Hellblade 2: everything we know about the Xbox Series X game

Date:
Wed, 22 Sep 2021 16:42:34 +0000

Description:
Everything we know so far about Hellblade 2, the Senua's Sacrifice sequel coming to Xbox Series X and PC.

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Announced back in 2019, Senuas Saga: Hellblade 2 is developer Ninja Theorys highly-anticipated sequel to its 2017 title Hellblade: Senuas Sacrifice.

Exclusive to Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S and PC, the game was revealed at the Game Awards in 2019 with a dark and mysterious trailer that didnt really give much away. A couple of years later and were still eagerly waiting to
hear more details about the game, including, crucially, its release date.

Its now been more than three years since we fought through the depths of Hel with Senua on her journey to rescue the soul of her dead lover from the goddess Hela, so were more than ready to jump into a sequel.

While were hoping that 2021 will bring more news about what we can expect
from Ninja Theorys Xbox exclusive, it does seem that the game is still in the fairly early stages of its development. In the meantime, however, weve gathered everything we know so far about Senuas Saga: Hellblade 2 below for your perusal.

[Update: It seems that Hellblade 2 is still relatively early on in its development. Read on to find out more . ] Check out our reviews of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2: cut to the chase What
is it? The sequel to 2017's Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice When can I play it? TBC What can I play it on? Xbox Series X/S and PC confirmed Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 release date (Image credit: Ninja Theory)

Senuas Saga: Hellblade 2 was surprisingly announced at the Game Awards 2019 with a heart-pumping reveal trailer. The announcement told us that Hellblade
2 is coming to Xbox Series X, as well as PC, but it didnt actually reveal a release date.

Though it was one of the first-revealed Xbox Series X games , Hellblade 2 wasnt referred to as a launch title, so we werent entirely surprised that it wasnt released with the Xbox Series X/S in late 2020. However, now that were into 2021 were hoping to hear about some kind of release date soon.

Were tempering our expectations that Hellblade 2 will be a 2021 title,
though, after the game didnt appear on a January 2021 post on Xbox Wire revealing the games coming exclusively to Xbox in 2021. It seems far more likely that it will be released in 2022 at the earliest. Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 trailers

Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 was officially announced for Xbox Series X at the Game Awards 2019, with a peculiar and gritty reveal trailer. While the
trailer didn't give much away in terms of story and gameplay, it did confirm that this sequel looks much darker than its predecessor - which was already pretty dark.

Check it out below: Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 trailers

Still a while off

Ninja Theory has said in June 2021 that Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 is still very early in its development in a teaser reel .

In the reel (which doesnt show any new gameplay footage) studio founder
Tameem Antoniades explains, What we're doing right now is building a good chunky slice of the game before we then move into full production to build
out the rest. He adds, Hellblade was very special to us and we didn't want to do a straight sequel. We wanted to do something extra special and so we're making our lives as difficult as possible in that pursuit.

Behind-the-scenes videos on Ninja Theorys social channels in addition to this video have provided an insight into how much work the team is putting in in the name of detail, particularly with regards to characters and setting. Overall, it seems safe to say that the game is still a good way off yet and could maybe even be a 2023 or beyond title.

Looking behind the scenes

Ninja Theory has been giving some more behind-the-scenes looks at the development of Hellblade 2, this time taking a look at some of the practical effects that are being used.

In a short video shared through the developers Twitter account, we can see members of the team setting clothing on fire with the caption Sometimes to create, you must first destroy. Experimenting with textural effects on clothing. In a follow-up tweet, the team revealed that theyll be using high quality scans of the clothes to reach an amazing level of detail in the game. It's high quality scans like this that will help us reach an amazing level of detail in our games. pic.twitter.com/UpokEyCCjr September 6, 2021 See more

E3 2021 no show
E3 2021 came and went without an appearance from Hellblade 2. We havent seen much of the game since its announcement at the Game Awards in 2019 and as an Xbox exclusive, we would expect Microsoft to want to shout about it during
its show.

That said, it wasn't likely to begin with. Industry insider Jeff Grubb revealed during a live stream (via TheGamer ) that he did not think Hellblade 2 was going to be at E3 this year due to Microsofts desire to focus on gameplay footage rather than CG trailers. It's disappointing we didn't see it there and now we'll just have to wait for the next big gaming event,
GamesCom, to find out more.

