2017’s Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice was an exceedingly special game. A bold, brash direction for Ninja Theory, the decision to craft a short, narrative experience revolving around mental health was a brave leap, but one that ultimately paid off. Now, seven years later, the studio is gearing up to reveal a sequel to Senua’s story, built with the same love and care, but expanding on the debut in every conceivable way. 

In the run up to launch, we’ll be bringing you the story of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II from inside the studio itself, as well as stories and lessons from Hellblade’s creative leads. This is Ninja Theory’s ultimate form, filled with industry-leading talent, groundbreaking technology, and one of the most unique approaches to game development you’ve ever seen to fulfil the ultimate goal – the pursuit of true immersion. 

If you’ve played Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, you will be more than familiar with its incredible audio design; most notably the memorable, incessant dialogue that goes on inside Senua’s mind throughout the course of the game – and, by association, the unique way it enters your head, too. In Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, Ninja Theory is going all out on implementing audio to establish its sense of place – here the first game used audio techniques simply for Senua’s internal dialogue, the sequel makes sound trickery an integral part of the game.

Xbox Wire had the honor of sitting down with Hellblade audio director David Garcia Diaz in his studio, to find out how the team did it, why it’s needed, and uncover more about the utterly mesmerizing process of building binaural audio into the very fabric of Senua’s journey. 

For the uninitiated, binaural audio is a method of recording sound using two microphones, designed to create a 3D soundscape as you would hear it with your own ears. It’s not a new process – but its implementation across the Hellblade series is both unique and integral to its design. This is the most authentic recreation of psychosis you can experience, and Garcia Diaz has landed here through almost a decade of research, patience and skill. 

A Leap In Technology

Garcia Diaz separates Hellblade’s main pillars of evolution down into two parts – technological and psychological. The technological improvements stem from a sizeable upgrade in the resources and equipment used to capture its soundscape; Garcia Diaz’s office showcases a smorgasbord of impressive tools that left my inner synth enthusiast in awe. 

There’s also now a team of seven working on Hellblade II‘s audio design, whereas Garcia Diaz worked alone on Senua’s Sacrifice. He admits: “The first game was a massive project with so many details, and I couldn’t do everything. There’s a lot of places where you can’t hear foley or footsteps, I just focused on what felt the most important.”

As I move through Hellblade II‘s incredible environments, I can truly feel and hear the premium approach to even the smallest sounds. During one scene, I lead Senua through an abandoned village, and we can hear the remnants of its fate, echoing from the past. I hear an anguished mother crying intertwined with the harsh buzz of flies orbiting a nearby carcass, so intense and erratic I nearly swat myself a few times. On the calmer, open coasts, I hear the distant crashing of waves and ambient winds landing secondary to the crunch of Senua’s feet padding cautiously over loose stones. 

Crucially, with headphones on, I can hear where all of this is. This isn’t a wash of sound effects, they’re placed precisely where they should be. Garcia Diaz and his team have been able to consider acoustics more fully, and how sound moves and reverberates in Hellblade II as it does in the real world, to create that deeper sense of immersion. 

“The acoustics play an incredibly important role,” Garcia Diaz adds. “For example, if you shout and there’s a rock, the sound is going to bounce off that. If a priest is chanting in a cave, you want to hear the sound travelling towards you, or the opposite if something is moving away. All of the sounds work together to create atmosphere and tension, and with this technology, we can achieve that.”

Senua’s Growth

The other main aspect Garcia Diaz addresses is the psychological evolution of Senua herself, and how that has shaped what she will hear in the world, and in her head. She’s stronger and more in tune with her psychosis – not cured, but armed with a greater understanding of what to expect, which in turn leads to a wider range of conversational exchanges between the voices. 

Senua’s condition is once again represented in part by the Furies – the voices that she will hear throughout the game. In Hellblade II, the voices can still feel every bit as overwhelming, but there is a fluidity to them that can make them almost a comfort as you follow Senua. 

“Hellblade 1 had very dark ‘colors’ – now we have other colors”, Garcia Diaz explains. “Senua has the ability to feel [the Furies] in a different way, they now have deeper, meaningful conversations which didn’t happen in the first game, which I think is very beautiful.” 

This is represented in action as I watch Senua engage in a conversation with several new characters across her journey. The Furies are in conflict each time, debating Senua’s reactions, running through potential responses and justifications with a mind-bending pace. But Senua is no longer a prisoner to this cacophony, she can see past the influence of the voices and decide for herself how to proceed in that moment. Does this person need my help? Will they hurt me? Senua can find her own answers through the noise just as the player does, and we can feel her emotions and considerations reflected in the style, tenacity and placement of the sound, similar to a score for a movie.

