Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 – Everything We Know So Far

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is mere months away, diving back into the Norse-inspired action-adventure story that started with 2017’s Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. The upcoming title was first revealed during The Game Awards in 2019, and since then, developer Ninja Theory has slowly released more info about what players can expect on launch.

There’s been a whole lot of details about Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 confirmed, especially in the last couple of months, from the May release date, gameplay and combat, and the overall tone of the game (spoiler alert: it looks intense). Given it’s one of our most anticipated game releases for 2024, we’ve collated everything you need to know about Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 into one place so you can stay up to date on all the latest news.

The latest Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 news

• January 20, 2024: Hellblade II And Alan Wake 2 Are Signs Of A Worrying Digital-Only Trend – Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II becomes the latest AAA blockbuster to go digital only, with developer Ninja Theory confirming no physical launch.
• January 19, 2024: Hellblade 2 Revamps Combat, Doubles Down On Psychosis – Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II will launch in May, and the new gameplay trailer shows off revamped combat and a new reliance on psychosis.
• January 19, 2024: All The Trailers From Today’s Xbox Developer Direct – This morning, Xbox debuted its latest Developer Direct video presentation. Here’s everything they had to talk about.
• December 9, 2023: Xbox’s Big 2024 Xbox Exclusive Looks Intense AF – Hellblade II looks extremely full-on, if you ask us.
• December 13, 2019: Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II Announced For Xbox Series X 

Is there a Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 release date?

Developer Ninja Theory revealed during the January Xbox Developer Direct that Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is set to release on 21 May, 2024.

Which platforms will Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 be available on?

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is launching as an Xbox Series X|S console exclusive, with a PC launch as well, given Ninja Theory was acquired by Xbox Game Studios in 2018. As a result, it won’t be available on PlayStation 5. The game will also be available on Xbox Game Pass day one, with Game Pass subscribers able to pre-install the game ahead of the 21 May release date to get stuck into the action from the first moment it goes live. It’s worth noting that Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 will be a digital-only release, following suit of other recent releases like Alan Wake 2.

What’s Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 plot about?

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 follows on from the story of the first game, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice in which Senua, a Pictish warrior, makes her way to Helheim in an attempt to rescue the soul of her dead lover from the Norse goddess Hela. Hellblade 2 sees Senua head to Iceland, where she must go up against powerful enemies in a quest for revenge against Norse raiders who raided her village and have been enslaving her people.  Along the way, Senua will make allies and enemies alike as she takes on threats including giants and the undead Draugr that have “plunged the land into chaos.”

Much like the first game, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 sees Senua dealing with hallucinations and voices (which Senua refers to as ‘Furies’) as part of her psychosis. According to the Xbox Developer Direct game overview, however, Senua is no longer so afraid of her voices and visions as she embarks on her next journey. Ninja Theory confirmed it were once again working with Professor Paul Fletcher from the University of Cambridge as well as people with lived experience of psychosis in order to “bring Senua’s perspective of the world to life in a truthful way.”

Beyond the general overview of what Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 will focus on, Ninja Theory has mostly focused on showcasing the world of the game and combat, so there’s no additional major story details available just yet – however, the developer did confirm that the game would have a similar runtime to its predecessor Hellblade, so is likely to come in at about 8-10 hours long.

What about Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 gameplay?

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 will once again feature combat as a major part of gameplay, with a larger variety of enemies and more intense, quick combat to amp up the tension, making for a much more in-depth combat system than the first game. Ninja Theory said they wanted players to experience Senua’s struggle as opposed to breezing through repetitive, easy combat, and have increased the size of the team as well as undertaking extensive motion capture for realistic combat animation – with Melina Juergens (the actor behind Senua) required to undertake two years of training to nail realistic, brutal combat. Combat Designer  Juan Fernández told Vandal that Ninja Theory was “raising the bar” when it comes to the game’s combat, so players can expect to see a reworked and scaled up version of its predecessor.

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 will also contain elements of puzzles and exploration in the same vein as the first game, with Senua’s psychosis playing a key role in how she perceives the world and the challenges thrown at the player, both for better and for worse.

Is there a trailer for Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2?

There’s been a number of trailers released to showcase Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 and reveal further details on what fans can expect on release, as well as a more in-depth game overview during the recent Xbox Developer Direct. Ninja Theory has also released a ‘Development Diaries’ series looking into the making of Hellblade 2, including performance capture, exploring the setting of Iceland, and bringing Senua to life. You can view all the trailers released so far below:

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 Soundtrack: Who’s behind it?

The soundtrack for Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is being created in collaboration with experimental folk music band Heilung, who have described their music as “amplified history” across their three studio albums. Heilung’s work harks back to the Iron Age, with a particular focus of medieval Northern Europe – but they have also incorporated interpretations of historical music from other cultures such as their recreation of the oldest complete song (roughly 3,400 years old), Hymn to Nikkal – titled Nikkal on their 2022 album Drif – which was unearthed in modern-day Syria.

During the development of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, Ninja Theory took Heilung to Iceland to “capture the sounds and soundscape of the land” for a fully immersive audio experience in-game. The band also performed live at The Game Awards 2023 alongside the Hellblade 2 trailer release (which included one of their new songs from the soundtrack). Heilung’s collaboration with Ninja Theory and Xbox was announced in 2019 after the release of the game’s first trailer which featured their track ‘In Maidjan’.

“It is with the uttermost joy and deepest respect that we can finally reveal: Heilung is collaborating with Ninja Theory on the soundtrack for Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II,” the band announced in a joint statement at the time. “From the very first meeting with co-founder & Chief Creative Ninja Tameem, Commercial Director Dominic, and Audio Lead David, we discovered that although we work on very different platforms, the core is very much alike.  Both Heilung and Hellblade are deeply inspired by nature and history, and aim to alter your state of mind.  We are looking very much forward to present this hybrid child, born from a meeting between ancient spirits and the technology of tomorrow.”

Image: Ninja Theory / Xbox Game Studios