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[Bumblebeetuna]

Nobody on Steam is starving, so this is the result:

Unless you're going to tell me these are good numbers for a game that is supposed to be "10/10" according to the Xbox fan sites and certain individuals here?

Nobody on any platform is starving, silly. Also what do review scores have to do with popularity? Are you implying only popular, mass appeal games should get good scores? I hope you aren’t implying that, because that’s a very stupid take.

Also, in your rush to warrior over numbers, you aren’t even focusing on the correct numbers.

Here are the numbers that matter with the context of the post. Try again, friend.

 

[Mr Moose]

Is it worth playing it on the Series X or is the PC version vastly superior?
I can't connect my PC to the TV (and the soundbar) at the moment, but was thinking of playing this next

The game is very slow paced, I don't think the higher framerate will change much. Unless it makes it end faster.

 

[GHG]

Nobody on any platform is starving, silly. Also what do review scores have to do with popularity? Are you implying only popular, mass appeal games should get good scores? I hope you aren’t implying that, because that’s a very stupid take.

Also, in your rush to warrior over numbers, you aren’t even focusing on the correct numbers.

Here are the numbers that matter with the context of the post. Try again, friend.

Ok, so the few people who have decided it was worth a pre-order or day one purchase have rated it well. Shock.

What you're failing to notice is the fact that the review scores are also trending downwards with time. Will you be willing to revisit this discussion in 3 months time?

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

Is it worth playing it on the Series X or is the PC version vastly superior?
I can't connect my PC to the TV (and the soundbar) at the moment, but was thinking of playing this next

PC is better but the difference doesn’t really make a difference much in this game. You’ll be blown away either way.

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

Ok, so the few people who have decided it was worth a pre-order or day one purchase have rated it well. Shock.

What you're failing to notice is the fact that the review scores are also trending downwards with time. Will you be willing to revisit this discussion in 3 months time?

No, but I’m sure you’ll be more than happy to continue warring over the title in 3 months time. Or six months time. Or twelve, etc etc

Also cute excuses for the game getting good reviews on Steam. Thread continues to deliver.

 

[GHG]

No, but I’m sure you’ll be more than happy to continue warring over the title in 3 months time. Or six months time. Or twelve, etc etc

Also cute excuses for the game getting good reviews on Steam. Thread continues to deliver.

Cry "excuse" all you want. The exact same thing happened with the Starfield reviews on Steam in the first couple of weeks.

Steam reviews either trend up, or they trend down. The trend here is down.

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

And I look forward to your constant reporting on that trend

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Mattyplays hates it and says Ryse and The Order are way better. He’s right.

Some green rats are at least honest

lord cognito is the prime example of how being a fanboy makes you stupid, it's almost like a mind virus.

like... he dosen't know why, but he HAS to be positive, even when he acknowledge the game shortcomings.

I would respect someone's opinion if they say:

Look, HB2 is worst than HB1; it's a disappointment and is barely a game... but I have to praise it because I am a fanboy.

that honesty would be refreshing

 

[GHG]

 

[Toots]

Drug induced paranoïa the game.

No wonder Senua looks like every neo hippie ghoul at a rave, walking around aimlessly hoping to trade her disease ridden body for any hard drug available.
Explains the crazy eyes and the gummy smile too.

 

[Pedro Motta]

I was literally banned for two months, TWO MONTHS, for saying I want to play the Gears trilogy on PS5. They have a massive Xbox brainrot as a mod and it shows

What a piece of shit of a website, keep me banned

 

[UnrealEck]

I played a fair bit last night. Got to

Spoiler

just after the caves and 'hidden people'

but I don't think it's worth playing more. It's basically a tech demo. Gameplay is extremely light and amounts to incredibly simple puzzles, shallow combat and lots and lots of pressing forward.
It will be nice when we're seeing these graphics done in a game with large environments.
The acting for the main character is very overdone but that seems to fit with it being a game as it showcases the motion capture and the 3D models really well (and yes I know she's not a professional actress).
People kept mentioning how amazing the audio is too and it's just fine for me. Nothing stood out as being exceptional. I get that it's a part of navigating the game but only a very small part and this could've been built on much more.

I do like the character though. She's not the typical run of the mill girl boss and does have obvious vulnerabilities. It'd have been nice to see an RPG based around her.

 

[Grildon Tundy]

What I'm looking for in a game seems to have changed since 2017 when Hellblade 1 came out because I enjoyed that game. I've tried playing Hellblade 2 three separate times, and I've been overcome with boredom each time. The voices aren't novel anymore, and they're incessant. I don't care who scary shadow voice man is or where he came from. I don't take joy in games not being successful, so it's just disappointing.