“We are representing abstract concepts with sound,” Garcia Diaz adds. “What does guilt sound like, and what is our vision of guilt for Senua? How do we interpret sadness, or euphoria, or rage?”

“We are not just recreating a sound, we are creating a character’s reality, and this is our way of interpretating these emotions [for Senua] with sound and music and voices, all tied together to create one moment.”

“We are not just recreating a sound, we are creating a character’s reality, and this is our way of interpretating these emotions.”

David Garcia Diaz

Three’s A Crowd

While Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is an insular journey that follows Senua alone with the accompaniment of the Furies representing how her psychosis manifests, Hellblade II will see Senua encounters new characters in the world for the first time. She’ll engage in dialogue with these strangers, and face the trials of navigating relationships while handling the overwhelming, unrelenting narration of her condition. 

In one Hellblade II scene, Senua meets a stranger that is being held captive by Viking slavers. In this moment, she’s conversing with him directly, but the voices are at odds with what both parties are saying out loud. 

“You have to consider – what happens if there is a conversation between three people? What does that sound like to everyone involved?” Garcia Diaz adds.

While I’m at the studio I’m shown a snippet of the Furies in action. Performers Abbi Greenland and Helen Goalan take part in an unscripted performance depicting Senua moving through a cave. Through headphones, I hear a haunting narration of the surroundings, their thoughts seamlessly falling into a flow state. But what I see is the two actors circling both sides of the head-shaped Neumann microphone sitting between them like vultures picking at a carcass – allowing their voices to feel as though they’re moving through your head, as they would do for Senua Even in this brightly-lit room, I’m on edge after 30 seconds of this experience, the unpredictable hisses and snarky giggles picking at my brain. Garcia Diaz likens the experience to jazz – it’s atmospheric, moving and some of its best parts are created out of improvisation, not a pre-agreed script.

“In music you have crescendos, diminuendos, fortissimos, pianissimos – I want to do the same with the voices,” Garcia Diaz says. “Sometimes they grow, sometimes they’re quiet so you don’t feel constantly tired or overwhelmed. 

“There are enough dynamics that we’re able to have them present almost all of the time – sometimes we’ll cross a boundary, but I think this is important, because the voices are something that Senua cannot switch off.”

The importance of the audio is something that cannot be overstated in both Hellblade games – it’s what makes Senua’s journey so unique and emotional to experience. Garcia Diaz knows this, but he also recognizes that his role as audio director is just one cog in Ninja Theory’s wider pursuit for immersion. 

“Everything needs to go together, and I’m excited for people to see it all,” he says. “For people to discover this new Senua, and to get immersed in her world again. That’s what we’re striving for – a unique experience, and an immense journey.” 

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II will be released on May 21, 2024 for Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, Steam and Cloud – and will be available with Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass day one.

2017’s Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice was an exceedingly special game. A bold, brash direction for Ninja Theory, the decision to craft a short, narrative experience revolving around mental health was a brave leap, but one that ultimately paid off. Now, seven years later, the studio is gearing up to reveal a sequel to Senua’s story, built with the same love and care, but expanding on the debut in every conceivable way. 

In the run up to launch, we’ll be bringing you the story of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II from inside the studio itself, as well as stories and lessons from Hellblade’s creative leads. This is Ninja Theory’s ultimate form, filled with industry-leading talent, groundbreaking technology, and one of the most unique approaches to game development you’ve ever seen to fulfil the ultimate goal – the pursuit of true immersion.

Motion capture has been part of Ninja Theory’s heritage for a long time, and for good reason. The studio established itself as a pioneer in performance capture for games with 2007’s Heavenly Sword and has continued to innovate since. Now, with greater access to state-of-the-art technology – including its very own performance capture studio nestled within the walls of its Cambridge HQ – Ninja Theory is once again primed to break its own barriers within Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. 

Ninja Theory utilised performance capture in the first Hellblade for its cinematic moments, but in Hellblade II, almost every in-game movement is performed by real-world actors and scanned in, to ensure the most realistic, human experience possible in-game. According to Studio Head Dom Matthews, capture for the combat sequences alone took almost 70 full days to complete.

“We see performance capture as a tool to deliver character performance in the purest way possible,” Matthews says. “We took that opportunity because it ties into our goal of doing everything we can to achieve immersion and keep it.”

You’ll never feel that more than in Hellblade II’s unique approach to combat – which stands simultaneously as a testament to Ninja Theory’s deep belief in their way of doing things, but also as a brand-new experiment for the restlessly creative studio.

