The portrayal of the doubt and uncertainty that comes with psychosis is so rarely portrayed with such a sense of accuracy as it is in Ninja Theory’s Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, to the point where we, as an audience, can experience it first hand. It’s a subject that has received more attention in recent years, even if there has been a tendency to represent it more negatively in the past. Yet Ninja Theory have managed to craft a competent action-adventure title set to a Norse backdrop that explores mental health in a powerful way. Even if some of it’s core gameplay mechanics are somewhat flawed…
With the head of her dead lover strapped to her waist alongside her trusted sword, we join Senua, a Pict warrior from 8th century Orkney, on a quest worthy of the great tales of legend that would make even the fearsome Brunhild proud. Hellblade begins where many tales conventionally end: outside the borders of Helheim. In this story, Senua is on a quest to save the soul of her dead lover, Dillion, from the goddess Hela, however it becomes clear that this is as much about her saving herself as it is Dillion’s soul. Senua believes she suffers from a curse, dubbed the “Darkness,” accompanied throughout her journey by various voices in her head – namely the Furies, the Narrator, the Darkness, and a former Norsemen slave, Druth. It stands to reason that together, they help tell one Hel of a twisted narrative as the story of Hellblade unravels deeper mysteries and hardships, brilliantly analogous to her struggle with deep rooted psychosis.
(Screenshots are from the Switch version of the game)
To a degree there’s a romantic angle to this narrative – so long as you consider travelling to the gates of Hel with the severed head of your lover romantic, of course. Details of their first meeting and relationship unfold as you journey deeper and deeper into the halls of Helheim, but while Dillion and Senua’s story serves as the starting point of her journey, it becomes clear that her own inner hardships and struggles are very much the focal point of Hellblade’s deep, engrossing narrative.
Through a series of hallucinations, we learn more about Senua’s past, and her “curse.” From the traumatic events of her childhood, her abusive, devoutly religious father, and a dark period of her life that saw her wander the wilds in self-imposed exile, Hellblade tells the story of Senua’s psychological struggle. This drew a great deal of attention around the game’s release, elevating the value of the narrative to greater thematic heights, while gameplay mechanics, sound and visual design, and even tales from Norse mythology and folklore all tie-in to the overall theme of coping with the “darkness” spawned from Senua’s condition. While the labelling of her psychosis as “the darkness” may seem crude in some ways, certain design elements, from persistent visual and auditory hallucinations, twist the very world around her into a dark, unpredictable, and dangerous place, making it a more than adequate description. Then again, she is also literally in Hel…
Senua’s story is one about learning to face your own personal demons. It just so happens that in Senua’s case these demons are marauding, twisted versions of Northmen brandishing swords, shields, and animal skull masks. But by overcoming these foes we begin to see Senua’s character strengthen as she learns how to fight her darkness – or psychosis, if you prefer. The use of the Furies and various auditory and visual hallucinations help to sell the experience, making you question Senua’s mind set as the reality around her is twisted and warped with fantastical elements, aiding in the presentation of her damaged mind. Though this also plays into the gameplay itself, as you’ll come across areas that are either incomplete or hidden, requiring Senua to seek out mystic portals that can transform the environment, like traversing to a different plane of reality. In many ways, Hellblade’s use of hallucinatory design, Norse inspired monsters, disembodied voices, and atmospheric music add a potent psychological horror ambience that helps with the presentation of its core themes and character development – one moment in particular sees Senua run through a claustrophobic, labyrinthine hut to escape a pursuing entity.
Wondering through the halls and caverns of Hel would be a lonely business, if not for the voices echoing in Senua’s head. Whispering in your ear are the Furies, who will belittle and (occasionally) praise Senua, voicing her own inner most thoughts as she reflects on her own physical and mental state. They’ll question your actions, placing a seed of doubt in your mind, cajole and make bitter remarks, and sometimes offer useful observations that can help with your progress. These voices are with you constantly, whether you like it or not, and they can be downright irritating at times, though they do teach you useful tricks, cleverly replacing the need for a superficial tutorial which might otherwise take you out of the game. However, this conversely plays heavily into the overarching themes, building a certain tension. By the end of your playthrough, you might even wonder if some of these voices were your own all along…
Thankfully, if the Furies are you getting you down, Druth – whom Senua befriended while in exile – will interrupt sporadically with tales of Norse heroes and gods and the eventual role they will play in Ragnarök – the end of the world and the death of the gods. A reminder, if you will, that all things come to oblivion: it’s all fun and games in the world of Hellblade! But the thematic semblance of this to Senua’s plight perhaps lies in the aftermath of the cataclysmic events, in which the world will supposedly be reborn. Hellblade is littered with anecdotal tales to discover and part of their charm is that they are up to you to interpret how they relate to the overall narrative. While Druth will occasionally chime in to support Senua, his ethereal voice can also be found attached to Lorestones which act as Hellblade’s collectable, with teachings from his former captive Northmen to help Senua on her way and present a clearly well researched study on Norse mythology and Celtic culture.
