Ninja Theory, creators of Heavenly Sword and Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, have announced the release date for their next title. Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice will launch August 8th for PS4 and PC.
While the developer has aimed for AAA quality, they also wanted to fill the spot between indies and AAA titles. This means the game will cost $29.99, but will not have a physical release.
Ninja Theory also claims that the game is able to be more creatively diverse due to being in this in-between area. A large part of this creative diversity is the focus on the protagonist Senua’s mental state. Throughout the game Senua suffers from the many symptoms of psychosis. In-game this translates mostly to various audio and visual hallucinations. Ninja Theory worked with neuroscientists and people who experience psychosis to ensure the game’s portrayal was grounded in reality and treated with a certain respect.
Gameplay will primarily be third person sword fighting as Senua embark into a viking hell to fight for the soul of her lover. Combat is described as requiring skill, but not requiring player to remember combos like previous Ninja theory games. It has also been stated that they wanted Senua to feel vulnerable and weaker than her viking enemies. However Senua is more agile and generally faster. In turn this requires players to be aware of their surroundings and position.
More on the information on the game and its development can be found on the Ninja Theory YouTube channel.
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is currently available for pre-order on PS4, Steam, and GoG.
