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[lh032]

Stellar Blade’s environments are boring and out of a PS3 era game. The game sold itself on the main character.

Then hellblade 2 sold itself as an eye candy then .
Cause Stella blade gameplay is better lol

 

[Luipadre]

Stellar Blade’s environments are boring and out of a PS3 era game. The game sold itself on the main character.

You clearly barely played that game then

 

[ManaByte]

Then hellblade 2 sold itself as an eye candy then .
Cause Stella blade gameplay is better lol

The puzzles in Hellblade 1 were annoying. But I really liked the combat.

 

[Eiknarf]

Isn't the idea that most people will play Hellblade 2 on GamePass and so the review embargo is meaningless. I suspect this is a game where the majority of people will try on the subscription and it likely will not actually sell that many copies. There is no physical release and the game itself is said to be just 8-10 hours long, at most. Not a game I'm itching to buy personally but I will likely pick it up once it is cheap in a Steam Sale if it reviews well.

Can you really own something if there’s no physical disc? Even owning a physical disc of a game means you’re at the mercy of the developer and platform to keep said game up and running. They can edit, censor or no longer support any game xx years from now. So do do we really own any game?

And if buying isn't owning, maybe pirating isn't stealing?

 

[Eiknarf]

There is no game like it on the market, well, until tomorrow. As for popularity, no chance, the first one wasn't popular and the second one won't be. It's just not that kind of "100% safe and for everyone" game people like and which can sell millions and even like Remedy games, which I'm sure selling much better.


It's a linear and heavy story/character-driven adventure game about real life mental illness in the 9th century Island during Viking raids. The closer comparison in terms of gameplay would be modern God of War but with much less emphasis on combat, backtraking, huge world exploration and when you need to fight in Hellblade, you're mostly fighting one on one (the first game aslo had bosses, no one knows yet if the second one has them as well). There's no character progression in terms of levels, no abilities to unlock, no quets to find and complete, no loot, no crafting and there's no HUD in the game at all. Hellblade games are more about the experience, story and characters and much less about stuff majority of people like, hence why Assassin's Creed is still a thing 17 years later and a lot of similar games as well.

Try the first game to see if it's your thing or not.

Exactly.
That goes for most games and movies too, but ESPECIALLY this one
Which makes me scratch my head wondering why the “we don’t want spoilers” excuse was used?

You watch a movie or play a game for the experience and story telling, not about having some personal revelation about the ending or the plot the first time you see or play the piece of entertainment

 

[Ozriel]

Can you really own something if there’s no physical disc? Even owning a physical disc of a game means you’re at the mercy of the developer and platform to keep said game up and running. They can edit, censor or no longer support any game xx years from now. So do do we really own any game?

And if buying isn't owning, maybe pirating isn't stealing?

this is a single player game, so I’m not sure how it’s an issue if they stop supporting it. you can always choose never to update after some point. PC gamers can also keep the files backed up if need be.

Pirating IS stealing

 

[Agent_4Seven]

Which makes me scratch my head wondering why the “we don’t want spoilers” excuse was used?

Well that was... strange, to say the least, especially given the fact that no review will be full of spoilers anyway and as we can clearly see, people can't even get the game early on disc for spoilers to be a potential problem.

Here's the thing, people who bought and played the first game will buy (if not already) and play the next one, no matter what reviews say and no matter the scores. But it'll be hard to convince other people to buy a game which is not easy to promote and explain what it actually is without showing too much. I mean, let's be honest, who's gonna care (excl. fans) about a game like Hellblade with all its strong, emotional and thought provoking themes about mental illness and a girl who's trying to deal with it, when there's a super safe game like Ghost of Tsushima with very derivative and familiar stuff people like to waste their time with instead? It's like recommending someone to watch Rain Man (for example) over Terminator 2 or Top Gun and you know exactly what they'll choose.

You watch a movie or play a game for the experience and story telling, not about having some personal revelation about the ending or the plot the first time you see or play the piece of entertainment

Yup, Hellblade even more so than other games, cuz for the most part, it doesn't even have traditional gameplay mechanics, elements and systems people familiar with, which is also why it's so hard to promote and tell people what they'll be actually playing. There's also a problem with people who just can't comprehend that playing a game like this can also be experience in itself without all of this traditional gameplay stuff most games have.

 

[Pedro Motta]

Stellar Blade is boring. This you kind of know what you’re getting if you’ve played the first game. Too many people didn’t and are expecting it to be something it’s not.

Stellar Blade’s environments are boring and out of a PS3 era game. The game sold itself on the main character.

 

[Punished Miku]

So I guess this goes live in 20 hours? Anyone doing an OT?

 

[Shake Your Rump]

Isn't the idea that most people will play Hellblade 2 on GamePass and so the review embargo is meaningless

Schrödinger’s Embargo: where it is simultaneously meaningless while being so critical that it is enforced until the last hour.

