What makes Hellblade interesting? Since this is their first project as an indie developer. This means, Ninja Theory decided not to involve the publisher altogether and encourage this action game release with money from their own pockets. While on the other hand, they are also eager to push him through the AAA quality game implementations of Unreal Engine 4 optimal.
The creative freedom that carried Hellblade without interference publisher manifesting in a theme rarely touched by the gaming industry itself. A game that is ready to make you question to question reality itself. A game that will even make you can no longer tell which is real or not.
Thus, what is actually offered by Hellblade: Senua's this Sacrifice? Why do we call it as more than a mere action games? This review will discuss it more in it for you.
(Played and review with the BLACK COURT. I)
- Plot
As carried by the name he critical limits stretcher, Hellblade will take you into the world of a female character who lives in the Nordic civilization in the past – Senua. A soldier with the incredible sword ability decided to take back what should have been their due.
Inspired by the tragedy of so many stories that embellish the mythology not only Greece, but also the old Norse in the past, the mission is in the midst of Senua holy to challenge and fight destiny. Can't accept the fact that her lover – Dillion no longer can he touch, Kiss, and all, Senua decided to take it back from the ruler of Helheim (hell in Norse)-Hela. Solely to improve life for Senua, now no longer will never be the same. Berbekalkan sword, intention, and commitment for him, he was ready to penetrate the fog and death to one's name – Dillion.
Of course, this journey is not easy. As one of the keepers of the world who don't even dare disturb-worship old Norse deities by other, Helheim and Hela became a goal that sounds impossible. Even to be able to open the door to hell, Senua must fight to keep the other two gods – Surt to fire and the Valravn to illusions. Not only that, the savage beast ready to pounce on the night in nearby will also hinder travel Senua. But in the end, Senua still had one big challenge before he was able to take back the Dillion.
can we Senua save Dillion from Hela? What kind of challenge should he face? The biggest problem what will dihaadapi by Senua? You certainly can answer these questions by playing Hellblade: Senua's this Sacrifice.
- The power of Unreal Engine 4
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is an indie game, in a sense, he was not supported by "big money" publisher that stands behind it. But the status of the case, not thus make Ninja Theory had no ambition and commitment to making it an action game with a AAA game approach that we know. Especially from the presentation that he was offering. Unlike most indie games that end up relying on visualisation pixels 8 or 16 bits, they rely on Unreal Engine 4 as a base. The seriousness and the dedication of Ninja Theory has made the Sacrifice appears Hellblade: Senua's awesome.
Unreal Engine 4 quality supported by the process of motion capture and face the right produces a game that is not only beautiful, but is capable of projecting emotions correctly anyway. He managed to create its own characters have depth Senua as a human being, not just the main characters without the feeling of just being able to kill any enemies or monsters that are submitted to it.
Thumbs up indeed deserve directed at the actress who portrays Senua – Melina Juergens who is doing his job very well. So powerful and accurate emotions that he would map out, until you can feel it clearly when Senua scared, anxious, feel pain, to reach a resolution to no longer back and surrendered. Everything is reflected through facial gestures, eye detail, up to an overall look on the Unreal Engine 4 dealt with was fantastic. Make it a quality offer that is even more amazing, from some AAA games though.
A world built Ninja Theory as a "battle arena" to Senua also deserves its own apreasiasi. On his way to rescue the lover from hell took him to enter and pass through so many creepy places, from forests, bogs, ruins with dirty water that is pooled, and shrine complex architecture. Everything is handled with a variety of visual effects that make the trip and you have to skip the fight felt dramatic. The effects of light in the form of soft rays of Sun which bathes your trip when walking on the beach, until the fog with rain that accompany the intense battle You on top of the ruins. All of which will make your eyes termanjakan. Understand this, they also include Photo Mode in it.
From the presentation, Hellblade also contains a technique that we personally, has never been found before. Creates presentation cut-scene story with fused 3D character, who in this game, of course – Senua with video characters are taken directly from the actor/actress memerankannya without using a three-dimensional model altogether. Integrating both in the story does indeed produce uncountable unique visual approach, but on the other hand, does not feel so flashy and tacky. Ninja Theory's own recalled that techniques such as this make them save quite a lot of development time because it does not have to mess with the problem of constructing models of characters for him.
- Personal combat
Although it made the story and characters as the main attraction, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice still contains what the power of Ninja Theory for this – an action game with a solid content. That struggle Senua to beat this destiny does not end merely as a walking simulator game that asks you to enjoy and hear stories, but contains elements of battle ready to make You overwhelmed at the same time. Furthermore, you are indeed acted as a Knight of the woman with the sword ability no more in doubt.
