2017's Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is a very special game. It was a bold and fearless direction for Ninja Theory, and the decision to create a short narrative experience centered around mental health was a brave attempt, but ultimately a success. Now, seven years later, the studio is preparing to reveal a sequel to Senua's story, built with the same love and care, but expanding on the content of the debut in every way.
Ahead of launch, we continue to bring you the story inside Hellblade 2: The Legend of Senua, as well as the story and experience of the Hellblade creative leadership team. It's the ultimate form of Ninja Theory, with industry-leading talent, groundbreaking technology, and the most unique approach to game development you've ever seen, with the goal of pursuing true immersion.
Motion capture has always played an important role in Ninja Theory's history. Ever since 2007's Heavenly Sword became a pioneer in performance capture in the gaming industry, the studio has continued to innovate. Now, with greater use of cutting-edge technology – including its own show-capture studio housed in its Cambridge headquarters – Ninja Theory is once again poised to push the boundaries with Hellblade 2: The Legend of Senua.
In the first Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, Ninja Theory used performance capture in cinematic sequences, while in Hellblade 2: The Legend of Senua, nearly every in-game action is performed and scanned by real-world actors to ensure the most realistic and human gaming experience. According to studio head Dom Matthews, it took nearly 70 days to capture the battle scene alone.
"We see performance capture as a tool to convey character representation in the purest way possible," says Matthews. "We jumped at the chance because it dovetailed with our goal of achieving immersion and keeping it alive."
You'll feel this in Hellblade 2: The Legend of Senua's unique way of fighting – not only does it show Ninja Theory's deep belief in its own way of doing things, but it's also a fresh experiment that embodies the spirit of this restless creative studio.
Fight, evolve
The combat in Hellblade 2: The Legend of Senna is a huge improvement over the first one, but interestingly, it's not actually a traditional action game. In Hellblade 2: The Legend of Senua, you won't hack through endless hordes of enemies – every fight Senua enters is well thought out, with every punch, attack, and smash carefully crafted to make you relate to her struggles and growth. Each enemy feels like the one who might end up taking you and Senna down, and every time you get out, it feels like a victory.
"Instead of simply adding content to what we already have, we were thinking about how we could go deep into what we really cared about, which was to make the combat meaningful to the narrative." Matthews said.
During my visit to Ninja Theory, I saw the evolution of combat from multiple angles – watching the actors perform and capture the battle scenes, learning about the development phase of the action in Unreal Engine 5, and of course, the final gameplay footage, showcasing the result of this masterful and thoughtful work.
At one point, Senna is attacked by a group of masked enemies, some of whom are large enough to take her down, while others are quick to perform a fire attack that requires precise dodging. Each fight – though it's all one-on-one, but new enemies rush in from off-screen to keep the tension alive – feels like you're trying to survive, and Senua's power is conveyed through her counterattacks; The action of defeating these enemies is almost rhythmic, driving the desperate heartbeat that drives the game forward.
It's hard to explain unless you've played it yourself, and it's not like traditional video game combat. It has a sense of weight, whether it's from Senna or her enemies, which makes it more of a dance of despair than a fight with superpowers. It brings an exhausting thrill that creates a feeling of intense boss battles even in the face of the usual enemies.
"We wanted to bring a sense of brutality and struggle to one-on-one combat," said Benoit Macon, combat director of Hellblade 2: The Legend of Senua. "There's a connection between combat and narrative."
This sense of cruelty is even more pronounced in real life. I watched two Lucky13 stuntmen perform multiple battle scenes, one as Senna and the other as the Northern Giant. The two actors quickly attacked each other, and one shot ended in a violent blow. It's a real, touchable performance of combat; The movements and body language – albeit meticulously directed – are slightly different in each shoot, giving a sense of authenticity that is not possible solely by digital character rigging.
