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If a game like Hi-Fi Rush wasn't enough for Microsoft, this game sure isn't. Hi-Fi Rush was one of the most polished, creative, unique, and memorable games I've played in a long time, and it had so much actual gameplay..
The actual graphics were even ruined because of the huge movie bars and the amount of post processing effects wich ruin the visual quality just takes the shine of the unreal engine 5. The sluggish movement, easy predictable combat, horrible character arc, the worst ending I've seen in years, utterly boring puzzle segments, a painful linear path.
I can't help but think that when Microsoft (i.e., Phil Spencer) acquired Ninja Theory that they got so caught up with NJ's tech that they forgot to ask if the game they were making would be any fun to play. And seriously, at what point do Xbox fans start calling for Spencer's resignation? Halo Infinite, Redfall and Starfield all failed to deliver on their promises and now you have a game that took over 6 years to make that barely takes 6 hours to complete.
Well it makes much more sense than those Bethesda studios. MUCH MORE SENSE. Ninja Theory has 150 staff and game development takes them 7 years which probably cost a lot
@@dusermiginte4647 meaning Xbox showed a smoke and mirrors trailer back in 2019 to trick consumers into buying Series consoles before they even started working on the game itself. I know lots of ppl that thought HB2 was going to be a launch title, or at least release in the first year after console launch.
It did fail. There is no way it could possibly make the money back. Either they don’t care or they will cut that studio. This is how xbox is in a terrible state. No choice of what they put out. Arthouse unplayable trash of games. I’d be surprised if they don’t get cut.
Yall keep saying this, because you want it to happen so you can have something to be fake outraged about. You mfs are weirdos and bitchless and are chronically online.
I can't be impressed with graphics like this because i expect them to look this way. When a game is this narrow, constricting, and empty, it better be using all that processing power for something else. I think gof of war is more impressive and it actually runs at 4k 60 minimum. And if you go into photo mode, there's just as much detail as in hellblade, while having 14 enemies on screen all with their own AI etc.
As someone who enjoys walking sims and have played many, I honestly find calling HB2 a walking sim offensive to legit walking sims. This game isn't even a walking sim. I have never walked that far with no tasks or interactions in any walking sim. Ive played some bad walking sims, and i cant even think of one that has worse puzzles than HB2. Even for the walking part, HB2 only even lets you just walk normal around a handful of times. The rest of the time its like you are restricted to a 2ft wide path or its basically cut scenes disguised as controlled walking.
Funny enough, some Square Enix game Free Demo on Steam are actually LONGER than this game. Heck, FF14 Free Trial includes - which comes as a new addition to the trial's offerings. Without paying a cent, you'll be free to play your character up to level 70 and get a good taste of Final Fantasy 14's compelling main questline. That would be like 30-40 hrs of gameplay already.
I've been playing FF14 since 2020 - I love the game. I also played the free Stellar Blade demo for 15 hours... So three times as long as it takes to complete Hellblade 2 and Hellblade 2 has no replay value. Already spend 100 hours on the full game too. Why? Because it is a lot of fun and not just visually appealing.
@@Seraphina_FF14 The same for the first game which average about 6 hrs. We give it a pass because it's just 30 bucks with relatively low budget with 20 ppl. This time, not anymore with that $50 price tag. You have to either improve the 1st game or never do it again.
@@zhaoyun255 On that regard... I read quite a few comments from people saying that Hellblade 2 is a typical Sony game and that Sony players would love it. But check the metacritic user reviews (both games already have around the same review numbers)... There, Hellblade 1 has a 7.8 on PS4, while Hellblade 2 has a 7.5. And I would agree that part 1 is not only better but also benefited from the fact that it was a new concept. The critic score is also the same for Hellblade 1 and 2 = 8.1. Meaning, that the first game didn't really get more praise on PS4. Sure, a lot of Playstation exclusives are cinematic gaming experiences, but it usually also takes good gameplay to achieve high ratings. That being said, I think it's absolutely crazy that Hellblade 2 and Stellar Blade have the same critic rating. But then... journalists also like story-driven, short, easy games... and often voiced their displeasure in regards to sexy women in video games.