Most of the gameplay Hellblade is not dominated by aspects of this action. That contrasts with the hack and slash action game mostly like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta for example, asking you to fight the waves of enemies consistently from one area to the next area until you get a progress story Furthermore, the action is just one part of Hellblade. He has a lot of quiet period to drive the story and sometimes contains a puzzle for you to solve.
Absolutely right, the puzzle. When not fighting, side of exploration in this linear world Senua indeed is often faced with a series of puzzles that are rooted in one same concept – finding a pattern. Often you have to go to the door end up locked with one to three different symbols. Your mission is to find a form and a similar pattern around you, especially through a series of objects that You never anticipated before. You do not need a lot of logical thinking with him, only to have to have a little extra attention to roughly guess the combination of objects such as what could end up being "lock" the puzzle of this pattern. Along with the progress of the game, the puzzle is a little more complex because it requires you to look at it from a certain point of view or thus find a way extra to can get it from the angle that is needed.
Of course, in the end, must fight to protect Senua himself or ensure his way to Helheim will not just stop there. Ninja Theory here, again proved themselves as one of the leading action games developer who can not dilihatkan with one eye. The fight itself could be called Hellblade as a blend of DmC kombonya system thanks to a fast and Dark Souls, at the same time. Approach the camera lock you on one specific target will make it easier to take fast decisions when to attack, survive, or even do rolling to minimize damage. But not 1 vs 1, you also sometimes confronted with many enemies at once.
So the key is to play strategically. Don't just blindly attack with the sword of your principal, you must also survive. If you've got the right timing, you can reflect enemy attacks me-and opening up their defense to throw light attack combo + deadly weight sometimes can produce different animations. Not just the quantity, the quality of each enemy you face will also offer a higher challenge over progress. You will meet the enemy with deadly gladiator giant axe with the shield, to the Druids are able to strike quickly with the sword. The good news? Senua are also provided with a special ability called "Focus" that makes it capable of delaying the time for a while and strike blindly.
No doubt, every fight in Hellblade indeed feels personal. You are faced with the situation with the camera and mechanical effect of the fight that makes their snuff should Senua, one by one, as hard and as much as anything. You should also look at the visual clue and the voice that emerged from it, because it is not rare, You will be attacked by the enemy in the rear. Each fight will make you alert, because if Your just a little negligent, then you will end up getting the consequences don't want You pikul, of course.
- Need Headset!
As we know, based on the information already disseminated Ninja Theory since the beginning of the process of developing the game on this one, Hellblade indeed makes the problem of psychology – in this case the psychosis as a main attraction. That unlike most of the main characters are perfect physically, mentally, and morally, Senua had to deal with "darkness" in itself – in this case the psychosis that he experienced. One of the things that have to be faced by sufferers of psychosis is a hallucinatory sound that will keep talking in your ear as if you are always accompanied by 4-5 people in every activity You, something that You can't stop it. Something which is also represented by Hellblade this very well.
To be able to get the sensation of being a real Senua, this may be the only game so far we recommend using the headset to play your best and instead just use the speaker. Of course not to simply capture the detail of audio Hellblade environment that is cool, but also to feel optimally Senua psychosis simulation. Using a headset that either would be able to make the voices in his head this Senua feels trapped inside your own head. Powered by 3D Audio effects exist, you will get a feel for how complex and does not normally fill the head Warrior woman on this one.
But beyond that, the design of audio content outside the head of psychosis Senua also deserves a thumbs up. There are some music with chanting which is ready to make Your skin crawl occipital feathers when the middle trying to kill the gods and mythological creatures underneath, to just hear the sound of crows details that seemed to never stop following footsteps of Senua. For a game with audio as good as handling it, don't use the best headset you will be one of the biggest mistakes that may make you unable to appreciate this game with should. Furthermore, the psychosis experienced Senua is indeed so the main attraction.
- Understand Senua
FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HATE WITH SPOILERS AND PLAN TO PLAY HELLBLADE, PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS SESSION FURTHER!
What makes Hellblade so special? Of course, because of psychological conditions that have to be faced by Senua – the main character. That unlike most games which places the main character as a tough character, without gaps, and perfect, people with psychosis are Senua. Then, why is it so special?
This may be a question that you would normally throw. Very understandable considering the awareness and knowledge of mental illness problem in Indonesia is indeed very limited. We don't even get the information we need to understand it at the high school level to University, except You made Psychology as majors you. But on the other hand, knowledge of the fundamental question of what happened to Senua is the first step to appreciate what trying to Ninja Theory offered by dengannnya. Something we tried to discuss here.
