Why Hellblade 2 is more than just a video game

Visit any video game developer in the week leading up to their last big release and there will be questions in the air.

Will people like it? What will the review score be?

But when BBC Newsbeat visits the Ninja Theory studio a week before the release of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, another question arises.

The games from these teams didn’t move as many copies as Call of Duty, EA FC or Hogwarts Legacy, but many loved them. They mattered to the fans.

So what does this mean for Ninja Theory, a developer that very much falls into this category?

Right now, at least, studio boss Dom Matthews told Newsbeat they have something else in mind.

“We’re super focused on the release of Hellblade 2,” he says.

“We’re super proud of the game we’ve created and we’re looking forward to spending the day together and fans picking up the game and enjoying what we’ve created.”

It’s a day that’s been a long time coming.

The studio’s previous game, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, was released in 2017 and was created by a team of about 20 people.

One of them was Melina Juergens, the company’s video editor, who eventually took over the lead role of Senua after the original actress dropped out.

“My job has always been to be behind the scenes,” he tells Newsbeat.

“So I was afraid to perform in front of people and be in front of the lens.

Despite this being Melina’s first acting job, she won a Bafta Game Award for her performance – one of five Ninja Theory took home for Hellblade 1.

He received huge praise for his handling of Senua’s psychosis, a condition that can cause people to hear voices, see things other people can’t see, and have unique beliefs about the world.

It’s also something Melina experienced herself in her early twenties, which she describes as “a time of pure terror.”

“I heard whispers and saw dead people and things like that,” she says.

“So it was a very scary time.

Melina says portraying Senua was a chance to “use my experience for something useful”.

“And it felt almost therapeutic.

According to Professor Paul Fletcher, a Cambridge University neuroscientist who worked on both games, the media has a mixed history with psychosis.

While there are some good examples, he says, there are also “a lot of cases where psychosis is used almost as shorthand for someone who is behaving in a very crazy, maybe dangerous, violent way.

“And I think that should always be questioned.

Professor Fletcher says he was convinced to work with Ninja Theory because of their commitment to avoiding bias.

He says he also recognized “how valuable video game experiences can be in drawing people in and giving them experiences they wouldn’t otherwise have.”

Both Hellblade games feature hallucinatory sequences and rely heavily on audio to recreate what it’s like to live with psychosis.

The Ninja Theory team worked with Professor Fletcher and a group of experienced patients to ensure the imaging was as accurate as possible.

The first game was more of a solo quest, but Hellblade 2 introduces new characters and explores the effect of Senua’s interactions with them on her psychosis.

Study leader Dom says the aim was to reflect that mental health is often a ‘journey’.

“It’s not static,” he says, adding that the first game was about Senua “experiencing psychosis and really understanding it for the first time”.

This time, he says, he has “a level of understanding and a level of acceptance of these experiences.

“They’re not any less powerful, but there’s a different balance of power. So that was really interesting to explore.”

Hellblade 2 is also technologically a step up. As of 2017, the team has moved into a new, custom-built studio with its own motion-capture stage and audio studio.

The first game also used motion capture, but was recorded in a meeting room in Ninja Theory’s old office.

To highlight this, Dom says the team spent two days recording combat footage for the first game. For the second, it was 69 days.

They also spent time taking, and sometimes even making, actual costumes and props to digitally scan to enhance Hellblade 2’s immersion.

And this time, performance capture employed a much larger crew, including stunt coordinators and other specialists.

For Melina, stepping back into a role with a much larger team was daunting at first.

“There were a lot more eyes on me,” she says.

Some scenes, such as the swimming sequence at the beginning of the game, were physically demanding.

Melina recalls how the best part of the day was suspended from the ceiling.

“You have to really tense every muscle in your body and you’re in a constant plank position,” he says.

Both Dom and Melina say the hard work is worth it to expand the understanding of psychosis.

In addition to the Bafta trophies on the studio shelves and certificates on the walls, Ninja Theory also collects recognition from fans who have been moved by their games.

“There were really beautiful quotes,” says Melina.

“One person said her brother was always ashamed of her because she suffered from psychosis.

“And after he finished the game, he said he finally understood her and apologized to her.

“So things like that are very nice to hear.

There are hundreds of similar stories about Hellblade 1 on forums and social networks.

Dom thinks there’s now more of a focus in the wider gaming industry on “living experiences finding their way into games and being used as a vehicle to tell people’s stories”, but says he’s not sure Ninja Theory is to blame take all the credit. .

However, Professor Fletcher says he thinks Hellblade was an influence.

He now uses the game as a teaching tool and believes it has helped raise awareness of psychosis.

While he feels he never had much of an impact trying to challenge the stigmas himself, he says the explosion of respectful and thoughtful discussion in response to the first game left him “extraordinarily surprised and excited.”