This game is kinda fascinating. I liked it until the cave level. Everything until then was new, great graphics and sound, fights where Ok and great setpieces. But the cave broke me, the rock puzzles where the dumbest thing I've seen in years and nearly everything got tedious. The Story went haywire, fights never changed and most aspects started to annoy me. I so much wanted it to end after Giant number two. The loneliness, isolation and mystery (is it all in her head or not) from the first game disappeared and all that is left are Ninja Theorys own farts.
Im so glad that you adressed that in Hellblade 1, due to Senuas psychosis, you never knew if what Senua was facing was real or not, but due to the presence of NPCs in H2, i guess she really DID fight all those gods and monsters from the first game, since everyone else in this one is seeing giants apparently...takes a little bit of magic away in my opinion.
You are right my man, I was playing the fcking cave level exactly while listening to your review and I was frustrated by the fcking staring at bubbles. Edit: I am getting hand cramps of holding the left stick forwards and pressing LB, and barely notice any difference in the walking speed.
you just don't understand the artistry in the light jog button. The slow tedious boredom is needed to get you into the mind of someone suffering. 11/10 masterpiece.
The whole industry is suffering from this issue. Games are looking better and better and playing worse and worse. I think graphics have reached critical mass and devs need to focus more on gameplay. Because what's the point of dynamic lighting, ray tracing, 7.2 THX-quality surround sound, textures and all of that when your game plays like shit? There are better indy games out there that use sprites.
"It was a slog to get through" **shows past 2 minutes to now, main character slowly limping entire time** that.. perfectly shows what is stated, this doesn't look like fun gameplay honestly. Feels like smaller budgets lead to more creativity, NT having the opposite now with sequel went all out but loss the vibes 1st game gave. Never played both, but that's what it feels like.
Absolutely loved the first one, played the 2nd one last night for an hour and I was disappointed. I was most disappointed about the first one being so great, and this one gives me anxiety. You walk so slowly, It actually gives you anxiety. It's that same feeling when you're trying to hit somebody in a dream, and you just can never land it. The combat is horrible, I was fighting one of the first main "bosses" and it felt like it would never end. Not a cool will never end like an Elden Ring boss, but like I can't keep hitting the same 2 buttons. So sad.
You nailed down to a T, king. The tutorial of Hellblade 2 gives you a complete idea of what the game is. Mostly walking, nothing but A to B paths, scripted/ handholding combat encounters, dragged out cutscenes, an uninteresting story, zero choices in anything you do. Hellblade 2 is like a cop directing traffic on a one-way street.
Graphics are at a point where I expect insane detailing and fidelity in most games. Graphics are definitely a more secondary concern compared to style and depth. A good recent example for myself is Stellar Blade. Like, sure, did I enjoy that it looked fantastic (in more ways than one lol)? Ya, I did. But if the gameplay had no substance or the world was bland and uninteresting, I wouldn't have played it. If you would have told me 6 years ago that a sexy space android action game was going ro have more depth than Hellblade 2 I'd have never believed it, but this it the time-line we've stumbled into...
Like you, around 2 hours in, I just found the game really a pain to keep playing. And I agree that the graphics, if you really go beyond the surface fidelity, aren't really all that impressive. They're mostly barren, rocky landscapes with a limited color palette and environmental variety, with very few interactive elements and NPCs at any one area. Watching the Unreal Engine 5 demos and presentations, they've shown that, thanks to their built-in tools and textures, you can bash out these kinds of photo-real landscapes relatively quickly, and using tech like Lumen means they also save time working on the lighting as well. Plus, they've even resorted to the letterbox "cheat" that gives them a bit of a performance boost at the expence of resolution.
I was shocked by the length when I realised how quickly I was finding collectibles, while I prefer the combat over the first keeping you in one on one duels besides that it all felt so rushed in a story that could have been so much grander
I just don't understand how its mid May 2024, and xbox's first release of the year is a niche title, i get it, the franchise has a small fanbase and respect that, but xbox needed a win after the disappointment of starfield, redfall, and the latest forza that nobody mentions. Imo wouldnt they want to make their first release of the year a title that is targeted to a wider audience? Its a $50 title that is digital only, 6 hours long, walking simulator with minimal marketing.
the problem lies more with the fact that xbox may not even have another release until september... so why would someone pay gamepasse in june, july, august?