Combat, Evolved

Combat in Hellblade II is a vast improvement on the first title, but, fascinatingly, this is not a traditional action game in practice. You won’t be bashing and slashing through endless hordes in Hellblade II – every fight you’ll enter as Senua is calculated and intentional, every swing, punch and grapple is crafted to align you with her struggle, and her growth as she overcomes these hurdles. Every foe feels like the one that might finally finish you and Senua off, and walking away intact feels like a triumph every time.

“Instead of taking what we’ve got and adding to it, we looked how we could go deeper on the thing we really care about, which is making combat meaningful to the narrative,” Matthews says. 

During my visit to Ninja Theory, I was shown this evolution in combat from multiple perspectives – a look at how the combat scenes were performed and captured by actors, a behind-the-scenes glimpse at some of these movements in their development stages inside Unreal Engine 5, and then of course, the finished gameplay itself, which showcases the end product of this fantastic and thoughtful work. 

In one section, the chapter culminates in Senua facing off an onslaught of masked enemies, some with heavy builds primed to knock her down, and some with swift fire attacks that require well-timed dodging. Each fight – all handled one-on-one, but with new enemies barrelling in from off-screen to keep the frantic feeling alive – feels like survival by the skin of your teeth, and the sum of Senua’s power is funnelled through her retaliations; the movements to take down these foes are almost rhythmic, a desperate beating heart powering the game along.

It’s hard to explain unless you’ve played yourself, but this doesn’t feel like traditional video game combat. There’s a weight to it, both from Senua and her enemies, that turns this into more of a desperate dance than a piece of superpowered pugilism. It makes for exhausting, exhilarating sequences, producing the feeling of an intense boss rush, even against what would otherwise be regular enemies. 

“We wanted to bring a sense of brutality and struggle to one-on-one combat,” says Benoit Macon, combat director on Hellblade II. “There is a sense of connection between the combat and the narrative.” 

That brutality is felt even more keenly when you seeing it being carried out in real life. I watch two Lucky13 stunt performers act out multiple combat sequences, one taking on the role of Senua, and another acting as a hulking Northman. The two performers swing rapidly at each other, with one take culminating in a violent body slam. This is a real, tangible portrayal of a fight; the movements and body language – while expertly directed – are unpredictable, and differ slightly between takes, granting an authenticity that is seldom offered by wholly calculated digital character rigging. 

The scene is also heavily cinematic; a mass brawl breaking out between these masked Viking slavers and their newly freed captives onscreen means it’s never entirely clear who Senua is about to square up against next (and indeed, if you die, you’ll take on enemies in a different order, the fights shifting to stop you simply pattern-learning). Macon cites Games of Thrones’ famous ‘Battle of the Bastards’ episode as an early reference point for this sequence, highlighting the relentless, indiscriminate violence that Jon Snow faces in what seems to be a losing battle against endless foes. Similarly, Senua is not trying to be a hero in this chapter, merely fighting to survive – and you’re right there with her.

Bringing Senua to Life

Paradoxically, while I play, I realise that part of the genius of Ninja Theory’s work on combat is the effort they’ve put into the moments where you’re not fighting, and how they link together. Even when Senua’s sword is sheathed, moments of exploration, puzzle solving and conversations with other characters are rooted in a deep sense of dynamic realism – and crucially this means the game feels like a seamless whole. You don’t walk into a blank arena and realize, “Oh, this is a combat sequence.” The wholeness means that, even in its quiet moments, it feels as though you could enter combat at any moment.

Even Senua’s most incidental movements feel intensely authentic – as she’s carefully padding through abandoned villages or trepidatiously navigating around terrifying enemies, I often found myself mirroring her reactions. If Senua’s shoulders are tense, mine are similarly braced; if Senua is making herself smaller to not be detected, I’m also hunching into myself as though the masked nightmares are going to see me through the screen. This is all brought to life by Senua actress Melina Juergens’ astronomical efforts to create a living, breathing character that is now an extension of her.

“The benefit of working with actors like [Juergens] or any of the other cast is that we can bring them in to try different ideas; a scared walk, for example,” Matthews says. “We ask ourselves what you’d be feeling in that moment, and how do we convey that to the player? We can then capture it, and the end result in the game is based on a real performance.”

Juergens tells me that even aspects like the weather are considered – how will Senua move and behave if it’s raining heavily or there’s strong winds? There’re even scenes with multiple versions of the same dialogue between Senua and other characters, and the line that is delivered will depend on whether Senua is walking or running. It’s this constant reactivity not just to NPCs, but also to the dynamic world around here, that means you’re completely immersed in her world.

