Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice Reviews

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is ranked in the 91st percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Essential
Aug 8, 2017

Ninja Theory crafts a highly competent action game and a nuanced, powerful exploration of mental health.

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IGN
Top Critic
9 / 10.0
Aug 8, 2017

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is a masterclass of atmosphere, storytelling, and the marriage of mechanical and conceptual design. While there are moments that feel shoehorned in to remind us we're playing a videogame, the care and attention Ninja Theory has clearly poured into Senua and her story has created something amazing. This is a game everyone should play, and I'm thankful for the opportunity to have lived inside the mind of Senua, however briefly.

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78 / 100
Aug 8, 2017

Hellblade could benefit from more exploration and enemy variety, but it's a powerful portrait of the strength of will over personal demons.

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Aug 14, 2017
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice - Easy Allies Review video thumbnail
Metro GameCentral
GameCentral
Top Critic
6 / 10
Aug 8, 2017

A technical masterpiece with some of the best swordfighting combat in years, but the storytelling and puzzle elements come across as muddled and awkwardly mismatched.

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8 / 10.0
Aug 8, 2017

Given the heavy subject matter, calling Hellblade "entertaining" feels inappropriate. However, it is undeniably memorable, telling a compelling tale that explores subject matter many consider taboo

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Polygon
Top Critic
8.5 / 10.0
Sep 6, 2017

Hellblade is not an Orphean quest to retrieve a dead lover from the underworld. It's not some epic tale of revenge. It's an education and contextualization of being psychologically different in the time of Vikings and Celts. Nearly every facet of the game — whether it's combat, puzzles or exploration — is deliberate, pointing back to the overarching theme of what people called “cursed” during that time. Hellblade successfully weaves metaphors of grief and loss into fundamental game mechanics and rich folklore, and through these I felt like I truly was able to understand how someone else sees the world.

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8 / 10
Aug 8, 2017

Hellblade is a spellbinding and sympathetic game about loss and redemption.

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Aug 9, 2017

This intense exploration of a young woman's personal anguish is a triumph of interactive storytelling.

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7.5 / 10.0
Aug 8, 2017

Slowly but surely Ninja Theory has moved into film territory, but they can't let go of their need to shove action mechanics into everything they do. With the increased focus and acceptance of so-called "walking simulators" there's a huge market they can tap into, and I hope they end up doing that in the future. I enjoyed pretty much every facet of Hellblade that didn't involve combat, which unfortunately pops up a little too often on top of the aforementioned technical problems -- just enough to grate.

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Hobby Consolas
Hobbyconsolas.com
Top Critic
91 / 100
Aug 8, 2017

Hellblade approaches psychosis in a videogame in a mature and original way. The game has a perfect balance of combat, puzzles and exploration, with great sound and graphics, but it fells too short, about 8 hours length.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

8 / 10
Aug 8, 2017

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is a profound sensual experience that's unmissable. The way it highlights psychosis and incorporates it isn't just a part of the aesthetic, but it also makes for fascinating gameplay. This is a phenomenal achievement for the discussion of mental health that we'll be talking about for years to come.

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91 / 100
Apr 13, 2019

A new example on how Switch is capable of succeding in any challenge, with no sacrifices in the process. It's not as graphically astonishing as the other versions but it feels really, really close. A gaming experience everyone should try.

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Forbes
Top Critic
9 / 10.0
Aug 9, 2017

Ninja Theory, you moved me. Hellblade's gameplay is polished, the writing is fantastic, the acting is superb, and the ending managed to make me cry. But even then, all of this pales in comparison to everything this art piece truly represents.

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9 / 10
Aug 8, 2017

Hellblade overcomes very minor hiccups with incredible presence, immersive design, and an overall package that truly leaves an impression

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VG247
Top Critic
Unscored
Aug 8, 2017

For the majority of its run time, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice felt like something much more meaningful than a generic action video game. It felt like a work with something to say, and it made me want to listen, even when what I heard frightened me so badly I could barely press on.

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8.8 / 10.0
Aug 8, 2017

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is an excellent demonstration of quality with an absorbing history and an outstanding artistic direction. Joining concepts such as Norse mythology and psychosis was not easy, but the mixture has been respectful and interesting.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

8.5 / 10.0
Aug 8, 2017

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is a deep, fascinating game, however, which precedes the narrative component to the gameplay: the important thing is to know what you are buying.

Review in Italian | Read full review

8 / 10.0
Apr 15, 2019

An outstanding game that work pretty well on a consola like Switch, especially on TV mode. Its performance on handheld mode is not good. That paired with some boring/repetitive mechanics that were on the other versions make this Switch version the less recommendable of them all, but still a fun and interesting game.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

9 / 10.0
Jul 16, 2019

When you think you’re seeing a render in-game that looks too good for Switch, that’s because essentially a video is playing. Yes, the actual game part is lower resolution, and yes, of course if you can play it on PS4, Xbox One, or PC, you’ll get the better looking experience, but if you are a Switch-only console household then you’re getting a great looking game that sounds amazing, and tells a story with one of the best takes on mental health in a long time. Play it on handheld with headphones and you’ll be shocked, just don’t be surprised if it looks blurry (and sub-HD) on the big screen.

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