Ninja Theory's probably one of the most divisive names in gaming, but we're rather fond of the Cambridge-based studio's portfolio. Hellblade, however, definitely looks like it could do with a lot more time in the oven. Some very early footage from the forthcoming Celtic escapade has battled its way out of Gamescom 2015, and while it's got atmosphere in spades, the combat looks slow and clunky.
The good news is that this is from an ageing vertical slice, so you should probably expect the final product to be a lot more polished when it deploys next year. The developer's definitely talking a good game – with mental health being one of the narrative's key themes – so we're hopeful that it will come good in the end. It's being made by a small team within the studio, with its goal being to achieve blockbuster production values on an indie budget.
Do you think that the developer will ultimately come good, though – or has this early glimpse concerned you? Block out any bad thoughts in the comments section below.
[source youtube.com]
Comments 19
From what I understand the combat is going to be in 2.5 dimensions? Looks promising both visually and artistically, although I'm not really sold on the whole combat aspect.
Cannot say I am interested.
Compared to the witcher, this looks underwhealming in every way.
Concpet is great, the game looks amazing, the art direction is amazing and from the looks of it the narrative will be pretty decent. But the only thing I'm not sold on is combat.
@goonow Why are you comparing this to The Witcher?
Their games have been great and I'm looking forward to this one too.
The combat reminds me of infinity blade for ios.
The combat looks clunky still, it is only me or the camera looks too close to the character? It is a bit claustrophobic.... But I like the shamanic experience
I like the approach of only having one-on-one combat, for an early build it looks really intense. Toss in the fact that this is a small team on an indie budget and it's even more impressive.
Not sure why folks are getting their panties in a bunch, but whatever. I'm interested in playing this one.
What the hell, everything looked great up until combat - the original Bushido Blade looks 100x better than this.
@BertoFlyingFox And if these guys can do this kind of thing on a Indie budget, why cant anyone else?
I an stoked for this, but was hoping for more of a one on ten combat style.
But it could change and improve.
Its been a while since we had a good action slasher, Bayonetta and DmC being the last I can remember.
@toogoodofaplaya That's my hope, that these guys show there's more to indie than 2d roguelikes and metroidvanias. We've already got some great looking games from small indie teams like The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, but not much in the action genre. And especially not with the narrative Ninja Theory is shooting for.
This wont be a game where you can combo against multiple enemies though, they've said they want only 1-on-1 battles so they could build on the characters mental illness. Who knows though, a lot could change until the 2016 release.
Doesn't look interesting at all.
Looks a bit rubbish to me, any vague interest I had is gone.
@goonow 32 + 35 million versus 2 million how could that be? http://www.siliconera.com/2014/10/28/hellblade-needs-sell-200-300000-copies-says-ninja-theory/
Well its quite early, I hope the combat evolves a fair amount. The premise though is great.
Ehhhh... Not blown away by this so far. I have to guess this is an early example so I definitely would wait to see something more fleshed out. I've got to say that Horizon: Zero Dawn may have this beat right out the gate.
People need to remember that Ninja Theory are been very open with development so there showing it far sooner then most studios would. I still maintain that this is the most important game in development, if it can show that indie and AAA studios don't have to break the bank to deliver a high quality product. Having said that it won't stop the retro themed platformers from coming because Ninja Theory are largely making a premium indie game where's games like Shovel Knight are far cheaper to make.
The linear, stiff looking combat is pushing me away. Still interested to see more though.
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