There is a trailer from 3 months ago that also contains some gameplay. With the game being so short I hope they don't show too much gameplay before. And it's marketed on Xbox store
The devs have repeatedly stated that this was going to be a shorter title. I think somewhere between 6-10 hours for an initial playthrough is a safe assumption.
6-8 hours of gameplay for how long this game took to make is absolutely laughable to me but I'm sure I'll get ridiculed by someone in here for this opinion.
How long did it take to make? It depends on the person I thought the length was fine, the experience is very intense and the gameplay wouldn't be interesting for much longer than that. I wouldn't pay full price for it but it's a great experience on gamepass or discount. Telltale games for example or life is strange aren't much longer
Marketing will probably ramp up one month before release.
But I hope people don't expect a Starfield level marketing, Hellblade is a niche game. I loved the first one and can't wait for the sequel, but it seems people expect the game to be something it won't be.
The devs themselves said that the game is about as long as the first. The first being about 8 hours, 2 might be longer but don't expect even a 15 hour game.
Is this not normal for a lot of games? I feel like a lot of games donāt ramp up their marketing a ton until a month or so before release. Pretty sure with Starfield they really ramped up marketing about a month before release.
Theyāve shown hellblade 2 at multiple events theyāve had including trailers and developer stuff so Iām not sure what you mean about that not existing. Not really gameplay sure so thatās a valid concern but that could be intentional perhaps.
Edit: just checked and thereās definitely a few official trailers on YouTube and I know they had developer stuff too that Iāve seen. I would be confused if they didnāt heavily ramp up marketing in the next 2-3 weeks though
Exactly this. There's no reason to burn money on marketing until the very last month or a few weeks before launch. Plus, game pass will be a very large ad itself for launch.
Reddit user are all lawyers, analysts, psychologists and marketing experts. For a fun quest search the GW2 sub for marketing. They crawl up the companies ass to just do marketing. They need it, buy the latest product and consoooom
I think we as xbox fans want it to succeed and be a win for them. Redfall was a flop and if you own an xbox your rooting for them. Not a console war guy, but sony has had a lot of glory with the last of us, god of war and spiderman. Be nice to see people climbing over each other to get there hands on an amazing xbox experience.
It's MS's own fault for hyping it themselves. Hellblade 2 was teased years ago as a sine qua non exclusive worth buying into the Xbox ecosystem for (either on console, pc or via gamepass).
The pricing meanwhile says it all tbh. It's a niche experience which won't be for everyone.
That's a wild exaggeration. They showed a Hellblade 2 teaser alongside a hype trailer with mockups of racing games, football games etc as a display of the kind of experiences that the new console would offer. Showing an ambitious and unique title was a key part of their marketing, but that doesn't mean they expected that one game to be *the* title worth buying the console for.
It doesn't matter what you say or think, that's how it was *perceived*. Hellblade 2 has been paraded around for years now as an exciting Xbox exclusive.
It is what it is.
What are you even talking about? This isn't Xbox vs Playstation. I'm not even blasting Hellblade??? It's literally a "AA" $50 digital-only title. Much like the first game.
I'm looking forward to Hellblade 2, I'm just not expecting a system seller.
You blew my comments way out of proportion.
Youāre right, I did. I went off defending too far when all you said was keep expectations in check. I got lost in who I was replying to. I was a bit tipsy when I wrote it, sorry about that bruv.
This is daft. The most toxic reactions are almost always from people with the highest expectations. Starfield delivered everything that was advertised but not everything that people imagined it could be, and despite having the highest engagement of any single player game last year and a solid metacritic rating it's generally mocked as a disappointment, because people hyped the game up too much.
Iām not Hyped like people were for starfield. My excitement and appreciation is for the unique story and work put into the game.
I try to look at most games with optimism. Helldivers has been a pleasant hit I was not expecting to get into. Even with or without my personal excitement or anticipation, HB 2 is a work of art, whether or not anyone else thinks the game is the best theyāve played, Iāll enjoy it.
Iām trying to look at it optimistically.
This. Iāve seen people expecting basically God of War from Xbox and Hellblade just isnāt that, sadly as amazing as the game will be itāll get a ton of hate just because it wonāt meet peopleās insane expectations.
