Hellblade 3 Could Break From The Series Mold In One Major Way
To Hell and back to basics.
Shortly after the release of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, developer Ninja Theory confirmed that a third game in the cutting-edge action series was already in the works. Two years later, it seems that this sequel is poised to change one major part of the series, for better and worse. That’s at least if a new report is to be believed.
The announcement is part of a big shake-up at Ninja Theory, which was first reported on the Xbox Two podcast, hosted by Windows Central’s Jez Corden and YouTube creator Rand Al Thor 19. According to Corden, the developer’s horror game, announced as Project Mara back in early 2020, was recently put on hold so that the team could focus on Hellblade 3. He explained that Project Mara “is not a game currently being worked on,” and that it was only a concept at the time.
With all hands on deck for the Hellblade sequel, Corden said that the game is expected “to be a bit more interactive than Hellblade 1 and 2.”
“I don’t know the exact nature of what Hellblade 3 is going to be like, if it's even going to be Hellblade 3,” he said. “But it does sound like it will be in the Hellblade universe, and it does sound like they want to make it more of ‘a game,’ and broaden its appeal to some degree.”
Hellblade 2 is the best-looking console game, setting a new industry standard for motion and performance capture.
Production on Project Mara being put on pause shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, considering Ninja Theory’s parent company is Microsoft. Xbox Game Studios is in the throes of becoming a multiplatform publisher almost exclusively. It's laid off hundreds of talent, shuttered studios, and cancelled risky game projects in favor of safer bets like Call of Duty and Halo. All the while, it’s been porting former Xbox exclusives, like Hellblade 2, to competing consoles. For an already experimental studio like Ninja Theory, the days of working on an unproven IP were numbered under this new company direction.
In turn, making the next Hellblade more of a traditional game seems like an easy way to make it a safe bet. As stunning as Hellblade 2 was from a technical standpoint, the biggest criticism most critics lobbed its way (including me) was how little interactivity it had. Its puzzles were simple. Its combat was flashy and cinematic, but as deep as a puddle. And its campaign length was surprisingly short, even for a narrative-focused game. It's worth checking out as a Game Pass oddity or on a deep discount. But it’s likely to leave those looking for a more meaty, traditional gaming experience sorely disappointed.
However, I’m more disappointed by the alleged change of direction for the series. It’s clear that what Hellblade 2 lacked in gameplay depth, the team poured doubly into production value. Practically every frame of Hellblade 2 looks and feels meticulously handcrafted. And even though the end product felt more like an interactive film than any of the team’s previous work, it was unlike anything else you can play. Its high-production value brand of bold, artistic vision is something I favor for gaming, even if it means the end product isn’t for everyone.
My morbid curiosity was looking forward to seeing Ninja Theory continue down Hellblade 2’s divisive path, sanding away the edges that didn’t work and doubling down on the elements that did. While a seven-year development cycle for a so-so sequel may not have been sustainable, Hellblade 2 represents the sort of weird, experimental stuff I was hoping Microsoft would be willing to take a financial hit for in the name of investing in technology that will push the medium forward (something they seem more than happy doing for its fledgling AI initiatives).
I won’t turn my nose up at a Hellblade sequel that has improved combat and a lengthier journey for main protagonist Senua. Ninja Theory has proven that they’re capable of making fantastic single-player games supported by industry-leading performance capture in the past. But I mourn that Ninja Theory won’t be Xbox‘s auteur studio, free to work on oddities that feel driven by artistic vision and pushing the boundaries of what games are capable of. That we won’t see them working on weird horror games that leverage their breakthroughs in motion capture technology alongside safer bets like Hellblade.
As a longtime fan of the studio’s work, I look forward to whatever Ninja Theory has in store for us in the years to come. But not nearly as much as I did immediately after rolling credits on its last game.
