Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

 Xbox One
Metascore
88

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
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  1. XBLA Fans
    May 10, 2018
    100
    As a game, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is the cross between a puzzle-lite walking simulator and a brutal action-adventure. Despite some mild design and middling technical flaws, it balances both aspects rather well. As a narrative, this is one fantastic experience. It’s an honest, challenging look at battling mental illness that will stick with you long after the credits roll. It’s as beautiful as it is soul-crushing, making it a must play for anyone who still has a soul to crush.
  2. TheXboxHub
    May 10, 2018
    100
    Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is a must buy for all gamers, especially those who love character, story and adventure. The performance, design, and journey are all amazing and the gameplay is hugely enjoyable as well, with a little bit of a challenge thrown in for good measure.
  3. TrueAchievements
    Apr 18, 2018
    100
    Senua is fierce and imperfect in a way that will have you rooting for her like few characters ever garner. Her journey is pretty much unceasingly filthy, violent, tragic and horrific, yet it's not a story of suffering, but rather one of perseverance. Senua is a remarkable character who instills all of her energies into the player in such a way that will never be forgotten.
  5. XboxAddict
    Apr 20, 2018
    98
    You may think you know what it’s like to hear voices in your head, but Hellblade will allow you to experience it in a very raw and frightening manner, yet also being respectful to the mental illness, shedding light on the disorder. It just happens to also be an amazing game at the same time, again, with the best audio design I’ve ever experienced before, something Ninja Theory should be commended for in every way.
  6. Official Xbox Magazine UK
    May 26, 2018
    90
    A sensitive portrayal of mental illness and rigorous combat: Hellblade is almost perfect. [June 2018, p.84]
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  7. ZTGD
    Apr 24, 2018
    90
    Hellblade is an amazing achievement in game design. It is something I think everyone should play. Again, I cannot stress enough to do it with headphones on and immerse yourself into its world. It is games like this that really showcase what talented developers can achieve. It is also worth mentioning that proceeds from the Xbox One sales are going to mental health research, so yeah, buy this amazing title already.
  8. DarkZero
    Apr 18, 2018
    90
    Hellblade Senua’s Sacrifice is a hauntingly beautiful journey through the madness of a warrior’s suffering to find her true love. The story is art, the graphics are engrossing and it’s truly everything it was advertised to be. Ninja Theory provided a gaming experience that is a rarity these days in the gaming world and it is not to be missed.
  9. Xbox Tavern
    Apr 15, 2018
    90
    Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice’s most riveting achievement isn’t how well it functions, nor how well it’s written and voiced, nor how well it looks, but how well all of that unifies into such a dark and compelling experience. The constant tension throughout the entirety of this unique and engaging journey will disturb you, intrigue you and stay with you, long after the credits roll.
  10. Windows Central
    Apr 6, 2018
    90
    Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is a great game which lives up to Ninja Theory's strong history of producing excellent action titles like DmC: Devil May Cry, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, and Heavenly Sword. Its approach to presenting mental illness in a way many people can understand is also remarkable. The use of stellar voice acting enhances the experience and gives it a "AAA" feel despite the fact that it costs a fraction of that.
  11. Xbox Achievements
    Apr 12, 2018
    88
    Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is a harrowing journey into the fragility of the mind. It’s a masterpiece in storytelling, and while the game mechanics itself might not complement that throughout, they do a decent job of allowing Ninja Theory to deliver a mature story revolving around a sensitive subject matter. We hope that this opens up the door for more budget priced triple-A experiences, because this one was one hell of a ride!
  12. SomosXbox
    Apr 22, 2018
    86
    Hellblade is a unique production. Risky and brave, the game has the DNA of an independent game that is covered under a layer of paint who has a super production. It is one of those games that you must have on your system.
  13. Jeuxvideo.com
    Jun 3, 2018
    85
    Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice takes us on a long road to hell paved with contemplative yet stressful scenes, and an impressive respect for Norse myths and legends.
  14. MondoXbox
    Apr 8, 2018
    85
    Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice masterfully renders human insanity, introducing a very delicate topic in the gaming world. It succeeds in this thanks to great visual and audio production and brilliant acting. It could have been more varied and refined gameplay wise, but lovers of narrative-focused action adventures will love it.
  15. Generación Xbox
    Apr 6, 2018
    83
    Hellblade is one of the best interactive experiences of this generation and a true technical show. However, the gameplay of the game is not equally calibrated and often loses pace in some areas.
  16. BaziCenter
    Apr 23, 2018
    80
    In many aspects, Hellblade is a very different video game. Offering an epic atmosphere along with interactive, psychological story-telling, Hellblade takes you on an unprecedented journey, and aims for your feelings in the process.
  17. GameSpot
    Apr 6, 2018
    80
    Hellblade's most notable achievement is the handling of an incredibly sensitive subject matter within an engaging and well-crafted action/adventure game.
  18. SpazioGames
    Apr 20, 2018
    75
    Offering exactly the same contents of the PS4 version, Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice on Xbox comes as a no brainer for the ones who love narrative and mature themes in a videogame, but may not be so palatable for the ones who primarily ask interactivity to a game.
  19. Video Chums
    Apr 19, 2018
    70
    As an interactive story, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is in a class of its own. However, as a video game, it merely provides basic puzzles and combat that both end up feeling far too repetitive and tedious.

