Hellblade II: Senua’s Saga

8.5/10 2026, the graphics are amazing, I liked the story and the characters. the psychosis elements are much less presence, the voices are less dominant but i guess you can only pull that once.

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To those new to these games, I would recommend playing Hellblade 1 first. It's not essential to understanding the plot since there is a skippable recap at the beginning, but something I highly recommend. It fits firmly within the psychological horror genre I would say - though it's not "horror" the entire way through - there is a lot of beauty and philosophical/spiritual aspects that break up the tense parts. The first game was a favourite of mine, and this sequel definitely did it justice. Departing from the isolation of Senua in Hellblade 1 (not counting her hallucinations), she encounters companions in her quest. This new direction serves to reveals new layers to her and develop her character while exploring the stories of several other people. In general I find the writing to be excellent and highly compelling. Aesthetics: The visuals are beautiful. Set in Iceland (which I have had the fortune to visit myself), the artistic depictions of this volcanic island are stunning and at many times otherworldly (think actual Iceland, but with a touch of the aesthetic seen in the film Annihilation in many places). The music is excellent (I was very excited to hear that Heilung performed some of the music too!) and along with the sound effects, it adds to the already impressive atmosphere the game creates. Combat/Puzzles: Similarly to the first game, the combat is fluid, but not intuitive until you have a few goes, though it is quite forgiving on low difficulties. A gaming mouse with extra buttons is definitely more convenient for those not using controller. The puzzles are similar to those of the first game (they are not particularly challenging however - most people shouldn't need a guide), as well as the "collectibles" - rune stone inscriptions and trees hidden behind special rocks, which when found, offer some dialogue from an old friend from the first game and detail aspects from mythology like Grettir's Saga (which will be appreciated by fans of Norse mythology). Most of the boss "fights" are more like simple puzzles than combat, but can feel just as visceral (requiring good timing and awareness of your surroundings to avoid things like being drowned or incinerated). The game doesn't hold your hand in telling you what to do, but after a very small amount of trial and error and the occasional hints given by the voices in Senua's head, players should be able to handle the game's challenges - a decent balance imo. Gameplay: Unless you put the game on high combat difficulty, or enable a highly punishing mode after completing it for the first time, it is definitely more of a narrative experience and can be completed in 5-6 hours (more or less, depending on if you are speed running or trying to get all achievements). RPG-wise, I'd compare it to something like Silent Hill or The Last of Us as opposed to something like Skyrim in this regard. Perhaps due to this simplicity, it has been wonderfully free of any bugs as far as I can tell and has run smoothly from start to finish. I would recommend not looking to get all achievement in your first playthrough, as some of the trees/runestones are not easy to spot, and spending a lot of time hunting for them (or checking a guide every 5 minutes) will break the immersion. Other: I played this on a mid-tier specs for a gaming PC in 2026, so everything looked stunning on high graphics settings without any performance issues. Those with older or less powerful PCs might suffer, but there are quite a few options to go for performance over graphics. In summary, a visually stunning, deeply compelling game. Along with Hellblade 1, it takes a place in my heart along series like Silent Hill as one of my favourites of all time.