Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II Enhanced Arrives August 12 (PC/XBS/PS5 - $49.99)

Reading comprehension through the roof here, congrats. It's a free update.

And the game is still cheaper than many low-budget counterparts. It's linear? It's short? Plenty of games like that and no one gives a shit.

It's well reviewed, well received, and gamers definitely like it. Deal with it.

Hellblade 2: sour grapes edition?

It's a very well made game with high production values and a brilliant lead performance. It's heavy on narrative and linear but to say it has no gameplay is absolute nonsense peddled by the usual suspects who always turn up in Xbox threads.
 
So blacklisting like the way Bethesda does then? Guess everyone actually does it.

Wonder why it's always the Sony boogeyman who do dodgy stuff.

Ok, cool. What about biased reviews? Its often spoken about on here how large Sonys reach is. Its a much bigger conversation than I can be bothered with but we often see the pie chart from MS used in defence from Sony fans of why the biased leans so heavily towards sony on here and in general. 80 percent sony vs 20% Xbox.

Now, try to imagine in todays society how that translated to reviewers. We honestly think these fake ass journalists arent leaning towards their favourite brand etc?

Anyway, I get your point. Yes, there are others that do this kind of stuff. Bethesda before the MS acquisition is known about. They werent owned by a platform owner back then.

Honestly, feel free to ignore me if you can't see what I am getting at it's all good.

Dench linking a paster thread about Sony, wow. I've never seen so much neutrality in a single post before.

Honestly I did a quick search on google and there was so many comments about Sonys approach with reviewers so I thought Id just share the Neogaf link. Didn't even look at the user.

Just search Sony reviewer blacklist.
 
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It's a very well made game with high production values and a brilliant lead performance. It's heavy on narrative and linear but to say it has no gameplay is absolute nonsense peddled by the usual suspects who always turn up in Xbox threads.

Back on topic.

Honestly, if you crank the headphones up and play this game and do not think the combat is visceral as fuck. The whole presentation and what it evokes while playing is top notch in some of the scenes.

Yes it has less gameplay than many games and walking sections, but for me the combat scenes and overall vibe and aesthetic is very enjoyable and TENSE as fuck!
 
Honestly I did a quick search on google and there was so many comments about Sonys approach with reviewers so I thought Id just share the Neogaf link. Didn't even look at the user.

Just search Sony reviewer blacklist.
I also did a quick search and I mostly found claims and people on forums being up in arms about it, but little actual proof. The only case where Sony did indeed blacklisted a reviewer that I was able to easily find was Stevivor.

And on closer inspection, this goes a little further than a bad review. When there's a consistent pattern, I really don't see why somebody should be provided free copies ahead of time just to shit on them while advertising the competition.

VGMDxmsm8KMqvRiL.jpg



The link you (or rather pastel) provided doesn't seem to have much in the way of proof either. It mostly talks about how some Asian users on forums apparently hated the game and downvoted the reviewes. There's definitely many things wrong in the world of videogame journalism, but it's probably a little more complex than "Sony bad" which you tend to repeat. All publishers and platform holders are probably guilty to an extend about trying to manipulate public perception of their games, which is not very surprising given the money invested and risk involved. I hear some even employed a small army on forums and regularly gave them marching orders to go and spread the world. But you probably wouldn't know anything about that.
 
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I also did a quick search and I mostly found claims and people on forums being up in arms about it, but little actual proof. The only case where Sony did indeed blacklisted a reviewer that I was able to easily find was Stevivor.

And on closer inspection, this goes a little further than a bad review. When there's a consistent pattern, I really don't see why somebody should be provided free copies ahead of time just to shit on them while advertising the competition.

VGMDxmsm8KMqvRiL.jpg



The link you (or rather pastel) provided doesn't seem to have any actual proof either. It mostly talks about how some Asian users on forums apparently hated the game and downvoted the reviewes. There's definitely many things wrong in the world of videogame journalism, but it's probably a little more complex than "Sony bad" which you tend to repeat. All publishers and platform holders are probably guilty to an extend about trying to manipulate public perception of their games, which is not very surprising given the money invested and risk involved. I hear some even employed a small army on forums and regularly gave them marching orders to go and spread the world. But you probably wouldn't know anything about that.

Stevivor is an absolute piece of shit and a joke of a site. We can happily ignore anything to do with them.

As for shills, I often here about it, its obviously true. Wouldnt surprise me if everyone does it like you say with reviewers. Anyway, apologies for saying anything I should have just not commented.
 
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I will probably replay it to get all the missing achievements but I am not sure one more play-though will reach the same emotional highs. Kind of bummer there is no mention of a possible 40fps version, because I'm pretty sure 60fps version will come with visual downgrades.
 
Pre-ordered! Happy to get to play it on PS5 (Pro) after all.

