Senua's saga :hellblade 2

brady12

Another disappointing underwhelming xbox release looks like . Are they in trouble ? I'm going play it later and decide for myself but looks like another let down . The last banger they released they shut down the studio !

Retr0gamer

Mixed reviews, some really good. The metrogame central one has me worried. 5/10 and they say the game, like the original, has a very poor understanding of mental health issues with the typical voices in the head and hallucinations tropes.

brady12

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122164100#Comment_122164100

Seems like same game again . They led us on at one stage it was going to be bigger and better etc . Could Ninja theory be in trouble now !? Can't trust microsoft .

recyclops

If it plays and feels like the first then there is no problem in my eyes. Hopefully nice and short as dont want to be away from animal well too much

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122164851#Comment_122164851

6-8 hours apparently. The perfect game length.

DeSelby83

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122164100#Comment_122164100

https://youtu.be/KVBxvlRV0d4?si=vMcOQJhzItEsm7Gu

I had seen this from Metro but also have watched this video where they are working with who they say are experts in that field as well as people suffering with the illness who say that the game is very accurate in describing the illness.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122165327#Comment_122165327

I've seen that as well and they did the same with the first game. They can say that it's accurate to mental health illness as much as they want. But I'm not getting fooled when they say the puzzles are a result of parediola when all I'm doing is solving Arkham riddle puzzles and how the voices in the person's head are like what schizophrenics experience when its actually just repeating the gross misconceptions Hollywood has about that illness.

Being a bit harsh as I think as a game it works really well but as a representation for mental Illness it's really not good. I've even seen some pseudo science posers talk about it in articles and try to present it with the authority of a scientific paper.

brady12

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122165496#Comment_122165496

I'm just worried about game is fun / good to play or not . Must boot it up later . Ah well on game pass can just delete it again if it isn't hitting .

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122165782#Comment_122165782

Well if it's anything like the first game then you'll be well served. Im moaning a lot but it's just because it think it can do some stuff better but it's pretty good at being a game!

DeSelby83

Personally I'd take the word of a Professor of Health Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge and sufferers of psychosis ahead of some video game reviewers at metro who claim they don't know how well it represents psychosis and then go on to question the developer’s insistence that Senua’s portrayal is based on medical science and real people’s experiences.

But that aside I really enjoyed the first game so I'd imagine I will enjoy this one too

the_amazing_raisin

Probably the most honest review I've heard is that it's more of the original with some significant graphics and sound upgrades and decent gameplay upgrades

Seems to go for more cinematic feel than core gameplay

If you liked the first you'll probably like this one. If you didn't enjoy the first one then you'll almost certainly hate this one

I think Ninja Theory should be applauded for keeping the gameplay and story tight and not creating another open world grindathon requiring 40+ hours of forgettable quests to accomplish the basic story

Unfortunately I suspect their masters in Microsoft will not be impressed with such independent thinking and will probably kill the studio anyway

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122166004#Comment_122166004

You have to aid that with "paid to be in promotional material for the game", which really changes the dynamic. As some one from academia, there's plenty of corporate shills in the profession.

johnny_ultimate

tbh what concerns me is that I read a few reviews suggesting the gameplay feels like a backwards step compared to the first - which I don’t think anyone would argue was a particularly mechanically robust game - and that the story is a lot more meandering and impersonal than the more intimate first. Some even suggest the audio and visual design is less clearly ‘motivated’ than the first. Even the most negative reviews though suggest the thing is a graphical powerhouse. But we’ll all find out how fair those criticisms / compliments are when we’ve played it.

It’s one of those games that really struggles from the off, as Hellblade was not a game that immediately cried out for a sequel, let alone being transformed into a ‘Saga’. It was a tight, contained and personal story that stood proudly on its own terms - not perfect, but a compelling formal experiment. Justifying a sequel was always going to be a tricky ask, and one the reviewers seem conflicted on whether it pulled off (some yes, some no). I’ll certainly give it a go on Game Pass but maybe once I’ve tidied off one or two other games I’ve been playing. But a short running time is undoubtedly welcome,

In some ways this game was of course the safest, most predictable route Ninja Theory could’ve gone - retreading familiar ground with a bigger budget, even if the first game was an admirable swing. But it sounds like they have original projects in the work too, so hopefully they aren’t victim to Microsoft’s current commercial ruthlessness and we get to see what else they have cooking.

Cordell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122166004#Comment_122166004

It is based, but it is not a 100% accurate representation. I remember some interviews where even the devs acknowledged that while they did research and even listened to people suffering from this condition in the end they were making a game which is art and entertainment, and not academic material. So who cares if it's not 100% accurate.

brady12

T

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122166496#Comment_122166496

Too many of these reviews are delving into nonsense . It's a game at the end of the day not a schizophrenic simulator . A lot the rest the game isn't exactly grounded in reality . Getting sick of them type of reviews to be honest . Is it a good game and is it fun to play and does it run well. That's all we should be focusing on .

brady12

I liked the first game but puzzles pissed me off and the combat was cat . The world changing puzzles grew old fast . I'm going to give it a fair crack later but I've a feeling I might not finish this one . Think was mr matty plays that said in a review said it's not fun to play for good spells .

johnny_ultimate

To be fair, looking at the first Senua and just asking is it fun to play and does it run well would be doing the game itself a profound disservice.

The game has much bigger ambitions than that - whether it succeeds or fails or somewhere in between is up for discussion, but it deserves at least to be met on its own terms.

brady12

Just booting it up now so we see .

