The Switch port of Ninja Theory’s Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice now has a release date. The psychological dark fantasy action-adventure game is set to larrive on Nintendo’s hybrid portable console next Thursday, April 11.
Originally released on PlayStation 4 and PC in 2017 as well as the Xbox One in 2018, Hellblade combines several game design principles, including elements of both the hack-and-slash and psychological horror genres. The game tells the story of Pict warrior Senua as she journeys to rescue the soul of her dead lover.
Beyond its base story, Ninja Theory used the game as a metaphor for Senua’s psychosis. The game uses a mechanic called “focus” that allows Senua to see things that other people cannot, thanks to her condition. Additionally, the game doesn’t use a traditional HUD; instead, Senua hears voices that give hints towards puzzles and other game mechanics. They also help her out in combat, alerting her to enemies and reminding her of her health.
Thanks to Ninja Theory’s bold design, the game garnered praise both from critics and players. The self published game has since gone on to sell over a million copies.
The success of the game may have helped Ninja Theory as well as director Tameem Antoniades move on from the studio’s previous project, the divisive DmC: Devil May Cry. It may have also helped make the company more attractive to Microsoft: The company’s Xbox Games Studios announced that they had acquired Ninja Theory during their E3 press conference in June of last year.
The Nintendo Switch port of Hellblade was first announced by Nintendo last February. With the April 11 release date, Hellblade arrives in a rather stacked month for Switch releases. Other games releasing on Switch in April include Final Fantasy X / X-2 HD Remaster, Final Fantasy XII: Zodiac Age, Super Meat Boy Forever, Mortal Kombat 11, Shovel Knight: Showdown, among others.