 

[FunkMiller]

What I'm looking for in a game seems to have changed since 2017 when Hellblade 1 came out because I enjoyed that game. I've tried playing Hellblade 2 three separate times, and I've been overcome with boredom each time. The voices aren't novel anymore, and they're incessant. I don't care who scary shadow voice man is or where he came from. I don't take joy in games not being successful, so it's just disappointing.

The first game had a much more engaging opening, which helped drive the story forward. Senua's psychosis was a fresh and original thing in that game too. Here it is hackneyed, and used as the aural equivalent of yellow paint on cliff faces.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

The first game had a much more engaging opening, which helped drive the story forward. Senua's psychosis was a fresh and original thing in that game too. Here it is hackneyed, and used as the aural equivalent of yellow paint on cliff faces.

The writing of senuas voices are just bad as well. Especially when characters are exchanging dialogue.

 

[winjer]

32 Million users are now online in Steam.
HB2 only manages to have 466 concurrent players, despite being launched less than a week ago.
No way this is not a huge commercial flop.
And the Xbox rank of the most played games, also show a lackluster result.

 

[MadchesterManc]

Played over the weekend and I can't fathom how this is scoring the same or better than Senua's Sacrifice. Graphics are better, but the game itself has regressed so much. Combat is now lightweight and devoid of any tension or danger, boss battles are non-existent or just woefully underdeveloped, runic puzzles are so basic its an insult to the previous game, and the story just feels like it ends suddenly - almost as if that Hellblade game supposedly greenlit recently is the other half of this. Kinda blows my mind a little that they had the template with Senua's Sacrifice, yet instead of at least maintaining the level, somehow stripped it down to the bone and presented it as a sequel.

I do enjoy a walking sim at weekends to kick back to when off work, also started Indika, and even something like that is a much more engaging game to play.

The writing of senuas voices are just bad as well. Especially when characters are exchanging dialogue.

If you can even hear the other characters dialogue In Senua's Sacrifice the voices were a whisper, only getting loud for effect at the right moment. Here they are loud all the time and never shut up. Honestly barely heard a word of that chaps story when I rescued him from the camp in Chapter 3.

 

[Romulus]

Finished it this morning.

Going into it knowing it was light on game mechanics made it a special experience. I simply embrace it and had a great time. Not everything needs to be oozing with gameplay.

9/10

Definitely the only game I considered a legit leap forward in visuals since Killzone Shadow Fall during the PS4 launch. There are other games that took half step measures to being "next gen" but this is the real deal. Nothing comes close for me. Even my wife was absolutely blown away and she's watched me play most every AAA game in the last 3 years.

 

[HeWhoWalks]

Since Shadowfall?

Oh dear...

 

[Romulus]

Since Shadowfall?

Oh dear...

That was the last time I felt something wowed me to the point it felt like a generational leap. Of course we're in an echo chamber here and every opinion to the contrary is insulting.

 

[DenchDeckard]

Hellblade 2 sure is polarising and I think that's great!

 

[XXL]

Talk games with someone else and stop lying about me.

He's not lying about you. As he pointed out earlier, you thought Hellblade 1 was a slog and didn't finish it.

This is what you wanted from Hellblade 2 when it was announced.

I just want solid combat, solid exploration, solid gameplay.

Story is not very important to me with this series. If they can make something that looks like TLOU2, but plays like a great melee action game, that would be a great offering.

I think the main inspiration for them should be God of War.

You literally got nothing you wanted from it when it was announced and now it's 10/10 and GOTY. It's hard to take seriously.

Take off the cape every once and awhile.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

He's not lying about you. As he pointed out earlier, you thought Hellblade 1 was a slog and didn't finish it.

This is what you wanted from Hellblade 2 when it was announced.

You literally got nothing you wanted from it when it was announced and now it's 10/10 and GOTY. It's hard to take seriously.

Take off the cape every once and awhile.

Duh, he’s able to change his mind when it’s abundantly clear the next big GamePass exclusive is a 5 hour game with no gameplay and bad combat rather than what he actually wanted

 

[Skifi28]

Stop bullying Miku, this has gone long enough.

 

[YeulEmeralda]

Just crazy to me how this is a 80 while the order is like 63? That game was much better. This is why metascores sucks and means absolutely nothing

Powerful independent mentally ill woman bonus.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

I had pretty high expectations, but I have to agree with this summary 100%.
For me it was ultimately a visually impressive tech demo, but otherwise it can't match the quality of its predecessor in any respect. I was bored most of the time and was almost grateful that it was over quite quickly. But only because I could play it via Gamepass. If I had paid the asking price of $50, I would have felt enormously ripped off.

I’m at the end of my 2 free months of GP trial. So I’m glad it was truly free for me. It was pretty painful to get through at times.

 

[BigLee74]

Hellblade 2 sure is polarising and I think that's great!

Hmmm. I think it’s more a case of there is polarising, then there is the natural split you see on this forum for pretty much every Xbox game.

