Hellblade was announced at Sony’s Gamescom 2014. Developed and published by Ninja Theory, Ltd. based in Cambridge, England. Ninja Theory was founded under the name Just Add Monsters in 2000 but was then purchased by former Argonaut Games CEO, Jez San, in 2004. They are also the creators of the popular Heavenly Sword game in 2007.

The plot of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice isn’t an uncommon one. But blending Celtic and Norse mythologies, Hellblade focuses on Senua’s journey as she travels along her personal road through the hellish underworld of her psychotic manifestations of her mind and reality. Sounds pretty far out I know. View the trailer!

But here’s the really interesting part. During the development, Ninja Theory consulted neuroscientists and non-profit organization Wellcome Trust to accurately capture the experience of psychosis and its effects on the mind. The game has been praised for its ambitious research and work with doctors and neuroscientists. Hellblade cleverly avoids half-assed tropes that just render the character insane. It cuts through what most people think about mental illness and paints more of sound picture. Now we’ve seen other games that utilize clever psychological elements to their gameplay but Senua’s journey takes a serious look at the elements of mental illness and how it affects people and combines it with phenomenal visuals and a story that keeps you interested. Even Ninja Theory has made it known that they support research into mental health(visit here) for more details. So if you like psychological thrillers and action then this game is for you. imagine Dante’s Inferno meets Ryse and add in more psychological surprises from F.E.A.R.. Still one of the scariest games I’ve played.

Check out this gameplay video and see for yourself!

Developer/Publisher: Ninja Theory
Platform: Microsoft Windows, PS4
Release: August 8, 2017
Genre: Action-adventure, hack and slash, psychological horror