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Ninja Theory dev on Hellblade II demo It's all real-time, no tricks

Starcheif

Member
Game looks great! I did play a couple levels of the first one but did not finish it (Just not my kind of game overall). It's one of those games I could watch someone play on Twitch while I work on my computer.
 

VFXVeteran

Banned
watched recently how order 1886 looks on ps4 so yeah, I think hellblade 2 can looks that on xsx being linear game and using good quality dof, no reason to not belive devs
Thanks for this. It is no different than a lot of screenshots of in-game cinematics floating around here for certain other popular games. HB2 has always had no HUD. It's definitely gameplay. It's just a photoreal color palette as opposed to the hyperreal color palette of most games.
 

Gavon West

Spread's Cheeks for Intrusive Ads
Call it actual gameplay, not demo, not real time, not beating around the bush. Demo means a lot of things and as a dev he knows that or at least should know that. "Gameplay" in the video means absolutely nothing. If that is actual 100% user input gameplay and the game has no interface then I'll eat my words when it comes out.
I hope you're hungry! Lol
 

RJMacready73

Simps for Amouranth
The amount of salt this game is creating is unreal. Just look at this thread and the gameplay reveal thread, it’s amazing to see.

When an Xbox game causes this much of a stir you know it’s got to be good. Some people in these forums are just shook.

Loved the first game for the story alone, cinematic and minimal gameplay, but a great game nonetheless.

Phil done good by buying Ninja Theory.

Yeah its hilarious to read, i swear they have to be kids, usual cunts on a playground whinning about my team is better than yours whereas the rest of us normal adults can see and appreciate it for what it is, a small slice of gameplay from some seriously talented devs that just happens to look absolutely fucking incredible and steals the show imo, definately jealous i'm not going to get a chance to play this on the PS5, it looks right up my street, the seemless blend between OBVIOUS fucking gameplay bits and cinematic bits plus the overall look and direction makes me wish this was a fucking movie, sure as hell looks as good as anything ive seen lately, proper next gen visuals
 

MonarchJT

Banned
Yes, it's "gameplay" and yes it's "real time", but they should stop fucking with us. That is a heavily scripted, limited scene. The technology is impressive and I'm sure the game will look great, but that's again not representative of the gameplay.

Unless, you know, the entire game is running away from giants to throw shit at them. ..so the qte section in all the uncharted and God of war are not rappresentative of the gameplay graphics ? it's a gameplay trailer with a qte scene .....but the graphics of the game will absolutely be that.
so the qte section in all the uncharted and God of war are not rappresentative of the gameplay graphics ? it's a gameplay trailer with a qte scene .....but the graphics of the game will absolutely be that.
 
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MonarchJT

Banned
That’s just a dumb comment. I don’t give a fuck about the platform. I play games, not favorites. I think it’s more that the “gameplay” looked very bland. It was my biggest critique of the first game.
it was a joke ...I think they showed that part to blow people away with the graphics (especially after the initial criticism of Halo infinite) and given the reactions I think they absolutely succeeded. they will have time to show the gameplay in more depth.
 

oldergamer

Member
Lmao at the salt in some of the replies.

No shit it was a scripted and tightly choreographed gameplay reveal - that's why it's called a vertical slice.

It's like some of you never watched a gameplay demo by a developer before.
People critique reveals from MS studios far more then they do sony studios it seems. I don't see criticisms like this in every game thread.
 

THEAP99

Banned
In all honesty, I wasn't impressed but the character models and running animation. Seems like they use a lot of film grain and stuff to make it look good but it's lacking detail and gameplay.
 
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Hezekiah

Banned
It's nowhere near QD's games. Lol even Order 1886 is a gameplay masterpiece in comparison. It's awful, i can't even call it a "game".
That's a shame, seems like it's not worth playing then even if it's short.

And The Order 1886 really did look beautiful, but was basic beyond belief.
 

TrebleShot

Member
Yeah looks in game to me don’t know why anyone would doubt it.
It looks very good in some parts and what you would expect in others, character model is a big downgrade from the in engine scene we saw earlier but that’s not to say it doesn’t look excellent still.

hopefully they have expanded the gameplay from the original which was akin to a cinematic on rails game in most areas.
 

nemiroff

Gold Member
That's a shame, seems like it's not worth playing then even if it's short.

And The Order 1886 really did look beautiful, but was basic beyond belief.

Hellblade has a lot more depth than 1886, it's just that you need a brain to pick it up. I agree some of the gameplay was unrefined, but the game didn't end up getting lots of awards for nothing. The guy you quoted, you would be lucky if you found one game that he like, he's basically a walking get off my lawn sign.
 

Kokoloko85

Member
Atmosphere and graphics looked next gen and awesome.

Animations and faces not so much. Senua is one of the most ugly gummy teeth/mouth characters Ive ever seen
 
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Deerock71

Member
the force awakens GIF by Star Wars
 

FingerBang

Member
so the qte section in all the uncharted and God of war are not rappresentative of the gameplay graphics ? it's a gameplay trailer with a qte scene .....but the graphics of the game will absolutely be that.
They're not representative of the graphics overall, no. They can show poligons and effects at their best, but they don't show off animations and what happens when a lot of stuff happens on screen. That section is more akin to Detroit than it is to God of War, but this game isn't a walking simulator.