I see xbox have green lit a new ninja theory game so they must be safe for awhile 🤣

brady12

My lord god the game is stunning .

Grumpypants

Gave it a good hour earlier. I didn't finish the first one, I think I didn't get very far as I tried playing it when I'd too much going on, but I have it installed on the Xbox so might quickly play through it before going much further in 2.

But first hour or so was walking really slowly, in the rain, killing an odd viking, trying to match some shapes and generally not knowing what was going on. Playing with headphones is great though.

It looks really nice but the best looking parts are the non playing parts where they give you close ups of her face. The gameplay sections look good but I'd not say a noticeable graphical leap over other good looking titles.

Still the best rain since death stranding.

PixelPlayer

I'm only a few hours in but this game is savage. An audio/visual masterpiece. I've read some saying the combat is poor, I find it utterly brutal (not in the Irish meaning of the word). The puzzles are the same as before, probably the weakest point for me. But solvable very quickly then move on, its no big deal.

I don't understand why anyone would expect them to deliver anything other than another Hellblade. Do peoplenwant them to stick in an open world map? Maybe some rpg progression? Like seriously, that's not Hellblade.

brady12

7 years making a 5-7 hour game just to stick it on game pass . Will they make money off it?

Enjoying it so far for what it's worth but I will be looking up puzzles when stuck just so it won't make me hate it .

PixelPlayer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122167539#Comment_122167539

That is the concern really isn't it? They don't just have to make money they have to make an abundance of money or risk being shut down. But I think I read they have already green lit Ninja Theory's next game. Not that that makes them safe I suppose.

Grumpypants

I got another good 90mins done today and it's really grown on me. I can see past all the, very fair, "interactive movie" criticism and have just sunk into enjoying it as an experience rather than looking for a traditional gaming experience.

On a 65 inch OLED with headphones it's something else.

The Raging Bile Duct

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122166238#Comment_122166238

Prof Paul Fletcher

Bernard Wolfe Professor of Health Neuroscience

Areas of research

psychosis, schizophrenia, learning

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge

Paul Fletcher trained in medicine before taking a PhD in cognitive neuroscience. He is the Bernard Wolfe Professor of Health Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge and a Wellcome Trust Investigator. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, of Clare College Cambridge and of the Academy of Medical Sciences.

His clinical work is on Huntington’s Disease and psychosis. In his research, he uses combinations of pharmacological challenges, neuroimaging and larger scale behavioural studies in healthy and clinical populations, with the aim of understanding the basis of learning and decision-making in the human brain.

A central principle of his research is the idea that the brain is occupied in the process of forming predictions and associations to minimise error and uncertainty and to maximise reward. In many instances the cognitive and reflective processes engaged with this goal can conflict with underlying automatic and habitual processes. Though we feel in charge of how we think and act, we are prey to many subtle signals from our bodies and our environment and these can seize power and shape our decisions and behaviours. The end result may be that our behaviours that can seem irrational and in conflict with our longer term goals and plans. Furthermore, the mind constructs reality such that, even under normal circumstances, what we experience and believe has been profoundly shaped by our expectations.

------------

Jesus, the more I read, the more obvious it is that he's a corporate shill 🙄

Decades of research in the field of psychiatry are obviously no match to the expertise of Metrogame Central.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122170517#Comment_122170517

And like all people in academia he is under enormous pressure to get funding and a nice collaboration with a corporate partner will bring in some funding and keep the board off your back for a while.

I can't blame him either. I'd have told midway that the juggle combo system of mortal Kombat increases the luminescence lifetime of the molecules I was working with if it got me some funding.

But if you want to think Arkham riddle puzzles are a visual symptoms of psychosis then go ahead.

The Raging Bile Duct

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122170560#Comment_122170560

Arkham riddle puzzles... what are you on about?

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122170646#Comment_122170646

The puzzles in hellblade just being copies of the riddler puzzles in Arkham games but supposedly they represent pareidolia symptoms of psychosis.

The Raging Bile Duct

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122170732#Comment_122170732

Seems a tad reductive considering everything else that goes on in the games in terms of things like the binaural audio and the use of voices to represent intrusive thoughts.

It looks like the Ninja Theory genuinely tried to be empathetic in their portrayal of Senua and engaged with experts and people with mental health issues to help inform how they approached the game but obviously that's not good enough these days. Shame on them.

PixelPlayer

I don't think anyone is under the illusion that the game is giving an accurate representation of psychosis. They've taken elements like voices and shimmer lights and...made a video game out of it. The main character has psychosis. The main character in a video game has psychosis. Sorry to be pointing out the obvious.

It's very tiring being a video game fan these days. Just enjoy the game, it's really good. It's an AV spectacular. That is actually what it is intended to be so if you're criticism is that you want it to be something else then really it's just trolling to be honest.

It's like me saying one of Annapurna's games is not Assasins Creed. I'd be right, but it just sounds ridculous.

brady12

Two hours in & I share your sentiment with OLED and headphones . The game is stunning to listen to and look at . I don't mind that on rails cinematic treat like order 1886 style . 9/10 so far for me .

Ok so I am starting the 3rd chapter of 6 . I don't have any negative comments about the game so far . Just shows you reviews can put you off but need play the game and see for yourself . Am I losing the run of myself here to say it's nearly best game iv seen yet ? visuals are photo realistic at times !? The fight at end of chapter 2 is absolutely ridiculous . Peak video games. The use of the audio + light and dark visually is stunning .