€50 was the max I'd be willing to pay for day 1, so I'm good.
 
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I also did a quick search and I mostly found claims and people on forums being up in arms about it, but little actual proof. The only case where Sony did indeed blacklisted a reviewer that I was able to easily find was Stevivor.

And on closer inspection, this goes a little further than a bad review. When there's a consistent pattern, I really don't see why somebody should be provided free copies ahead of time just to shit on them while advertising the competition.

VGMDxmsm8KMqvRiL.jpg



The link you (or rather pastel) provided doesn't seem to have much in the way of proof either. It mostly talks about how some Asian users on forums apparently hated the game and downvoted the reviewes. There's definitely many things wrong in the world of videogame journalism, but it's probably a little more complex than "Sony bad" which you tend to repeat. All publishers and platform holders are probably guilty to an extend about trying to manipulate public perception of their games, which is not very surprising given the money invested and risk involved. I hear some even employed a small army on forums and regularly gave them marching orders to go and spread the world. But you probably wouldn't know anything about that.
No pattern at all. I skimmed all of Stevivor's reviews going back to around 2020. These games were missed. Each brand has their share of hit games and clunkers. And Doom Dark Ages is the most recent game getting a 65.


The cut and paste chart in your post cherry picks the Xbox highs and PS lows.


Indiana Jones 100
Hellblade 2 95
Pentiment 80
Doom Dark Ages 65
Minecraft Dungeons 65


Astrobot 100
Spiderman 2 95
Spiderman MM 95
GoW Ragnarok 90
R&C Rift Apart 90
GT 7 75
DS 75
LOU Part 1 65
Horizon VR game 60
 
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Comparing money spent to hours of gameplay is a flawed metric. Value isn't purely measured in time—it's about the quality of the experience, how much it engages you, or what it leaves you with afterward. No one asks how many minutes of enjoyment they'll get from a $20 meal or questions the ROI of buying a $50 shirt. We make those decisions based on how something makes us feel, not how long it lasts. Games aren't any different.

The thing is that people just wait for a sale when it comes to these short games.

Hellblade was a decent game for a tenner.
 
Preordered Gears when it was available to send a message (even if it wasn't a Gears 1 2 3 pack)... let me preorder Halo....

I'm not interested in forza nor pirates nor a crazy woman 3h videogame
 
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I'd recommend this only for the price of a month of gamepass, and wait for a month you wanna play something else too, like CoD. ha!
Besides the graphics, everything else is worse than the original game. Worse combat/boss fights/story/voices in her head, and shorter.
Feels even less like a real video game with a lot of fights feeling scripted and almost QTE.

Would have been fire if they just improved on the first game's combat and had these graphics.
 
Hope DF (or somebody) does an analysis on TSR vs PSSR with pros and cons. Very few UE 5 titles with it. And none with a toggle for the same mode, right?
 
I'd recommend this only for the price of a month of gamepass, and wait for a month you wanna play something else too, like CoD. ha!
Besides the graphics, everything else is worse than the original game. Worse combat/boss fights/story/voices in her head, and shorter.
Feels even less like a real video game with a lot of fights feeling scripted and almost QTE.

Would have been fire if they just improved on the first game's combat and had these graphics.
As long as you go in with the right expectations, you can enjoy it for what it is rather than what it isn't.

I look at it as an experience game. A game more concerned with graphics, narrative, themes, and character development rather than deep game systems and mechanics.
 
As long as you go in with the right expectations, you can enjoy it for what it is rather than what it isn't.

I look at it as an experience game. A game more concerned with graphics, narrative, themes, and character development rather than deep game systems and mechanics.

My expectations where that it'll be a better version of the first game, since it's a sequel with more time and money, and it failed miserably except for the graphics.
 
My expectations where that it'll be a better version of the first game, since it's a sequel with more time and money, and it failed miserably except for the graphics.
Probably because all the morons who make up the Xbox fanbase had been hyping it up as the second coming of Christ and the game that would bury PS5.

100% guaranteed NT had to go above and beyond to meet the expectations for the visuals.
 
Probably because all the morons who make up the Xbox fanbase had been hyping it up as the second coming of Christ and the game that would bury PS5.

100% guaranteed NT had to go above and beyond to meet the expectations for the visuals.

A lot of the xbox voices did say it'll be a longer game, like their first AAA title. Even after NT said it would be around the same length and a smaller title.
The first one just had serviceable basic gameplay, they just had to spend more time on that and it would be a winner. Nope!
 
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A lot of the xbox voices did say it'll be a longer game, like their first AAA title. Even after NT said it would be around the same length and a smaller title.
The first one just had serviceable basic gameplay, they just had to spend more time on that and it would be a winner. Nope!
Well, I told people on here it would end up the way it did, but it was dismissed as "salty pony talk".

