"Blade of Hell 2" evaluation 8.3 points: running all the way on the small track showing mental illness

At the 2017 TGA Awards, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice became the biggest dark horse of the year. This game with the mentally ill as the main character won many awards, including "the most influential game of the year".

This game is not only satisfied with showing the entertainment function of the game, but has begun to turn to more diversified and serious social topics such as human diseases, trying to convey universal values and humanistic care through the game, creating a broader social significance. No wonder it has won the favor of TGA judges.

Now, the second work of the game, Hellblade 2: Senua's Saga, has come out. Thanks to XBOX for providing the opportunity of advance evaluation, the small editor of 17173 was able to experience this sequel with unique positioning and temperament for the first time. After about 6 hours of adventure, this work, with its unique charm, made me deeply appreciate the interweaving of inheritance and innovation, and the value of Ninja Theory's persistence and even willfulness on the minority track.

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Ninja Theory Studio has brought unforgettable visual experience to players with its exquisite technical strength. Although it is a small team, it has created a visual effect comparable to the top masterpiece.

In the sequel, which is still created by the illusory 5 engine, this sense of visual shock remains, and the image expression is comprehensively upgraded. With the help of higher-level functions, the presentation of the scene is more excellent. The dark psychedelic style and the clever use of light and shadow bring players excellent visual enjoyment. The delicate creation of environment and light and shadow is not only to show off the technical muscles of the studio, but also an important part of the player's immersive experience.

The scene of field collection in Iceland presents an amazing landscape through artistic processing and technical support. The new 21:9 widescreen frame option further improves the movie quality of the game.

The extreme simplification of the UI also exposes the attempt of the game in the direction of "cinematization". The screen is always clean. There is no UI and no guidance signs. The keys represent what to prompt when you use them for the first time. When you are in the game, you need to find out which elements are interactive and what the status of the characters is. Compared with those games that hide the UI unnecessarily, Blade of Hell 2 is more extreme and decisive, but it also makes the game more like a realistic artwork.

In order to fully simulate the symptoms of mental disorder, auditory elements other than vision are also very important. The music of the game has both melodious melody and tense rhythm. The story in the Nordic background naturally matches the melody of the local style. These melodies play different roles in different scenes, can promote emotion, and become an important medium for emotional expression.

The environmental sound effect of the game is very realistic. From the wind, water and distant calls, each sound makes the player more immersed in the story of Senna. The impressive whispers in the first part still linger in the second part. They often make you feel tortured, and sometimes they are like indispensable companions asking your soul in the ear.

As in the previous work, players can experience the world of the mentally ill more deeply through the double simulation of sound and vision. This unique design not only increases the interactivity and exploration of the game, but also enables players to have deeper empathy and understanding of the role's situation.

With works like DMC in front, it proves that the power of ninja theory in battle design can not be underestimated. Although the battle priority of the "Hell's Blade" series is not high, its sense of attack and action design are top, and its movement is smooth and the sense of attack is strong.

If it is an ordinary studio, with such a foundation, it will try its best to increase the proportion of the combat part and make the game closer to the ACT, so as to improve the "playability" in the mainstream evaluation. However, in the second generation of works, we found that the status of fighting has not changed, it does not appear frequently, and it often maintains the form of 1V1, but the perception of fighting has improved.

The game adopts a unique "performance style battle", which seamlessly connects the broadcast film with the interactive battle, making the battle itself a wonderful performance. For example, when a new opponent suddenly locks his throat (broadcasts a film), he continues to fight after breaking free. This design not only enhances the viewing of the battle, but also improves the sense of participation of players.

In contrast, the content of solving puzzles is more specific, and still occupies the core position of the game. Although the difficulty of solving puzzles has been reduced, it is still the only reason why I get stuck in the process.

In addition to fighting and solving puzzles, the "playability" of the game becomes scarce. After all, whether it is the "walking simulator" playing method of enjoying the scenery while walking or the "inner drama" of examining oneself on the journey, it is not the element of fun in the minds of mainstream players.

The Blade of Hell 2: The Legend of Senna carries on the deeper shaping of the characters from the previous works in narrative, bringing a story that emphasizes both depth and emotion to the players. Senna's journey is not only a battle against giants, but also an exploration of his own inner world. Each crisis is the external manifestation of Senna's inner conflict. While helping Senna solve the problem, the player is also gradually revealing her inner world, which complements Senna's life experience.

However, this story full of humanistic care ended in a hurry, just like the game ended hastily when it was found that the funds were insufficient after most of the games were completed. In order to increase the replayability of the existing game, you can choose to let other main characters in the game take the place of the original narration after the end of the weekly program, and tell the legend of Senna from a different perspective.

The Blade of Hell: The Legend of Senna has reached a new height in vision and narration, and in some aspects it is even more extreme than the previous one. It does not pursue popularity, and the length of the process does not meet the expectations of most people, but in a unique way, it tells a profound story and brings an unforgettable game experience to players.

As in the early period, the reputation of "Blade of Hell 2" is still polarized. Those players with interesting tastes will be extremely fond of this unique combination; Players who don't like it often have no way to persist, especially this one. After nearly half an hour of broadcasting and walking, it really becomes a "game" that we can see everyday.

"Blade of Hell 2: The Legend of Senna" shows the persistence and exploration of ninja theory for independent game innovation. We expect them to continue to bring such profound, unique and challenging works in the future and inject new vitality into the game industry.

So, what do you think of "Blade of Hell 2"?