If we feel our way into the human secrets of the sick person, the madness also reveals its system, and we recognize in the mental illness merely an exceptional reaction to emotional problems which are not strange to us. -- Carl G. Jung, "The Content of the Psychoses"

This is going to be one of those reviews that one would have a truckload to say about, yet when it comes to actually saying something, one ends up empty handed. I will try nonetheless. One thing is sure: playing Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, was both a magnificent and harrowing experience. Ninja Theory, a development studio based on Cambridge, UK - one we may remember from Enslaved: Odyssey to the West and the latest part of Devil May Cry series, DmC: Devil May Cry - even though being relatively young in the market, accomplished an exceptional task with this game.

Here, we take on the role of Senua, a Pict warrior, hailing from Northern Scotland. All we know about her at the beginning of the game, is that Senua has lost her lover, Dillion, to a Viking raid and now she must take on a journey to the Nordic underworld: Helheim, to rescue him. The opening cinematic closely follows Senua as she journeys from the banks of Orkney to this supposed entrance to the underworld. A far away, soft and feminine voice starts talking about Senua's tragedy, and her unique, disturbing nature... and only when she hears the voice talking, and turns back towards the camera, directly looking at us, we realize Senua's sense of what is real may not be the reality that we all are aware of.

Okay, here, I'll start about that part which may be considered as spoilers, so be warned. Senua is a young Celtic warrior like no other: she is schizophrenic. This whole game, is much, much more than simply being a game. It is a direct medium designed to present the player the very experience of being schizophrenic. Our heroine will keep hearing voices, experience hallucinations, collect meaning from most trivial of natural occurrences and will go through periods of dire anxiety and paranoia. All that we encounter within the game, is how Senua interprets and experiences the reality, rather than an objective reality. Her journey to the underworld, her battles against the darkness, her combats with various gods, the challenges she continuously and ferociously overcome: are simply metaphors for her battle against the psychosis itself. At the end of the day, what actually happened to Senua is tragically simple: yet how she overcomes it, is a Herculean task nonetheless.

What is downright marvelous about this game, is the character Senua herself. Melina Juergens, who performed Senua's voice acting and motion capturing throughout the game, presents an astonishing feat of acting. Her mimics, her tone, her gaze, her whole-body language continuously display a typhoon of emotions, practically enforcing you to live Senua's dark, horrific, painful reality. I strongly recommend watching the short documentary on the game after completing it, so you can witness the whole process yourself. Apparently, the developmental team worked with not only history professors for setting authenticity concerning Norse mythology and Celtic culture, yet they also worked with psychiatrists, specialists on psychosis and even psychotic patients themselves for an accurate representation. This whole creative process in no less than being fascinating!

I've already mentioned that the motion capture was used to enact characters. At this point, I also must note the Unreal Engine 4 presents a majestic scene when it comes to display a sense of realism. Textures, lights, colors and animations are no less than being breath-taking. This has been one VR worthy experience. I sadly lack the equipment, yet if you have a VR device, I strongly recommend trying. Another incredible display quality is the audio atmosphere of the game. As you keep playing, you'll keep hearing various voices, continuously commenting on your mood, your actions, your situation to better simulate paracusia, or auditory hallucinations. Thus, playing the game with headphones on will hugely benefit to the atmosphere.

Let's talk gameplay at this point, shall we? The game may be categorized as an adventure game with action elements. You will travel through various parts of the said geography and handle endless visual and some auditory puzzles. Every now and then, you will face adversaries in the form of grotesque Viking warriors and even some of their gods. Puzzles are incredibly creative, yet some require an obsessive amount of attention to detail. I loved it since it adds to the atmosphere, yet I agree that it is not everyone’s cup of tea. You just should know what you'll be in for, when you are playing this game. It is a simulation and an experience, enwrapped within a historical setting and a story of tragedy. It is not your casual action-adventure; and it surely isn't the next God of War. If you are looking for simply a bad-as s game, this is not it. If you are looking for a challenging experience which will test not only your skills, but your own psych: please try it. You won't be disappointed.

At the very beginning of the game, you will be warned that every time you fail, the rot on Senua's body will progress; and if you fail enough times, that would be the end of Senua's journey. This warning immediately started a rumor about a permadeath function about the game. According to the rumor, if you die enough times, your save games will be automatically erased, and you'll have to start over. Now, that is a brilliant hoax. The game says nothing about permadeath. You reach that conclusion based on a false impression yourself. There is no permadeath in the game. Yet, the warning and various following scenes are brilliantly places there to create that kind of assumption to feed into the horror factor. The game literally forces you to share Senua's reality, even though that might not be what is objectively real. I call that simply brilliant.

At the end of the day, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is a unique yet highly disturbing game, and one you won't soon forget. Please be warned, and try it, if you are willing to appreciate video games as a medium for art and a simulation on the more disturbing side.

Please also check out Lady Storyteller's Curator page here - follow for regular updates on reviews for other games!

