Recent reviews by Jordowner

This is my 1st real review of a game so I apologize in advance for any issues it may have. Especially if it's too long, I have a tendency to write too much. :(

So I picked this game up not really knowing much about it, apart from the fact that Mental Illness plays a large role in it, due to the trailers and little marketing the game had.
The game is about Senua, a Pict warrior who travels to the Norse Underworld known as Helheim, in order to find the soul of her deceased lover Dillion.

Right off the bat you are introduced to Senua and your travel companions... these being the multitude of voices that reside within her head. 1 of which acts as a form of Narrator giving small bits of backstory while the others comment on the current situation, some being neutral, some being positive and the rest negative.

You accompanied by the spirit of your former friend / mentor called Druth who was once a Slave to the Northmen, as a result he has extensive knowledge of their culture and legends. In fact it is due to Druth's stories to Senua that she even knows of Helheim and the way to reach it, which started her on this quest.

The game instructs you that it is best played using Headphones in order to fully experience it, I also recommend this as it really adds to the atmosphere of the game as you will hear the voices in Senua's head as if they were in your own, they don't constantly talk all through the game but when they do, having multiple voices argue with eachother, cheer you on or belittle you all at once really helps you understand just how horrible it is for Senua to endure it. I can't begin to imagine what the game would be like without them.


Gameplay

• This is a very linear game, it consists mostly of you going from 1 section to the next, broken up by puzzles and combat.
  
  
• Combat is...I would best describe it as For Honor without the directional block / attack mechanic, but much more cinematic.
  
  Combat at first seemed quite dull however as I progressed and grew more accustomed to it, I found it much more enjoyable, it's not a great combat system but certainly not terrible. Obviously this would depend heavily on the Individual.
  
  Combat controls consist of a Light & Heavy attack along with a Melee attack (Punch / Kick) which stuns the enemy. There's also a Block which you can use to either block the enemy attack or if timed correctly, will parry the enemy, stunning them and allowing you to either attack or move to a better position. There is also a Dodge which is used to avoid stronger attacks or to move yourself to a more advantageous position. This is crucial in fights when you are outnumbered & surrounded.
  
  
• This is a good time to bring up the fact that this game has no HUD. You get no indication of enemies attacking you except for the Voices informing you by saying "Behind You!" or "Watch out!" Health is indicated by the screen becoming redder / darker. The Voices will also tell you when it's a good time to dodge an attack or to perform certain attacks.
  
  
• Puzzles are what I would consider this games weakest point. I managed to do all of them except 2 properly as those 2 particular ones were slightly bugged which was preventing me from actually progressing, this was fixed by quitting to menu and reloading. The puzzles are also lacking in variety, most of them are quite repetitive and don't really require a whole lot of thinking. They're mostly Perspective style puzzles where you must stand & look at something from a specific position. There are some different ones later in the game which aren't as bad, but those are less frequent than the majority which I mentioned.
  
  Story
  
  
• This is a very dark tale, you have Senua trying to rescue the soul of her dead lover from Helheim, while also fighting her own inner demons and the voices in her head. Senua suffers from Psychosis causing her to suffer from symptoms such as hallucinations & depression, being suspicious of all around as she is unable to discern what is real and what is not.
  
  The story itself is told through cutscenes, the "Narrator" in Senua's head and the spirit of Druth. Scattered around the world are Lorestones which when activated will allow Druth to tell you about the Northmen's culture and legends, informing the player more about what is going on. These aren't "essential" but certainly are interesting and will help those of you who aren't familiar with Norse mythology.
  
  The story starts out pretty...normal? You have all the dark, supernatural type stuff going on but it isn't until about halfway through the game, the real dark nature of it all starts to emerge, I must admit although I was enjoying the game to begin with, the halfway mark & onwards is what really sold me on this.
  
  
• Due to the dark nature of the story & Senua's connection it all, I found myself feeling bad for her the entire game. You genuinely feel sorry for her despite not really knowing a whole lot about her at first, just because of how terrible all of this is. I found myself wanting to just give her a hug and tell her it would all be okay, despite knowing that it certainly wouldn't be.
  
  The story itself is the game's strongest aspect. It is presented in a very well made way, you can tell the Devs put a lot of effort in to it and handled all aspects especially the way Mental Illness plays in to it perfectly. The great voice acting and facial animations from Senua really add to the overall quality.
  
  
• The story's length is about..7-8 hours, depending on how quickly you progress which was actually fine by me. The game didn't feel like it was dragging on too long or was too short. Considering the game's lower price tag (£18.99 for me) I feel entirely satisfied with it, as I know I will be replaying it sometime in the future.
  
  I would definitely put this up high in my list of best Video Game Stories thus far. I would like to say more but honestly I feel like it would spoil too much so this is the most I can say.
  
  Visuals & Sound
  
  
• The game is absolutely beautiful to look at even on lower settings, everything from the environments to the facial animations of Senua is absolutely amazing and quite impressive, considering the small team size and compared to a lot of big budget titles.
  
  Each area has it's own "style" you'll go from a field which is sunny, vibrant and full of colour, to a cold, drained looking, mysterious forest to a dark & sinister cave. Along with many other environments, each 1 just as well designed as the last.
  
  
• The amazing visuals also extend to the games characters, Senua looks absolutely stunning with great facial animations, well detailed clothing and hair, the enemies of the game also look very well made however 1 issue I have with them is there's a lack of variety among them. Although being great looking there's only around...5 or so enemy types not counting Bosses, which despite having their own unique look, due to the smaller amount of enemy types you find it becoming quite repetitive to look at.
  
  
• The music is also another high point of this game, You don't hear it all the time but when it starts, it's always great to listen to and really matches the mood & situation, pretty much like the Souls / Bloodborne series. I'm a huge fan of the battle music you hear throughout the game, consisting of battle drums & Nordic chanting, getting you ready for the next big fight.
  
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  I'm happy with the price I paid for it and I also commend the devs for placing the smaller price tag on it due to knowing that it's not particularly long (although I have seen full price AAA titles shorter than this)
  
  I will definitely be playing through this again in the future and I am sure I will enjoy it just as much as the first time.
  
  Overall I would give the game a 9/10 based on my enjoyment of the story & combat. The puzzles, lack of enemy variety & the few bugs I encountered do sour the experience just enough to drop it slightly.

The Daimyo of the Tokugawa clan wouldn't give me a trade agreement.
but he would give me 1 of his daughters for absolutely nothing.

The fact that the Tokugawa clan actually became Shogun historically is out-♥♥♥♥♥♥♥-standing with that thought process.