A few days after the release, Ninja Theory explained in detail how the combat system Of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade IItalking about the phases of capturing animations and the objectives it aims to achieve, in a long post published on Xbox Wire.
For Ninja Theory, the first Hellblade, released in 2017, was a truly special experience: a short game focused on the protagonist’s mental health, which ultimately paid off. With the sequel the studio wants expand that experience in every possible direction, thanks to greater access to cutting-edge technologies, including an in-house motion capture studio.
In Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II virtually every movement was performed by live actors, to be scanned for the most realistic and human experience possible. According to studio head Dom Matthews, only the catches for the fight sequences they took almost 70 full days to complete.
Fight and tell
“We see performance capture as a tool to deliver the character’s performance in the purest way possible,” Matthews explained. “We took this opportunity because it ties into our goal of doing everything possible to immerse the player.”
In the post, the combat in Hellblade II is defined as enormously improved compared to the first chapter, despite not having been designed in a traditional way. There will therefore be no hordes to face, but each clash will be intentional, that is, designed within the narrative. Senua’s every move was created to align the player with their struggle, internal and external.
“Rather than take what we already had and add to it, we looked at how we could go deeper into what we were really interested in, which was making combat meaningful to the narrative,” Matthews explained.
According to what has been described, every fight will bring Senua to the limit. “There’s a weight, both on the part of Senua and her enemies, that turns everything into a desperate dance rather than a clash of power. It produces grueling and exhilarating sequences, generating the feeling of an intense series of boss fights, even when it comes to enemies considered normal.”
“We wanted to bring a sense of brutality and struggle to one-on-one combat,” said Benoit Macon, Hellblade II’s combat director. “There’s a sense of connection between the combat and the narrative.”
Will it really be that great? To find out we just have to wait until May 21, 2024, when Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II will be released for Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, Steam and Cloud – and will be available with Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass immediately.
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