 

[Embearded]

this is a single player game, so I’m not sure how it’s an issue if they stop supporting it. you can always choose never to update after some point. PC gamers can also keep the files backed up if need be.

Pirating IS stealing

Not arguing that pirating isn't stealing here, but your arguments are also lame.

If i have to take action to preserve my game files to prevent them from stopping me play it or change files without asking me, then i don't really own it.

 

[adamsapple]

So I guess this goes live in 20 hours? Anyone doing an OT?

I think Agent_4Seven might be?

Community - Hype - Post your OT titles for Senua's Saga: Hellblade II

Rules: Please keep it to 1 suggestion per post. No spamming multiple titles in one post. This makes finding the most favored title more feasible. To vote, give a (y) to the post with a title that you like the most. Prize: The suggestion with the most reactions will be the OT's title. The winner...

www.neogaf.com

 

[Ozriel]

Not arguing that pirating isn't stealing here, but your arguments are also lame.

If i have to take action to preserve my game files to prevent them from stopping me play it or change files without asking me, then i don't really own it.

How many offline only, single player games do you know that were updated with significant censorship or were crippled to prevent future plays?

Yup, Hellblade even more so than other games, cuz for the most part, it doesn't even have traditional gameplay mechanics, elements and systems people familiar with,

Wut?

 

[Agent_4Seven]

I think Agent_4Seven might be?

Community - Hype - Post your OT titles for Senua's Saga: Hellblade II

Rules: Please keep it to 1 suggestion per post. No spamming multiple titles in one post. This makes finding the most favored title more feasible. To vote, give a (y) to the post with a title that you like the most. Prize: The suggestion with the most reactions will be the OT's title. The winner...

www.neogaf.com

Yup.

Punished Miku It's was done and ready to go almost 2 weeks ago now. I'll post it right after the game will be releases in about 18 hrs from now.

Idk who's going to be making the review thread though.

 

[Punished Miku]

Yup.

Punished Miku It's was done and ready to go almost 2 weeks ago now. I'll post it right after the game will be releases in about 18 hrs from now.

Idk who's going to be making the review thread though.

I'm not worried about a review thread. We'll probably get two of them as Thick Thighs Save Lives and Draugoth fight to the death.

 

[Pelta88]

Saw some talk on another site that the game can be completed in 4 hours. Anyone hearing the same?

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Yup.

Punished Miku It's was done and ready to go almost 2 weeks ago now. I'll post it right after the game will be releases in about 18 hrs from now.

Idk who's going to be making the review thread though.

I'm not worried about a review thread. We'll probably get two of them as Thick Thighs Save Lives and Draugoth fight to the death.

The review embargo drops at worldwide launch (1:00 AM PT/9:00 AM BST/10:00 AM CEST) which is morning in the EU (my timezone). If Draugoth wants to create a fancy review thread for the game, he can claim it now, but that means he should wake up in the morning to update it. If not, I'll make the thread the moment the reviews start dropping, as usual.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

Saw some talk on another site that the game can be completed in 4 hours. Anyone hearing the same?

Ooof. I heard it was "very short", but no time given.

 

[Agent_4Seven]

Saw some talk on another site that the game can be completed in 4 hours. Anyone hearing the same?

"Dude, trust me" ©™

 

[Jaybe]

Saw some talk on another site that the game can be completed in 4 hours. Anyone hearing the same?

Any quote or screenshot? Apparently an ambassador with a review code say they “would have some thoughts” once they could talk about it, which has somewhat of a negative connotation. Maybe it’s super short or there are narrative choices that are disappointing.

 

[Punished Miku]

"Dude, trust me" ©™

I saw a video of someone beating the 1st game in 3 hours posted on here. It took me 9. I expect part 2 will be similar. We'll see 3 hour speed run videos posted by tomorrow. But I expect most people will take longer than that if they just play it normally.

 

[adamsapple]

"Dude, trust me" ©™

He probably 'saw' this post about a 3 hour supercut of the first game and got confused

 

[Embearded]

How many offline only, single player games do you know that were updated with significant censorship or were crippled to prevent future plays?

Very few come to mind.
That would also be my answer to "how many online only single player games do you know?" 10 years ago too.

The truth is, if the disc doesn't contain the entire game in a playable state, from start to finish, you don't own the game.

 

[rodrigolfp]

The first set looks like the game. Because it is.

Yours are almost entirely photo mode. No different than bullshots.

The game is not that "blurry" and with massive compression "blurriness" hell on pc in game or in photo mode/Ansel.

 

[Agent_4Seven]

But I expect most people will take longer than that if they just play it normally.

Yeah, normal people, who can actually immerse themselves into the game's world and enjoy every second while playing. I've heard and read a lot of comments about how I play games - "What's even there to play for 50+ more hours?" or "I've got every achievement and haven't played the game for 80/100 hours more like you"

So what? Not everyone rush like a motherfucker while playing games and reading guides on how to get all achievements just to prove something to someone or to themselves, some people just like playing games at a very slow pace, enjoying every second, exploring every pixel, enjoying some moments of peace and stare at cool environments while imagining themselves in the world of the game etc.

