3/5 ★ – xXWoodinatorXx's review of Senua's Saga: Hellblade II.

Just bought a new TV and Im testing it out with hellblade 2 to see its full potential. Wow. It looks good. I really enjoyed the opening stretch. The game looks amazing. The story already seems intense and I love what they are doing with the sounds in Senua’s head. Strong start. After playing a bit more I’m a bit lower on this game than I was after my initial impression. The game looks great, but a few of these caves section have been rather bland and really don’t showcase the amazing graphics this game has to offer. I still think the sound design is incredible, but its effect is wearing off slightly with it being the second game that essentially is doing the same thing. And then my biggest beef is the puzzles are boring and the combat is boring. I enjoyed the first few combat encounters because the animations are great but the gameplay is so simple that I’m starting to get a bit bored of them as well. I’m still definitely going to beat the game but I hope the story picks up, and we get to see some more interesting environments. I’ve been playing relatively short sessions because after 30 mins or so I’m ready to play something else, which is also hurting the story because it’s very start and stop for me. God this game looks good. It’s so much better when you are outside in an interesting location. The cave section was boring because you lose the best part of the game, the visuals. Beat it. It didn’t hit nearly the same as the first but it still has some moments but I really didn’t enjoy the puzzles or combat in this one. I also don’t think the story is quite as good. I still liked it but I was definitely not engaged in the first. This is an example of doing essentially the same thing like 5 years later without adding anything new and it not being nearly as good because of it. I really wish they tried to up their game and actually introduced a fun combat system. They make it sound like it would take away from the story but in reality the boring combat and puzzles took away from the story. I would have been more engaged with the story if I wasn’t bored in between cutscenes. Bored is a bit too harsh a word. I wasn’t really bored, I was just waiting for the next cutscene or one of the few set pieces action sequences. Final Score: B