Some of the Ninja Theory team are even now trained in how to safely build scaffolding, due to its consistent use throughout the filming process to simulate climbing and suspension scenes, an incredible commitment to the craft. 

In some instances, Juergens will film physical movements first, and then record the facial expressions later to make for an even more realistic and animated approach. In other scenarios, actions and expressions are filmed in tandem, as Juergens is acting out the scene. She describes one instance of shimmying through a set piece with an iPhone camera strapped to her head to capture her face as she goes – which is all I could think about when later playing through a similar segment in the game itself. 

The result is something that feels differently pitched to most action games. We aren’t just driving Senua from one battle to the next, nor do those fights feel like interruptions to the wider story – combat is a part of Senua’s journey, and the intense work put into making her feel like a real person, both in and out of those fights, means we as players, are left in a state of blissful unease. The next fight could come at any moment.

Fighting With Purpose

All of this work – the stunt work, meticulous acting capture, and new mechanical ideas of how to present a fight – feel as much like a Hollywood production as they do a traditional game. Ninja Theory is aware of the appetite for sprawling, lengthy AAA blockbusters, and we’re increasingly familiar with the Hollywood techniques they employ. However, Matthews prefers to liken Hellblade II to a quality independent film, and tells me that the confidence to keep creating mindful art has only been reinforced by the success and resonance of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. In terms of combat, that means creating a system that doesn’t just feel good to play, but serves the wider message. Senua isn’t mindlessly engaging in battle – she has to do this to meet her goals, and that’s reflected in how Ninja Theory has approached every aspect of putting a character onscreen.

“That mindset has encouraged me and the people in the team to continue to be brave in our creative work, to continue to doggedly pursue the things we all personally care about,” Matthews says.

It makes Hellblade II’s combat less a cog in a gaming machine, and more of a brushstroke in the wider piece of art Ninja Theory is presenting. The studio is fuelled by a fearlessness to keep innovating on Senua’s journey in its own thoughtful, meticulous way – yes, this feels very fun to play, but fighting means something in this game. That might be an achievement in itself.

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II will be released on May 21, 2024 for Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, Steam and Cloud – and will be available with Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass day one.

2017’s Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice was an exceedingly special game. A bold, brash direction for Ninja Theory, the decision to craft a short, narrative experience revolving around mental health was a brave leap, but one that ultimately paid off. Now, seven years later, the studio is gearing up to reveal a sequel to Senua’s story, built with the same love and care, but expanding on the debut in every conceivable way. 

In the run up to launch, we’ll be bringing you the story of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II from inside the studio itself, as well as stories and lessons from Hellblade’s creative leads. This is Ninja Theory’s ultimate form, filled with industry-leading talent, groundbreaking technology, and one of the most unique approaches to game development you’ve ever seen to fulfil the ultimate goal – the pursuit of true immersion. 

During one particularly tense cutscene in Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, I’m rooted in place as I watch Senua make a critical decision. After triumphing in a bloody battle against Viking slavers, she’s presented with the choice to save a new character from a terrible fate. Ninja Theory’s incredible performance capture and Unreal Engine 5 visuals allow me to scan every emotion soaring across Senua’s face – concern, worry, distrust – as she considers the consequences of rescuing someone in need.

In the first game, she might not have experienced the same internal conflict, but in the sequel, she’s making choices and processing emotions in new ways. Senua has not arrived here overnight. She’s gone through and will continue to go through an incredible narrative evolution in Hellblade II. In gaming, “growth” is so often mechanical, statistical – but the Hellblade series makes it a truly characterful experience, and it’s one of many things that makes Ninja Theory’s work stand out.

At the end of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, we see Senua come to terms with the loss of her love, Dillion, and soak in the physical and emotional journey she’s undertaken. Her sequel begins with the sum of that evolution; she’s hardened by her experiences, familiar and accepting of her condition, and tasked with a wider, more selfless goal. This emergence of Senua’s personality and extraversion of herself as she meets new people is an extraordinary step in making her feel real.

“Her purpose in the first game was very interior, the guilt that she felt over Dillion was a very personal mission to her,” says Lara Derham, Stage Director and Writer on Hellblade II. “While that drive is still present in this game, she’s pushing her goal a little more out of herself and into the world. It’s not about her personal love or her circumstances, it’s about preventing harm from coming to other people now.”

This evolution in Senua’s character is also outlined by a deeper understanding of herself, and how her experiences are no fault of her own. Professor Paul Fletcher, who has served as the mental health consultant on the Hellblade series, outlines the tonal shift between the two games: “The hallmark of [Senua’s Sacrifice] was it was totally enveloped by a darkness, and I think she’s emerging from that and finding a different meaning.”