Problem is this should have been sold as an interactive cinematic experience in those exact words because it should have never had the word game attached to it at all and that's what the first one was as well It is a looker
I do think if they make a Hellblade 3, it will definitely have a bigger scope than 2 while having the same top tier graphics. But it would be out in later than 2030 and we don't know what gaming will be like then
Knowing that the guy who created Hellblade left the company an indeterminable amount of time ago I think really contributed to why this game went wrong. Really Hellblade 2 should have made the game more, well, gamey. Instead of trying to go hard on realism they should have fleshed out the combat and expanded the exploration to make exploring more engaging. Considering that all of the newness of Senua's psychosis has long worn off there needed to be more than the experience of hearing voices and Senua seeing things that aren't there to make the sequel more engaging. But it feels like Hellblade 2 doubled down on the "experience" and eschewed the more gamey stuff so the game could be more graphically intensive. Also I feel like more people connected with Senua's journey to revive Dillion in the first game than they did with the psychosis. You felt how much she loved Dillion and how much he helped her and I genuinely was right there with Senua wanting to revive him by finding Hela. I was genuinely disappointed we didn't get that. The sequel I think really needed to do something equally as easy to invest in like Senua's journey to save Dillion or actually bring Dillion back cause... well there wasn't really much for Senua to do after the first game. I mean maybe getting direct closure with her dad and actually killing him? Finding out more about Druth? Idk there's not much you can do if they want you to keep questioning what's real or not cause that limits what they can directly work with in the story.
I think you completely nailed the story comparison with Forbidden West which is better than Zero Dawn on every front but the story. Zero Dawns story is phenomenal and far superior. Back to Hellblade, I liked the first game and I'm definitely going to play Hellbalde 2 but from what I've seen of the reviews it is disappointing for a game that has been in development for 5 years with so little improvements. In perspective, think about A Plague's Tale and the sequel, both games were released in the span of 5 years, the same time it took Nionja Theory to release Hellbalde 2. And the sequel A Plague's Tale Requiem improved vastly on everything from the first game.
Developers are afraid of adding platforming elements, survival elements. Games are so restricted nowadays and all follow a format. Nobody tries new control schemes cuz zoomers will cry that its hard. Back in my day a game would have a flying section, a stealth section, an action section, a jumping section.
as painful as it is for me to agree with you, i absolutely have to! how the hell do you ruin an indie masterpiece. The first one was was a great game even though the combat was simple the combat was at least fun!! We were able to fight multiple enemies at once at least. How the hell did they think it was a good idea to make the combat even more simple than the first?? I was hoping We would get a game that was almost just like the last one except a little bit more advanced combat. From what Ninja Theory said thats what we were gonna get. What A bullshit game man. I was so incredibly excited about this game. How the fuck do you get more resources and make the combat worse??? Ive fallen asleep more playing this game than id like to admit
Remember in the first one when your getting chased by a monster through a maze in the first one ? Well hellblade 2 has a puzzle where if you walk towards a red light you die .All I could think was what a lazy puzzle as I rolled my eyes 😒
it's hard to believe this game cant run at 60fps, most of the time it's just a walking simulator, not much happens on screen most of the time. look at Final Fantasy 16 the combat is a solid 60fps and a crazy ton of particles are on screen at all times. i bet if they port this to PS5 it could run at 60fps.
It does not run at 60fps out of battle all the time, dips to 720p in battle. Of course this game could run sometimes at 60fps, but it would likely dip to 45 then to 35. No one likes random frame drops at that level. Only unreal 5 game that runs at 60fps is fighting games like tekken on console. I don't think this game could run at 60fps all the time not even at 1080p.
