Porting of Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice Being Handled By QLOC

Yey can’t wait

Funny thing is, I’ve never even heard about it till this Direct (And before Switch I was a hardcore PC gamer). So, it’s a pleasant surprise to say the least.

If it had gotten a physical version, I'd gladly have double-dipped to support this awesome game... but as it is I'm good with my PC version.

Recommend it if you're looking for something quite different from your usual fare. It's not a happy journey you'll embark on, but one you'll definetly remember for a long time to come ^_^

PS

Very interested in performance reviews of this one.

If the trailer is any indication, it looks like they're doing a superb job. Makes me wish that they'd handled the Switch version of Dark Souls as well.

Dark Souls was a poor port in my opinion. I've never played or heard of this game but there again I only have my Switch.
Can I ask what the premise of this game is

@Welshland If you only have your Switch, what are you judging the Dark Souls port by?

Played it on PS4 and was entranced the whole time. Definitely play this with headphones for the best results.

This is a fantastic game. Tbh tho my only problem is that an integral part of the experience is surround sound, so I don't see how it will be as effective in docked mode

Oh look another indie game

@Kal_ and your point is?

@gcunit
I am judging Dark Souls by comparing videos on YT and Digital Foundry video.
Digital Foundry compared the game to a lazy 360 port and not a true re-master that I was hoping for

@jswhitfield8
Thanks for the info about the game, sounds interesting. I will definitely have to check out some footage of the game and reviews from other consoles before I take the plunge on the Switch

This was a pleasant surprise. I was disappointed I won't be playing the Metroid Prime trilogy when I'm finally done with Octopath Traveler, but this game should make up for it. Can't wait!

@Kal_ Indie? This game was developed by Ninja Theory who have developed AAA Titles for Sony and Capcom. Maybe do some research before trying to act all edgy?

This game is depressing as all hell

@MagnaRoader

As far as I know, before being acquired by Microsoft (after this game was done), Ninja Theory was an independant studio. The term "indie" doesn't have anything to do with how big or how close to a AAA production a game is. Indie means "independantly developped". Meaning not developped initially as an order from a publisher, or funded by one. An indie game can be created by the studio on their own, but then distributed by a big publisher who bought the distruibution rights. That would still make that game an indie game. Many big publishers are putting out indie productions.

If I'm not mistaken, Hellblade was created by Ninja Theory on their own. It is their product, published by themselves. Sony may have paid them for some timed exclusivity on the game, but this was their own game. So the term "independantly developped" still applies here. This is an indie game.

This game MUST be played in surround sound. MUST!

I like Norse Mythology, so I'm mildly curious about this one. This will be a purchase that's down the pipe a bit for me.

@MagnaRoader
Actually I did my research for the specific point of making an edgy comment.

It was merely bait for others. The game had a (micro) budget of 10 mil which is...certainly a lot for an independent release.

And yes since Ninja Theory published it themselves it is an indie game. That's kind of the definition.

Also I have nothing against indie games if my profile pic wasn't indication enough.

@NightBeast The game won a ton of awards, how can you not know about it?

I really like what I saw from this one. Definitely on my radar.

@Realnoize you're both right and wrong. Indie studios are exactly what you described, but Ninja Theory wouldn't fall under that category for any game before Hellblade. publishers for their previous games include Sony, Capcom, Bandai Namco and Disney. So no, not an indie by any stretch of the imagination

Crazy, I just played through this game on One X.
I felt the need to prioritze High Framerate (60 fps) in the options menu. It really drags at 30 fps. I really would not have expected a Switch port.

@Octane

I did not know about it until a week ago.

@gortsi You should go back and watch some of the early developers diaries for Hellblade. They talk for a while about trying to be a, "AAA indie," and bringing back that mid tier game that was lost when old THQ exploded. It's super interesting to see how that term informed much of the gameplay design and even the use of their office space.

There is one in particular where they talk about not having enough room for their expensive motion capture equipment before realizing that they don't actually NEED a conference room and just tearing apart that space. It's pretty enlightening.

@gortsi
That's why I mentionned "not being an order from a publisher or being funded by one". DmC wasn't an indie game from Ninja theory because it was commissionned by Capcom. So they were paid by Capcom to do it. So that game wasn't an indie game, of course. Heavenly Sword was funded by Sony so not an indie game either, but after that, Enslaved was developped by Ninja Theory, themselves, only published by Bandai Namco. It was a Ninja Theory game, not a Namco game.

Being published by a big studio doesn't negate the nature of an indie game. The "indie" term refers to game development, not distribution. The same way many independant movies end up being distributed by Sony, for instance.

When a company like Capcom, or Sony, or any other, pay a studio to develop a game for them, the game is done according to some defined specifications, needs to be approved, etc... It is thus not independently produced as the developper can't do what they want. When a company develop its own game, they do it like they want it to be done. Then, a publisher may want to pick it up for distruibution, but the game was still done independantly in the first place.

Indie doesn't relate to how big a game is. Or how much it cost to be done. It only means the game was done without influence or requests from an external (paying) source. It means the game wasn't done on commission for someone else. The game could've cost $10,000 to make or $1,000,000, or more, it doesn't matter.

@Indielink I've watched these they're great,as are the themes that shaped the game

Would be cool if this runs at 60 frames per second. I know the resolution would have to drop, but it's worth it. A locked 30 would be passable...

I'm looking forward to this, so hoping it runs well enough, though expecting some graphical/performance compromise compared to other versions.

It's on the radar but not going too mad, will see how it goes.

@Welshland Dark Souls played really well on the Switch. Great port in my opinion, apart from the awful sound quality.

@jswhitfield8 The only downside to it is that it's a little short."

with the insane quantity of amazing games in my backlog, being short is a blessing

@Kal_ You mean another Microsoft game, right? because this company that's making the game is owned by Microsoft.
(even though the game came out before Microsoft bought them.)
anyways, I've been meaning to try this. not sure what platform I'll get it on. likely Switch or PC.

Really want a proper review when it's launched and it's comparisons to the PS4 version. I really like the look of this game and have yet to buy it.. I'm more partial towards switch but then if the graphics go wonkey I may hane to PS-it.

Side note. I downloaded Warfame on switch. Surprisingly looks quite marvellous

@Welshland Dark Souls runs fine on the Switch. it more or less look identical to the original PC version, albeit with performance improvements and bug fixes. anyone aware of the history of the game should be pleased as punch with how well it performs on switch.

Didn't touch this one on PS4. I heard good things, but I will probably wait for a sale.

Really can't wait to find out how it performs. Even if it's decent I'll cop it.

Such an excellent game. Probably one of the greatest headphones experiences while playing a game. Hoping the performance holds up. If the motion controls are really worthwhile, I may just double dip.

@Octane A man cannot know everything at once)

Hopefully, the audio is not terrible like Dark Souls Remastered.

Hey, I know these guys! Though I bet most guys I personally know from there have probably already left, like I did. They do a good job though.

I'm surprised and amused this happened, yet personally at myself annoyed. I've had this on my GoG account wishlisted over a year but never have made time for it. Now it's a situation of pay up on Switch or play on PC for sharply less money with the ability to carry it to future systems.