Because cockwombles.

 

[Azelover]

The graphics are incredible. There's a lot more going on visually compared to the first, other human characters and they look as close to real as I have seen to date.

Having said that I enjoyed the first one more.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

Stop bullying Miku, this has gone long enough.

Agreed

We need to start the second playthrough now

 

[HeWhoWalks]

That was the last time I felt something wowed me to the point it felt like a generational leap. Of course we're in an echo chamber here and every opinion to the contrary is insulting.

Eh, nah. Reeeeee is the Echo. In this case, I just think you missed the mark.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

Ok, so the few people who have decided it was worth a pre-order or day one purchase have rated it well. Shock.

What you're failing to notice is the fact that the review scores are also trending downwards with time. Will you be willing to revisit this discussion in 3 months time?

 

[adamsapple]

85% on Steam, OC Strong with 81%, MC with 81%

Haters be damned, great game. In my top 3 GoTY of the year so far.

 

[GHG]

Haters be damned, great game. In my top 3 GoTY of the year so far.

That's easy when you've only played 3 games this year.

 

[Topher]

Agreed

We need to start the second playthrough now

 

[XXL]

 

[adamsapple]

That's easy when you've only played 3 games this year.

(I can share my gamefly queue alone with you separately if you want)

 

[Thief1987]

In my top 3 GoTY of the year so far.

I finished only 1 game this year, but I also will put Hellblade 2 on the third place in my GOTY list, and I haven't even played it!

 

[adamsapple]

I finished only 1 game this year, but I also will put Hellblade 2 on the third place in my GOTY list, and I haven't even played it!

You didn't even need to say that, nor do many of the other stalwarts in this thread, it goes without saying

 

[NoLootBoxDev]

I won't play the game since my PC cannot run it. But after looking after all the issues, and problems with videos and such, I feel bad for the developers since they should have built the game from the last one in terms of mechanics and improved them all. Instead, it went to the beautiful graphics and lowered the rest.

I hope no more people get fired or the studio closes, but management dropped the ball here.

 

[sendit]

Haters be damned, great game. In my top 3 GoTY of the year so far.

Top 3 is personal preference. I can't dispute that. However, calling this a game is a stretch. It's a tech demo.

 

[adamsapple]

Top 3 is personal preference. I can't dispute that. However, calling this a game is a stretch. It's a tech demo.

I dunno, I don't really see the argument, personally. If we're distilling it into mechanics, none of those telltale games are 'games', since you're doing basic point and click things with occasional QTE's here and there. By that extension, Myst is also not really a game etc etc. This is a slippery slope and it slopes all the way down

 

[Romulus]

Eh, nah. Reeeeee is the Echo. In this case, I just think you missed the mark.

And you're entitled to that opinion. It's nothing more than that.

 

[sendit]

I dunno, I don't really see the argument, personally. If we're distilling it into mechanics, none of those telltale games are 'games', since you're doing basic point and click things with occasional QTE's here and there. By that extension, Myst is also not really a game etc etc. This is a slippery slope and it slopes all the way down

Telltale games are choose your own adventure. Myst isn't exactly linear.

 

[adamsapple]

Telltale games are choose your own adventure. Myst isn't exactly linear.

But they're all games of different 'genres' and play styles. That's my point. HB2 is a linear adventure game with combat and lite exploration for all collectibles.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

great game. In my top 3 GoTY of the year so far.

 

[BigLee74]

Games come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. This is definitely a game, like it or not.

I want more ‘find the symbol’ puzzles! I seem to be alone in liking them

Currently in the caves, and the orb/flame puzzles are a bit meh. Just too simple.

Overall though, still very much enjoying this in 30 minute bites.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

another one:

 

[UltimaKilo]

Finished it this morning.

Going into it knowing it was light on game mechanics made it a special experience. I simply embrace it and had a great time. Not everything needs to be oozing with gameplay.

9/10

Definitely the only game I considered a legit leap forward in visuals since Killzone Shadow Fall during the PS4 launch. There are other games that took half step measures to being "next gen" but this is the real deal. Nothing comes close for me. Even my wife was absolutely blown away and she's watched me play most every AAA game in the last 3 years.

I never cared about this game until I watched the Digital Foundry review. I can see how going into it expecting one thing, and coming out with a few cinematic, slow experience would be a huge letdown. However, I see so many people raving over the game as a technical masterpiece, so I may just check it out!

How long did it take you to complete?

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

I love all the concern thumbnails from these YT personalities

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

I never cared about this game until I watched the Digital Foundry review. I can see how going into it expecting one thing, and coming out with a few cinematic, slow experience would be a huge letdown. However, I see so many people raving over the game as a technical masterpiece, so I may just check it out!

How long did it take you to complete?

It’ll take you anywhere from six to eight or so hours depending on how much exploring you do and searching for the collectibles.