“It’s not about [Senua’s] personal love or her circumstances, it’s about preventing harm from coming to other people now.”

Lara Derham

She’s still faced with the ever-present mental load of the Furies – the name given to the competing voices in her head – but they’ve evolved with her, and have more external factors to react to as Senua meets new characters. They don’t really have a consistent tone of voice, they’re reactive to Senua’s state of mind; if she’s anxious or frightened, they tend to be a little more chaotic and overbearing, when things are calm, they’re quieter. This dynamic ruleset allows for brief moments of respite for the player, but it also showcases growth in how Senua manages her condition. 

According to Fletcher, this is in keeping with the clinical experiences of those living with psychosis – the voices do shift in what they mean to an individual.

“What I find interesting is that the voices now comment on what other people are doing, which was never really a part of the first game,” Fletcher says. “So they may encourage her to distrust what another person is saying, which really captures the dual reality that people might face in the midst of psychosis.”

Derham notes that most people have some sort of internal monologue active when we’re being spoken to, but it’s mostly not at the foreground, and it’s also not audible: “Imagine if every time someone was talking to you, you had that constant commentary on what they’re saying, maybe even arguing about the meaning. Every time Senua meets a new character, the voices are going to react to that.”

Fletcher accentuates this by describing a big step in the understanding of psychosis from a research perspective, which revolves around the meaningfulness of experiences for those living with psychosis. They’re not just neural noise – the experiences are constructed in the same way we all construct our reality.

“What’s exciting to me about Hellblade II is the growing interest that people can entertain two levels of reality,” Fletcher says. “Senua may have the darkness and the voices, but at the same time, she can recognise and be part of other people’s constructions too.”

“Senua may have the darkness and the voices, but at the same time, she can recognise and be part of other people’s constructions too.”

Professor Paul Fletcher

Senua’s willingness to be part of other people’s stories – as we briefly mentioned earlier regarding her choice to save someone who is a stranger to her – also showcases another aspect of how she’s moving past certain experiences that made her so insular.

“Her psychosis had influenced her relationships with other people to a point where she was weary and withdrawn from the world, Derham says. “What we’re showing now is her starting to overcome that, depending on who she meets, and we’re showing that her perspective is just as valuable as anyone else’s.”

“Some people will react to her with harshness or horror, but some will see her differently, and she’ll find common ground and share positive experiences with them. It’s really exciting to watch Senua explore these interpersonal dynamics and relationships with other characters, and how she can help them.”

Senua’s Sacrifice is considered one of, if not the most authentic representation of psychosis in modern media, but Derham and Fletcher both agree that there may never be a truly complete depiction of the condition, as it “doesn’t remain static, and people’s relationship to it changes over time,” according to Derham.

One line in particular struck me during my time with Senua Saga: Hellblade II, which sees Senua calmly and assertively say “it’s not a prison, it’s a promise.” In this moment, we see Senua make peace with her past, and prepare to pursue her new goal confidently, not just for herself, but for the people around her. It’s in this line where I really feel her growth as a character, as a survivor, and more widely, as a woman living in a harsh world with a chronic, invisible condition.

“It was important for us to show that Senua is still on a journey,” Derham adds. “The courage and persistence that she showed in the first game is still evident, but it’s more self-directed now. She will still hear voices that’ll try to influence her, but she can choose whether to respond to that or not. She has agency in a way she didn’t have in the first game, and that evolution really is key.”

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II will be released on May 21, 2024 for Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, Steam and Cloud – and will be available with Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass day one.

Xbox 360 launched 18 years ago and was a generation-defining console that invited many people to jump into gaming for the first time and connect with friends around the world. We’re thrilled people continue playing their favorite Xbox 360 games on Xbox 360, or on newer consoles via Backward Compatibility for supported titles.

As we shared last August, we have a change coming to the Xbox 360 experience. Starting on July 29, 2024, Xbox will stop supporting the ability to purchase new games, DLC, and other entertainment content from the Xbox 360 Store on the console and the Xbox 360 Marketplace (marketplace.xbox.com).

To celebrate the legacy of Xbox 360, we’re working with our amazing publishing partners to bring you as many price reductions from our online store or from the Xbox 360 Store on the console. We’ll be updating this list with more games on June 18, 2024, and on July 16, 2024, bringing you as many repriced games as possible before the end of July.

It’s important to know that this change will not affect your ability to play Xbox 360 games or DLC you have already purchased — Xbox 360 game content previously purchased will still be available to play.

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