Cloud forming technology
The Ninja Theory Twitter account has tweeted out a look at how the team is using flow maps to both make clouds form and dissolve naturally in Hellblade 2. Its a very small look at how development on the game is progressing but it shows the attention to detail Ninja Theory is applying to the next Hellblade game. Bit cloudy isn't it? Here we're using flow maps to make clouds form and dissolve naturally in Senua's Saga: Hellblade II #WIP pic.twitter.com/OrIoyGjiHK May 25, 2021 See more

Behind the scenes look
Updates on Hellblade 2 have been pretty thin on the ground recently so a behind-the-scenes update from the games star Melina Juergens was no doubt welcome for fans.

The video diary places a real focus on how Juergens prepared for the role of Senua this time around, with a glimpse at some pretty intense combat
training. This does hint at a focus on realistic, authentic combat within the game itself.

Juergens embarked on a regime of fitness training as well as taking weapons training with C.C. Smiff, the swordmaster and stunt choreographer for the recent Star Wars trilogy and Game of Thrones. The games animators also took combat courses so that they could provide realistic movements for the games enemies during motion capture sessions.

Juergens also revealed that she suffers from the chronic pain condition fibromyalgia, explaining it basically means my joints and bones and things like that are always in pain and I have a lot of fatigue. And also when Im training I need quite a lot of time to recover after every session.

You can watch the video diary for yourself below and Juergens has said that more will be coming in another episode in the future.

No more content for Bleeding Edge
Ninja Theory has said that it'll be adding no more content to Bleeding Edge as it's putting its focus on developing Hellblade 2, Project Mara, and The Insight Project. With the studio now focusing on our new projects (Senuas Saga, Project Mara & The Insight Project) we have decided that there will be no further content updates for Bleeding Edge. The game is still playable on Xbox and PC. Thank you to the fans & keep teaming up & causing chaos! January 28, 2021 See more

Melina Juergens tweets
Melina Juergens, the lead actress who plays Senua in the Hellblade series, has posted a tweet making reference to Hellblade 2. For every battle won, a greater battle takes its place #senuassaga #hellbladesenuassacrifice Makeup: @puffjockey pic.twitter.com/ORAqwI71VM January 15, 2021 See more

The tweet includes a picture of Juergens painted with Senuas rune-like patterns and scars and is captioned with the phrase For every battle won, a greater battle takes its place, alongside Senuas Saga-related tags. Its unclear whether the tweet is an indication that Juergens is on set working on the game or whether shes just showing fans some in-character makeup.

Not on the list
Hellblade 2 still doesnt have an official release date or release window but 2021 is looking less likely after a recent post on Xbox Wire . Published in January 2021, the post lists the games that are coming exclusively to Xbox in 2021.

Given Hellblade 2 is an Xbox exclusive and it doesnt appear on this list, it does make it seem unlikely that the game is coming anytime soon. That said, the list is fairly limited and we imagine Xbox still has some unannounced dates up its sleeve. Well just have to be patient until something official is announced.

Running on Unreal Engine 5
Microsoft has confirmed that Hellblade 2 will use Unreal Engine 5 in an official Xbox Wire post.

According to Xbox, "The team will be building the game on Unreal 5 and leveraging the power of Xbox Series X to bring the Hellblade franchise to levels never before seen." They added that the footage of the game shown during The Game Awards in 2019 "was captured in-engine and reflects the power of Xbox Series X available to developers to deliver new universes,
experiences and games in ways you have never imagined."

Icelandic inspiration
Hellblade 2 made an unexpected appearance during the Xbox Games Showcase on July 23, where it was revealed that the game would be taking place in
Iceland. In developer Ninja Theory's 'Dreadnought' developer diary series , the team spoke of how it has been location scouting across the country much
as you would for a Hollywood film, including taking audio recordings for an special immersive, accurate representation of the landscape. Check out the video below for more.

What about the story?
We don't actually know anything about Hellblade 2's story yet but, from the trailer, it seems to be much darker than its predecessor. The trailer shows pagan rituals, breathtaking landscapes, limbs hanging from archways and a few battle sequences. There's also some hints towards Vikings - which would make sense given the time period. But this is speculation and we remain largely in the dark. Xbox Series X games : all the best games on the Xbox console Browse all the latest cheap Xbox Series X game deals



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/senuas-saga-hellblade-2-release-date-trailers-n ews-and-rumors/


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