The scene is also very cinematic; On the screen, a massive scuffle breaks out between these masked Viking slave traders and their newly emancipated slaves, and Senna is unclear about who she will face next (if you die, you will face the enemies in a different order, and the battles will change, preventing you from simply learning the mode). Maton mentions Game of Thrones' famous episode "Battle of the Bastards" as an early reference point for this sequence, highlighting the relentless and indiscriminate violence that Jon Snow faces in the face of a seemingly endless array of enemies. Again, Senna isn't trying to be a hero in this chapter, just to survive – you fight with her.
Bring Senna to life
Paradoxically, while I was playing, I realized that the effort that Ninja Theory puts into its moments outside of combat is exactly what makes it genius, and how it all ties together. Even when Senua's sword is stowed, the moments of exploration, puzzle solving, and dialogue with other characters are all rooted in a deep sense of dynamic reality – meaning the game feels like a seamless whole. You don't walk into an empty arena and realize "Oh, it's a battle sequence." "This sense of wholeness means that even in moments of tranquility, it feels like you could enter the fight at any moment.
Even Senua's most casual movements felt unusually real – I often found myself mimicking her reactions as she cautiously navigated abandoned villages or cautiously navigated fearsome foes. If Senua's shoulders are tight, so will mine; If Senna was trying to get smaller to avoid detection, I would bend over like her, as if those masked nightmares would see me through the screen. It all stems from the tremendous efforts of Senua's actor Melina Juergens to turn a living character into an extension of her.
"The great thing about working with Juergens or other actors is that we can get them to try different ideas; For example, the way of walking that is scared," Matthews said. "We ask ourselves, how would you feel in that moment, how do you communicate that feeling to the player? Then we can capture it, and the final effect in the game is based on a real performance. ”
Juergens told me that even things like the weather are taken into account – how would Senna act and behave if it rained heavily or there was strong winds? There are even multiple versions of the dialogue between Senna and other characters, with different lines depending on whether Senna is walking or running. It's this constant reaction not only to NPCs, but also to the dynamic world around you, that makes you fully immersed in her world.
Some Ninja Theory team members have even now been trained on how to build scaffolding safely, as scaffolding is often used during filming to simulate climbing and hanging scenes, a dedication to craftsmanship.
In some cases, Juergens will shoot body movements before recording facial expressions for a more realistic and vivid representation. In other cases, the movements and expressions are filmed at the same time, as the Juergens are acting out the scene. She described an example of her walking sideways through a set with an iPhone camera strapped to her head to capture her facial expressions — the only thing I could think of later when I played similar footage from the game.
The end result is that this feels different than most action games. We didn't just take Senna from one fight to another, and those fights didn't feel like an interruption to the whole story – the battles were part of Senua's journey, and making her feel like a real person in battle, both inside and outside of battle, put us as players in a pleasantly unsettling state. The next battle could come at any moment.
Fight with purpose
All of this work – stunts, meticulously captured performances, and new mechanical concepts showcasing combat – is as much like a Hollywood production as it is like a traditional game. Ninja Theory was aware of the need for big, long-running AAA titles, and we became more familiar with the Hollywood technology they used. However, Matthews prefers to liken Hellblade 2: The Legend of Senua, a quality independent film, and says that the success and resonance of Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice has further strengthened their confidence to continue to explore art in the spiritual realm. In terms of combat, this means creating a system that not only feels good to play, but also serves a wider message. Senna isn't unconsciously involved in combat – she has to do so in order to achieve her goal, and this is reflected in every aspect of Ninja Theory's handling of character presentation.
"This mindset encourages me and the rest of my team to continue to be brave in our creative work and to continue to be tenacious in pursuing the things that each of us cares about." Matthews said.
This makes the combat in Hellblade 2: The Legend of Sena no longer a cog in the game's mechanics, but a stroke in the broader artwork that Ninja Theory presents. Driven by a brave and innovative spirit, the studio continues to advance Senua's journey in its unique, meticulous approach – yes, it's a lot of fun to play, but what combat means in this game, that might be an accomplishment in itself.
《地狱之刃 2:塞娜的传说 Senua's Saga: Hellblade II》将于2024年5月21日在Xbox Series X|S、Windows PC、Steam和云端发布,并将在发布当日通过Xbox Game Pass和PC Game Pass提供。