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Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 set to launch on May 21 for PC and Xbox

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Hellblade 2
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During the January 2024 Xbox Developer Direct, Ninja Theory announced that Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 will launch on May 21 for PC and Xbox Series X|S. It will also arrive on Xbox Game Pass at launch.

The developer showed a brand new release date trailer showcasing the game’s impressively realistic graphics and gruesome gameplay. Senua wants to get revenge on the Vikings who have enslaved her people and goes to Iceland to face the threat at the source. As she has psychosis, she’ll hear voices throughout her journey, finding patterns and clues around her.

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There are also new combat encounters where she fights off grotesque enemies as they try to grab her. Ninja Theory said they want the player to feel how Senua isn’t a superhero and how she’s struggling to survive and barely getting by.

Developer_Direct 2024 – Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 was initially revealed in The Game Awards 2019 so it’s been a long four years since. While its predecessor, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, was a multiplatform console release as it was also on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, the sequel will be exclusive to Microsoft’s ecosystem. Microsoft acquired Ninja Theory in 2018 to bolster Xbox’s lineup of first-party game studios. Other games Ninja Theory has worked on while under the Microsoft banner so far include 2020’s Bleeding Edge and the upcoming Project Mara. The former was a multiplayer combat game released for PC and Xbox One. The latter was teased in 2020 and billed as an experimental game exploring mental horror.

Before Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, we also got a new look at Avowed.

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George Yang
George Yang
George Yang is a freelance games writer for Digital Trends. He has written for places such as IGN, GameSpot, The Washington…
Hellblade 2 struggles to balance a serious message and video game tropes
Senua stares at a burning tree in Hellblade 2.

For the first two hours of Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2, I was fully transported into Senua's headspace. Every aspect of the sequel's design was working in concert to pull me into her mind and never let me go. And then I found my first collectible.

I missed out on the first Hellblade, but was familiar enough to know what the general consensus was regarding its strengths and weaknesses. I knew it was a narrative-driven game about a very serious mental health condition. What I never heard about, and thus didn't know to expect until I came across it, was something as "gamey" as collectibles. In most games, collectibles can be a way to reward exploration, add lore to the world, or simply be an added objective for those who want to do and see it all. In the case of Hellblade 2, however, it's one small piece of a larger issue: The series' video game instincts betraying the serious tone and subject matter that the rest of the subversive experience is so committed to.
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At first, Hellblade 2 gripped me like few games have. You already know just how impressive this game is from a visual standpoint from trailers and screenshots, but it's the 3D audio that pushes it into a league of its own. That first scene of Senua nearly drowning in the ocean while competing voices attempt to encourage and demoralize her instantly established an empathetic link between us. The tight perspective of the camera, the framing of Senua and her detailed facial animations, and the lack of a head-up display (HUD) all made sure that link remained unbroken.

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Senua carries a torch in Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2.

This was a big week for Xbox as it received its first console-exclusive first-party game of the year in Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2. We're also approaching a holiday weekend where you'll have a lot more time to play video games if you so choose. As such, there's one really easy recommendation I can make to people looking for what to play this weekend. Hellblade 2 is a very dark and mature game that depicts what it's like to have psychosis, though, so my other recommendations are a little more lighthearted.

The first is an indie game that launched in Xbox Game Pass earlier this month, where players control a cat exploring a city. The other is a collection of classic Pac-Man games that is leaving Xbox Game Pass very soon. Those two are worth checking out if you want some more relaxing, gameplay-focused fun this weekend after the intense experience Xbox Game Studios' latest offers.
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Fans have gotten ahold of Hellblade 2’s photo mode, and the results are incredible
Senua staring off into the distance in front of a big fire in Hellblade 2.

The long-awaited Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 just came out on Tuesday, and fans quickly caught on to one of the game's best features: its photo mode.

We knew going in that this Xbox console exclusive would have a photo mode thanks to a post from Ninja Theory on X (formerly Twitter) in March. The studio also posted its own screenshots, which predictably look stunning. They also show off some of the mode's capabilities, including a variety of angles with wide shots and close-ups.

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