5 Most Thought Provoking Video Games Of The Decade

Hellblade: Senuas Sacrifice is an introspective journey into mental health that really speaks to the voice inside your head. It focuses on its titular character's insanity as she attempts to focus her mind and fight against her inner demons in order to save her lover's soul from the underworld. Senua experiences constant hallucinations and delusions, often causing bridges to disappear leaving her trapped and isolated all while the voices in her head tell her to go back. The game portrays psychosis through her warped perception of the world due to the trauma of her losing her lover.

The way she perceives the world and the way you as the player see things are reflective of ludonarrative synchronisation as the gameplay, story and her perception of reality coincide. From the way that puzzles are nothing more than her confusion and inability to perceive what is really there, to the way that the enemies she fight's are all figments of her imagination Hellblade's gameplay itself is an incredible introspection into ones own sanity through storytelling, audio and visual design. The voices within Senua's own head are best experienced with headphones on as they change in intensity, offer conflicting advice or commentary. She experiences flashbacks as visual hallucinations which allows a medium of storytelling while maintaining the pacing and consistency.

Subtle changes in the environment such as trees moving or patterns appearing in shadows or reflections occur when moving causing a warped perception of reality for both Senua and the player. Senua isn't just a receptacle of madness for the player however, as the hero of her own story battling her inner demons, it attempts to destigmatize mental. Hellblade is a title that will change the way you see gaming as a medium as well as how you see the world around you.