History VideoGame / HellbladeSenuasSacrifice

Initially digital-only, a physical copy of the [=PS4=] and Xbox One versions was released on December 4, 2018.

* ExactWords: The FinalDeath warning at the beginning of the game. [[spoiler:The rot will grow when Senua dies, but it will never reach her head until she gets to the end of the game. Once it does reach her head, her quest is actually over ''by her own choice'' because she has let go of Dillion.]]
* FinalDeath: The rot that Senua gains after her first death, which will crawl up her body with every death, wiping all save data if it reaches her head. [[spoiler: [[AvertedTrope Except not really.]] You can die as many times as you want and your save data won't be touched. The warning about deleted save files turns out to be less about gameplay mechanics and more about the fear and paranoia Senua feels.]]

* UnreliableNarrator: The game indicates that there are a set amount of deaths the player can have before [[FinalDeath their save game is wiped and they are forced to start over]]. [[spoiler:[[https://www.pcgamesn.com/hellblade-senuas-sacrifice/hellblade-permadeath-bluff Player experimentation]] indicates that this is not true, but rather intended to impart some of Senua's fear onto the player.]]

* GenreBusting: It's a narrative-driven and cutscene-heavy adventure game with relatively sparse HackAndSlash combat, long, borderline WalkingSimulator segments and lots of [[RuleOfSymbolism symbolic]] environmental puzzles set in what the protagonist sees as the Norse underworld and horror elements straight out of ''Franchise/SilentHill''. Suffice to say, don't go in expecting ''VideoGame/{{God of War|PS4}}'' with Myth/NorseMythology.

''[[caption-width-right:350:[[ArcWords "The hardest battles are fought in the mind"]].]]''

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/640_hellblade_2_l.jpg]]

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything?: The cutscene immediately preceding Senua's fight with Valravn. [[spoiler:Senua lies on the ground helplessly and bearing a thousand-yard stare while Valravn writhes on top of her, heavily resembling a rape scene.]]

* AerithAndBob: Actual Celtic names (Findan, Drúth) and plausible corruptions of Celtic names like Dillion (derived from Dyllanw) and Senua (an erroneous spelling of Senuna) exist in the same society as the fictional "Galena" and the aggressively fictional ''Zynbel'', which contains letters and sounds found in no Celtic language.

* GameBreakingBug: Jim Sterling's initial 1/10 score was because of one. It's triggered by not lighting your torch in an area that kills you in the dark, and the game autosaving after you've long passed the light source you needed), and triggering it renders the game unwinnable. It was fixed in a patch shortly after Sterling's review made the rounds.

* LegendaryWeapon: Gramr, the legendary sword of Sigmund from the [[Literature/TheSagaOfTheVolsungs Völsunga saga]], is claimed by Senua before finally entering Hela's domain. True to the original myth, she pulls it from the trunk of a massive tree.

NeedsWikiMagicLove, and there is a [[Characters/HellbladeSenuasSacrifice character sheet]] that also does.

* AerithAndBob: Actual Celtic names (Findan, Drúth) and plausible corruptions of Celtic names like Dillion (derived from Dyllanw) and Senua (an erroneous spelling of Senuna) exist in the same society as the fictional "Galena" and the aggressively fictional ''Zynbel'', which contains letters and sounds found in no Celtic language.

* LegendaryWeapon: Gramr, the legendary sword of Sigmund from the [[Literature/TheSagaOfTheVolsungs Völsunga saga]], is claimed by Senua before finally entering Hela's domain. True to the original myth, she pulls it from the trunk of a massive tree.

-->-- '''opening narration'''

* PlayingThePlayer: The game indicates that there are a set amount of deaths the player can have before [[FinalDeath their save game is wiped and they are forced to start over]]. [[spoiler:[[https://www.pcgamesn.com/hellblade-senuas-sacrifice/hellblade-permadeath-bluff Player experimentation]] indicates that this is not true, but rather intended to impart some of Senua's fear onto the player.]]
** The game itself still does this to a degree. [[spoiler: Senua's voices directly communicate with the player at certain points of the game, and the entire adventure blurs the line between the real world and Senua's mind quite frequently.]]

