I was completely wowed last year when I played through Hellblade II on my Xbox Series X. Now, a little over a year later, I’ve gotten the opportunity to replay an even better version of Ninja Theory’s sequel thanks to the release of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II Enhanced on PlayStation 5. A real visual and audio treat, it’s one of the best-looking games for PS5 Pro and an experience that no one should miss.

The real highlight of the original Hellblade was the audio design, as the game brilliantly depicts psychosis as you hear separate voices in Senua’s head. While they initially can seem like a devil and angel on Senua’s shoulders, as the game goes on, you really understand that these voices are parts of the character and that they help form her final thoughts. It’s the type of iteration you love to see in gaming, as it is further fleshed out and really establishes a bond between character and player.

I was never a huge fan of the original’s combat, as Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice was at its best when it was more of an adventure game, which was a surprise due to the developer’s background. Thankfully, every battle in Hellblade II feels like a real event, as you’ll parry your way past brutal encounters and slash your way through memorable fights. There’s a seamless transition from combat to puzzle sections, as it has been made as a whole experience rather than a segmented one. The puzzles are also significantly better than the first game, which had some really annoying sections, as you’ll find yourself feeling quite satisfied after figuring out some of the trickier solutions.

But the highest praise I have for Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is for its story and how the game wonderfully blends gameplay and narrative together. Upon my replay, and thus knowing the game’s twists, I found myself really enjoying noticing the foreshadowing and how things are set up. I was just as wowed with the boss encounters as the first time around, so those that are coming back for a second run won’t be disappointed. There are few games that feel this fully formed, that never waste a second of the player’s time, and deliver a meaningful experience that will stick with you.

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II Enhanced is truly one of the best-looking games ever made from a graphical standpoint, especially if you own a PS5 Pro. From striking art design to its incredibly realistic character models, the game constantly looks like a showcase for the system. That’s why it’s great news that its photo mode has been much improved with additional settings and even allows for cinematic video capture as well. There are quality and performance mode offerings, and while the game plays fine at 30 fps (as that’s how I played it on Xbox), it was hard to go back once I got the smoothness of 60 fps with the performance mode. Players can also pick whether to use Temporal Super Resolution or the PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution as the upscaler, but both look great to my untrained eye (I’m excited for Digital Foundry to do a deep dive on the differences).

One of the main complaints about Hellblade II was its short length — it takes around 7 hours to beat the game. While I certainly see that as a positive, as there’s no padding and it constantly tops itself with great moments, Ninja Theory has addressed this by adding some meaningful replayability incentives. First is a developer commentary mode, which features over four hours of behind-the-scenes talk about how the game was made. I’m always a sucker for this type of inside look, and it works great here. There’s also a Dark Rot mode, which takes the gimmick of the first game — which pretended to act like you’d lose your save file with enough failures — and makes it real. Featuring more difficult fights, this is a great reason to replay it and should please those who wanted more of a challenge.

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II Enhanced Review: Final Verdict

The wait was certainly worth it for PlayStation owners as Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II Enhanced brings players the ultimate version of Ninja Theory’s sequel. Featuring some of the most impressive cinematic gaming moments outside of Naughty Dog, Hellblade II consistently astounds with its big moments of spectacle. A technical marvel with two great reasons to replay the game after the credits roll, it’s an essential purchase for all PlayStation owners.

Disclosure: The publisher provided a digital copy for our Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II PS5 review. Reviewed on version 1.001.000.

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