I have zero doubt that the Xbox fanbase hyped the game to such an extent that it resulted in extremely high pressure for NT to nail the visuals.
This games was going to have the best gaming visuals ever created. It must've been difficult for NT to work with those unrealistic expectations in mind.
 
I think it's very interesting how Microsoft is now making ads/videos specifically for the Playstation version of their games. I believe they also did it for the new Doom as well as Indiana jones.
Finally someone at MS figured out how to market.

I don't understand why you'd want to play this game at 60FPS and take a hit to resolution, but I played it on a Series S and it still looked incredible. It's really just a graphical showcase.
 
The game's been out for a year. Pretty ridiculous that all people can still talk about is hypothetical gotchas to nobody. Just play it or skip it.
It's a new release on PS5, so it's still relevant.

Though it's funny to see most of the outspoken Xbox Gaffers dodge this particular PS5- release like the plague.
 
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It's a new release on PS5, so it's still relevant.

Though it's funny to see most of the outspoken Xbox Gaffers dodge this particular PS5- release like the plague.
Is that another hypothetical gotcha? Who is dodging what? I have the game downloaded to check out the update. I have no clue who or what you're referring to. If people aren't talking about it on here, it's probably because people who like the game are endlessly trolled about it nonstop and it's not enjoyable to even discuss it.
 
Is that another hypothetical gotcha? Who is dodging what? I have the game downloaded to check out the update. I have no clue who or what you're referring to. If people aren't talking about it on here, it's probably because people who like the game are endlessly trolled about it nonstop and it's not enjoyable to even discuss it.
If you don't know who or what I'm referring to, why did you respond to my post without even quoting me?

Bit weird since we were just having a friendly conversation about the PS5 release.🤨
 
If you don't know who or what I'm referring to, why did you respond to my post without even quoting me?
I didn't quote you because I was making a general statement aimed at you, Kingdom Hearts Nerd, and anyone else it could apply to in the future.

My whole point is that you're talking to nobody, doing gotchas to nobody, not quoting these Xbox people, and just causing drama for no reason over a game 1 year old that everyone knows what it is. It's an old tired argument from years ago, which was corrected months before the game was released when they revealed the price, the length and the scope of the game. Why you have to dwell on it yet again, I will never know. Just enjoy it, or skip it. Everyone has known what kind of game it is for a long while.
 
I didn't quote you because I was making a general statement aimed at you, Kingdom Hearts Nerd, and anyone else it could apply to in the future.

My whole point is that you're talking to nobody, doing gotchas to nobody, not quoting these Xbox people, and just causing drama for no reason over a game 1 year old that everyone knows what it is. It's an old tired argument from years ago, which was corrected months before the game was released when they revealed the price, the length and the scope of the game. Why you have to dwell on it yet again, I will never know. Just enjoy it, or skip it. Everyone has known what kind of game it is for a long while.
I don't have to quote people, because I know they read it.

It's pretty telling you get so worked up over it.

Maybe if the Xbox fanbase wouldn't have made a fool out of themselves, it wouldn't have someone like me adressing it now that the superior console-version releases on PS5 Pro in a bit over 5 hours.
 
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I don't have to quote people, because I know they read it.

It's pretty telling you get so worked up over it.

Maybe if the Xbox fanbase wouldn't have made a fool out of themselves, it wouldn't have someone like me adressing it now that the superior console-version releases on PS5 Pro in a bit over 5 hours.
Cool. Good one. Hope you enjoy the game.
 
Looks like a good implementation of PSSR. No flickering shadows and slightly better upscaling. Good job, NT. Hopefully performance is rock solid as well.



jR3oCYuK85nL7iXq.png

Better AA on the ropes


DFLoWnFsqfU4KLwB.png

More detail on the armor on his shoulder

Just very subtle differences, but indicative of better upscaling.
 
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Never played this game. I loved Hellblade 1, but what I heard from this game had me very meh on it. I think I'll still play it at some point, but I'll be waiting for a sale. Anyone play it who thought it was as good or better than Hellblade 1? Or is it consensus 2 isn't as good?
 
Well, I told people on here it would end up the way it did, but it was dismissed as "salty pony talk".

In those hypothetical, probably made up posters defense, you are often salty, and you also post a lot of nonsense hoping something sticks. You're the console warrior version of an NBA volume shooter.
 
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Never played this game. I loved Hellblade 1, but what I heard from this game had me very meh on it. I think I'll still play it at some point, but I'll be waiting for a sale. Anyone play it who thought it was as good or better than Hellblade 1? Or is it consensus 2 isn't as good?

Story and character wise I liked it much more than the first. Combat wise I prefer the first. Puzzles probably a wash.

Game is worth a play through just for the visuals and sound imho.
 
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