Hellblade

Lore & Background

The series began with Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice in 2017, followed by Senua's Saga: Hellblade II in 2024 and Senua in 2027. The first game follows Senua as she travels through a vision of Helheim in an attempt to rescue the soul of her deceased lover Dillion. Hellblade II continues Senua's story as she journeys through 10th-century Iceland. Senua is set after the events of Hellblade II and follows Senua as she becomes trapped in a vision of purgatory based on her childhood homeland.

In Their Own Story

The obsidian gate groaned open, and the heat hit like a wall of molten iron. He gripped the blade—its edge still warm from the last demon's blackened blood—and stepped onto the bridge that spanned a chasm so deep the fire at its bottom looked like a second sky. Below, the legions were already forming, their shapes resolving from the ash like a slow exhalation. He could hear them before he saw them: the wet, rhythmic scraping of hooves on basalt, the low chorus of something that was almost a hymn. He did not turn back. There was nothing behind him anymore. There was only the path, the blade, and the next gate, and the one after that, and the one after that, stretching down into a dark that had no name yet but would, by the time he reached it, have his name on it.

Reader's Guide

The Hellblade games are action-adventure titles played from a third-person perspective. Gameplay combines exploration, environmental puzzles, narrative sequences, and melee combat. Later entries introduced larger environments, expanded combat mechanics, and greater player choice. Senua is designed as a larger-scale action-adventure game featuring expanded exploration, puzzle-solving, and combat systems.

Did You Know?

• Ninja Theory collaborated with neuroscientists, psychiatrists, and individuals with lived experience of psychosis during development.
• The series uses binaural audio and visual effects to represent Senua's perceptions and internal experiences.
• Following the success of Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, Ninja Theory was acquired by Microsoft in 2018.
• The franchise has received numerous industry awards and nominations, including recognition from the British Academy Games Awards and The Game Awards.