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Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2’s new trailer is frighteningly immersive

Tomas Franzese
By
Senua looks into the water in Hellblade 2
Xbox Game Studios / Ninja Theory
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This story is part of the Digital Trends Summer Gaming Marathon series

During the Xbox Games Showcase today, we got a new look at Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 and learned that it will come out next year.

After a brief introduction from Senua actor Melina Juergens, we jumped into nearly four minutes of gameplay. We see Senua explore a misty, mysterious cave that seems to be shifting all around her. Senua continues to struggle with the voices in her head, which eventually lead her to look at her reflection in the water and proclaim that everything she’s done has led her to this place. She then gets pulled into the water at the end of the trailer.

Senua's Saga: Hellblade II - The Senua Trailer | Xbox Games Showcase 2023

It was a fairly brief gameplay demo, but one that really impressed. The lines between gameplay and cutscenes were blurred as it’s all letterboxed and looks fantastic. Of course, the excellent sound design from the first game also carries over and allowed us to get into the headspace of Senua, even during this brief trailer. I look forward to going back and watching this with a good pair of headphones later today.

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Considering that Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 was actually revealed alongside the Xbox Series X console in December 2020, it’s nice to see the game is shaping up well. It’s also great to finally get a release window for it. While we don’t have a release date, we did get a release year for Ninja Theory’s highly anticipated Xbox exclusive.

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Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II will be released for PC and Xbox Series X/S in 2024. Like all first-party Xbox Game Studios titles, it will be available on Xbox Game Pass at release next year.

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Tomas Franzese
Tomas Franzese
Gaming Staff Writer
Tomas Franzese is a Staff Writer at Digital Trends, where he reports on and reviews the latest releases and exciting…
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