Predominantly Hellblade plays like an adventure-puzzle game as you explore the lands of Helheim in search of Lorestones, or solutions to puzzles to unlock sealed doors. These doors are sealed behind runes and usually involve searching the surrounding area to find matching patterns. They can be hidden behind light manipulation puzzles, or simply by finding the right elevated space to line-up intricately dangled pieces of a rune to make them whole, making use of a “Focus” mechanic which enables Senua to hone in on key items and symbols to activate Lorestones, puzzles, or submit completed puzzle solutions. While this can be somewhat repetitive, as it makes up most of the gameplay, the creative world design keeps it from being too boring. For the most part, at least. According the “Making of” documentary, the idea of hunting for rune patterns stemmed from the idea that people with psychosis can often obsess over pattern finding themselves, yet another clever link between gameplay design and the presentation of mental illness prevalent in Hellblade, even if it isn’t perfectly executed from a gameplay point of view.
Breaking up these exploration, puzzle-solving moments, Hellblade also features an arguably more interesting combat system, albeit it a rather simplistic and purposefully clunky one. Senua uses light, heavy, and grapple attacks, as well as blocks and dodge rolls, while well timed attacks or blocks can instigate a parry that stuns foes, leaving them open for Senua to let loose her Celtic fury. This brings somewhat of a rhythmic intensity to each encounter, while an element of strategy becomes key to survival. Natural, more challenging opponents are introduced and eventually you’ll be fighting multiple opponents at any given time, meaning you’ll have to think about spacing and which opponent to tackle first. And as if sword fighting with hellish Norsemen or powerful deities (in the form of boss fights) wasn’t dangerous enough, mashing that heavy attack is ill-advised as committing to an attack can often put you in danger of leaving your defences open, bringing a greater sense of realism and consequence to combat.
Combat here also allows the Furies in Senua’s head yet another excuse to cajole or berate, though they also act as a Celtic Spider-Sense, alerting you when an enemy is about to strike from behind. However, there is a notable lack of enemy types and the further you journey into Helheim, the less diverse these dead Norse warriors seem…
Ninja Theory have crafted an elaborate world that sells a Celtic Northern locale, with mountains, forests, wooden huts, and runic decorations which add a haunting vibrance to the level design, and the occasional burnt pile of discarded corpses for your macabre pleasure. A brilliant use of lighting boosts the atmosphere, with trick imagery implemented in variously subtle and less-subtle ways depending on Senua’s engagement with the environment – often playing a puzzle role. As this was a game that initially released for PS4, naturally the Switch port had to take some graphical cutbacks. Of course, a comparative side-by-side would show less textures and lighting detail – with notable blurriness on some surfaces. Yet despite this, it’s still an impressive looking game on Switch, and even more so when we consider this is from an indie studio.
Regardless of which platform your experience it on, one of the most notable design aspects of Hellblade has to be its creative use of sound. Impressive motion and sound capturing technology and incredible voice acting really sell the horrifically personal narrative. Making use of 3D audio, the voices in her head hype up the tense atmosphere and haunting nature of Senua’s psychosis to craft an experience that truly cements Ninja Theories indie gem as a “AAA” indie title. Above all, what these voices do – besides break-up the otherwise lonely desolate world you find yourself in – is place you within Senua’s head and for this reason alone, headphones or a decent surround sound system are a must to get the fullest experience possible out of Hellblade.
But the soundscape isn’t all nagging voices and devilish taunts. The original soundtrack by David Garcia also deserves praise, bolstering the Celtic setting with low atmospheric rumbles, Celtic chants, and heavy drum rhythms that add to the intense rhythmic fury of Senua’s journey. Some of the highlight tracks include the more horror-esque “Helheim” or the ironically rhythmic “Sea of Corpses,” making it a soundtrack worthy of cinema.
Hellblade features an impressive use of audio design and an engrossing environment rooted in Norse mythology that establishes a deep world with rich, well researched lore and an atmosphere worthy of a psychological horror. Yet as excellent as these are, it’s the depiction of psychosis and the way it makes us experience Senua’s own struggles with her mental health that sets Hellblade apart from other similar action-adventure titles, even despite some issues with gameplay execution. What’s more, Senua herself becomes a more relatable human heroine because of the way her vulnerability is exposed in such a way that feels empowering through a profound narrative experience. She might not be able to wield Thor’s Mjölnir, but there’s no doubt she’s worthy of carrying the weight as a mental health advocate.
