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Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 set to launch on May 21 for PC and Xbox

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Hellblade 2
Microsoft

During the January 2024 Xbox Developer Direct, Ninja Theory announced that Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 will launch on May 21 for PC and Xbox Series X|S. It will also arrive on Xbox Game Pass at launch.

The developer showed a brand new release date trailer showcasing the game’s impressively realistic graphics and gruesome gameplay. Senua wants to get revenge on the Vikings who have enslaved her people and goes to Iceland to face the threat at the source. As she has psychosis, she’ll hear voices throughout her journey, finding patterns and clues around her.

There are also new combat encounters where she fights off grotesque enemies as they try to grab her. Ninja Theory said they want the player to feel how Senua isn’t a superhero and how she’s struggling to survive and barely getting by.

Developer_Direct 2024 – Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 was initially revealed in The Game Awards 2019 so it’s been a long four years since. While its predecessor, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, was a multiplatform console release as it was also on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, the sequel will be exclusive to Microsoft’s ecosystem. Microsoft acquired Ninja Theory in 2018 to bolster Xbox’s lineup of first-party game studios. Other games Ninja Theory has worked on while under the Microsoft banner so far include 2020’s Bleeding Edge and the upcoming Project Mara. The former was a multiplayer combat game released for PC and Xbox One. The latter was teased in 2020 and billed as an experimental game exploring mental horror.

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Before Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, we also got a new look at Avowed.

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George Yang
George Yang
George Yang is a freelance games writer for Digital Trends. He has written for places such as IGN, GameSpot, The Washington…
All Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 achievements
Senua stands ready near some drummers.

Ever since the Xbox 360 introduced the idea of Achievements, every game on the platform has included them. These tasks help show off how many games you play, but also your commitment to do and see everything in a specific game. Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 has quite a short list of Achievements compared to many other big-budget titles, but the focus of the game is more on the story and characters. Most Achievements will unlock through natural progression, but there are some that require extra work like hunting down collectibles or experimenting with different mechanics. If you want a full 1,000 Achievement points from Hellblade 2, these are all the things you need to do.

Warning: Many Achievements contain spoilers for the story. Read on at your own risk.
Every Hellblade 2 Achievement
There are 11 Achievements in total for Hellblade 2, with 7 of them being hidden. Here are each of their names, unlock requirements, and Gamerscore values:

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You’re going to want a great Xbox headset for Hellblade 2. Try this one
A Turtle Beach Stealth 600 sits in front of a green background.

Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 is finally here, giving Xbox Series X owners the system's most impressive technical feat to date. The dark sequel is getting some mixed reviews due to its limited gameplay, but most reviewers seem to agree that its visuals are astonishing. It's biggest highlight, though, is its audio -- which should come as no surprise if you're familiar with the first game. When the makers of Hellblade 2 recommend you put on some headphones to play it, that's not something to be taken lightly. You're going to want a great audio solution for this one.

Like the first game, Hellblade 2 makes serious use of binaural audio to represent its protagonist's mental state. Senua is living with psychosis and constantly hears voices in her head that tear her in different directions. That's reflected in the audio design, as voices ping on all sides to disorient players. While 3D audio on the PlayStation 5 has been hyped up as one of its defining features this generation, Hellblade 2 gives Xbox Series X the most convincing use of that tech yet.

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Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II: all Lorestangir locations
Senua in Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice.

Senua's journey through Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 is mostly a linear one meant to keep you fully engaged with the story and characters. However, there are a few reasons to look for side paths and hidden areas during your travels, and those include the Lorestangirs. These tall totems are one of two main collectibles in the game and each tells a small piece of lore about the world of Senua. Like with any collectible in games, finding them all earns you an Achievement, but they can be very will hidden in this beautiful world. To make sure you get the full picture of Hellblade 2, here are all the Lorestangir locations.
All Lorestangir locations
Hellblade 2 has 18 Lorestangirs to interact with to earn the "Tales of Midgard" achievement. Upon finding one, you will need to focus on it to activate it and light up the corresponding rune so you can add it to your tracker on the chapter select screen. You don't have to find them all in a single playthrough, however, and can use chapter select to collect any you missed the first time through.
Chapter 1 Lorestangirs

There's only one Lorestangir in Chapter 1 and is almost unmissable. After climbing the rocks from the beach, you will follow a path leading straight to it.
Chapter 2 Lorestangirs
We have four collectibles to get in this chapter.

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