Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

Going into the game I knew very little and assumed it was a regular RPG but soon realised it sat more comfortably in the phycological horror genre. I'm not one to write reviews but this game sat for around 2 years in my library before I gave it a chance and I wish I had done so sooner. Although the game isn't particularly long, it works perfectly because it prioritizes quality over quantity. The content is rich in lore and delivered at a satisfying pace, rather than becoming oversaturated, repetitive, or unnecessarily drawn out. The combat is incredibly satisfying too and I even found myself being emotional when it was wrapping up near the end. The sound design is probably the best I've ever had the pleasure of playing through, I specifically found the Blindness trial particularly creepy. Overall a 9.5/10.

This is a very tight game. Given where it came from, it's far better than one would expect. I did experience a few bugs, like being stuck in the geography, but that happened to me in [i]Elden Ring[/i] for crying out loud, so I can't be mad about it and don't think the people griping about it are being fair - this game was made by a handful of people, not a massive AAA studio. That it looks and performs as well as it does is an absolute triumph, and speaks to the dedication of the team at NinjaTheory. The boss fights are all fantastic, each with wildly different movesets and environmental hazards (so to speak). I can't say much more without getting into spoiler territory and I really don't want to. I knew almost nothing about this game when I played it, except that you play as a ye olde Celtic warrior and it "deals with" mental illness. And I am [b]so[/b] glad for it. So if you want more, play it. It's a 10 hour game, you can squeeze it in. I haven't experienced psychosis before, but there are other things I can relate to in this game. It deliberately achieves something other games have attributed to them after-the-fact, the idea that overcoming an obstacle in a game can act as a stand-in for depression (etc.) (see [i]How Souls Games Save You[/i] by Daryl Talks Games, and all the videos he cites in that to see what I mean). And especially after watching the mini-documentary once I finished, the respect and care that went into portraying things like voice-hearing and suicidal ideation is beautifully accomplished. I'll probably play a chapter or two over again to look for things they pointed out as representative of various symptoms. It isn't perfect. But for what it is, it's about as close to perfect as it could be. I'm grateful I played this, and I encourage anyone on the fence to take the leap.