art.png
Developer(s) Ninja Theory
Publisher(s) Xbox Game Studios
Director(s) Tameem Antoniades
Producer(s) Lara Derham
Designer(s) Juan Fernández
Writer(s) Tameem Antoniades
Composer(s) Heilung
Engine Unreal Engine 5
Platform(s)
Release21 May 2024
Genre(s) Action-adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

Senua's Saga: Hellblade II is an upcoming action-adventure game developed by Ninja Theory and published by Xbox Game Studios. The game is the sequel to Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice . It is scheduled to release for Windows and Xbox Series X/S on 21 May 2024.

Contents

Gameplay

Senua's Saga: Hellblade II is a third-person action-adventure game. It carries over the concepts and gameplay elements of its predecessor, including permadeath, utilizing puzzles and runes to advance, and an examination of Senua's mental state. A new fighting system, more dynamic and realistic than the previous one, will also be included in the game. Along with Senua's own background and connections, the game will go deeper into the Norse mythology and history that served as inspiration for the narrative. [1]

Combat designer Juan Fernández explained that Ninja Theory is raising the bar with respect to Hellblade II combat. Juan Fernández pointed out that fewer than 20 people worked on the previous game's development, and Ninja Theory has increased its production efforts for the follow-up. As a result, there is going to be more complex combat and a wider variety of opponents in Hellblade II. [2]

Development

Senua's Saga: Hellblade II takes place in Iceland and Ninja Theory has collaborated with Scandinavian folk music band Heilung for the game's soundtrack. [3] [4]

Ninja Theory stated that it was "building real costumes and scanning them in" in a June 2021 development update. The company tweeted about their photogrammetry efforts later in September 2021. [5]

Ninja Theory offered sneak peek at the cloud generating technology they are utilizing to create the necessary clouds to go with dramatic landscapes and create an ominous atmosphere. [6]

Studio director Tameem Antoniades has expressed that the objective with Hellblade II is not merely perfection but the creation of an experience that is more immersive and refined. The scale of ambition is greater, and he emphasized that Hellblade II will "make Hellblade seem like an indie game." Furthermore, he highlighted that Senua's Saga: Hellblade II is Ninja Theory's biggest video game project in terms of both scope and budget. [7] [8]

Release

In December 2019, at The Game Awards 2019, alongside the Xbox Series X console reveal, Senua's Saga: Hellblade II was announced. [9] At the June 2023 Xbox Showcase, Ninja Theory announced that the game would release in 2024. [10] At the January 2024 Xbox Developer Direct, Ninja Theory announced that the game would release on 21 May 2024. [11] They also revealed that it would cost $49.99, not have a physical edition, and be a similar length to the predecessor. [12]

Related Research Articles

The BAFTA Games Awards or British Academy Games Awards are an annual British awards ceremony honouring "outstanding creative achievement" in the video game industry. First presented in 2004 following the restructuring of the BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards, the awards are presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).

<i>Dead or Alive 3</i> 2001 video game

Dead or Alive 3 is a 2001 fighting game developed by Team Ninja and published by Tecmo for the Xbox console as one of its launch titles. It is the third main entry in the Dead or Alive fighting series. Dead or Alive 3 improved upon the gameplay and graphics in beautiful detail compared to that of its predecessors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Team Ninja</span> Japanese video game developer

Team Ninja is a Japanese video game developer, and a division of Koei Tecmo, founded in 1995 as a part of Tecmo. It was founded by Tomonobu Itagaki, and is best known for franchises such as Ninja Gaiden, Dead or Alive and Nioh.

<i>Kung Fu Chaos</i> 2003 video game

Kung Fu Chaos is a 3D fighting party game developed by Just Add Monsters and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox in 2003. Described as a "multiplayer brawler", the game is a comedic beat 'em up title with a stylistic presentation inspired by kung fu films. Kung Fu Chaos was the first title developed by Ninja Theory, a Cambridge studio formed by former staff of Millennium Interactive to pursue an independent project. Initial development was self-funded, with a prototype developed by a team of four to eight to pitch to publishers. The final version of the game was financed under an acquisition of the studio by Argonaut Games and a publishing deal with Microsoft Game Studios.

