Blimey, there’s some ridiculously cool stuff in this Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice demo. We love the way the voices in the protagonist's head are incorporated into the gameplay, alerting you to the arrival of new enemies and impending attacks. And we also enjoy the way the health of enemies is reflected by the wounds on their bodies – rather than more traditional health points.

But we can’t shake the feeling that the attacks lack a little impact. A lot of Senua’s strikes look like they’re cutting through butter, as the antagonists rarely flinch or falter. We also can’t decide whether we like the lead character’s screaming or not – it certainly adds intensity to the action, at the expense of sounding like Victoria Azarenka on a rollercoaster.

The jury’s still out, then, but one thing’s for sure: it looks beautiful – both artistically and technically. We love the premise, so we’ve got our fingers crossed for this one. It’s due out in a matter of weeks.

[source youtube.com]