* DarkerAndEdgier: In contrast to ''VideoGame/HeavenlySword''[='=]s fantasy set or ''[[VideoGame/EnslavedOdysseyToTheWest Enslaved]]''[='=]s colorful post-apocalypse, it's the most mature game from Creator/NinjaTheory.

A sequel, ''[[VideoGame/SenuasSagaHellbladeII Senua's Saga: Hellblade II]]'' was announced during the VGA Awards on December 12, 2019 for the Xbox Series X. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvKQ7eTGXns Watch it here]].

* BurningTheBridges: At the opening scene Senua lands on the shore and pushes away her boat, signifying that she has no intention to abandon her quest.

* PortalDoor: Valravn's portals are a variation of this. You don't move into a completely different realm, but some details change as you walk through the portal. The huge masks in one of Odin's quests work similarly: walking through them switches between the two different versions of the same area.

It was released on August 8, 2017 for the UsefulNotes/{{Playstation 4}} and PC. An UsefulNotes/XboxOne release was later set for April 11, 2018, and a UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch released on April 11, 2019.

** The camera stays close to Senua even during combat, which makes it easy for enemies to get behind you if you're fighting several. To keep them from getting cheap shots in, Senua's voices yell "Behind you!" when you need to dodge an attack from offscreen.

* SwordOfPlotAdvancement: After her original sword is broken, Senua completes trials to reforge the magical blade Gramr which will enable her to combat Hela. In gameplay, acquiring the sword unlocks a new ChargedAttack.

* DiageticInterface: The game has a very minimalist UI, with things like an inventory or health bars forsaken entirely. Senua's reserve of Focus is tracked by a mirror on her hip, with a symbol for it appearing in the air when a point of Focus is earned. In lieu of a compass or objective marker, runes will appear in the air when Senua is near them. Lastly, rather than an enemy tracker a la ''Halo,'' Senua's voices will warn her if an enemy outside of the camera frame is attacking.

* Badass Boast: [[spoiler: Senua in the final battle against Hela. "I can see through your darkness! You're a liar and a murderer! And if you really are Hela, then I have a sword here that can kill a god!"]]

->''"Hello, who are you? ...It doesn't matter. Welcome. You are safe with me. I'll be right here, nice and close so I can speak without alerting the others. Let me tell you about Senua. Her story has already come to an end but now, it begins anew. This is a journey deep into darkness. There will be no more stories after this one. Look around and you will see them. The drowned, the sick, the slain. Here they lie, rotting in the field and river of Hel. But the dead don't always lie still here. This is not a place of rest. What is she thinking? I can tell you. She is afraid. Wouldn't you be? You'd think she would get used to it by now after so many years. But the darkness it just builds onto itself, growing stronger, towering over her. You might try and ignore it, turn away, but it's always there just out of sight, where you are most vulnerable. It's like it knows that just enough light is all you need to see it's suffocating power..."''

[[caption-width-right:350:[[ArcWords ''"The hardest battles are fought in the mind"'']].]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[ArcWords The hardest battles are fought in the mind]].]]

The game is somewhat similar to the [[VideoGame/DarkSouls Souls]][[VideoGame/BloodBorne borne]] games in terms of combat, focusing on timing your strikes and dodging the enemy's blows. Be warned, as Senua can't take many hits before she goes down.

* NeurodiversityIsSupernatural: ZigZagged all over the place: Senua's magic could be derived from her psychosis, entirely independent of it, or all in her head. [[TheFundamentalist Senua's father]] and [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Druth]] both see Senua's illness as supernatural, however both of their approaches are shown to be flawed. The most sympathetic character, Dillion, simply treats her as a human being.