This first trailer gives a very brief look at the game but sets up a quick but haunting atmosphere and shows a lot of Senua’s inner thoughts and what she hears. The second trailer is much more in-depth and sets up the atmosphere in a deeper and heavier manner, and explains the reason for her journey.
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is a cinematic-esque horror adventure/action video game where the main character, Senua, embarks on a personal journey through a demonic underworld made up of her manifestations of reality and her mind. It is a direct look (for a gamer) into the realm of psychosis and other mental disorders as the biggest part of the game is the visuals and the atmosphere it provides. It gives a very haunting atmosphere as if there are always voices around you, clamoring. There is always something there, you see things that aren’t. It is quite disorienting and can be very brutal, especially when the story is combined with this use of mental illness. The game was actually developed in conjunction with neuroscientists and a few diagnosed as psychotic to generate as real as a world as possible built around it.
This is a very radical style of game as well as a very creative approach. It takes a different approach from the traditional style of game which tends to not go near more concrete science or mental related things. This one embraces it wholeheartedly and builds a world around mental illness. This game is a III game (triple I) and so there has been a lot of effort put into this game to portray that feeling of paranoia and fear, simply into the visuals and the atmosphere. Also, the voices that constantly talk to your head (as surround sound) helps to add more to this frightening experience.