Hellblade Senua’s Sacrifice Guide
Hellblade Basics
Below I will break down the basics of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. This will include an overview on what the game is, as well as some of the other systems involved.
What is Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice Exactly?
First and foremost, I thought it wise to tell you a bit about what to expect from Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. If, like me, you had zero knowledge heading into the game, it may be interesting to know what Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is.
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is a linear, narrative driven, walking/puzzle simulator with some combat. All of these ingredients are present in some for or another, but the major focus of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is on the storyline. If you just want to kill Nordic Creatures, this game ain’t for you.
Controls
Controlling Senua is pretty standard fare and can be broken up into two schemes: walking/puzzle and combat.
Walking/Puzzle
Controls during the walking/puzzle content are:
Left Thumbstick – move Senua forward/backward/left/right
Right Thumbstick – Move camera
A – Interact with things (doors, ledges, ladders, etc.)
LB – Sprint (more of a run tbh)
RT – Focus (basically triggers dialogue on certain glowing orbs in environment + solves puzzles)
Combat
X – Fast Strike
Y – Heavy Strike
B – Melee Attack (kick)
A – Evade
RB – Block
Gameplay
Gameplay in Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is broken up into three distinct categories: Walking, Puzzles, and Combat.
Walking
Pretty self explanatory here. You walk through areas going from place to place looking for answers to puzzles you may be stuck on. This portion of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice fills in a lot of the story gaps. If you are interested in the world of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, you want to look for stones (focus on them) in each area that will provide some more lore.
Puzzles
Puzzles need to be solved in order for you to open doors (usually). The God of Allusion locks doors by creating puzzles which require lining up crows for example. Solving puzzles usually involves walking around and using your focus.
Combat
Combat in Hellblade can be described as a less complex For Honor. You face off against enemies in arena like rooms and battle in somewhat of a duel-like combat system. The big keys to surviving combat in Hellblade are proper timing on dodges as well as utilizing your blocks. You do some special maneuvers like countering and so on. Overall combat is pretty simple and the damage you can take is pretty forgiving.
The Rot
The Rot is a game design choice that basically erases your game if you die an excessive amount of times. The visual indicator for this mechanic is the black tar like substance on Senua’s arm. Once the tar like substance reaches Senua’s head, it’s game over (or is it?). Thankfully the game is pretty forgiving, so unless you completely suck at combat, you’ll be fine.
These are the basics of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. I didn’t bother to touch on the story features as this is the major selling point, but I wanted to provide a bit of background before we dive into the meat of the ‘guide’. Hope it helps!
