Current Events > Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice was a bit disappointing

(+) Yeah! (+)

The game does a lot of things well. The visuals are amazing especially on PC. That sound design with the voices was incredible and the voice acting is great across the board.

But man do I wish the rest of the game held up. That gameplay was just...not good. Finding those symbols in the environment got old in the first hour but it's most of the game. The combat system is shallow and okay...when you're fighting one combatant. But the game spams you with enemies in the second half. It's just not responsive enough to be fun. Listening for voices that tell you to dodge because the camera is so close sucks. Especially since you don't know where to dodge to. It certainly doesn't help that I'm also playing Bayonetta at the moment.

Using real actors was a clever shortcut. That worked out well in those early cutscenes. I almost got fooled by it. But Senua's boyfriend didn't fit the game at all. He just looked like a game developer.

I remember people raving that games like this are saving the mid-tier. But this just seemed like a really pretty indie game to me. A slight step up from something like The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.
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I still platted it.
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Yeah, the combat was meh and the camera made dodging dumb, but I really agree with people saying that this game is saving the mid tier. It's a great blueprint for others devs who want to strike out on their own and do AAA on a budget.
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hockeybub89 posted...

Yeah, the combat was meh and the camera made dodging dumb, but I really agree with people saying that this game is saving the mid tier. It's a great blueprint for others devs who want to strike out on their own and do AAA on a budget.

To be honest I'd rather the priority go elsewhere than AAA visuals. If the gameplay is aligning a bunch of symbols and some drab combat it may as well just be a walking simulator at that point (this isn't a hit against walking simulators I don't mind them).

Stuff like the Obsidian RPG's is more to my groove.
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I saw some footage and the combat at least looks awful.

Too zoomed in camera for a proper action and it seems to follow a linear pathway.

I do respect and congratulate their success to make an AAA visual without all the baggage and predatory business, but doesnt mean they have to follow dumbed down AAA type cinematic gameplay too.
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The biggest hurdle for AAA style visuals for lower budgets must be character models. All of the best looking indie games either don't have them at all or only have a few. Animating those character models probably complicates things more.
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Honestly, the thing I like most about the "AAA indie" idea is that large developers get to do what they want. This was a passion project that wanted to tackle a serious topic with respect. No board of directors is pressuring you about market trends when you self-publish.

That isn't a new idea, I know, but Hellblade is a nice reminder it can work. I wish the same success for IO Interactive and anyone else who tries this.
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hockeybub89 posted...

Honestly, the thing I like most about the "AAA indie" idea is that large developers get to do what they want. This was a passion project that wanted to tackle a serious topic with respect. No board of directors is pressuring you about market trends when you self-publish.

Yeah true. I'm glad they got to make the game they wanted. It's obvious it's a passion project for them. The schizophrenia stuff was really well done.
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