Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 FAQ — Trailers, gameplay, and everything we know

Players are heading into Viking territory.

With Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, developer Ninja Theory told a dark and beautiful story rife with grief and loss, and it quickly established itself as one of the foremost games from a team directly tackling mental health. 

Now, Xbox Games Studios and Ninja Theory are returning to continue the tale in Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2. This evolution of Senua's journey has every chance of delivering a gorgeous and epic experience, with ideas of mythology and monsters on display as Senua goes on an even darker journey than in her first story. I've rounded up all the most frequently-asked questions to help provide answers in this article. Here's everything you need to know about Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2.

What is Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2?

Best answer: Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 is a third-person narrative-focused game developed by Ninja Theory and published by Xbox Game Studios.

Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 is a first-party Xbox Game Studios title developed in-house by the talented developers at Ninja Theory. The sequel to the fan favorite Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, Hellblade 2 continues the story of Senua (once again performed by the wonderfully talented Melina Juergens) with an expanded scope and world. There's a lot to look forward to from this highly anticipated title, and Ninja Theory is pulling out all the stops to ensure it meets its ambitions.

Announced during The Game Awards 2019, Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 is being developed by a team over twice the size of the team that worked on the first title, numbering over 40 in total. As the game gets closer to launch, that number increased to 80 developers, four times the size of the team that worked on the first game. 

The extra hands are needed to build Hellblade 2 from the ground up with Epic Games' Unreal Engine 5 for current-gen gaming hardware. Everything we've seen of Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 indicates the action-adventure game is going to be a technical and visual showcase, especially with its scenic location of Iceland.

Just like its predecessor, Hellblade 2 is a third-person game, with deliberate slow pacing. Combat has been improved and made to feel more brutal, with players focused on fighting one enemy at a time.

When is the release date for Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2?

Best answer: Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 is scheduled to launch on May 21, 2024. 

Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 is launching on May 21, 2024. 

While some speculated a late 2022 release for the title following its announcement at The Game Awards 2019, Xbox head Phil Spencer stated at the time that the title was still "early in development," indicating a long wait. An updated trailer revealed at the 2023 Xbox Games Showcase clarified that Senua's story will be coming in 2024. 

Finally, during the Xbox Developer_Direct 2024, we learned the May 2024 release date for the game. When Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 releases, it's coming to Xbox Series X|S, PC, Steam, and Xbox Cloud Gaming as a digital-only release at $50. 

Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 trailers

Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 reveal trailer

The first-ever trailer for Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 was shared during the Game Awards 2019 alongside the reveal for the Xbox Series X, before the latest generation of consoles had even arrived.

During the Game Awards 2021, another trailer for the game showed Senua and companions fighting a troll on a beach. 

A quiet, reflection-focused trailer was shared during the Xbox Showcase 2023, confirming the game's 2024 release window.

At the Game Awards 2023, another trailer focused on brutal combat in Viking-controlled Iceland.

What is the story and plot for Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2?

Best answer: The plot of Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 revolves around Senua taking on Vikings in Iceland to disrupt the slave trade.

Hellblade: Senua's Saga saw the series' titular character Senua embark on a journey into Hel, where she confronted a wide variety of mythical beasts and deities, including the fire giant Surt and the God of Illusion, Valravn. Senua also confronted and made peace with her inner darkness; the voices Ninja Theory has explicitly confirmed were modeled after real-world cases of psychosis. Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 features a mysterious and mostly unknown story but appears to take after the original by incorporating Pict culture and mythology, as well as Nord rituals, sacrifice, and more.

It was confirmed in a Ninja Theory developer diary by former Creative Director Tameem Antoniades that Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 expands on its predecessor in several ways beyond talking about psychosis. As part of Ninja Theory's efforts to consult mental health professionals and experts through The Insight Project, Hellblade 2 will explore how mental illness helps "shape myths, gods and religion."

One notable change in Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 over Senua's Sacrifice is how Senua is seemingly no longer isolated in her journey and is instead accompanied by other humans. There are considerably more questions than answers regarding the story and plot in Hellblade 2, but we can expect it to be wider in scope than the first in the series. We'll continue to update this section as we learn more.

Later trailers confirmed that Senua is traveling to Iceland to take on the Viking slave trade, where she'll meet a number of supporting characters.

What is the audio and soundtrack in Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2?

Best answer: The soundtrack for Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 is being composed by the unique folk band Heilung.

Like with most parts of Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2, not a lot is known about the audio and soundtrack. We know that Ninja Theory is collaborating with the band Heilung on Hellblade 2's soundtrack, an exciting combination that will hopefully guarantee an excellent musical experience. In the initial reveal trailer for Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2, the song that is performed is In Maidjan by Heilung. When translated, the lyrics include the line "Come, guest Tyr, for this invocation I, the Rune Master, servant of Odin, call upon the one of the Sun to aid our army."

Melina Juergens is reprising her role as Senua, following her impeccable performance in the first Hellblade. Juergens is behind the mocap and vocal performances of Senua, effectively making them one and the same in Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2. In the first gameplay trailer for Hellblade 2, especially, we get a glimpse at how Juergens' audio for Senua will sound in Hellblade 2.

What platforms are getting Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2?

Best answer: Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 is coming to Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC.

It has been confirmed repeatedly that Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 is being exclusively developed for current-gen hardware and will not be coming to the Xbox One family of consoles, and this is further reiterated in the most recent trailer. It'll also be coming to Windows PC via PC Game Pass and Steam.

Powered by Unreal Engine 5, Hellblade 2 requires the more capable hardware present in Xbox Series X and Series S to deliver its targeted experience. If you own an Xbox Series X|S, Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 should push the consoles to their limit with peerless visual fidelity. Even the original Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice was recently Optimized for Xbox Series X|S, letting players revisit the title with updated graphics and performance.

Xbox One players aren't left entirely behind, however. While Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 will likely never be available on the older consoles natively, it has been confirmed that it's heading to Xbox Cloud Gaming at launch. That means players on Xbox One, mobile devices, tablets, and more will be able to play Hellblade 2 by streaming it from Microsoft's servers. Xbox Cloud Gaming is powered by custom Xbox Series X hardware; currently, it supports playing Xbox Series X|S Optimized titles at 1080p and 60 FPS, which should be plenty for a great experience in Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2.

The first game, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, released on PlayStation 4 and Windows PC in August 2017, with an Xbox One port arriving in 2018 right before Ninja Theory was acquired by Microsoft. 

What will Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2's PC system requirements be

The full system requirements for the upcoming PC version of Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 are as follows:

Is Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 coming to Xbox Game Pass?

Best answer: Yes, as an Xbox first-party game, Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 is coming day one to Xbox Game Pass.

All Xbox first-party games from Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda Softworks (and now Activision Blizzard) launch day one into Xbox Game Pass. This includes Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2.