Why Hellblade 2 is more than just a video game

If you visit a video game developer a week before their latest big release, you'll likely have a lot of questions.

Will people like it? What will the review score be?

But when BBC Newsbeat visited Ninja Theory's studio a week before the release of Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2, a different question emerged.

These teams' games didn't migrate as many copies as Call of Duty, EA FC, or Hogwarts Legacy, but they were loved by many. For fans, they were important.

So what does that mean for Ninja Theory, a developer that fits exactly into that category?

At least for now, studio head Dom Matthews told Newsbeat he has other things in mind.

“We are very focused on releasing Hellblade 2,” he says.

“We're very proud of the game we've created, and we're looking forward to spending the day with them and allowing our fans to get their hands on the game and enjoy what we've created.”

It's been a long time.

The studio's previous work, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, was released in 2017 and was created by a team of about 20 people.

One of them was Melina Jurgens, the company's video editor, who ended up starring in Senua after the original actress dropped out.

“My job has always been to work behind the scenes,” she told Newsbeat.

“That's why I was afraid to perform in front of people and stand in front of the lens.”

Although it was Melina's first acting role, she won a BAFTA for her role in the game category. This is her one of five awards Ninja Theory won for Hellblade 1.

It received much praise for how it handled Senua's mental illness, a condition in which she hears people's voices, sees things that others cannot, and has unique beliefs about the world.

That's something Melina herself experienced in her early 20s, which she describes as a “time of pure terror.”

“I heard whispers and saw dead people and things like that,” she said.

“So it was a very scary time.”

Melina said playing Senua was an opportunity to “use my experience to do something useful.”

“And it felt almost therapeutic.”

Professor Paul Fletcher, a neuroscientist at the University of Cambridge who worked on both games, said the media has a spotty track record when it comes to mental illness.

While there are some good examples, he says, “there are also many examples where mentally ill is almost shorthand for someone who engages in very crazy, possibly dangerous, and violent behavior.”

“And I think that should always be challenged.”

Professor Fletcher said he was persuaded to work with Ninja Theory because of their determination to avoid misrepresentation.

He also said he realized “how valuable the video game experience is in terms of engaging people and giving them experiences they wouldn't have otherwise.”

Both Hellblade games include hallucination sequences and rely heavily on audio to recreate what it's like to live with mental illness.

The Ninja Theory team worked with Professor Fletcher and a group of patients with real-life experience to achieve the most accurate portrayal possible.

While the first game was more of a solo quest, Hellblade 2 introduces new characters and explores the impact Senua and her interactions with them have on her mental illness.

Studio head Dom says the aim was to reflect that mental health is often a journey.

“It's not static,” he said, adding that the first game was Senua “going through mental illness and really understanding it for the first time.”

This time, he says, she was “able to understand and accept those experiences on some level.”

“They're not as strong, but there's a different balance of power there. So that was really interesting to explore.”

Hellblade 2 is also a step up technologically. Since 2017, the team has moved into a new custom-built studio with its own motion capture stage and audio studio.

The first game also used motion capture, but it was recorded in the boardroom of the old Ninja Theory offices.

To drive home this point, Dom says the team spent two days recording combat footage for the first game. The second time was 69 days.

We also spent time digitally scanning, photographing, and in some cases creating real costumes and props to enhance the immersion of Hellblade 2.

And this time around, a much larger staff was employed for performance capture, including stunt coordinators and other professionals.

For Melina, returning to that role with a bigger team was daunting at first.

“There were a lot more eyes on me,” she says.

Some scenes were physically demanding, such as the swimming sequence early in the game.

Melina remembers being suspended from the ceiling for the longest part of the day.

“You need to maintain a plank position at all times, keeping all the muscles in your body tense,” she says.

Both Dom and Melina say it's worth the hard work to increase understanding of mental illness.

In addition to BAFTA trophies on the studio shelves and certificates on the walls, Ninja Theory has also garnered praise from fans who have been impressed by the game.

“There were some really lovely quotes in there,” Melina says.

“Someone said that her brother was always embarrassed about her because she suffered from mental illness.

“And after playing the game, he apologized to her, saying he finally understood what she was saying.

“So it's very heartwarming to hear stories like that.”

There are hundreds of stories like this on forums and social media sites about Hellblade 1.

Dom believes that there is currently a lot of focus across the games industry on “lived experiences being brought into games and used as a way to tell people's stories,” and Ninja Theory is adding to that. He says he does not know if everything can be evaluated. .

However, Professor Fletcher says he thinks Hellblade is an influence.

He now uses the game as an educational tool and believes it is helping spread awareness about mental illness.

Although he feels he hasn't made much of an impact in trying to challenge the stigma himself, he said he was “very surprised and excited” by the outpouring of respect and thoughtful discussion surrounding the first game.