Hellblade: Senuas Sacrifice
Mental health is poorly enough understood today, so how did people deal with psychological disorders before we even had the language to identify such conditions? Thats the central question in Hellblade, which follows Senua, a Pict woman, as she embarks on a quest to rescue a loved one from the Norse underworld.
The mythology of gods and demons fits too easily with Senuas troubled perceptions and the game does an exceptional job of conveying that to the player, questioning the legitimacy of whats happening. Push deeper into this dark but stunningly realised world and the accompaniment is one of disembodied voices chattering near constantly, while environmental puzzles where runes are matched to open pathways could just as easily be explained as seeing things.
Senua is no pitiable madwoman, though, and with solid combat mechanics, she stands her ground, even though her enemies may be but phantasms of her mind. While overly linear at times, this remains a complex and thought-provoking masterpiece.
