Hellblade 2 Review "Buy, Wait, Never Touch?"
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 พ.ค. 2024
- Hellblade 2 Review "Buy, Wait, Gamepass, Never Touch?"
Hellblade II is set in 10th century Iceland. It centers around the warrior Senua following her return from the realm of Hel, as she sets out to exact vengeance against the Viking raiders who inflicted devastating losses on her people in her homeland, Orkney.
Ninja Theory
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Buy, wait for a sale, rent, or never touch it. The Patented Karak review system to see if a game is worth a buy upon release or if I recommend waiting. - เกม
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Hellblade 2 is a unique beast that wont be liked by all but I enjoyed it a great deal for what it was.
www.patreon.com/AngryCentaurGaming
Fast and Furious generation will not…understand it. Thank God so far I haven’t seen any “w oke” comments. At least in your channel so far.
@@doubleohdutch2108 Why would people be calling it woke, the game is so short there's no chance for anything "woke" to happen, the whole game is just bad things happening for 5 hours and then it ends
@@Hugsloth You know, haters or republicans or right wings do not like women as protagonists. Me, I am loving this game as I did the first.
@@doubleohdutch2108 This is a myth. Zero truth whatsoever. You're misinterpreting various controversies if you think people just "do not like women as protagonists". Badly written characters? Sure, we all hate those. Badly written games? Again, sure. Nobody whose opinion has ever mattered is mad about "women". They're mad about badly-written and ideologically motivated garbage.
@@Hugsloth Good, then. That was my point since this game has a great story, character development and strong characters. It's actually the steam forum that tends to bring up that darn word for no reason at all. So you should also post your comment there. Also, I did not mention people but republicans or right wings.
"Cinematic masterpiece in game form but not a masterpiece game" probably a perfect summary.
Technically it is movie you can play.
But I want to play a game 😂
Sounds like the first game.
Room exists for all types of games
@@HarryBuddhaPalm coming from other reviews, it has even less combat and less puzzle than the first game.
“It’s like two gollums reading you an audio book while you’re also trying to pay attention to a horror movie and not get killed.” ACG, your writing is so entertaining!I
The gollum mod will be appreciated
I don't get the gollum thing
@@chino436 you haven't known gollum
yeah but how is that a fun game?
I read this right when he said it 😂
for those who really enjoy the music, the band Heilung was chosen to create the soundtrack and most of their other work is that surreal neo-primitive feel to it. highly recommend trying at least once
I discovered their music through tidal discovery queue. Excellent stuff that reminded me of the first hellblade. The irony
I discovered heilung through tidal discovery queue. It reminded me of the first hell blade. 👌
Heilung are such a blast.
“To hear even more voices in your head, hit the subscribe button…I’ll add another.” 😂
I feel like Senua is DYING somewhere and these games are like the movie Jacob's Ladder...
👁👄👁
It was all a dream!
What's Jacob's Ladder about?
@@xavierabii548 About a guy in the Vietnam War, who experiences some weird stuff after going home... That's as much as I could say without massive spoilers...
@@xavierabii548 One of the best psychological horror movies ever.
@@Beavernator Oh nice, it sounds interesting. When was it made?
When a game I'm interested in releases, I'm always looking for ACG's review.
100% I honestly wonder what ign gave it they probably didn't play it and waiting for the last of us 1 remaster of a remake that was remastered for a reworked remake of a reboot
This would've been such a good movie or series
After finishing it, its just not a good game
But its pretty much cinema
this dude turning into the chris stuckmann of game reviewers
Time to get Stuckmannized!
It's not a game for me, but dang... this is what happens when you stick to a theme and let it permeate throughout all elements of the game. Just looking at the footage, you feel the claustrophobia and oppressive surroundings. I can only imagine how the addition of controls and sound add to this. I can only have respect for developers really commiting, getting down and dirty with their vision of the game.
WHAAATTT?!?!??! A REASONABLE PERSON IN THE TH-cam COMMENTS??????? I think you are the first person I have seen in the gaming comments of youtube who is able to see a game is not for them and not call it trash lol.
Couldn’t agree more. This is an important genre
The one game series where you could possibly justify a locked FOV. Although in the previous entry, the combat camera was atrocious.
@@austinjoseph2881 Very much so. It can be frustrating when people disregard some of my favorite titles as a walking sim because they are using the medium of video games to tell a narrative forward story. Another that comes to mind that I absolutely love and most people just pass it up because it's main focus is not a gameplay loop is Edith Finch.
