In Hellblade, you play Celtic Warrior Senua as she journeys into Hell. Hell has been used before in games like Saints Row 4: Gat Out of Hell, Dante’s Inferno, and God of War, so you think you know what to expect, right? Well, this isn’t just any Hell, this is Senua’s own personal Hell of mental illness. She experiences psychosis, complete with hallucinations, anxiety, depression, and delusions. The game will be a living nightmare through her eyes, and one you can’t just escape by leaving the scary zone.
With E3 rolling out next week, Ninja Theory has shown off the first real gameplay trailer for Hellblade. We get a glimpse of what Senua goes through. The forest is dark and dreary, her skin decays, and a booming voice berates her and calls her weak. With the game seeming less like a straight up action title and more a bit of survival horror, it’ll be definitely be talked about leading up to its release. Other games have tackled mental illness to some effect–see Spec Ops: The Line, Infamous First Light, and Dead Space 2–so it’ll be interesting to see how it’s handled.
Hellblade releases for the PS4 and PC sometime next year.
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