I don't play much games at all and I Loved Hellblade 1. I felt emotionally connected with Senua. I would've been fine if they never made a sequal. In terms of sequals, this is the nost disappointing sequal I've ever played.
my verdict on hellblade 2, great but I would have like her characters to climb over rocks more and jump and have a K9 companion. nobody can deny it's a good looking game. by far the best looking game of all time
I haven't played it, but since studios have been releasing more games done in UE5, ive noticed that all the games in that engine so far lack impactful atmosphere to me. They all look rather similar despite different art styles, and something about it feels sanitized and lifeless. I cant really put my finger on what it is, but i kinda sigh when something is announced in UE5.
Heavenly Sword was amazing... my first game on ps3, such a good surprise... I feel exactly the same way for Hellblade 1, and the 2... only the sound is great, i agree the lines are extremely repetitive and full on backseatting, but the impact is still pretty effective (except in the 4 combats of the game), i wonder why there not more games using that cool audio... but yeah everything else is awful, some say the story was good but nah, it turned into "patriarchy bad" that was disgusting
This game and Order have an aesthetic I totally love, I just dont understand why do they become tech demos and not the same aesthetics but a more complete game?
When people say they love the first Hellblade, and say that the second is not good. I don't believe that people are actually honest with their opinion of the game. The second games is actually similar and better than the first one, in every way.
I agree about the og HB visual style actually being better. I liked the live action film over lays. And I wondered why they didn't include her mentor guy who helped her before. And Also like you, I had strong faith in ninja theory. They made the first one. They obviously know how to make a good story driven immersive game. I actually didnt even finish HB2. i just became too downtrodden to finish the last hour or so of it. and at 100gb size, i just needed to remove it rather than let it sit and come back to it. I like to think that "big xbox" ruined it. It is just too hard to believe that the same director made both games this way. I dont know why they spent so much budget on motion capture. I disliked the combat from both games but it was worse in hellblade2. No story. No investment. Senua has no motivation or story in HB2. I was soooooo dissapointed in this game.
I just wanna say there were more people talking about this game than actually finished it, and its 5 hours. Go figure the people that bought it on steam finished it at more than double the rate.
I was playing the new mortal kombat and i think that looks better than hellblade 2 and mk is an actual video game with things happening lol.........all i can say in hellblade 2 is "damn those some good looking rocks" 😅
I personally really enjoyed the game. Combat & audio really carried the game for me. I just found the combat both tactical and brutal and really enjoyed every time a fight happened. Chapter 4 was my personal favorite when you crawled through the cave and fought off those creatures stalking you in the dark. After act 4 if ninja theory survives (I'm aware game not doing to well on steam & xbox current controversy) I'd really like to see ninja theory take a swing at a horror game. Personally "nice graphics" don't make or break an experience for me, but they were a nice bonus. I also really enjoyed the story of traveling and trying to take out giants. I give the game a 8.5/10 But currently ff7 rebirth still stands proud as my Personal GOTY of 2024
I didnt play all the way through the first Hellblade, but I do remember the combat was a LOT better. I only kept my gamespass running because this and Stalker 2 were on the last of my list of games I would play on the Xbox Series X and its been a piss poor run. I dont like that cartoon spam button to the music game, boorrrring. HB2 - feck, I've not finished it yet but when I do, I'll be cancelling my Gamespass and I think I'll hold onto the money to buy a game that has a good review, not this shite Microsoft keep pushing out.
100%. I've always looked at reviews with the casual attitude that people will sometimes like game I hate or hate games I love. However with this game my skepticism for the positive, often 5* reviews is on another scale. I simply do not believe you can play this game for the meagre 5-6 time it takes and be gushing about how brilliant it is. These reviewers fall into 2 categories. 1. They are basically cynically defending the developer and/or publisher, even knowing its trash. 2. People are reviewing the game they wanted and hoped it would be rather than the game it is. Yes, it has high production values but that's about it. Oh, and performance on XBSX sucks. As I'm a nice person, I'd have to advise anyone not to spend their hard earned money on this because you'll almost certainly regret it.
Calling this game a walking simulator is an insult to other walking simulators… When i played Going Home, The vanishing of Ethan Carter, Fire Watch etc. I was at least entertained by the story. This game is like a drunken bet about how boring you can make a game. Like you said, 75% of the time you are just pushing the left bumper making Senua slowly walk slong a linear path to the next cut scene.
This game is more atmospheric, the sound design is better, the gameplay is better, and also the story have come characters, things that the first one did not had.