It's a pseudo psychological walking simulator, with a faux profound narrative. It's really just a short movie. Save both your time and money and watch the movie extracts on TH-cam
The game is visually and thematically jaw dropping. Idk if it's for me though.
Already playing the game! I'm gonna play it anyways but watching an ACG review is a plus.
Could it be possible that she is really dead, and fighting in purgatory, possibly "trials" to reach her ancestral deity?
i mean the whole story is fictional so there is no truth in it. if that's what you want to believe about her, it's fine. it's all fake dude. there is no true story behind the story
I doubt it. This is supposed to be about a woman with psychosis during the Viking era. We're just seeing and hearing what she's going through
I think she's alive and just becoming a hero of beowulf origin
I get that, and interesting, but I think it would lessen the impact of her having psychosis just chalking it up to the voices being spirits.
My man sat on that upload button waiting for that embargo to lift
Or, you know, setup the upload time like every other publication.
@@jacks3735the amount of people impressed at this is honestly sad lol
You realize you can schedule uploads right?
Bunch of unfun weirdos gonna reply like this isn’t a joke lol
@@jacks3735 for real people are such drones
Man I love your reviews! Your synopses are usually inline with what I think both when I've played the game before listening to your reviews or after. Between you and Splattercat, the best on TH-cam.
If you have a multi-channel surround sound system, "all channel stereo mode" can work spectacularly with binaural audio.
Excellent review. Thank you Karak. Looking forward to play it.
Great review! Can't wait to jump in and experience every part of the game.
this should have been an animated movie rather than a game
This game is a turning point in video games. Fairly certain it'll be looked back upon as a classic.
It's a spiritual successor to Another World but that's really doing Hellblade 2 a disservice, since it's amazing on its own merits
ACG with the upload at the exact second of embargo
Embargo means?
@@shfd3832 a review embargo is basically a legal document that prevents you from releasing information until a certain time.
If someone "breaks embargo" it means they posted the information too early (before they had permission to make the information public) and they're going to get sued.
He was sent a review copy...
Scheduled uploads are an incredible brand new technology
/s
Great Review Brother
I'm so excited for this. I'm on the final chapter of the first and will wrap tonight and start this tomorrow. Looks amazing
There was a free Nexus Mod day 1 yesterday to fix the letterbox ratio.
Simple install. I did it and was an hour in again before I noticed it. HB2 is really good but agree on many points here still worth playing.|
I finished it in just over 7 hours. A great story and continuation.
Story narrative games are IMO, a hit or miss and the line is narrow.
Excited to check it out
Interesting thing about Hellblade 2 is that its scaleable enough to be played on the steam deck at about 25-30fps.
Damn, that yt compression's doing a number on the video
Thank you Karak for the rewiev. As always top notch 👌 🤘
Thank you for posting this review!
14:26 that mouse pointer had me so confused 😂
Yea I’m on PC too and it does it for some reason and have to menu it and resume..
Im here for 2:52 😂 . Another fantastic review ACG. I Agree completely with your assessment. - Cog
One of the best reviews. People need to start reviewing games on its own merits.
Great review.
9 hours????
Other reviews state the game is barely 5 hours long.
It depends on how fast you go. Those people probably sprinted through everything without appreciating the art and backdrops and they definitely didn't go after all the lore stones.
I imagine those who got through it in only 5 hours probably didn’t bother with collectibles or any type of side exploration, they just went straight through. I actually just finished a playthrough of the first Hellblade while getting all collectibles & it took me about 7 hours so overall I think the best estimate is 5-10 hours, 5 if you just speed through the game & upwards of 10 if you do collectibles & side exploration.
@@NickConant10 Yeah, it will probably take me around 9 hours. I am on the slower side with these types of games.
@@BasePuma4007 The devs claimed the game took 8 hours but they must have played it without ever using the sprint button to reach that time
@@BasePuma4007 if getting all the collectibles and 100% a triple A game that costs 50 bucks takes you 8 heck even 9 hours then that’s a rip off 🤣 I can name drop 20 indie games that take longer and are actually satisfying to 100% than this interactive movie
ACG, love your content you bring games that I think about playing and break it down and explain it in ways beyond my imagination thank you for your dedication and knowledge. You are a gem to my gaming life.
