Hellblade: Xena's Sacrifice is a special action game, and I would say this not just because it's a story-driven genre, but also because of its special sound. The game uses surround sound effects to allow players to fully experience the so-called full 3D whispers, as if there are many ghosts around the player whispering continuously, a little weird, but also very impactful.
The core idea of this work is to simulate the mental state of auditory hallucinations, so the studio has a professional team, psychologists, and psychiatric patients who study auditory hallucinations, in order to be able to present the real "auditory hallucinations" as much as possible, so this work can also provide some help in medical research, right? Because the background of this work is related to Norse culture, there is also a certain study of Norse mythology and local people. The story also takes place on a Nordic Celtic warrior, a female warrior senna suffering from auditory hallucinations, on her journey into Helheim for her lover.
Artistic expression
Since the theme of the game uses the ancient Nordic culture as the background, the visual presentation is naturally a bit divine, and the overall atmosphere is eerie and terrifying. The game talks about terrible plagues and killings between races, etc., so the scene design is also relatively dark. From the very beginning of the boat's opening scene, you can see that the floating corpses in the river, as well as various upside-down corpses hanging above the cave, and a bunch of flying mosquitoes around, all tell that the game is heavier than you think. The overall tone of the scene is dark, even during the day, and the use of cool colors reveals a feeling of coldness, loneliness, and depression, as if to warn the player that the protagonist is embarking on a thorny road.
In addition, the game contains a horror component, some bridge scenes are so dark that they can only advance through torches, or there will be unknown sounds around them, and even more will appear inexplicable strange shapes, and even sometimes the whole scene will become hell, these elements create a strong fear for the whole game. And those gods who appear and disappear, like hallucinations, add a sense of weirdness. But despite the horror atmosphere, it is not the main axis of the work, but more like the protagonist's mental journey. So more than the horror section, it's more of a puzzle and a story. The atmosphere of the story is a series of calm, tense alternating, and the balance between them is very good.
Plot of the work
Helheim is the underworld of Norse mythology, where it is said that souls who did not die in glorious battle will return to this place, and this place is ruled by Hella. In the late eighth century, the Celtic homeland was looted by the Vikings, while the heroine Senna's lover was captured and killed by the enemy. As a female warrior of the Celtics, she could not save the tragedy. Grief-stricken, her only remaining hope is to take the head of her lover to the legendary Helheim and take his soul back from Hella.
But Helheim is not an easy place to go, and the journey will require a series of trials and challenges to the gods of legend. But Xena had lost everything, so she embarked on this journey without hesitation. Along the way, Sena's past will gradually be revealed. A woman with auditory hallucinations was struggling to live among the warrior-supremacist Nordic races. In that era of ignorance, auditory hallucinations were not a disease, but were seen as a curse.
Game system
The gameplay of this game is alternated through puzzle solving and combat, and it is rare to divide it very clearly, solving the puzzle when it is time to solve it, and focusing on fighting when it is time to fight. This can be seen from the operation, in the general state of exploration, puzzle solving, the protagonist will not even pull the knife, no matter how hard you press, she will not shoot; and when you need to fight, you will give the player an empty field, there are no obstacles, you will know to fight at a glance, as long as you concentrate on dealing with the enemies who come.
Visual puzzles
The puzzle solving of the game is not complicated, and the puzzle is quite simple, with the principle of not picking up anything, mainly through a specific perspective to make the scene objects into the desired pattern, so the player only needs to walk around and see the flowers. This also makes the game's exploration relatively simple, and most of the time just needs to move forward. Sometimes there are some bridge sections that require the player to listen to the sound and identify the position, or pay more attention to the changes in the scene, but still do not have to pick up any props, they concentrate on interacting with the scene and observing the changes, and the plot will give enough hints. It's not so much a puzzle as it is a piece of situational experience.
Cold weapon combat
The battle part is more interesting, although this game is very plot-oriented, the battle is only a bridge that changes the rhythm of the game, not the core of the game, but it is still very challenging. The core of the battle is mainly cold weapons, with light attack, heavy attack, dodge, defense and counterattack, which belongs to a very typical melee combat system. Different combinations will also conjure up extended moves, such as dodging stab strikes, or counterattacking heavy hits, and so on. Some enemy attacks cannot be counterattacked, and some attacks must be dodged laterally or only defended. Because the protagonist can only deal with the enemy at a time, it is particularly important to target which one to target first when being beaten, and sometimes it is necessary to switch targets frequently to occupy a favorable position, and the overall battle is very interesting.
In addition, the protagonist has a special ability, as long as the energy is enough, it can be released to enter "bullet time". Enemies will slow down during bullet time, invisible enemies will appear, and the picture will have very fantastic special effects, at which point you can take the opportunity to slash them. In addition, entering the retardation time can also restore physical strength, so it will not be so easy to die. However, because the core of this game is not combat, but only as a lubricant to advance the plot, the entire combat system is limited in richness and cannot be strengthened or unlocked with new abilities.
Finally, when it comes to death, players are informed not long after the game starts that there is a limit to the number of deaths Xena can be. Death is like a curse, and every time the player dies, the curse spreads upwards on Xena's hand. Once it spreads to the head game, it will end, so it is better to play with caution.
Excellent plot-oriented works in all aspects
The puzzle solving of the game is very pleasant, not too difficult, not complicated, than the difficulty of the problem, the puzzle is more focused on the observation of the scene, so you can always find something new. And the visual effects of the game are great, in addition to the special effects that burst out, the picture will also create some cool filters, coupled with the effect of simulating "auditory hallucinations", the audiovisual effects are really very gripping. And the overall rhythm of the game is very well mastered, after the puzzle exploration is over, it will be interspersed with some exciting battles, and when the player is too stable, it will trigger some unique events or horror elements, so the whole gameplay will not be boring.
Although this work is a plot-oriented work, but the system is very careful, the derivation and countermeasures of the move are very testing the player's on-the-spot reaction and judgment, I feel that this system will be very interesting if it continues to dig deeper, making people a little looking forward to its sequel. The rhythm of "Hellblade" is generally linear, not dragging mud and water, and even the branch lines are almost non-existent, so the duration is not long, about 7 to 9 hours. If you are a little bored with the mix of numerical, upgrade, and technical orientation, and just want to simply enjoy the plot, this work will be a very good choice.
Finally, if you want to play this game, be sure to wear headphones, after all, the wonderful feeling of simulating auditory hallucinations is really wonderful.