By Sam Coles:
Video games still have this stigma that they are just mindless entertainment, not as much these days but there are still some that think video games can’t aspire to be art. This has been proven to be untrue multiple times, as games can tell stories that are on par if not better than films and television. Anyway, taking on a subject such as mental health is hard to portray tastefully, and one of the few games to tackle mental health in a tasteful manner is Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice.
Released in 2017 and developed by Ninja Theory, Hellblade is a game that was something completely different in tone compared to their other projects. Before this game they made the rather divisive DMC: Devil May Cry back in 2013, and to jump from that to this game which is very dark in tone is somewhat jarring and surprising given their pedigree. It was a rather small-scale project too, which is amazing considering how beautiful the game looks visually as well as the acting, but I will get to that. To be honest when I first played this game in 2018 when they released it on Xbox One, I wasn’t expecting anything mind-blowing, but it caught me off guard as it is an emotional and oppressive experience with its themes.
Hellblade’s theming of mental health, her condition being psychosis is set in Norse Mythology, where you play as the titular Senua where she is on a journey to resurrect the soul of her dead partner. What I like about the story of this game is that it starts off quiet, you have the gentle whisper of the narrator, that happens to be one of the voices that Senua can hear a great example of both non-diegetic and diegetic audio as the narrator is both guiding the player and Senua. Not only that, but Senua will also often look at the camera, as if she is looking through the screen at the player almost like you are there in her mind as you go on her dark journey.
To begin with the voices within her mind are guiding her, often remarking that she might be going the wrong way and gently criticising her as well warning her of danger during combat when an enemy is about to attack from behind or with a heavy attack. However, as the story progresses, the voices become more spiteful, very aggressive to them disappearing all together. You really start to see Senua’s mental state slowly become worse as the story progresses, and you are on that journey with her (Especially with surround sound headphones) and you become uneasy with her. What makes this convincing is Melina Juergens’ performance, she comes across as out of her element, in control and just angry and lost all at the same time. It is a haunting performance, as the studio worked with mental health professionals to give a very convincing performance as if the actress herself suffers with psychosis.
You get flash back sequences with Senua, where she is with her partner and her family. You don’t see these characters; just hear their voices and you are in their point of view. What I find heartbreaking in these scenes is that her family don’t want to associate with her due to her condition, which echoes today’s society that still find mental health a bit of a taboo subject. You really do sympathise with her, as she slowly drifts away from her family, where she slowly becomes more and more isolated until she has nothing but the voices echoing in her mind.
There is a powerful moment in the story where you see Senua’s descent into Helheim, you see Senua at her lowest. She has been through it all, beaten, stabbed and burned, her body is both physically and mentally damaged and can’t take much more. She lashes out at the voices, and they all just stop, no more ridicule, advice or reassurance just an empty void. Where Senua has been used to the voices which I assume for years at this point, she begins to panic as she is completely alone in the darkness with no one. She breaks down and cries, constantly looking back at the camera, as if she is looking at the player wanting your sympathy and as if she is asking for help. It really got to me this scene, and I almost wanted to reach out to take her hand help her.
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is a game that was and still is a unique game in the industry, it takes its themes of mental health extremely seriously and portrays it in a tasteful manner. It is something I would like the gaming industry to explore more within narrative design, as there are only a couple of examples, I can think of such as Max Payne with depression and grief and Spec Ops: The Line with PTSD. Anyway, I would highly recommend this game as it really got to me emotionally when I first played it, as it really puts you in the shoes of Senua and what she copes with every day. If you want to play it, you can play it on PS4/5, Xbox One, Series X|S and Nintendo Switch.
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