Great review as always. I can't wait to play it myself. Preloaded on Gamepass, now all I need is the free time.
Looks incredible visualy. wow.
It’s exactly what I would expect. The first game was more about the story than a crazy action packed viewing hack n slash. I can’t wait to boot it up when I get home :)
great review!
Great review as always
After having played roughly the first 3-4 hours.. man.. this game has me in a chokehold. The presentation is just so damn captivating. Ninja theory’s ability to combine every single possible element from sound, to music, to the performances, and the setting.. it all comes together to put you directly into senua’s emotions in a way that is so goddamn impressive. Even when I’m not playing it I can’t stop thinking about it. Absolute fucking banger job from Ninja theory
I'm 45 min in
I never played the 1st one but I think I can get a Playthrough out of this... I'm in my 50s so I'm at the point of Linear games.... Plus I'm on Gamepass Wit It🤷🏾♂️
I'm with you. After playing the first one several times I knew what I was getting into and this did not disappoint. Well...maybe a little. I also wish there were more puzzles and more combat but as a whole, it's jaw-dropping beautiful and terrifying and I actually love that the characters move at human speed. People were complaining about how slow she climbed at the start and how slow it was when she crawls on her back. I loved it as it was a true representation of how a person WOULD move. I feel like I'm playing a movie and I love it. I'll play the second half tonight and will most likely play a second time to find all of the lore as I missed a couple so far but man, what an experience!
@@kevinbrennen6773 I agree with the puzzles for sure, I was disappointed at how easy they were and the lack of variation except for the whole “change the environment” puzzle which I think was the only real new puzzle element they added. I was also slightly disappointed with the length, not so much how short the game is but more so the abruptness of the ending I guess. I like the ending and the reveal of the giants and the message but I feel like it just kind of ramps up really quickly then ends.. I wouldn’t have minded maybe an extra hour or two to flesh out some of the new characters and to maybe let the ending breathe a bit more. Other than that, I absolutely loved it! Definitely need a second playthrough soon to properly digest everything
Yeah I felt the same way about the first game. I never cared so much about not failing the main character.
Just finished the game. Im really happy ACG has enjoyed this as much as I have and it feels good to see people that understood the game for what it is. Thanks ACG!
Frankly, when I saw the first teaser for this game, I discovered Heilung and now have 3 of their albums. I really enjoyed the first game and am very eager to play this second installment!
Thanks for the video
Thanks for the review Karak
i died of boredom in the game
it just turned into a graphics card previewer.
this review bent over backwards to make a game with no gameplay, story, or music, sound like a good thing.
You got dude from Lost to wait and push the button as soon as the review embargo was lifted.
Great review
the first one was fun for the first hour but then i got motion sickness
Thanks karak cheers from new zealand
Is it still ultrawide(letter boxed) on an ultrawide monitor or does it fill an ultrawide monitor?
I liked the first game a lot. I think this game is good too. But it is very expensive. Only if there is huge sale will I buy it.
You don't have to pay for it if you got game pass covered.
Just seeing the same puzzles from the first one made me shudder. A skip for me. Thanks.
Incredible review as usual! Fantastic job!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Is the music done by Heilung?
cant wait to play this tonight!!
Is it real gameplay this time or more mini training rooms like the first one?
Same as 1, even same poor puzzles and even worse combat😂
I'm a huge fan of the first one. This one, in my opinion, falls short.
the first one was one big disapointment for me. if this is like the first its not for me
Worse than the first game.
I'll still give it a try I didn't pay 4k for a pc to not play games with fidelity even tho she's no Stellar Blade cause Microsoft doesn't want to offend the fuglys out there.
Great review! I loved the first game and its use of binaural audio, the theme and enemies of the world. I’m excited to check this out and experience it again.
How on earth did you get 9 hours out of it?
Cool review, good to hear someone giving this kind of game the respect is deserves! GG
yes we should turn all disabilities into gimmicks so that we can sell consumer products to the general population
Yes awesome review! I can’t wait to play it & continue Senuas story!!
Great review, game looks amazing
I've played for 2 hours and it was exactly same as Senua 1 but with less FPS and even less interaction with the world. I clicked less buttons and I've seen less new stuff. Same sword fighting, puzzle finding and voices in the head telling Senua she is rekt. I don't understand why make a new game with 0 improvement besides graphics from the first one. In 2 hours of gameplay there were literally 0 new.
