I want to start by saying there is nothing wrong that this game is like a movie. Creators have a freedom to experiment with media and do their thing how they will. The challenge is to make it at least a good game. Now Hellblade 2 is impressive and... flawed.
Graphics and audio are really well done and do the great job in storytelling or showing emotions of characters. The game holds up high variety of places so there is always something different to look at. Sound design is so good I even had moments when I put down my headphones to make sure if the sound was in the game or somewhere in my house. OST is good too.
I found the story pretty good. It has much more focus on symbolism and moral aspects than character's adventure, which is good because 1st game already did that. Simple to understand, but still worth to see. My main issue is the role of the voices lowered in this one. They are more like a 2nd narrator than something that Senua have to deal with.
The gameplay unfortunately haven't improved. Level structure is much more linear. You just walk straight. Only thing that stops you are the puzzles. They are very repetitive and just makes the game longer for no reason. There are collectibles, but I found them boring. Also the combat feels good, but plays worse. I had a lot of issues with dodging incoming attacks.
For me it was memorable 6 hours experience, but I understand why many people don't like it, since a lot of modern games gets a lot of praise for the visuals alone, while gameplay feels off. At least this one makes it clear that it is a cinematic game, so I knew what to expect. I liked it, but do I want more games going this trend? Absolutely not.
Graphics and audio are really well done and do the great job in storytelling or showing emotions of characters. The game holds up high variety of places so there is always something different to look at. Sound design is so good I even had moments when I put down my headphones to make sure if the sound was in the game or somewhere in my house. OST is good too.
I found the story pretty good. It has much more focus on symbolism and moral aspects than character's adventure, which is good because 1st game already did that. Simple to understand, but still worth to see. My main issue is the role of the voices lowered in this one. They are more like a 2nd narrator than something that Senua have to deal with.
The gameplay unfortunately haven't improved. Level structure is much more linear. You just walk straight. Only thing that stops you are the puzzles. They are very repetitive and just makes the game longer for no reason. There are collectibles, but I found them boring. Also the combat feels good, but plays worse. I had a lot of issues with dodging incoming attacks.
For me it was memorable 6 hours experience, but I understand why many people don't like it, since a lot of modern games gets a lot of praise for the visuals alone, while gameplay feels off. At least this one makes it clear that it is a cinematic game, so I knew what to expect. I liked it, but do I want more games going this trend? Absolutely not.