Witnessing Senua emerge from a shipwreck onto a bruised, bloodied shoreline, gasping for breath, immediately plunges us back into the desperate depths of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. This gripping beginning sets the tone for a six-hour journey through the human realm of Midgard, filled with vivid action sequences, stunning Nordic-inspired landscapes, and intense encounters with towering terrors that could make even a Viking tremble. Hellblade II delivers another brutally satisfying and enthralling heroine’s journey, although its streamlined swordfighting leans more toward cinematic spectacle than deep gameplay mechanics.

Although it’s been seven years since Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, Hellblade II picks up shortly after the original’s vengeful quest to Helheim, with Senua now feeling empowered by her psychosis rather than hindered by it. (For newcomers, the included story recap is essential.) After the Icelandic slave ship she’s on is wrecked during a violent storm, survivor’s guilt rekindles her self-doubt, clashing with her stoic sense of justice. This sets her on another gripping and tortured path, battling both her inner demons and the bloodthirsty monsters of Midgard in both human and mythical forms.

Senua is joined by a few human companions along her journey, including a reluctant slave master and a settler she rescues from a sacrificial altar. While these supporting characters don't receive enough screen time to develop deep personalities, their presence adds to the narrative, offering a more organic way to process exposition compared to the superimposed live-action vignettes of the first game. Their incidental conversations enrich the storytelling, making the journey feel more immersive and dynamic.

It's Senua herself who truly shines, portrayed with stirring effect by Melina Juergens, returning from the original game now in near-photorealistic form. Juergens brings a courageous and compassionate presence to the role, making it easy to believe in Senua's determination to battle her inner demons. From moments of paralyzing anxiety to explosive bursts of blood-boiling rage, her performance is deeply moving.

Hellblade II once again takes Senua to dark and disturbing places, but the sequel’s environments are painted with a broader color palette than the mostly bleak backdrops of the original. Sure, you’re still holding your breath during crawls through heinous pits of blood and gristle and infiltrating marauder camps adorned with gruesome bouquets of human bones. However, these darker moments are contrasted with peaceful mountain treks beneath beautiful coral-colored skies and jaw-dropping glimpses of the aurora borealis, so vivid you can almost smell the food cooking in Principal Skinner’s kitchen. The impressive lighting and fog effects add depth to each destination, making the journey feel grounded even as it shifts between reality and the haunting altered states of Senua’s psyche. Hellblade II runs capped at 30 frames per second on Series X, but its visual design is stunning enough to justify that limit.

Playing with headphones on is an absolute must. The immaculate visuals are enhanced by first-class binaural audio design, and headphones are essential to fully appreciate the detailed environmental touches, like flies buzzing around mutilated corpses and drops of water echoing in underground caverns. More importantly, the swirling voices in Senua’s head feel so close you can almost sense their breath on the back of your neck. This time, these disembodied voices not only act as the bickering angel and devil on Senua’s shoulders, casting confusion over her decisions, but they also cleverly sow suspicion about the supporting characters around her, making it difficult to know whom to trust on her journey to the story’s thoroughly cathartic conclusion.

Game WalkThrough:

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II on PC offers a deeply immersive experience that pushes the boundaries of graphical and audio fidelity. Leveraging the power of modern hardware, the game delivers breathtaking visuals with near-photorealistic character models, detailed environments, and dynamic lighting effects. The PC version benefits from higher frame rates and resolutions, allowing players to fully appreciate the stunning Nordic-inspired landscapes and intense combat sequences.

Gameplay in Hellblade II continues to focus on the psychological journey of Senua, blending combat, exploration, and puzzle-solving in a seamless narrative. The combat system, while streamlined, is intense and visceral, featuring new enemy types that require strategic thinking and quick reflexes. Senua’s slow-motion focus ability and her brutal melee attacks create a satisfying flow in battles, even though the overall mechanics remain straightforward.

One of the best standout characteristics of the PC performance is its support for binaural audio, best experienced with headphones. This audio design enhances immersion by making the voices in Senua’s head and environmental sounds feel incredibly lifelike and disorienting. The puzzles, often perspective-based, challenge players to see the world through Senua’s eyes, blending reality with her psychosis in clever and unsettling ways.