Ninja Theory Limited is a first-party British video game developer for Xbox Game Studios based in Cambridge, England. Notable games it has developed include Kung Fu Chaos, Heavenly Sword, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, DmC: Devil May Cry, and Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice.

<i>Panzer Dragoon</i> Video game series

Panzer Dragoon is a series of video games developed by Sega. The first three games—Panzer Dragoon (1995), Panzer Dragoon II Zwei (1996), and Panzer Dragoon Saga (1998)—were produced by Sega's Team Andromeda for the Sega Saturn. The fourth, Panzer Dragoon Orta (2002), was developed by Sega's Smilebit team for the Xbox. Spin-offs include Panzer Dragoon Mini (1996) for the handheld Game Gear in Japan. A remake of Panzer Dragoon was released in 2020.

<i>Enslaved: Odyssey to the West</i> 2010 action-adventure video game

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is an action-adventure video game developed by Ninja Theory and published by Namco Bandai Games. Announced in 2009 as Enslaved, it was released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in October 2010. As a loose adaptation of the novel Journey to the West, the game is set 150 years in a future post-apocalyptic world following a global war. Only remnants of humanity survive, along with the still active war machines left over from the conflict. The game's story follows Monkey who is forced to escort Trip home safely after they survive a ship crash. Players play as Monkey, who must combat enemies using his staff from a third-person perspective, engage in different platforming challenges and solve puzzles.

<i>DmC: Devil May Cry</i> 2013 video game

DmC: Devil May Cry is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Ninja Theory and published by Capcom. Released in January for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows, it is a reboot of the Devil May Cry series and set in a parallel universe to the mainline series.

<i>The Banner Saga</i> Tactical role-playing video game

The Banner Saga is a tactical role-playing video game developed by Stoic and published by Versus Evil. It was released for personal computers and mobile phones in 2014, for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2016 and for Nintendo Switch in 2018.

Playground Games Limited is a British video game developer based in Leamington Spa, England. It is known for developing the Forza Horizon series, which is part of the larger Forza franchise. In 2018, Playground Games became part of Microsoft Studios. They are also developing the next game in the Fable series.

<i>Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z</i> 2014 video game

Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z is an action adventure hack and slash game, and a spin-off of the Ninja Gaiden franchise. It was published by Tecmo Koei and developed by Spark Unlimited. Comcept's Keiji Inafune conceptualized the game, providing character designs and creating the character of Yaiba. The game was released for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Microsoft Windows worldwide in March 2014.

<i>Hellblade: Senuas Sacrifice</i> 2017 video game

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is a 2017 action-adventure game developed and published by Ninja Theory. Set in a dark fantasy world inspired by Norse mythology and Celtic culture, the game follows Senua, a Pict warrior who must make her way to Helheim by defeating otherworldly entities and facing their challenges, in order to rescue the soul of her dead lover from the goddess Hela. It was released for PlayStation 4 and Windows in August 2017, Xbox One in April 2018, Nintendo Switch in April 2019, and Xbox Series X/S in August 2021. Hellblade features support for virtual reality, which was added in a 2018 update.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Private Division</span> American video game publisher

Private Division is an American video game publisher based in New York City. The company was founded by Take-Two Interactive and announced in December 2017. Private Division funds and publishes indie games developed by small to mid-sized studios. This includes taking over Kerbal Space Program publishing and releasing titles from Obsidian Entertainment, Panache Digital Games, and V1 Interactive.

Typhoon Studios Inc. was a Canadian video game developer based in Montreal. It was founded by Alex Hutchinson, Yassine Riahi, and Reid Schneider in early 2017 and acquired by Google in December 2019, becoming part of Stadia Games and Entertainment (SG&E). After releasing its first game, Journey to the Savage Planet, in 2020, Typhoon Studios was shut down alongside SG&E in February 2021.

