Everything we know about Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II

At the Game Awards 2019, Phil Spencer surprised the world by announcing the next Xbox console and a new Ninja Theory game, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. This is our first look at a true next-generation title. Technically, Halo Infinite gave us footage of a game running on next-generation Xbox hardware (or on a PC with ballpark specs) but Senua’s Sacrifice: Hellblade II is the first Xbox Game Studios title explicitly being designed from the ground-up for the Xbox Series X.

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II story

In the first game, Senua went on a journey into Hel and confronted all sorts of mythical beasts and deities, including the fire giant Surt and the God of Illusion, Valravn. She also made peace with the “darkness” inside her, the voices Ninja Theory has explictly confirmed were designed around modern-day descriptions of psychosis. While we don’t know much about the story of the sequel so far, it appears to be taking an even darker tone, delving into ideas of Pict and Nord rituals and sacrifice.

Whatever the story ends up dealing with, Ninja Theory is consulting mental health professionals as part of The Insight Project, developing games around understanding mental illness. You can check out the reveal trailer from the Game Awards below.

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II gameplay and features

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice was a third-person game with combat and puzzles. We have every reason to expect that the sequel will be very similar however, it likely has a far larger budget, which could mean more complicated combat, bigger setpieces and a larger game. Here’s what we know right now.

• This is a different team at Ninja Theory than the one under Rahni Tucker developing Bleeding Edge.
• Melina Juergens is reprising her role as Senua, providing some truly incredible performance capture.
• Footage for the trailer was captured in-engine.
• The game is likely running on Unreal Engine 4.
• Ninja Theory is working with the band Heilung for the soundtrack.
• Heilung’s music can be heard in the reveal trailer for the game, the song is called In Maidjan.

Phewww..News is finally out: Hellblade 2 Senua’s Saga is officially in the making! ⚔️ Thanks to “Heilung” for allowing me to perform your song 💓 And thanks to our amazing Team at @NinjaTheory and everyone else who was involved in making this Trailer happen 🙏 #Hellblade2

— Melina Juergens (@JuergensMelina) December 14, 2019

Will Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II be on Xbox One?

When Phil Spencer presented the Xbox Series X at the Game Awards 2019, right before the trailer Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, he noted that the game being shown was early in development for the Xbox Series X, although we’re unsure if that means it won’t be coming to the original console. We’ve reached out to Microsoft for a comment.

The official press release and all the marketing materials only mention the Xbox Series X. It will certainly come to PC though, as all Xbox Game Studios titles arrive on PC as well.

When is the release date for Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II?

There’s no release date right now, or even a release window. At the Game Awards 2019, Phil Spencer noted that the title was early in development, so you shouldn’t expect it as a launch title for Xbox Series X, or even shortly after launch. We’ll be sure to provide updates on any official release date as soon as that information is available.