In the first part, Senua was afraid of herself and her hallucinations. Things will be different in the sequel.

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is coming soon from Ninja Theory, part of Xbox Game Studios, so we’ll only see the story continue on Xbox and PC. The game was part of Xbox Developer_Direct ’24, and here we saw the studio’s focus on immersion and Senua’s personal development. The sequel is set in Iceland, so her experience with psychosis will certainly be portrayed differently in Ninja Theory than it was in the first Hellblade, released in 2017.

Senua’s journey will focus on becoming more accepting of herself while still being hungry for revenge. The first installment focused on Senua’s ability to deal with her psychosis, and that mental illness will play an important role in the sequel, but it won’t be central, though we will see how others view her condition. There will be new characters and we will see their reactions to Senua’s unique vision. The things she sees and hears will be accepted by other characters, but there will also be others who will reject it all.

Some will see Senua’s vision as a tool or a gift, others will fear it. Given the positive public and press response to Ninja Theory’s portrayal of mental illness in Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, it will be interesting to see how the characters in the sequel reflect on the protagonist’s condition. Senua will now interpret herself differently, and will not be afraid of her soul, but more confident. The game (like the first part) does a great job of showing how deeper themes can be explored as part of the gameplay, and Senua’s growth will be experienced through her interactions with others.

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II already has a release date. It will arrive on May 21 for Xbox consoles and PC, and will also be available on Xbox Game Pass.

Source: GameRant