<i>Starfield</i> (video game) 2023 video game

Starfield is a 2023 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. In the game, the player character joins a group of space explorers who must venture to various corners of the galaxy to acquire mysterious artifacts. The game features an open world in the form of an area within the Milky Way galaxy, containing both fictional and non-fictional planetary systems.

<i>Bleeding Edge</i> (video game) 2020 video game developed by Ninja Theory

Bleeding Edge is a 2020 multiplayer online battle arena game developed by Ninja Theory and published by Xbox Game Studios. The game was released for Windows and Xbox One on 24 March 2020. It received mixed reviews from critics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Game Awards 2019</span> American video game awards

The Game Awards 2019 was an award show that honored the best video games of 2019. The event was produced and hosted by Geoff Keighley, creator and producer of The Game Awards, and was held to an invited audience at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on December 12, 2019. The preshow ceremony was hosted by Sydnee Goodman. The event was live streamed across more than 50 digital platforms; it was the first to broadcast live in India and was simulcast in 53 movie theaters across the United States. The show featured musical performances from Chvrches, Grimes, and Green Day, and presentations from celebrity guests including Stephen Curry, Vin Diesel, Norman Reedus, and Michelle Rodriguez. In association with the event, a virtual games festival was held online, allowing free demos to be played through Steam over a 48-hour period.

Senua is the player character and protagonist of the Hellblade video game series which consists of the 2017 video game Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice that marks her first appearance, as well the upcoming sequel Senua's Saga: Hellblade II. She is presented as a Pict warrior who experiences disturbances and hallucinations due to an undiagnosed mental disorder. As a result of Senua's internal struggle with her delusional beliefs, she is determined to travel to the Norse afterlife realm Helheim with the notion of rescuing the soul of her lover from the Norse goddess Hela following his killing by Norsemen invaders, which occurred prior to the events of Senua's Sacrifice.

In the video game industry, 2024 is expected to see the release of many new video games.

References

  1. ↑ Shapiro, Micah (13 December 2019). "Everything You Need to Know About Senua for Hellblade 2". Game Rant. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  2. ↑ Scully, Kevin; Wald, Heather; Gould-Wilson, Jasmine; West, Josh (7 October 2022). "Hellblade 2: Everything you need to know about Senua's Saga". GamesRadar+ . Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  3. ↑ Mercante, Alyssa (18 December 2019). "Wait, the music from the Hellblade 2 trailer is from an actual, real-world band". GamesRadar+ . Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  4. ↑ Birch, Nathan (23 July 2020). "Senua's Saga: Hellblade II Will Take Players 'Hundreds of Miles Seamlessly Across Iceland'". Wccftech. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  5. ↑ Bell, Nolan (24 October 2021). "Ninja Theory Showcases Next-Gen Photorealism Tech for New Horror Game". COGconnected. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  6. ↑ Knoop, Joseph (18 January 2021). "Ninja Theory's Project: Mara Is Set in a Single, Incredibly Realistic Apartment". IGN . Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  7. ↑ Bellingham, Hope (8 February 2022). "Hellblade 2 developer says the first game will 'look like an indie game' compared to the sequel". GamesRadar+ . Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  8. ↑ Gregoire, Jesse (8 February 2022). "Hellblade 2 will make Senua's Sacrifice 'look like an indie game'". The Loadout. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  9. ↑ Franzese, Tomas (11 June 2023). "Hellblade 2's new trailer is frighteningly immersive". Digital Trends . Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  10. ↑ Holt, Kris (11 June 2023). "Senua's Saga: Hellblade II will arrive in 2024". Engadget . Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  11. ↑ Scullion, Chris (18 January 2024). "Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 finally has a release date". Video Games Chronicle . Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  12. ↑ Scullion, Chris (18 January 2024). "Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 will be a digital-only release costing $50". Video Games Chronicle . Retrieved 19 January 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.