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[IGN Preview] Hellblade 2 Prioritizes Narratives and Story over Gameplay

LectureMaster

LectureMaster

Gold Member
Negotiator101 said:
Seriously comparing this to a Quantic Dream game? Also they played 45mins of a 8 to 10 hr game 🤣
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My point is I can totally enjoy games where narrative is the focus. Hellblade didn't work out for me is because the story was not for me.

Also, I did mention they only played a smart portion of the game.
 
SCB3

SCB3

Member
JackMcGunns said:
If you didn't get the joke (and I aplogize if you took offense, it was just tongue in cheek) it's about the Xbox tax, everyone tends to focus on the negative when it comes to Xbox exclusives, like your title, like why? I see this when I look at other previews, it's refreshing to hear that combat has been vastly improved over the original, so to put this on the title is just feeding the confirmation bias of all the nay sayers that have been going around predicting the game will be just cinematic with no exciting gameplay bits.





Except it's not

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Thats not the win you think it is, it looks floaty and like the first game where the combat sucked
 
djjinx2

djjinx2

Member
Heisenberg007 said:
The irony of this being an 8-hour, story-heavy with little gameplay, where you mostly walk ... seems to me like the universe is trolling 😄
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I feel there are people (me included) who enjoy those kind of games but have seen Sony (Assuming that's what your getting at) put too much emphasis on them instead of being more diverse, there have been less AA games from them over the years and more of the same kinds of games.

Though I guess some trolls have taken to using it against Sony.

These games should co exist with a big variety of other first party genres imo
 
Negotiator101

Negotiator101

Member
LectureMaster said:
My point is I can totally enjoy games where narrative is the focus. Hellblade didn't work out for me is because the story was not for me.

Also, I did mention they only played a smart portion of the game.
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OK so the themes don't resonate with you that's fine but why even mention Telltale or Quantic Dream? I happen to like their games but there are no similarities.
 
Lucifers Beard

Lucifers Beard

Member
JackMcGunns said:
Opinions are like Assholes. Gamespot literally just described it as being exciting (Having played it mind you) while you're saying it "Looks" boring, not having played it, just looking at it lol. Hmm, which is which here?
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To be fair, it looks like the first games combat, which was boring in my opinion. I haven't played the first game in years but it doesn't look vastly different.
 
Represent.

Represent.

Banned
Oh no, how will we ever cope.

There’s hundreds of gameplay focused action games for you folks to play.

Go play Rise of the Bland Open world for your “gameplay first” experience if you want that.

Not every game has to be the same.

Articles like this discourage devs to try different things.

Day 1 purchase
 
O

Ozriel

M$FT
Taking paragraphs out of context, and glossing over the conclusion which comes right after it.

They’re comparing it to GoW, and providing a contrast that its seemingly prioritizes narrative ambitions over action in the slice they’ve played.

Basically

This sort of story-first ethos in a high production value package is one you'd more typically expect from a PlayStation Studios game – not only in Hellblade’s aesthetic and setting similarities with Sony Santa Monica’s God of War, but also in the way it approaches its mature subjects of family trauma and mental health issues. As those familiar with the original will know, though, Hellblade 2 plays much differently from GoW, instead opting to emphasise even further its priority of narrative ambitions over action
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Similar setting + family setting + trauma stuff. But clearly GoW is way more action focused.

They end with:

But that familiarity never diminished from what makes both the original Hellblade and this new chapter so good, though. Its ambitious narrative and accomplished cinematic framing far outweigh whatever shortcomings may be hidden underneath, and the incredible technology powering its beautifully ugly world is a sight to behold. It’s all shaping up to be another riveting, haunting, and uncompromisingly immersive nightmare of both Senua’s and Ninja Theory’s creation, and one I can’t wait to both enter, and escape, later this year.
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Essentially a very positive and memorable preview they had.

Negotiator101 said:
The preview actually states every weapon strike has a heft and weight to it, you actually listen or turn off the volume?
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All the previews, in fact, were enthused about the combat.
 
Punished Miku

Punished Miku

Human Rights Subscription Service
Ozriel said:
But that familiarity never diminished from what makes both the original Hellblade and this new chapter so good, though. Its ambitious narrative and accomplished cinematic framing far outweigh whatever shortcomings may be hidden underneath, and the incredible technology powering its beautifully ugly world is a sight to behold. It’s all shaping up to be another riveting, haunting, and uncompromisingly immersive nightmare of both Senua’s and Ninja Theory’s creation, and one I can’t wait to both enter, and escape, later this year.
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"Shortcomings may be hidden underneath."
- IGN

Should I make the thread?
 
HeWhoWalks

HeWhoWalks

Gold Member
AV said:
You didn't just post this with a Silent Hill avatar
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But Silent Hill games, particularly that one, have a constant flow of gameplay.

Anyway, if you played (and enjoyed) the first, this should be your cup of tea! Which is why I can’t wait!
 
Vick

Vick

Gold Member
CoreyFlawless said:
Make this game 5 years ago on exclusive for PlayStation. 10/10 but not gonna do so well now.
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Eh..

hH0SThU.png


They tried once, it killed the (extremely talented) studio and made them look like a joke.

Unless you were implying the usual PlayStation "exclusives" are similar to Hellblade II.. in that case I won't be the one correcting such twisted perspective.
 
ByWatterson

ByWatterson

Member
LectureMaster said:
It is already included in @Thick Thighs Save Lives preview thread, but personally think it was worth bringing up. In the preview article, IGN wrote:

This would be a dealbreaker to me. Not that I don't like good story focused games (in fact played all Tell Tales and David Cage games), it is just Senua's story centered around mental health and psychology struggles is just not for me. I was not able to finish the first one due to this.

