Trigger Cut Game Reviews

Hellblade 2 seems like a game that prioritized graphical fidelity over telling a compelling story and providing any sort of real gameplay.  I honestly struggle to even consider this a game given how much the developers take control away from the player in almost every moment.  Everything that was present in the first game is completely stripped back and simplified.  The gameplay in the first entry wasn’t anything complex and the combat was simple but it still felt like I had control and was actually, you know playing the fucking game.  Instead of fighting multiple enemies at once, in Hellblade 2 you only fight one enemy at a time and it takes absolutely no skill at all and it feels like a glorified quick time event.  The puzzles in Hellblade 2 are also neutered here.  While the first game had some interesting, sometimes obtuse puzzles, this game has simple grab a thing and put it here type puzzles.  Yes, the graphics are amazing but the art design is lacking.  Do the rocks look real? Yes, but its still just a rock.  The narrative felt personal in the first game.  It was about a warrior that was struggling with schizophrenia.  This psychological and personal element to the narrative is mostly abandoned here in favor of putting a focus on characters outside of the titular character.  Senua gets wrapped up in a journey to free slaves because of reasons. 5 hours later, it ends.  It feels like the developers wanted to make a movie, and not a game.  They should have, and have pretty much made exactly that.  The voices in my head are telling me to replay the first game and forget this sequel ever existed.