Senua suffered from psychosis. Simply put, psychosis is a condition where the sufferers will be very difficult to distinguish which one is real and which are not. Sufferers of psychosis usually present with two main simtom: delusions and hallucinations. Hallucinations means they get a stimulus/arousal are not real, they persepsikan very real. This means, they are seen, heard, tasted, felt, to smell something that actually does exist, but feels so realistic for them. All of these are not real stimuli enter into their lives and are difficult to distinguish by which the really real. As an example? You often hear cases of "lunatics" in Indonesia who likes to speak for themselves? This is not because they love to speak for itself. What happens is they try to answer or respond to voice/talk of the halusinasinya, as it happens with Senua in Hellblade.
Sufferers also experience Delusional psychosis. Delusions is a condition where a person is very trusting something that something will/has/is going on, but all the facts in the real world simply does not prove it. They often assume that things are insignificant in this world ends up as a hidden message or mission that they should emban. One of the best examples? The case happened on John Nash in the movie "A BEAUTIFUL MIND" which is inspired by the story of the real world. Nash's delusions make him feel that he is a secret agent mission messages are all reflected in the daily newspaper reading. That every newspaper had a message addressed specifically to him and should he lives, something he had to solve. Delusions make Nash trust, menyakini, and makes it hard not to believe that it's not real.
Psychosis is a part of life Senua. We believe you already understand what happened here. It is true, that all the things that happen on a mission to rescue the Dillion from Helheim and hands sinister – the goddess Hela is nothing more than mind psychosis belongs to Senua. That none of this happened, and Senua hallucinations make this epic journey is a "reality" that now accompany her. Through the if story and sometimes shows the figure of the "actual" Senua, you could see that he was merely the victim of past civilizations that did not have adequate medical knowledge related conditions this psychology. He was imprisoned, tortured by his father, known as people with condemnation by his tribe, and was exiled. Dillion became a significant figure because he is present as the "light" which seemed to understand the condition of Senua. Now imagine if the only thing Your bridgehead on the reality ends up killed was tortured. Then you find is "the world is full of Mythology" that seeks faced Senua, complete with hallucinations that sound has continued to talk to him.
- Conclusion
It is no longer appropriate given at Ninja Theory, in addition to a big two thumbs up for acungan what works they do with Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. A commitment to ensure that the limited funds with indie project not only able to offer quality equivalent to AAA games berbudget great, but even melampuinya. Unreal Engine 4 implementation of optimal producing a game that is not only beautiful and dramatic, but also capable of projecting emotions inside. Combat arms feels intense and satisfying story dressed reserved psychological disease rarely discussed by creative media, specifically the gaming industry. Supported by a fantastic audio technologies, the implementation of Photo Mode for those of you who love to show off, to a mere collection of stories a matter of Norse mythology that you can collect from them indeed generate a action game experience that although brief, but memorable.
But of course, Hellblade cannot be called as a game that counted was perfect. If it should be talking about existing weaknesses, then presentation of the story and puzzle-arguably the two biggest point so that deserves to be discussed. The story? Absolutely right. Hellblade may be producing special effects for gamers who not only understand, but at least have a rough knowledge of problem what is psychosis or schizophrenia. Since Ninja Theory alone will not help you get a more explicit understanding of the problem of the story that he was the plot, generating critical limits stretcher might be very confusing in the eyes of some gamers. A puzzle he can offer, even though it supports one of the elements of the story, it's hard to enjoy. Just look for the symbol by rotating the camera around to get there indeed could not say, as something interesting.
Outside of these weaknesses, Hellblade is an action game that deserves high praise. Offered at an affordable price, the creative freedom of Ninja Theory project at terproyeksikan through the presentation of a story that is unique and different, the quality seemed to be fishing in more conversation and appreciation in the foreseeable future. Amazing!
- Excess
- The unique psychological themes
- Visual quality is cool
- Acting Melina Juergens (Senua) is fantastic
- Sword fight feels intense
- World design
- The design of some of the missions are ready to make your heart beat fast
- A fantastic audio design
- A shortage of
- Uninspiring puzzle design
- The story may be confusing for some gamers
- Easily feels repetitive
Suitable for gamers: the love theme of the story is unique and different, the film connoisseur like A Beautiful Mind, The Machinist, or Shutter Island
Not suitable for gamers: who wants action game God of War style, are not happy with this puzzle game that asks you to look for a pattern
Source Code 1, 2 , 3 and 4
Looking forward to this piece!