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Xbox showed off Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II during the Xbox Developer Direct event, giving us an in-depth look at the game. The title is coming May 21.
The first Hellblade came out in 2017 and it was my favorite game of the year. Since then, Xbox acquired the developer, Ninja Theory. Dom Matthews, head of the studio, disclosed that the game is coming on the Xbox Series X/S, PC, and Xbox Game Pass on May 21.
Matthews said the game once again takes a realistic view of Senua’s psychosis, where she sees things that may not really be there, and consulted with Paul Fletcher, a professor and clinical consultant. The team is remaking the combat system so that every fight seems unique and you won’t feel like you’re engaging in the same battle over and over — something that happened with the first game.
The game is set in the 10th century, where the Vikings have invade Iceland and Senua helps engage with the resistance as well as her own personal demons. The team also went to Iceland to capture the landscape and the visuals look pretty vast and realistic. The game uses the Unreal Engine 5 platform.
Melina Juergens, who plays Senua, showed off mocap scenes where she mimics the behavior of Senua for the artists to capture and modify. Juergens played the original Senua and is diving into the role again. I like how this is turning out and am very interested in seeing the final result.
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