Uploaded November 2024 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

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Hellblade 2: Senua's Saga yells about graphics. Fidelity roars over the combat, art direction, and story. Peeling away the layers just shows how clumsy and uninteresting it is as a game and as a work of art, drowning in swollen budgets and its desire to be lauded as the latest “best-looking-game-ever” in a long line of “best-looking-game-ever”’s.


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*HELLBLADE: SENUA'S SACRIFICE CRITIQUE - FEAR UNMASKED*
youtube.com/watch?v=C8j0ChJDhhE

*ALAN WAKE 2 CRITIQUE - BEYOND THE LAKE*
youtu.be/YtpmAwSTJeo

*ALAN WAKE CRITIQUE - BEYOND INSPIRATION*
youtu.be/p7WasN_BNfU

*BATMAN: ARKHAM KNIGHT CRITIQUE - LEGACY OF THE BAT*
youtube.com/watch?v=rruHbLSDTRo&t=3640s&ab_channel=MontyZander

*GOTHAM KNIGHTS CRITIQUE - SHADOW OF THE BAT*
youtu.be/hfM8HZ6IaHA

*BATMAN: ARKHAM ORIGINS CRITIQUE - VENGEANCE OF THE BAT*
youtu.be/9RYwQpZ1tac

*BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY CRITIQUE - BREAKING THE BAT*
youtu.be/8aiK00lFVsI

*BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM CRITIQUE - FINDING THE BAT*
youtu.be/WDlY2RP3R3A

TIMESTAMPS
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:04:35 - Chapter 1 - Senua's Slog
00:22:57 - Chapter 2 - Senua's Sword
00:33:11 - Chapter 3 - Senua's Spooks
00:44:18 - Chapter 4 - Senua's Simplicity
00:54:32 - Chapter 5 - Senua's Sight
01:09:49 - Chapter 6 - Senua's Psychosis

MUSIC

INTRO
Ziv Moran - Rebirth (Instrumental Version)

CHAPTER 1
Jon Gegelman - Changed
SPEARFISHER - Delta Moan

CHAPTER 2
Melancholicks - Countless
Linus Johnsson - Rothera Point

CHAPTER 3
Okaya - Remotely
Sid Archaya - Lullaby

CHAPTER 4
Amik Cutler - Swell
Cristof Walters - Mended

CHAPTER 5
Ian Post - To Edinburgh (Alternative Version)
Ian Post - The Isle of Sky (Instrumental Version)

CHAPTER 6
Mark Grundhoefer - The Carpenter
Tommy Jervidal - Always Friends
Ziv Moran - Like a Feather
Tom West - A Folk Singer From Outer Space

REFERENCES

1) Ninja Theory - Capturing Performance: youtube.com/watch?v=vIayxOTplqU&t=2s
2) Ninja Theory - Iceland: youtube.com/watch?v=pYZVKI-j0YM&t=2s
3) Ninja Theory - Creating Senua: youtube.com/watch?v=vp1p0Z3Sp9U&t=1s
4) Ninja Theory - Senua's Psychosis: youtube.com/watch?v=KVBxvlRV0d4&t=166s
5) BAFTA - How Ninja Theory fuses narrative and technology for Senua's Saga: Hellblade II - youtube.com/watch?v=DxQOO5zTIPA&t=178s
6) BAFTA - Senua's Saga: Hellblade II Exclusive Look: youtube.com/watch?v=59X7XHXZwYw
7) BBC News - Hellblade 2: "my mental health helped me play Senua" - youtube.com/watch?v=wBXVo2xKwho&t=418s
8) Kinda Funny Games - Senua's Saga: Hellblade II Review: youtube.com/watch?v=TNR67EuYzgg&t=2587s
9) Friends Per Second Podcast - We chat with Ninja Theory studio boss about Hellblade 2 (and Xbox stuff) youtube.com/watch?v=oeK6h47Y5Lg&t=3311s
10) RadBrad - SENUA'S SAGA HELLBLADE 2 Walkthrough Gameplay Part 1 - INTRO (FULL GAME): youtube.com/watch?v=VvTuqw6A9hw&t=3057s
11) Lorrie Wood - You Can't Keep A Dead Man Down: hrafnar.org/articles/lwood/draugar
12) A Sound Effect - Behind the Spellbinding Sound of ‘Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II’ – with the Ninja Theory Game Audio Team: asoundeffect.com/senuas-saga-hellblade-ii-game-audio
13) Gaming University - Gaming University Podcast #3 | Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice: youtube.com/watch?v=qZPSPfHu5xI&t=4095s
14) Richard Makover - The Power of Naming: psychotherapy.net/blog/title/the-power-of-naming
15) Kinda Funny Games - Hellblade II Dev on Xbox Future, Senua's Saga Launch: youtube.com/watch?v=Yj6LUelXlAE&t=868s
16) Simon Wessely - Mass Hysteria: Two Syndromes?: researchgate.net/publication/19585494_Mass_Hysteria_Two_Syndromes
17) Ninja Theory - Combat Review Meeting: youtube.com/watch?v=ovov5djvEdc&t=210s
18) Ninja Theory - Development Diary 6: Combat, Controls and Camera: youtube.com/watch?v=fFKjWciYbBM&list=PLbpkF8TRYizaT6GfMcKBG-RoUOQ6BJRXp&index=6
19) The Verge - Hellblade is a Harrowing, Frustrating Descent into Madness: theverge.com/2017/8/9/16117978/hellblade-senuas-sacrifice-review-ps4-pc
20) Ninja Theory - Development Diary 7: Creating the World: youtube.com/watch?v=fFKjWciYbBM&list=PLbpkF8TRYizaT6GfMcKBG-RoUOQ6BJRXp&index=6
21) Ninja Theory - Development Diary 3: Creating Senua: youtube.com/watch?v=PojGyYP5AB0&list=PLbpkF8TRYizaT6GfMcKBG-RoUOQ6BJRXp&index=3
22) Tim Clarkson - The Picts: A History

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