Story Highlights
  • Hellblade 2 will surpass its predecessor’s cinematic experience and will feature a quality independent film-like experience.
  • Ninja Theory states that immersion will be above all in the game.
  • The team has limited UI, removed camera cuts, and more to achieve this goal.

Hellblade 2 is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated games from Xbox this year. The game is less than two months away from release, and its excitement is growing bigger day by day.

The first title in the franchise delivered an amazing cinematic experience. Hellblade 2 is supposed to eclipse that experience by a mile. Ninja Theory has made various changes to ensure unparalleled immersion, comparing the game to an indie film.

Why it matters: Cinematics play a huge role in the Hellblade franchise, and due to Hellblade 2’s much bigger budget, the developers can fully utilize their capabilities in the sequel.

Hellblade 2
Hellblade Has Always Been An Immersive Series

Ninja Theory’s studio head, Dominic Mathhes, in an interview with Gamesradar, made an analogy with indie movies to describe the overall experience.

Hellblade 2 is a quality independent film.

-Dominic Mathhes

Dan Attwell, the environmental art director, emphasized the team’s pursuit of realism in Hellblade 2, eliminating camera cuts and HUD elements. Despite the challenges posed by this approach, Attwell affirmed their commitment to these design choices.

Moreover, he highlighted a significant increase in the use of photogrammetry, from one instance in Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice to over 370 in Hellblade 2, all aimed at enhancing the immersive experience.

This insight provides a glimpse into the notable differences we can anticipate in the sequel. The first game in the franchise, despite its low budget, performed well, which is why many are expecting great things from Hellblade 2.

The team has even locked the frame rate to 30FPS in pursuit of this cinema-like experience.

Hellblade 2
Hellblade 2 Could Unlock A New Level of Console Visuals

With Microsoft’s resources at Ninja Theory’s disposal, the team has a huge budget to work with.

This has allowed the studio to excel in terms of cinematics, visuals, and immersion. Combining these goals with Unreal Engine 5, Hellblade 2 seems to be a visual masterpiece in the making.

The experience has been compared to PlayStation games in recent previews.

Ninja Theory is going for a cinematic experience on par with games like God of War. However, its access to next-gen technology could allow it to leap over past benchmarks.

As a shorter game, Hellblade 2 will offer an extremely polished experience. Players might be disappointed with the 6-8 hour runtime, but Ninja Theory ensures these hours will be nothing but quality.

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Avinash Jaisrani
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