I’ve heard it runs 5 1/2 to 6 1/2. 9 is the longest I’ve heard anyone mention so far. How did you pull that much more time out of it ?
I fell asleep
Good take review. It's a game that certainly needs the right mindset to play before you go in that's for sure
Exactly
Im planning to get a bit drunk, and very very very stoned. I'll let you guys know how it goes 👍
Everyone who enjoyed this wants to pretend that it’s super deep and you “need to be in the right mindset” to enjoy it but in actuality it’s “I wanted to watch a movie” the game
@@Wonderbrutyou clearly haven't played it
@@victorn1291how'd it go
I enjoyed the story in Scorn more where there is completely no narration, compared to Senua Hellblade 2.
Yes. I always think Game Pass should part of the Buy, Wait for sale, or Never touch. This is the right way going forward.
Oh and sounds amazing with my sound bar
Man does it sound so good in my 3D audio headphones 🎧. You can hear everything....😮
Not interested in paying for tech demos. This is a games Journos dream game. If you can call it a game.
Right on time :)
Huh. I thought this would be rated "wait for a deep sale."
I loved the first game. I played it a few times, gifted it to a few friends, made some friends come over to play it, and let some use my loaner PC. All I can say about this one is that it is so linear and dumbed down, with a story that isn't anywhere near as meaningful as the original, that it it might as well just be watched on TH-cam.
My first gripe was the terrible aspect ratio, but luckily that can be fixed on PC a few different ways. But then after finishing it, I was surprised it was over. It ended abruptly in an unsatisfying way. I thought there was going to be a final fight, but unlike the excellent finale of the original, the twist at the end of Hellblade 2 was painfully bad, and rendered the whole experience inconsequential. Supposedly there are different viewpoints to play through. I haven't tried that yet, but I just don't want to waste any more of my life on it.
I almost feel like Microsoft told them to release it now, even if it was far from finished.
Then I found out Tameem Antoniades, who wrote and directed the first Hellblade, and co-founded Ninja Theory 24 years ago, left the company quite a while ago. Apparently he only worked on Hellblade 2 at the very start. I don't know why he left, but the game is a mess.
So odd to hear this compared favorably to SOMA when Karak hated that game.
Senua’s biggest problem with the first one was it was more puzzles and less action .. hopefully this one isn’t the same. I got bored trying to figure puzzles out all the time and not fighting and hearing those annoying voices while doing so.
Unfortunately it is mostly the same, with some puzzles even more boring, only 2 bosses which were underwhelming (which ACG did not mention and pointed out). For 5-8 hours definitely not worth 50$, because its more cinematic then actual gameplay, only worth playing on game pass or with big discount for like 10$.
@@milosstojanovic4623 Yeah hopefully this doesn't come across as too harsh, but the first game I found to be kind of mediocre. There are better games that could use sequels
@@JasonNZ42 true, but first game was different from other games at that time as storytelling goes, but sequel is not improvement in almost anything.
Annoying, like you crying?
I suffer with GAD with panic attacks. The original was so difficult and rewarding to complete. Apprehensive yet excited to jump back in.
Just don’t play on headphones then. It might get a little much for anxiety.
your health is more important, i say, avoid games that put you in stressful situations.
Cringe
@@lawrencenewman9941 "cringe"?
Start taking magnesium citrate
Seems more like the first game and nothing like the trailers.
Great review as always thank you ACG can’t wait to play it tonight !!!
Insanely enjoyable? Come on man how hyperbolic can you be
Just started playing it for a few hours then it started with its go find this rune and match it up........ again and then a few minutes later go do it again. The game does look gorgeous in Unreal 5. I'd love to see a Ryse Son of Rome sequel made this way.
I wish this game had a physical release. I would have bought it for that price.
Physical is over... move on with the times or get left behind.
one of the best experiences I've ever had in gaming
Can’t hardly wait 🎉
I agree completely with most of the review, it was an incredible experience for me and I loved pretty much the same as the first one
I'd just like to point the replayability factor, as you mentioned there's not much of it. Considering you unlock the campaign with comentary from the other characters and there's still another "mode" that I don't know what it is cause I didn't manage to get all the runes on the first playthrough not to mention the hidden faces and trees, I'd say that's quite a bit of replayability which I'm very pleased with the idea of going through.
Cheers, keep up with the great work!
I was really hoping they would expand the gameplay just a bit.