LMFAO!!! The majority of Reviewers see saying the same thing but IGN gives this game a 8/10 the same score as A Plague Requiem which is a Verifiable Better game overall outside of Graphics. Make it make sense.
Hiddenfolk didn’t want to be found? Did NT think the players are dumber than a box of rocks. They DO want to be found! Worst puzzle ever! And the combat? Now a parry triggers a quick cut scene like animation. Really disappointed
The fact that there is less game and less combat is actually shocking as well. There's zero reason for ninja theory to still only have such a small team. Microsoft could easily have given them even 5 more people and that alone could have fleshed out the combat to an acceptable level.
You’re missing the actual point of “why” it was made and released. This is only a glorified UE5 tech demo. Its sole purpose was to try and get us gamers hyped for the games going out in the near future that are using this new technology. The gaming industry is in a really bad place right now. The “next-gen” consoles have been out since 2019 and we have yet to have a truly “next-gen” game. It’s been one horrible release after another. They have been showing us UE5 capabilities for 2 years and we have yet to have anything released that is actually using Metahuman and nanoparticle technology on top of all of the other UE5 capabilities. So in a very poor effort to bring up the hype, they release a very short and sweet game to show off these new technologies to get it into our hands so we can experience them and start getting our feedback AND more importantly be the first console to show it off. There is absolutely no other reasons than these for Microsoft/Xbox to release a game like this. It’s literally just a ploy to get you hyped and to show you how good these upcoming will look on your system as well as trying to boost those game pass subscriptions.
Anyone who ever think walking stimulation game to be better on sequel is just a damn naive gamer. You seriously think they want to make game with good game play in the first place? If they make waking stimulation game, no good review and sell bad? Well, game studio close, if it gets good review? Make another game even more heavy on movie and walking. People who praise all these walking stimulation are the one who blame, since they have bad taste on game and it just boost more companies to make bad games
With forbidden west, everything but the story was better. I agree the writing was not good at all. With this, it seems everything is worse but the graphics and even then the art design seems better in the first hellblade imo
@@PSRewind it doesn't. You're sh00ting arrows at robot dinosaurs, compared to sticking swords through people's necks downward into their stomachs. That game was a flop on PS5 and I played it on PS Plus. 9 million copies across PS4 / PS5 is a joke. The snake boss was cool, but the game was boring overall. Are you unaware Hellblade is running in Unreal Engine 5? The Decima Engine is not on that level bro stop it
@@Alien_isolationistlol HFW sold millions and have infinitely better gameplay, probably even story. This game is a glorified walking simulator, a tech demo with zero gameplay. Practically a Walmart version of Plague Tale Requiem 😂
Thank you for the honest review. This "game" is 16-22 pfs and 600-700p on my Series S. That is ridiculous. Utter disappointment. It is a boring walking simulator.
Your review started well, but after the first half you started mocking the devs and nickpicking over nothing. Next time stay focus and don't do condescending mockery. Best.
Lack of quality nearly every aspect from the first game. What are you talking about? Graphics? Lack of quality in graphics? Of maybe it’s the animations? Hey I got it! It’s the audio? Oh voice acting? Maybe the story telling and how it’s delivered? No because everything I mentioned is phenomenal in this game. Only 2 thing I can think of that it’s worst than the first is the more linear path. The puzzles and sword fights are pretty much the same. So when you say the lack of quality in almost every aspect, I have no idea what you’re talking about. And you say yes it’s got great lighting and great facial animations for the graphics and then you turn around and say who cares. for a narrative driven story atmosphere and graphics are important. I’m sorry,but this take of this game is just dumb.
Its a poor no game no doubt. But its not huge a step back in quality as you suggest. The gameplay is practically identical, so how can you not enjoy it when you loved the first game? "Boring,simplisctic and up its own ass" You even complain abkut the voices in your head, which also featured in the original. You could be describing the original. I get the feeling if this was the first game and had been made on a limited budget by indie developers making a 'AAA budget game' and all the credibility that apparently goes with that you be saying how great it is. The reality is, the first game was bad but you jumped in the indie credibility bandwagon.
