Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (PC/PS4/XB1)

**6souls** · 2015-02-14 20:52

Spoiler: show

The game is based on the Celtic Goddess Senua (Senuna is the proper name) and her journey through a hell-like underworld. The game is being developed by Ninja Theory (Heavenly Sword / Enslaved / DmC). The PC version of the game will support 4K resolution and will be moddable.

Website: http://www.hellblade.com/
Release date: 2017

**6souls** · 2015-04-28 02:26

**6souls** · 2015-06-11 18:21

Ninja Theory, a Cambridge, UK based independent games developer, announced today that mental health and psychosis are the key themes explored in Hellblade. Inspired by historical events, Hellblade tells the story of Senua, a Celtic warrior who is left traumatised by a Viking invasion. This third person action game, being developed for PlayStation 4 and PC, will follow Senua’s journey into a vision of hell that is the manifestation of her own mental illness.

In order to ensure a sensitive and accurate portrayal of the subject, Ninja Theory has been working closely with Psychiatrist and Professor of Health and Neuroscience from the University of Cambridge, Paul Fletcher, as well as arranging to consult with people who have experience of mental health difficulties.

Paul Fletcher said: “True understanding of mental health is not simply about books, lectures or verbal descriptions but from deeper engagement on all levels. Working with Ninja Theory has shown me the potential that gaming has for sharing in a character's experiences and engendering empathy in ways that go well beyond those offered by simple academic descriptions. Maybe this approach will contribute powerful new ways of challenging stigma.”

Hellblade is being developed by a small team of 15 people under a development model Ninja Theory call Independent AAA. This approach sees the game being created with all the creative freedom of ‘indie’ development, but with the production values of AAA blockbuster games.

Tameem Antoniades, Chief Creative Director at Ninja Theory, said: “In Hellblade we are pursuing creative independence in order to explore a compelling subject matter and gaming experience that would not be possible under the current retail model. In movie terms, this would be a quality independent film, not a Hollywood blockbuster. Digital self-publishing means that we can offer a smaller, but high quality game at around half the price of retail games.”

The project is supported by the Wellcome Trust, a global charitable foundation which aims to build a greater public understanding of science, and in particular health.

Iain Dodgeon, Creative Partnerships Manager at the Wellcome Trust, added: “More and more, games have an exciting and innovative role to play in giving us new perspectives on health and mental health challenges. Rather than being a didactic game teaching us about psychosis, Hellblade allows us to explore it through the creation of a compelling and complex character, and the world that she inhabits.

**6souls** · 2015-08-13 09:00

**6souls** · 2016-01-31 12:23

**6souls** · 2016-05-10 20:02

**6souls** · 2016-12-01 01:56

Delayed to 2017

**6souls** · 2017-03-12 13:32

Development enters the Alpha stage

As we complete our Alpha stage of development for Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice we wanted to share a new development diary with you. Episode 26, Myths & Madness, explores how Senua’s journey is one that is intertwined with both her experiences of psychosis and Viking mythology.

Completing the Alpha stage is significant in Hellblade’s creation. It means that for the first time the entire game is playable from beginning to end. That doesn’t however mean that the game is finished. There is still a huge amount of work to be done across the whole experience. Some parts of the game are starting to look and feel just as we envisaged, whereas others are still only built to a basic level. The important thing at this stage is that all of the areas are laid out and the design clearly defined. Two years of hard work by the Hellblade team is starting to pay off and we’re ready for the next stage: Beta. This is where we can focus on the player experience – looking at the game step-by-step, improving it along the way, honing how the game will look and feel to our players. It is at this stage that we will start to add a lot of the small details that make a big difference.

**6souls** · 2017-04-10 21:12

**6souls** · 2017-06-07 02:45

August 8th

Today we are very excited to announce that Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice will be coming to PlayStation 4 and PC on August 8th 2017!

You can pre-order Hellblade today for $29.99/€29.99/£24.99 from the PlayStation Store (EU / US), Steam or GOG. Those pre-ordering for PlayStation 4 will receive an exclusive Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice Dynamic Theme that depicts the iconic burning tree scene from the game. Those pre-ordering on PC will receive an exclusive digital comic short, Hellblade: Senua’s Song. With words by Hellblade creative director Tameem Antoniades and art from multiple Eisner Award nominee Ben Templesmith, the comic comes from a creative collaboration between Ninja Theory and award-winning comic book publisher Valiant Entertainment.

To celebrate the announcement, we have released a new trailer.

In Hellblade we are aiming to revive the lost space between indie and AAA gaming, where creatively diverse experiences made with AAA values can thrive once again. Our hope is that if we make our Independent AAA work with Hellblade, other developers will follow, leading to a more creative and diverse gaming world for developers and players alike.

We’ve been humbled by the support that we’ve had from all of our fans throughout development. You’ve followed our journey, shared our updates and encouraged us to follow our vision to its fullest. We’ve shared our development ups and downs with you, given you an insight into the world of creating a game like Hellblade and listened to what you’ve had to say. Now, as we approach launch, we ask you to rally round, pre-order Hellblade and help make this project a success for us, you and all of gaming.

**6souls** · 2017-07-28 08:51

**Kalmado** · 2017-08-13 21:48

Friend told me about this game today. Showed me the menu screen and I was all in after that. Luckily for me he bought it on GoG so I have it now. Really excited for this one on graphics alone, which are bananas.

**6souls** · 2017-08-15 17:19

**Odesseiron** · 2017-08-16 09:33

Not sure how many people are playing this, but having got into it for about 30-45 minutes, I really have to say if you are not playing this game with headphones you are doing yourself a disservice. The sound design is absolutely phenomenal.Have't done much combat or anything yet, but it's a very aesthetically pleasing game as well.