Hellblade Quick Review (Game Breaking Bug)
Over a year ago I started Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice on Xbox Game Pass (in my case on Xbox One X). After the first boss and and several hours of play, I decided it wasn’t for me. The environments are boring, the combat is simplistic, and the puzzles are repetitive and easy. And yes, I played with headphones. That seems to be the number one defense I’ve seen while reading message boards. While the world (Norse Mythology) was interesting and the visuals beautiful, my enjoyment ended there. I concluded, as is all too common with anything that employs new ideas, that the game was incredibly overrated. *delete*
Fast forward to present and I decided to give the game another shot. It has a sequel on the way and still seems to overall get praise. While there was some initial confusion about what to do given I was picking up a year+ old save, it wasn’t too tough to get reoriented.
After another hour or two I’d finished the next boss/section (Sutr in my case) of the game. Cool. As I backtracked to go onto the next level I again became confused. The door to the next section was shut with no way to interact with or unlock it. “Well maybe this isn’t the right door” I concluded. I wandered for another 15 minutes. “Nope this seems like the only logical way to go. I’ve explored every other area.”
So I turned to Google: “hellblade door after sutr”
Oh dear.
“Okay, well this seems to be a known issue. But am I sure this is the same door that all the threads are referring to?” So I turned to a YouTube playthrough. “Yep, confirmed I’m standing at the right door.” In a non-glitched version, the door is open as you approach it. No interaction necessary. In my game, door is sealed closed.
Hmm. “Maybe if I quit the game and reload my save.” *Moments later* “Nope, door still sealed.”
So seems this is a game breaking bug. I’ve finished the boss fight with Sutr (my save/checkpoint is in his fight area) but when I backtrack to the entrance to this section, I encounter the closed door. Solutions suggested are to start a new save. And based on the threads I have found in a quick search as well as my own experience, it permeates at least Steam and Xbox versions of the game. Worth noting that I also considered trying the Windows version (through Xbox Game Pass Unlimited on PC) only to find out save-progress does not sync between Xbox console and PC.
I will take this opportunity to describe the level structure. You begin in a kind of hub area with several doors. So at the end of each level (i.e. after you defeat the boss) you must back track through the entire section back to this area to enter the next door. Silly. There’s no enemies, XP, or any other reason to have to walkthrough these areas. It’s not entirely a continuity issue either as there is usually a cinematic after the boss fight that could easily fade to you being this starting area. Just seems like a way to artificially extend the length of the game. And while perhaps that’s just being picky, it wouldn’t be such an issue if there were anything interesting to observe as you walk back. But it’s more wandering as nearly every area looks the same: “Oh, look some stuff on fire.” “Oh, more wooden pikes.” “Oh, some boulders and cliffs. Cool!”
To describe the puzzles, most (at least that I’ve encountered so far) are rune based. You’ll come to a door with a couple shapes on it. Say a triangle and a cross. Now you need to wander around the area looking for some objects that mimic these shapes. “Oh, here’s a vertical post and tree branch behind it that when viewed from the right angle creates a cross.” Fun! It would be one thing to encounter this in one area, but so far it’s been in almost every section of the game I’ve encountered. Just very flat and uninspired after the first few times. “Oh wow, this door has three shapes now.”
Obviously I’m frustrated and annoyed that I just lost several hours of progress. But I feel this is worth posting as a warning of what you may encounter if you choose to play, especially when critical praise for this title is so high and seemingly overlooking of its shortcomings. No idea how widespread this is. Certainly does not seem something everyone will experience but also does not seem I’m alone.