Awards & Rankings

10
#10 Best Xbox One Game of 2018
6
#6 Most Discussed Xbox One Game of 2018
19
#19 Most Shared Xbox One Game of 2018

User Reviews

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User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 811 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 625 out of 811
  2. Mixed: 99 out of 811
  3. Negative: 87 out of 811
  1. Xbox_Alive
    Apr 18, 2018
    9
    I was very pleasantly surprised when it was announced that Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice was coming to Xbox One a few weeks ago. It’s a gameI was very pleasantly surprised when it was announced that Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice was coming to Xbox One a few weeks ago. It’s a game I’ve heard lots of good things about from some of my friends who’ve played it on the PS4 so I was really looking forward to getting to grips with it. Thankfully my friends got it spot on because to say I enjoyed my time with the game would be a massive understatement. Something that really makes this game stand out is its story. The story is absolutely fantastic and manages to stir a whole host of different emotions along the way and this culminates in making the story stay with you long after completion. The gameplay that accompanies the fantastic story was also enjoyable, and I must admit that I was especially impressed with the puzzles that were implemented. They’ve done a fantastic job of making the puzzles in the game matter and the clever design of them makes completing them a very enjoyable affair. Something else I enjoyed about the gameplay were the battles that took place. The combat may be a little on the basic side but that didn’t stop them from being very immersive and most important of all it didn’t stop the battles from adding to the already amazing story. You will notice however that the game suffers with a few technical issues every now and then when in battle, but thankfully these issues don’t happen very often and don’t affect the gameplay very much. This is a good thing because it allows you to enjoy the enemies in the game without too many problems. Speaking about enemies the game offers you a decent amount of enemies for you to tackle and the best thing is that each enemy has a decent amount of variety implemented into them. I found this to especially be the case when it came to the bosses in the game and to say they were exciting throughout would be quite the understatement. Without a doubt one of my favourite aspects about the game was the presentation side of things. Visually the game looks absolutely stunning and when you combine that with the absolutely brilliant and immersive sound design and voice acting you end up having a very memorable experience. At the end of the day I’m very pleased that Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice made its way to Xbox One and trust me when I say that it was worth the wait. The game tackles a number of real-life issues in a fantastic and delicate way and by doing this they deliver to you a very unforgettable experience. Another thing that impressed me with the game is that it doesn’t suffer with many problems at all and every aspect of the game has had a lot of thought and effort placed into it and because of that the game gets a massive recommendation from me.… Full Review »
  2. moistcake123
    May 2, 2018
    10
    Hellblade is one of those games that demands to be played. With outstanding visuals, sound, and performances, it excels in telling a dark andHellblade is one of those games that demands to be played. With outstanding visuals, sound, and performances, it excels in telling a dark and emotional tale of mental illness. It's more than a game, it is truly an experience.… Full Review »
  3. Aftrthought051
    Mar 6, 2019
    2
    Imagine getting a new game, tearing it open and that eager anticipation to play welling up inside of you. Now keep that obsession, but nowImagine getting a new game, tearing it open and that eager anticipation to play welling up inside of you. Now keep that obsession, but now imagine before you play, you have to swim 300 laps,,,,,,with a weighted vest,,,,,,and for every 2 minutes of swimming you have to just sit there treading water for 5 minutes. Oh, and before you even start to swim, tread water for 10 minutes. That's about as close to an analogy of playing Hellblade that I can give you. This game tries to tell some epic tale but unfortunately it only does justice to that infamous John Carmack quote from 1993: "A plot in a video game is about as useful as a plot in porn". I'm paraphrasing but you get the idea. The first thing you are greeted to when you play this game is a painful opening cinematic of the protagonist slowly rowing down a river as we listen to the voices in her head. The "whispers" of the voices in her head. Multiple ones. All talking at once. This is like playing a game where the main protagonist suffers from multiple personality disorder and you need to experience this because then you can hashtag how progressive you really are and virtual signal all your friends down in the dirt. You can't skip the cinematics which is equally painful since you will only care less about the plot as you carry on. The opening sequence takes a good 10 minutes to get through. No fast forward. No pushing a button to skip. I mean, imagine watching your porn, but you can't fast forward to the good parts? Porn on an eight track where you have to endure their terrible acting skills with an equally awful plot that the producer's cousin wrote. The good part of this game is that like any great porn movie, once you get to the action sequences (aka "the fighting" aka THE ROOT OF YOUR FLIPPING GAME!!!!), it is awesome. Great counters with pleasing results. Unfortunately, Ninja Theory thinks its storytelling is so grand that it doesn't need much combat. No tutorial either, but I guess that's a lazy way to say, "we make our games hard". No, you make your game like crap and tools praise you for it. This game is not difficult. What is difficult is staying awake as you so numbly and mindlessly wander from section to section to fulfill god awful puzzles that lack any imagination or intelligence to solve. The puzzles rely on you pushing a button, to focus in on some random stuff, and then "POOF!" The magic door is unlocked. Ooooo, I looked at something intently. I'm so smart. Yes, this is my first review ever for Metacritic because after playing this terrible game, I had to see what others said about it. I was horrified when I saw so many high scores praising this game. Coming from professional critics, I get it. Their job is to suck ass. But when I see such a high score from users, one begins to truly question the motives and legitness of Metacritic. Such a shame. I would personally rather have my nuts bashed in with a baseball bat by a naked Betty White because this game gives me worse visions than seeing her wrinkly body parts flap side to side as she hits me, and frankly I would get more pleasure from the sensation of having my nuts hit than playing this game. Nope, not into BDSM either. This game is a terrible porn movie that some tools are trying to pass for art. Move along. There is literally nothing to see here but a terrible game released at a bargain bin price to try to entice some poor souls to pay for it.… Full Review »
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