Granted, that was only a portion of the game that they played, maybe it has more gameplay focused scenes as it unfolds. Will still be checking out on Game Pass for the incredible graphics, for sure.
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The Order 2024.
 
LectureMaster

LectureMaster

Gold Member
Represent. said:
Oh no, how will we ever cope.

There’s hundreds of gameplay focused action games for you folks to play.

Go play Rise of the Bland Open world for your “gameplay first” experience if you want that.

Not every game has to be the same.

Articles like this discourage devs to try different things.

Day 1 purchase
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LMAO, I know this is trolling but your user tag is the most faithful one I ever see.
 
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Dynasty8

Dynasty8

Member
Basically everything I hate about modern day "games".

Give me games that I can "play". I already have Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV and more.
 
LectureMaster

LectureMaster

Gold Member
I honestly baffled how some folks are so triggered.

I don't genuinely take "narrative over gameplay" a bad thing - it is a design choice and I can totally enjoy this type of games. It didn't work out for me this time was because I was not into the psychosis theme.

If people really think this is out of context bias defaming the game, mod please just close the thread. Some arguments were just pointless
 
semiconscious

semiconscious

Member
M

mdkirby

Gold Member
Sounds good to me, I like “weekend game” narrative adventures, which this fits perfectly into at 8hr long. But this is gonna get fucking shredded, possibly more so than the order 1886 in the user reviews. This was used to help sell the seriesX many years ago now, and has been pitched in its presentation and gamer rhetoric as a big impressive game….not as an 8hr walking simulator. So the demographics who buy it (informed gamers who hang out in gaming forums are the minority) will be way off between expectation and reality.
 
Arachnid

Arachnid

Member
AV said:
You didn't just post this with a Silent Hill avatar
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Not a good comparison. SH has top tier survival horror gameplay. It doesn't need to be a Mirrors Edge to accomplish that. Great exploration and puzzles to go with that A1 story.

The first Hellblade was boring as hell gameplay wise, and it wasn't trying to be. Nothing was memorable in the gameplay department. Story was literally all it did well. You've got to be good at something gameplay wise to be a good video game.
 
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Fbh

Fbh

Member
The first game was like that too, and nothing about the marketing leading up to the release has been suggesting the sequel would be any different.
I really liked the first game and I'm looking forward to playing this if I ever get a PC or it comes to Ps5.

While I overall prefer "gameplay first" games, there's nothing wrong with these story heavy cinematic experiences every now and then. Variety is what makes gaming fun.
 
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DenchDeckard

DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
Indie darling enjoyed by many! I am sure it will do well on steam. Which way will the steam user reviews go! place your bets! :D
 
diffusionx

diffusionx

Gold Member
This game more than anything else shows to me the weaknesses and issues in Xbox's strategy this whole gen. This game was announced in December 2019. If they started development on this game a day before it was announced, which is obviously not true, they will have spent 4.5 years working on it. The production values are top-notch, read: expensive. It cost them at least $100 million if not $150 million, because that's how much games cost. Yet MS is going to throw it out on GamePass where people will play it in a long weekend and forget about it. It's not going to drive anyone to the service, I don't see any way it gets to some decent ROI.

Of course this is why MS is changing strategies.
 
DenchDeckard

DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
diffusionx said:
This game more than anything else shows to me the weaknesses and issues in Xbox's strategy this whole gen. This game was announced in December 2019. If they started development on this game a day before it was announced, which is obviously not true, they will have spent 4.5 years working on it. The production values are top-notch, read: expensive. It cost them at least $100 million if not $150 million, because that's how much games cost. Yet MS is going to throw it out on GamePass where people will play it in a long weekend and forget about it. It's not going to drive anyone to the service, I don't see any way it gets to some decent ROI.

Of course this is why MS is changing strategies.
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Do we know how many staff have worked on it. I wonder what the actual total is, and not just the Ninja Theory headcount. Including outsourcing devs. I'm sure it's not as many as something like Spider Man 2 or God Of war R but I bet its a chunk.
 
Punished Miku

Punished Miku

Human Rights Subscription Service
diffusionx said:
This game more than anything else shows to me the weaknesses and issues in Xbox's strategy this whole gen. This game was announced in December 2019. If they started development on this game a day before it was announced, which is obviously not true, they will have spent 4.5 years working on it. The production values are top-notch, read: expensive. It cost them at least $100 million if not $150 million, because that's how much games cost. Yet MS is going to throw it out on GamePass where people will play it in a long weekend and forget about it. It's not going to drive anyone to the service, I don't see any way it gets to some decent ROI.

Of course this is why MS is changing strategies.
Click to expand...
None of that is really relevant to this thread.

I don't get why gamers this gen worry about company profits more than even the companies themselves. Here we have a game launching for $50 new which is a more than fair price. Or you can rent it. Two consumer friendly business options.
 
Gojiira

Gojiira

Member
Really dont get why they even bother comparing it to GoW, it shares only the bare minimum with that franchise…
Either way hard pass, first was overrated and pretentious and this looks more of the same.
Plus Tameem is a cuck, cant stand him so the fact he even contributed is a hard pass..
 
JackMcGunns

JackMcGunns

Member
semiconscious said:
so sad...

it's weird. ninja theory seems to be targeting a specific sub-demographic of the 'wokester' &/or 'graphics fetishist' fans of games like last of us 2 & gow ragnarok: those of either/both groups that don't really need the gameplay part of games in order to fully enjoy them...
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Did you watch the video you quoted? You're not making any sense.
 
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Ansphn

Ansphn

Member
So just like the first one. If you didn't like the first (I didn't cause it was boring as hell), you wont like this one.
 
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