Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice cover
SeriesHellblade

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

Critic score22 critics
First release
Aug 07, 2017
Genres
Hack and slash/Beat 'em up, Indie, Adventure, Simulator · Action, Fantasy, Historical

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is a single-player action-adventure game set in a dark fantasy world inspired by Norse mythology and Celtic culture. Players control Senua, a Pict warrior who journeys into the Norse underworld to rescue the soul of her dead lover from the goddess Hela. The game blends melee combat, puzzle solving, and psychological horror, with Senua's psychosis shaping how the world is perceived, including voices that provide guidance or attempt to mislead the player. The game was developed by a team of around twenty people and features no heads-up display or tutorials. Instead, audio cues from voices in Senua's head guide the player through combat and environmental challenges. The portrayal of psychosis was developed in collaboration with neuroscientists and people who experience the condition.

Also known as Hellblade, Hell Blade, HellbladeGame.exe

Attributes

No Attributes added.

Details

Storyline, release dates, time to beat, age ratings, modes, links, keywords

Storyline
Set in the late 8th century, Senua is a Pict warrior from Orkney who embarks on a journey into Helheim, the Norse underworld, to rescue the soul of her dead lover Dillion from the goddess Hela. Carrying his severed head as a vessel for his soul, she must overcome trials, defeat mythological beings, and survive the influence of the Darkness, a malevolent entity that haunts her. Senua suffers from psychosis, hearing voices she calls "Furies" and experiencing hallucinations that blur the line between reality and delusion. Guided by memories of her friend Druth, a former slave of the Norsemen who taught her their legends, Senua pushes deeper into a hostile world shaped as much by her fractured mind as by the myths she believes in.Read more

Set in the late 8th century, Senua is a Pict warrior from Orkney who embarks on a journey into Helheim, the Norse underworld, to rescue the soul of her dead lover Dillion from the goddess Hela. Carrying his severed head as a vessel for his soul, she must overcome trials, defeat mythological beings, and survive the influence of the Darkness, a malevolent entity that haunts her. Senua suffers from psychosis, hearing voices she calls "Furies" and experiencing hallucinations that blur the line between reality and delusion. Guided by memories of her friend Druth, a former slave of the Norsemen who taught her their legends, Senua pushes deeper into a hostile world shaped as much by her fractured mind as by the myths she believes in.

Release dates
PC (Microsoft Windows)
Aug 07, 2017
PlayStation 4
Aug 08, 2017
Xbox One
Apr 10, 2018
All 6 release dates
Nintendo Switch
Apr 11, 2019
Xbox Series X|S
Aug 09, 2021
PlayStation 5
Aug 12, 2025
Time to beatIGDB · recorded
Main Story
6h
Main + Extras
8h
Completionist
10h
Game modes
Single player
Perspective
Third person
Keywords
female protagonist, sword & sorcery, digital distribution, voice acting, bink video
… All 23, photo mode, full motion video, real-time combat, parrying, gamescom 2014, high definition graphics, character models based on actual people, the game awards 2017, best performance: winner - 2017 (the game awards), the game awards - nominee, the game awards - best audio design - nominee, the game awards - best audio design - winner, the game awards - best independent game - nominee, the game awards - best narrative - nominee, the game awards - best performance - nominee, the game awards - best performance - winner, the game awards - games for impact - winner, the game awards - games for impact - nominee

At a Glance

Critic Score
84
Main Story (IGDB)
6h
Main + Extras (IGDB)
8h
Completionist (IGDB)
10h

Overview

Steam review summary

Steam users rate this Very Positive, 66,946 reviews in all languages, recorded 16 October 2026

Valve's summary of Steam user reviews. Valve counts only reviews from purchases on Steam, not key activations, and leaves out review periods it has marked as off-topic. It isn't part of the CritScore score.

Review summary: SteamSteam data provided via the Steam Web API (opens in a new tab)Not affiliated with Valve →

About storefront and compatibility information

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