Developed by Ninja Theory, “Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice” is a third-person action adventure game in which you play as Senua, a Celtic warrior in the eighth century who must make her way to Helheim—the underworld in Norse mythology—by exploring Viking ruins, solving puzzles and overcoming supernatural foes in order to rescue the soul of her dead lover. However, whether there really are supernatural presences is called into question as Senua clearly suffers from some kind of psychosis-inducing mental illness, which is portrayed in incredible detail and shapes the core of the experience as you see and hear the things she does. 

The most impressive aspect of this is the countless voices in Senua’s head, delivered to the player in binaural audio that makes headphones an absolute must. There are two female voices—each occupying one ear—that are always relentlessly commentating on Senua’s surroundings and judging her every move. Being close to Helheim, she can speak to the dead: her lover Dillion, her parents and her friend and teacher Druth, who tells her the tales of the Norse gods as well as his own struggles. But that’s not all. Referring to Senua in third person, a narrator frequently chimes in, yet seems to actually be Senua herself narrating her own adventure. A distorted voice that claims to be Senua’s “shadow” at times berates her for her weakness, but other times encourages her to persist in her quest. Hearing these voices along with other elements that represent her unique perception, which I won’t spoil for you here, make this game a mesmerizing (and perhaps terrifying) sensory feast unlike any game I have ever played—you should all watch the opening scene. I want to experience it all over again despite not liking the gameplay.  

Speaking of the opening scene, “Hellblade” is a cinematic powerhouse. Senua’s facial expressions are so detailed and nuanced that I was constantly amazed and couldn’t look away during cutscenes. I was blown away by the fact that a $30 indie game could have this kind of technology and by the brilliant motion-capture performance of Senua’s actress Melina Juergens, who has surprisingly never acted prior to this. The mythical Viking setting is similarly awe-inspiring, especially near the shores, where you can see Helheim, a mountain at the top of which rests a wooden structure resembling a terrible beast with its jaws agape, in the distance, and the long, tall bridge that leads to it. In addition, the game features full-motion video (FMV), pre-recorded scenes of real people acting as opposed to in-game animations, for the other characters like Druth, which is so intriguing because this technique is seldom used by games these days. Here it is used to great effect, as it blends seamlessly with the game’s visuals. But perhaps most importantly, the cutscenes are so meticulously made, with deliberate camera work and atmospheric lighting, that playing the game is almost like watching a feature-length film, with gameplay segments in between.

But here’s another aspect of the analogy I wish to highlight: The gameplay, in contrast, often feels frivolous and frankly boring to get through. Most of the puzzles that you encounter consist of hunting for symbols, “runes,” in your surroundings. You might have to manipulate the environment by engaging with different sub-mechanics, but you will largely be wandering around the map, trying to align objects at the right angles to produce the desired symbols. These puzzles can feel repetitive and frustrating very quickly because you encounter them so often that it feels like you can’t get anywhere without stopping for a few minutes to zoom in at the walls. Compared to conventional inventory puzzles where you have to find connections between items, these puzzles are simply a matter of trial and error that have no rhyme or reason. I got so stuck on one of these early on that I had to take a break from the game when I finally solved it. Although they do seem to fit the theme of Senua seeing patterns where there really are none, the developers should have kept these to a minimum and introduce other kinds of puzzles to spice things up. I was already so sick of them as I got through half of the game. Making matters worse, Senua doesn’t run very fast, so that backtracking is a huge pain.

It’s a relief when you can finally experience combat, which is a simplified version of “Dark Souls’” system that emphasizes one on one fights, rolling and blocking. Initially, it can be quite satisfying as you discover different combos and perfect the timing of your parries, which reward you with a nice counter attack. The two female voices actually help you by warning you if an enemy is about to ambush from behind—awesome mechanic! But you soon discover that the depth is paper-thin: you don’t learn new moves or find different weapons, other than a new sword that functions only slightly differently than the original. (Missed potential here since it is revealed that Senua is a highly talented warrior who basically taught herself how to fight.) There are only four enemy types—all humanoid creatures welding different weapons. The most interesting encounters are the boss fights, but there are only three of them. Combat encounters are too sparsely placed, but each encounter drags on more and more as the same foes keep piling on you. The camera is permanently locked on to one of them, and there’s no way to run sideways or backwards, so the positioning feels extremely awkward. You somehow always find yourself being surrounded or ambushed.

There are a couple very good gameplay set pieces that take place in the latter half of the game. The first is a twist on the symbol-hunting: you must look for them while being chased around by a burning entity. The second takes full advantage of the audio aspect of the game and asks you to sneak around grotesque monsters by relying mostly on audio cues and the guiding voice of Dillion. These segments inject some much needed tension and horror into the gameplay loop, and I think the game would have been so much better off if it had a main villain chasing you around like the Nemesis in “Resident Evil 3.” (Steam reviews say this is a scary game, but it’s at most an atmospheric one, I’d say).

This was a very difficult game to review, as the experience turned out to be so polarized. But ultimately I think this is a case where the good narrowly outshines the bad. It is definitely worth your time for the narrative alone, though you may want to pull up a guide to ease you through the puzzles.