Ever since Hellblade was initially announced at Sony’s Gamescom 2014 press conference, Ninja Theory has emphasized how its goal was to make a AAA quality game as an independent studio. While revealing the launch date, and the somewhat surprisingly low price tag, Ninja Theory, which previously developed AAA titles including DmC: Devil May Cry and Heavenly Sword, echoed this sentiment once again.
“In Hellblade we are aiming to revive the lost space between indie and AAA gaming, where creatively diverse experiences made with AAA values can thrive once again,” Ninja Theory said in its statement. “Our hope is that if we make our Independent AAA work with Hellblade, other developers will follow, leading to a more creative and diverse gaming world for developers and players alike.”
While we’ll have to wait until August 8 to see how close Ninja Theory came to accomplishing its goal, a new trailer released alongside the release date announcement certainly resembles the presentation of a AAA game throughout. You can watch the trailer above.
Hellblade blends Celtic and Norse mythology to tell the story of Senua as she navigates through an underworld composed from reality and certain projections of her own crumbling mind. Hellblade ambitiously takes on mental illness and psychosis, chronicling Senua’s descent into madness.
As revealed last year, while Hellblade isn’t exactly an open-world adventure, it’s still supposed to be at least somewhat open. The third-person action game is said to offer challenging combat dynamics.
Originally set for a 2016 launch, Ninja Theory pushed Hellblade back to 2017 in December. When the game launches August 8, it will be almost exactly three years after the project was revealed. While this may seem like a long wait, Hellblade was developed by just 15 people, an incredibly small team considering the nature of the project.
Those who pre-order Hellblade on PS4 will receive a dynamic theme, while a PC pre-order will net you a digital comic short titled Hellblade: Senua’s Song.
