Hellblade 2 coming to PS5 with ‘new features’

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is bound for PlayStation 5 this summer, developer Ninja Theory announced Wednesday (the one-year anniversary of the game’s release on Xbox Series X and Windows PC, by the way). The PS5 version will include “new features that will also be coming to Xbox and PC at the same time as an update,” said Dom Matthews, studio head of Ninja Theory, in a video announcing the latest Xbox-to-PlayStation port.

Matthews didn’t specify what would be new in the “enhanced” PS5 version or a more specific release window than “summer.” But a product listing for Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 on the PlayStation Store says the game is “optimized for PlayStation 5, and PS5 Pro Enhanced” and will include “immersive haptic feedback for new ways to experience” the sequel to Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice.

Ninja Theory’s studio head points out that the developer has a long history with PlayStation; it released action-adventure game Heavenly Sword as a PlayStation 3 exclusive in 2007. The original Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice was also released as a PlayStation 4 console exclusive in 2017 before being ported over to Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is an action-adventure dark fantasy about a warrior woman suffering from psychosis in 9th-century Northern Europe. In our review of Hellblade 2, we lauded the game for its filmic, one-shot presentation, but noted that its epic scale detracted from the more personal experience of its predecessor.

“Where the first game felt like a journey of self-discovery, both for Senua and for the player, Hellblade 2 feels more invested in creating the myth of Senua: Senua as legendary giant slayer, as mystical seer touched by the underworld,” critic Yussef Cole wrote. “There are moments where we do get glimpses at her actual humanity — in early chapters, where she is still struggling to survive and find her footing in this strange land, and in the denouements after later battles, where she falls to her feet, diminished, and mourns for those she was unable to save. But these moments are marginal to the central thrust of the narrative…”

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is the latest former Xbox platform exclusive to make the jump to PlayStation. Over the past year, Microsoft has released titles like Forza Horizon 5, Sea of Thieves, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on Sony’s current-gen console. Earlier this month, Microsoft announced Gears of War: Reloaded, an upgraded port of the original Gears for an August release on PS5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.