And if we'll add Photo Mode into the mix and if it's actually good, you'll get infinitely more hours on top of regular playthrough. I mean, I'm not saying that Photo Mode is a huge factor in gaming now (but it is) and that we should evaluate games considering it as well in terms of how much hours you can get out of the game, but normal people don't look at it like that and they don't care about hours, it's just stuff they really like messing with (like myself) and it's an icing on the cake if the game also has great if not exceptional Photo Mode.

So when I see comments like "the game is only 4 hours long" I can only say this to people who wrote them in the first place:

 

[Punished Miku]

So when I see comments like "the game is only 4 hours long" I can only say this to people who wrote them in the first place:

It just really illustrates exactly why AAA games are bloated open world checklists. That's what most mainstream people buy. A lot of people feel that way, and the publishers respond. Only difference is that people really can't even make the value argument since they could just sub to GP if they want, and the game is at a reduced price here.

 

[VAVA Mk2]

The fact that there is not much marketing for a game used to hype up the power of the Series X before launch doesn't bode well.

 

[zapper]

one reviewer told me he finished in approximately 6 hours taking his time to record, capture images etc etc (material for the review)

he said it's like the first one (lenght)

 

[Agent_4Seven]

The fact that there is not much marketing for a game used to hype up the power of the Series X before launch doesn't bode well.

MS don't care about their consoles. Also, what is there to hype if a much better version will be available on PC day one? That is if it won't be a complete pos in terms of performance.

one reviewer told me he finished in approximately 6 hours taking his time to record, capture images etc etc (material for the review)

he said it's like the first one (lenght)

Well, I can also just randomly press screenshot button during cut-scenes and gameplay to have something to post in the review article under a strict review embargo.

This is + - how much I spent playing the first game (good lord, I need to make something better than this default and awful banner on steam at some point) and it didn't had such a great Photo Mode and RT back then.

I think in terms of hours I'll spent a lot more playing the second game and messing with the photo mode, cuz from what they've showed it's just as exceptional as in Ratchet & Clank, Cyberpunk and Horzion games for example.

 

[Draugoth]

The review embargo drops at worldwide launch (1:00 AM PT/9:00 AM BST/10:00 AM CEST) which is morning in the EU (my timezone). If Draugoth wants to create a fancy review thread for the game, he can claim it now, but that means he should wake up in the morning to update it. If not, I'll make the thread the moment the reviews start dropping, as usual.

Not super interested in making an alaborate thread for Hellblade 2, was planning to try making it once the review dropped. But if people are down for it i can make something fancy when i get back from work.

 

[adamsapple]

Not super interesting in making an alaborate thread for Hellblade 2, was planning to try making it once the review dropped. But if people are down for it i can make something fancy when i get back from work.

 

[Pelta88]

"Dude, trust me" ©™

Turns out you can beat it in 5 hours, not 4 which was what I heard.

Source: Meta/opencritic

 

[adamsapple]

Turns out you can beat it in 5 hours, not 4 which was what I heard.

Source: Meta/opencritic

Turns out you're still wrong

The time it'll take you to beat Hellblade 2 will vary based on your playstyle, so here are some estimated completion times for different players:

• Quick: 5-6 hours
• Average: 6-8 hours
• 100% completionist: 8-12 hours

How long is Senua's Saga Hellblade 2?

You can easily get through Hellblade 2 in a weekend

www.gamesradar.com

 

[H-I-M]

Here come the bootlickers with examples in the past where it worked out fine. Even though the majority of the time this is done it’s to hide the mid to shit review scores and issues.

Another L for the bootlickers.

 

[Crayon]

It takes me exactly twice as long to finish games as everyone else reports so sounds like a good length lol.

 

[Doctor Hades]

I bought the game yesterday on Steam, specifically so I can refund it, but after an hours play, I am very underwhelmed by the game. I guess I could say it's very 'Xbox' because 'underwhelmed' is how I'd describe my experience with the Xbox Series X so far.

Sure, this game looks nice enough and sounds absolutely amazing (the audio is easily the most impressive thing about the game for me) but the opening compromised of 30 minutes of very slow walking through a mostly dull environment with a few very scripted combat encounters and one very overlong "mini boss" battle that finally opens the game to a bright daylight colour palette and Senua walking at a normal pace. Not finding the gameplay or character particularly engaging, and apparently this is only a 5 hour game so I am already at the 20% mark. Not impressed by it. Feels very much like style over substance to me.

But it is perfect for GamePass, I guess, due to its length but it definitely isn't a game for everyone. It is hard to even describe it as a game since it seems like Ninja Theory really wanted to make a disturbing movie about mental illness instead.