The weird frame pauses during combat are really jarring.
I've been fully engrossed in this game, and I'm actually shocked I'm so hooked.
I know it's not a long game, but I'm so happy games like this exist. I'm tired of people thinking every 3rd person game has to be this massive AAA action/RPG Sony-esque experince.
If it's not an indie, people act like every game has to follow that formula. But lately I've been enjoying what Microsoft's offering - different experiences.
I don't have an Xbox, so I'm playing these on PC Game Pass, but games like Pentiment, Forza Horizon, Hi-Fi Rush (RIP Tango), Sea of Thieves, Psychonauts 2, and now Hellblade 2 are a handful of games that just feel different than the typical Nintendo/Sony stuff I'm used to playing.
If you like/enjoy experiences, then you mustn't miss out on "The Artful Escape.""
I can't in good conscience spoil anything, but let's just say that it's VERY unique in presentation, gameplay, and story.
Glad you enjoy it. Me personally a 5 hour game like this I am not spending money on......but I will find a lets play that streams it and experience the short story that way so I can spend my money on games that provide more content.
Your review is the real winner here great job 👏 🎉
Played the first game on PlayStation, absolutely loved it. Wish it was still available on PS. Way better experience on the couch than at the computer for me
Wow, the graphics look so real
How on earth did you get 9 hours from this game??????😮😳😳 I mean seriously, I'm just curious how????
Finding all the collectibles, admiring the landscapes, and just walking instead of running every now and then to soak in the beauty of it all. I got 8 hours from it while sprinting 70% of the time, missing 6 collectibles and only dying twice. As long as you don't rush like a maniac obsessed with beating the game, you can get 7-8 hours from it.
@@GrimDarkNarrator Sprinting 🤣🤣🤣? You can't sprint in the game, you mean jog.
about an hour into it and am loving it
Bros halfway done 💀
@@MadeUpSubscriber245no he not I’m two hours in and haven’t even come across that scene where you put the giant on fire
Youre almost done 💀😂
No buy rent or wait?
Hellblade 2 Xbox's the order 1886 a Glorified tech demo all you need to know
It's NOTHING like the first game. It's a MASSIVE disappointment. It's not even worth playing. It's total trash.
One day until release. Two days until the studio closes.
Booty giving Ninja Theory the boot 👢
Pretty much this.
They need them to complete the PS5 port. Then they get closed, just like Tango and Hi Fi.
Good golly peoples morale are so low.
@@Deliveredmean42 just like the effort Microsoft Xbox puts in there games.
I liked the first game a lot (minus the puzzles) so i will probably check this out in the coming days
I hope this is a never touch, so we can tell Microsoft not to make another game like this again.
Interesting that the short Runtime for this Game seems to be no Problem. But almost Everyone pointed that out as The Order came out. A similar beautiful Game with not that much Gameplay 😒
Pretty standard for these tech demo/walking sim genre games. The Order: 1886, Ryse: Son of Rome and the first Hellblade were all pretty short. I wouldn’t pay $50-$60 bucks for a 5 hour game like this, personally, but I’ll probably check it on Gamepass eventually. If anything, it can provide an interesting look at some of these newer UE5 features and how well (or not) they work on console.
More gameplay than Hellblade 2 even.
The game had me until the final chapter. More specifically, when the final boss kills a main character, imo the one with the best character development and a growing relationship with Senua, and it is revealed that the killer was the final boss, not a massive beast we were made to believe it was going to be.
And then it just ended. We don't even know if we kill the final boss or not. We see Senua struggling with her morality, is she her father. Is she her mother? Will she perpetuate the cycle the people of the land know, or will she change it? We won't know. It's up to our interpretation. Which feels like a cheap escape.
open ended endings are good, but this is just a cheap trick to look more smarter especially in a game which is leaner and have no player agency
The 1st game really meant a lot to me in terms of the story and its really disappointing to see how the story in this one turned out. I applaud them for trying to introduce other human characters, but they didnt give them nearly enough time to be developed and i wound up caring about none of them. Senua'a arc in this one also wasnt nearly as meaningful as the 1st one.
At 9 hrs wow that is absolutely insane for the price, not sure how they can justify the price to value of the game for that cost. First one was a novelty, but no way I'm spending full price on another cool tech demo. But i do hope some ppl get enjoyment from it, I'd hate to see another studio shutdown that could possibly make a game I enjoy in the future.