[b]If we feel our way into the human secrets of the sick person, the madness also reveals its system, and we recognize in the mental illness merely an exceptional reaction to emotional problems which are not strange to us. -- Carl G. Jung, [i]"The Content of the Psychoses"[/i][/b] This is going to be one of those reviews that one would have a truckload to say about, yet when it comes to actually saying something, one ends up empty handed. I will try nonetheless. One thing is sure: playing [i]Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice[/i], was both a magnificent and harrowing experience. Ninja Theory, a development studio based on Cambridge, UK - one we may remember from [i]Enslaved: Odyssey to the West[/i] and the latest part of Devil May Cry series, [i]DmC: Devil May Cry[/i] - even though being relatively young in the market, accomplished an exceptional task with this game. Here, we take on the role of Senua, a Pict warrior, hailing from Northern Scotland. All we know about her at the beginning of the game, is that Senua has lost her lover, Dillion, to a Viking raid and now she must take on a journey to the Nordic underworld: Helheim, to rescue him. The opening cinematic closely follows Senua as she journeys from the banks of Orkney to this supposed entrance to the underworld. A far away, soft and feminine voice starts talking about Senua's tragedy, and her unique, disturbing nature... and only when she hears the voice talking, and turns back towards the camera, directly looking at us, we realize Senua's sense of what is real may not be the reality that we all are aware of. Okay, here, I'll start about that part which may be considered as spoilers, so be warned. [spoiler]Senua is a young Celtic warrior like no other: she is schizophrenic. This whole game, is much, much more than simply being a game. It is a direct medium designed to present the player the very experience of being schizophrenic. Our heroine will keep hearing voices, experience hallucinations, collect meaning from most trivial of natural occurrences and will go through periods of dire anxiety and paranoia. All that we encounter within the game, is how Senua interprets and experiences the reality, rather than an objective reality. Her journey to the underworld, her battles against the darkness, her combats with various gods, the challenges she continuously and ferociously overcome: are simply metaphors for her battle against the psychosis itself. At the end of the day, what actually happened to Senua is tragically simple: yet how she overcomes it, is a Herculean task nonetheless. [/spoiler] What is downright marvelous about this game, is the character Senua herself. Melina Juergens, who performed Senua's voice acting and motion capturing throughout the game, presents an astonishing feat of acting. Her mimics, her tone, her gaze, her whole-body language continuously display a typhoon of emotions, practically enforcing you to live Senua's dark, horrific, painful reality. I strongly recommend watching the short documentary on the game after completing it, so you can witness the whole process yourself. Apparently, the developmental team worked with not only history professors for setting authenticity concerning Norse mythology and Celtic culture, yet they also worked with psychiatrists, specialists on psychosis and even psychotic patients themselves for an accurate representation. This whole creative process in no less than being fascinating! I've already mentioned that the motion capture was used to enact characters. At this point, I also must note the Unreal Engine 4 presents a majestic scene when it comes to display a sense of realism. Textures, lights, colors and animations are no less than being breath-taking. This has been one VR worthy experience. I sadly lack the equipment, yet if you have a VR device, I strongly recommend trying. Another incredible display quality is the audio atmosphere of the game. [spoiler]As you keep playing, you'll keep hearing various voices, continuously commenting on your mood, your actions, your situation to better simulate paracusia, or auditory hallucinations.[/spoiler] Thus, playing the game with headphones on will hugely benefit to the atmosphere. Let's talk gameplay at this point, shall we? The game may be categorized as an adventure game with action elements. You will travel through various parts of the said geography and handle endless visual and some auditory puzzles. Every now and then, you will face adversaries in the form of grotesque Viking warriors and even some of their gods. Puzzles are incredibly creative, yet some require an obsessive amount of attention to detail. I loved it since it adds to the atmosphere, yet I agree that it is not everyone’s cup of tea. You just should know what you'll be in for, when you are playing this game. It is a simulation and an experience, enwrapped within a historical setting and a story of tragedy. It is not your casual action-adventure; and it surely isn't the next [i]God of War[/i]. If you are looking for simply a bad-as s game, this is not it. If you are looking for a challenging experience which will test not only your skills, but your own psych: please try it. You won't be disappointed. At the very beginning of the game, you will be warned that every time you fail, the rot on Senua's body will progress; and if you fail enough times, that would be the end of Senua's journey. [spoiler]This warning immediately started a rumor about a permadeath function about the game. According to the rumor, if you die enough times, your save games will be automatically erased, and you'll have to start over. Now, that is a brilliant hoax. The game says nothing about permadeath. You reach that conclusion based on a false impression yourself. There is no permadeath in the game. Yet, the warning and various following scenes are brilliantly places there to create that kind of assumption to feed into the horror factor. The game literally forces you to share Senua's reality, even though that might not be what is objectively real. I call that simply brilliant. [/spoiler] At the end of the day, [i]Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice[/i] is a unique yet highly disturbing game, and one you won't soon forget. Please be warned, and try it, if you are willing to appreciate video games as a medium for art and a simulation on the more disturbing side. Please also check out Lady Storyteller's Curator page [url=http://steamoss.com/steamstore/curator/11672469/]here[/url] - follow for regular updates on reviews for other games!