Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice by developers Ninja Theory is one of 2017’s most compelling and in-depth titles scoring high praise all across the gaming spectrum. One of the main reasons that Hellblade did so well was due to the utterly spellbinding performance by Senua, voiced by Melina Juergens and also its profound awareness of the mental illness psychosis.
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice gameplay is influenced by Norse mythology and Celtic culture and Senua, who is a Pict warrior, has to struggle her way to Helheim by overcoming monstrous creatures and facing their challenges. In parallel, the game acts as a metaphor for the character’s struggle with psychosis, as Senua, who suffers from the condition but believes it to be a curse, is haunted by an entity known as the “Darkness”, voices in her head known as “Furies”, and memories from her past.
One of the key ingredients that the devs wanted to implement into Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice was that it had to feel real and represent those that struggle with this mental illness to the highest degree. To do that, Ninja Theory brought in the help from those who have psychosis so that they could have a say on what was actually happening to Senua’s mind. The devs also worked closely with neuroscientists and mental health specialists.
With the backing of Ninja Theory, Cambridge Recovery College East – who also worked with the devs on Hellblade – has since set up a fund called Senua’s Scholarship which will help one student train to become a mental health tutor each year so that they will be able to give back in their career and help those with mental illnesses.
So many amazing things have come off the back of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice in their commitment to raising mental health awareness – one of these projects includes Ninja Theory donating tens of thousands of dollars to a mental health-focused charity after the game’s launch on Xbox One – the donation came after the Xbox One version surpassed over 100,000 copies in sales.
If you have yet to play this title, please don’t waste any more time and just do it – you won’t be disappointed. It is truly an amazingly atmospheric and spellbinding game that may also change your perception of mental illness.
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is currently available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch from today which you can pick up right now from the Nintendo eShop.
Check out the Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice Switch launch trailer below:
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