Hellblade II also includes a chapter select feature, enabling players to revisit specific parts of the game to uncover hidden secrets and lore without replaying the entire story. This addition, combined with the game's stunning visuals, gripping narrative, and innovative audio design, makes Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II on PC a must-play for fans of immersive, story-driven experiences.

What We Said About The Original Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is a masterclass in atmosphere, storytelling, and the integration of mechanical and conceptual design. While there are moments that feel forced to remind us we’re playing a video game, the care and attention Ninja Theory has poured into Senua and her story has created something extraordinary. This is a game everyone should experience, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to have lived inside Senua's mind, however briefly. – Brandin Tyrrel, August 7, 2017

Hellblade II's Combat and Encounters

Hellblade II's combat feels even more streamlined than the original. Senua’s guard-breaking melee attack from the first game has been removed without a replacement. Her slow-motion focus ability, which was unlocked midway through the original Hellblade, is available almost from the beginning in this sequel, with no additional attack-altering abilities introduced throughout the story. The combat encounters in Hellblade II are consistently intense and powerful, featuring new enemy types like flame-spitting cultists and agile ghouls. However, without additional charged attacks or alternative weapons, my combat strategies remained largely unchanged from start to finish, even on the hardest difficulty setting.

One appreciated combat change is that Hellblade II limits each duel to one-on-one encounters. In the original Hellblade, I often got stabbed in the back by unseen offscreen assailants due to the lack of a HUD and missed whispers of warning from the voices in Senua’s head. Thankfully, this is no longer an issue. Hellblade II’s energetic direction seamlessly introduces new opponents into frame as soon as another foe is dispatched, effectively selling the illusion of chaotic free-for-all brawls rather than choreographed turn-taking fights reminiscent of a Bruce Lee movie.

Memorable Sequences and Direction

Hellblade II features exceptionally well-executed sequences involving murderous giants who have crossed into Midgard from another realm, consuming sacrificed slaves like human-shaped snack bars. These urgent, desperate encounters put Senua through rigorous physical trials. Although they don't culminate in direct confrontations with the giants, they deliver some of the most thrilling story peaks in Senua’s Saga, compensating for the absence of traditional boss battles.

How Hellblade II is Taking Immersion to the Next Level

Despite its seemingly expansive world, Hellblade II remains a linear adventure much like its predecessor. The hidden lorestones from the original game return, offering further teachings about the Northmen from Senua’s friend Druth, delivered with earnest gravitas by returning voice actor Nicholas Boulton. In addition to the lorestones, a new set of secrets has been introduced: hidden trees of Nordic knowledge. These can be discovered by focusing on faces found in the environment, which then dissolve into hidden paths reminiscent of the false walls in Jim Henson’s Labyrinth. While these secrets don't provide any gameplay benefits, they are compelling to collect. Unlike its predecessor, Hellblade II offers a chapter select feature upon completion, allowing players to revisit and collect any missed items without replaying the entire story. 

Explore the depths of Norse mythology and futuristic warfare in an unparalleled gaming experience with "Senua's Saga: Hellblade II and Helldivers 2." Journey with Senua as she battles inner demons and mythical creatures in a hauntingly beautiful world, while simultaneously diving into intense, cooperative multiplayer combat against alien forces. These two distinct yet compelling adventures promise a thrilling blend of psychological storytelling and high-octane action, delivering an unforgettable gaming experience that will captivate your mind and test your skills.

Verdict

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II delivers a captivating adventure filled with cinematic spectacle and story surprises that maintain a constant sense of momentum, never wasting a moment of its concise runtime. The combat, though mechanically simple, remains consistently intimidating and immediate. The perspective-based puzzles, while often reworking concepts from Senua’s previous journey, provide a satisfying cerebral challenge. This brutal yet beautiful journey is enhanced by hardware-pushing visuals and immersive audio, making Hellblade II a Viking-worthy feast for the senses. It meets the high standards set by its predecessor, even if it doesn't completely surpass them.