Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice Review: 3 Ups & 2 Downs

Ups

3. An Incredibly Affecting Mood

The game is really hypnotic. Ever since the beginning, as Senua is swimming on her canoe to what she believes is the land of the dead, the gamer feels strange and uneasy.

What are these voices that I hear, and why are there so many of them? Why are they saying such confusing, contradictory things? Whom should I listen to?

This, combined with a foggy aura and the overall look of the in-game world is an experience that is mystical, scary and breathtakingly beautiful at the same time.

There are moments of light and brightness, like when Senua reminisces about meeting her partner, Dillion, but the predominant emotion is not so much fear, as uncertainty. The player is supposed to question what is real and what is not.

Is this really the land of the dead she arrived in, or is she just fighting imaginary demons in her head? There's no way to know what is real and what is a figment of her imagination, and that itself is a fantastic reason to continue.