Don't get me wrong, it looks REALLY good, but I want to see the game
 

Sosokrates

Report me if I continue to console war
I dont know why ppl think its not gameplay. Its the best looking current game so far. But theres a lot of depth of field effects going on, which are a bit frustrating, they blur all the detail on the beach.
 

SF Kosmo

Al Jazeera Special Reporter
The original was on my to-do list, and I was hoping it played more like Heavenly Sword. This feels more like a Heavy Rain/tech demo experience.
Gameplay in the original Hellblade was kind of an ersatz God of War 2018. Like it was a lot of walking and light puzzles interspersed with dodge-and-attack combat.

I liked it the game, although the combat was not great. But there's a lot they could expand on and polish up in a sequel. I wouldn't expect it to be as scripted as this vertical slice, it should have plenty of combat and the like.
 
Meh, I think it looks average. Maybe it's because the first reveal was easily 10x better looking.

Edit: also... 30fps.... every game this gen is supposed to be 60fps. How can I even play this crap? It's impossible to go back to 30fps now. It must be because the devs didn't optimize the game properly /s
 
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SoraNoKuni

Member
Damn, looks so great it's got people questioning if it was actually in-game. Ninja Theory are good.
Actually I doubt people questioned that, I think it's a great marketing/hype train that's been generated without knowing it by the fans.
 

Hezekiah

Banned
Hellblade has a lot more depth than 1886, it's just that you need a brain to pick it up. I agree some of the gameplay was unrefined, but the game didn't end up getting lots of awards for nothing. The guy you quoted, you would be lucky if you found one game that he like, he's basically a walking get off my lawn sign.
I'll probably give it a go when I have a quiet perioda d feel in the mood for puzzles. I've heard it's only eight hours so I'll probably clock it unless I really dislike it.
 

Lognor

Banned
Actually I doubt people questioned that, I think it's a great marketing/hype train that's been generated without knowing it by the fans.
I saw it with my own eyes. It happened. I mean, when it was the best looking game at the game awards, I guess I can understand.
 

Kssio_Aug

Member
It's a QTE cutscene with hidden prompts and a short walk/run before the game takes control of the camera and plays the cutscene in real-time. Interactive movie like Quantic Dream or The Order.

Not the kind of gameplay that was celebrated before but now it's the biggest trophy 🤔
This is just a small segment of the game, we don't even know the real scope of it yet. Even comparing QD games to Hellblade 1 is quite a stretch, it's simply not the same thing. Sony has tons of games full of cinematic moments similar to this demo, and they're no lesser games because of that.

Also, the problem with this kind of argument is that it goes both ways... I remember very well that The Order was being celebrated a lot, until it was released and the consensus was it just wasn't a good game for so many reasons. I'm also pretty sure there are quite many PS players that celebrated whenever QD released their games... I can remember people being very hyped for Heavy Rain for example. So I'm really not sure what you mean by saying that this kind of gameplay wasn't celebrated.
 

NonPhixion

Member
When Hellblade was announced I was hoping it would have had gameplay similar to Heavenly Sword. Disappointing to see that the gameplay in Hellblade 2 looks to be the exact same as the first.
 

nemiroff

Gold Member
I'll probably give it a go when I have a quiet perioda d feel in the mood for puzzles. I've heard it's only eight hours so I'll probably clock it unless I really dislike it.
It didn't get awards for its puzzles per se, but mainly how it dynamically depicted mental psychosis. It's a well crafted atmospheric experience with psychological depth, albeit with slightly frustrating puzzles and combat. I guess that's an oxymoron, but kinda true. But don't trust me much more than the other guy, rather aggregate some diverse feedback and see where you land.
 

GhostOfTsu

Banned
I'm also pretty sure there are quite many PS players that celebrated whenever QD released their games... I can remember people being very hyped for Heavy Rain for example. So I'm really not sure what you mean by saying that this kind of gameplay wasn't celebrated.
Yes, they sale very good on PS and I have them all but for a decade people used those "cinematic games" as a joke to shit on PS.

The game is basically following the Playstation game template that Ninja Theory got when Sony saved them from bankruptcy years ago. It's just surprising how fast they switched on those games 🤷‍♂️
 
Watching cut scenes play out counts as gameplay these days? o_O
The Uncharted series has dozens of sequences throughout the games where control of movement is taken away from the player and all you get to do is shoot at specified enemies and objects. I never once heard any of you peeps say that it wasn't gameplay. Why is it now a problem when Hellblade has a sequence like this?
video game sam GIF by Zenny
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
The Uncharted series has dozens of sequences throughout the games where control of movement is taken away from the player and all you get to do is shoot at specified enemies and objects. I never once heard any of you peeps say that it wasn't gameplay. Why is it now a problem when Hellblade has a sequence like this?
video game sam GIF by Zenny
And I remember when they were called "movie games", right CatLady CatLady ? Which spawned our "music video" inside joke.

Now that people sling it back, "it's only okay when we do it" becomes the mantra. Both sides of that same console waring coin.

Anywho, looking forward to seeing what gameplay improvements they have done, since the first game was a slog. Enjoyed the story aspect, but the ultra repetitive swordplay and enemies wore thin after the first demon zone. The combat wasn't gripping enough and felt just there to "pass go" on the rest of the story.
 
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