Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 Enhanced Edition Review

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 Enhanced Edition adds a number of performance enhancements, additional modes, and features, as well as bringing the once Xbox-exclusive to PlayStation 5 owners. Before exploring the new features of the Enhanced Edition, I thought it would be best to recap Hellblade 2.

Hellblade 2’s Enhanced Edition does not alter the original story, environments, or combat in any way. This story follows Senua’s journey after the conclusion of the original game, with Senua deliberately captured by the slavers who slaughtered her people, in order to be taken to their homeland and stop them once and for all. However, fate had other ideas. Senua’s boat and the slaver armada are obliterated by an almighty storm, killing almost everyone, slaver and slave alike, but not Senua. After washing ashore and defeating the son of the Slaver King, Senua sets off on her quest for vengeance.

Hellblade 2’s six-to-eight-hour campaign is an extremely cinematic experience, with sprawling vistas, unnatural enemies, and many dream-like locations. The most intriguing aspect of Senua’s story is the unreliability of the events taking place. Due to Senua’s ongoing psychosis, it’s almost impossible to determine what is fact and what is fiction. Senua is haunted by visions of her father, the emotional toll of losing her mother, and her own inner belief that she is, in fact, cursed. What is real? What has been created within her own mind? And which of these events are metaphorical to represent the internal turmoil Senua continues to wrestle with? These questions help make this story truly captivating. The narrative is compelling in its own right, but the deeper meaning of the events taking place helps elevate this tale into something much more memorable.

The story presents genuinely horrific moments, from tight tunnels invoking claustrophobia, overwhelming odds against unsettling enemies, and the constant anxiety that your own inner voices create. Unlike the original game, Senua isn’t alone. She meets several different characters throughout the story, and these interactions help to further define Senua’s current state of mind, as well as flesh out the world around her. Melina Juergens once again delivers an incredible performance as Senua, being able to portray volatile shifts in her mentality with sincerity, as well as the extended cast, all of whom deliver great performances. All of these elements help Hellblade 2 deliver its own memorable story that feels drastically different from the original, but just as powerful.

Our original Hellblade 2 review found that repetitive puzzles and combat encounters were an issue, and I tend to agree. While combat is extremely visceral, with each blow feeling incredibly impactful, combat becomes more of an annoyance rather than satisfying. Combat encounters are scattered across the adventure, but each plays out the same way. Parry and dodge a single enemy, striking them when you find an opening, then continue to repeat this process until each enemy has been slain. Each enemy also conveniently attacks one at a time, which is clearly at odds with the mindset of the enemies you encounter.

The Enhanced Edition includes a new ‘Performance Mode’ that optimises the experience to 60fps (available on PS5, PS5 Pro, and Xbox Series X), with PC players able to use a “Very High” preset to push the fidelity of Hellblade 2 even further using their own hardware capabilities. The frame rate improvements are certainly appreciated, but does not fix the aforementioned repetitive combat. However, a more responsive combat system will certainly aid players in completing Dark Rot Mode; more on that later.

Perspective puzzles return from the first game, which hide unique iconography within the surrounding area for Senua to find, as well as new puzzles that shift the surrounding environment. Each puzzle is incredibly easy, with the biggest obstacle being Senua’s slow movement while solving the puzzle. Due to the extreme linearity of each solution, these puzzles become very forgettable.

The Enhanced Edition attempts to add more challenge to Hellblade 2 by including a Dark Rot Mode. Those who have played the original game will instantly understand how this mode works – die a lot (four times to be exact), and the dark rot will consume Senua, and you will lose your current save data and be forced to restart the story. This mode also features increased difficulty, making Dark Rot Mode perfect for players seeking an additional challenge; the Platinum Trophy is also locked behind this mode’s completion. The Enhanced Edition also includes over four hours of developer commentary, which describes how Ninja Theory was able to craft this intricate and gorgeous world. Both Dark Rot Mode and the Developer Commentary become available after completing the story.

If you’re interested in playing Hellblade 2, I strongly recommend playing with headphones. While headphones are not required, you would be doing yourself a major disservice by playing without them. The expertly implemented 3D binaural audio creates a remarkable sense of immersion. Hearing Senua’s inner thoughts reflect upon her own actions is both powerful and unique, with these voices able to evoke anxiety, unease, and general heightened stress levels. The majority of Hellblade 2’s combat encounters also feature unique tribalistic music, adding an electrifying intensity to combat. The soundtrack is similar to other Norse-themed media, but with its own unsettling sound that I truly loved.

Hellblade 2 might be the best-looking video game I have ever played. The jaw-dropping vistas are incredible, the skybox is ridiculously realistic, the facial and general animations astounding, and Senua’s hair physics are some of the best I have ever seen in a video game. Unlike its predecessor, Hellblade 2 doesn’t shy away from using a vast variety of colours, with blues and reds woven into the surrounding environment to create out-of-this-world visuals.  

The Enhanced Edition adds PSSR for PlayStation 5 Pro owners, and while I wasn’t able to test these improvements, the game looks phenomenal on a base PlayStation 5 model. The Enhanced Edition also includes an expanded Photo Mode, with improved toolsets, and this version has also been Steam Deck Verified.