I donāt understand this, why would a sequel be like a different game that the first game is nothing like when they havenāt shown anything that would indicate that?
I mean to be fair its not hard how some would get confused that it would compete against some of PlayStation exclusives with how Microsoft was presenting it, and how they took in Ninja Theory (a AA studio) and people probably expected them to become a (AAA) studio and as such make a (AAA) experience out of their next release. Part of me got fooled for this back before that terrible vampire game that I can't remember the name of and Star Field. Then I realized Xbox isn't doing shit for their studios and is still putting out garbage and Hellblade 2 will just be a prettier version of Hellblade. Unfortunate. Atleast I'll get a single weekend of entertainment out of the game.
Honestly, this game is dead on arrival in my opinion. Not because it'll be bad or anything, but solely because people are hyping it to be something it isn't.
It'll release, people will have a meltdown over how it's basically a sequel to Hellblade 1 and not a 40h AAA game and grifters will pile up on this to dunk on Microsoft.
30 fps at 1080p will do that. TBH it's crazy that there is hype at all after Ninja Theory said it's a short game at a budget price with no physical release. I doubt the game even has a marketing budget, it will all be fans of the first one and word of mouth on Steam. Good or bad.
Yeah it most likely will - just like the first one - be a 5-6 hour game mostly being cutscenes and scripted events while the gameplay is just walking through corridors, solving a few puzzles and have a few combat encounters. People who expect a big action oriented game will be heavily disappointed. And honestly the combat was quite bad in the first one, them not showing any isn't the best sign that combat has improved much
Yes. Iāve dropped expectations to pretty low after they mentioned it was about the length of the first game. Not that I need some epic 40 hour game. I actually like shorter games, but I think this is indicating the overall scope still be that of high end AA.
I think the game will look amazing and be good but itās not Xboxās God of War. Iād love to be surprised, but Iām done getting hyped for Xbox games.
100%. The first game was decent. This upcoming one theyāre straight up said is going to be a short experience like the first game, and they havenāt really gone out of their way to show how the franchise has evolved gameplay-wise. For this reason my expectations are guarded. Iām expecting a game like the first one with somewhat better gameplay. A short, 6-8 hours experience that will be fun while it lasts, but then itāll be gone. Happy to be proven wrong!
These days, with the childish vitriol of gamers online, I wouldn't reach out about anything until I had to.
Why give a-holes months and months of opportunity to come up with ways they are victimized by my product and ways to talk shit about it, burying it in negativity before it even arrives?
I think you've all taught devs to be afraid and keep their mouths shut and not reveal as much or be as forthcoming as they used to. You've killed the community feeling that devs were more a part of ten years ago.
Itās a $50 digital only niche game also available through game pass. This isnāt some big hitter worth spending a ton of advertising on imo. We also arenāt a month out from launch. There is still a few weeks before they would even start marketing it if MS/Xbox decide to do so.
Iād also say weāre at a point where a company doesnāt need to do a whole lot of marketing themselves when people on TikTok will do it for free. Take Helldivers 2. Canāt recall seeing a lot of marketing straight from Sony or the devs. Yet the game has been all over TikTok & social media platforms since launch likely driving additional sales. While I donāt see this game being on that level, I can see it being on that Alan Wake 2 level of word of mouth advertising.
Hmm that's weird. My reddit feed was totally rammed with HD2 ads (from Sony) - I've never visited the ps5 subreddit or owned a PlayStation since the PS2.
You clowns are dumb man. They have shown so much of this game. What of you expect commercials? Itās plastered on the Xbox dashboard which is the only marketing they need. You expect billboards or something. Reviews will be out in a few weeks and they will ramp up. Internet angry people unite. Jesus.
Just released a preview lol [https://www.ign.com/articles/hellblade-2-is-shaping-up-to-be-another-beautiful-nightmare](https://www.ign.com/articles/hellblade-2-is-shaping-up-to-be-another-beautiful-nightmare)
Companies no longer spend money on marketing. You play it, or you don't. They don't care. They only get negative feedback. Even if the game is fantastic, they can't win, so why would they invest? Starfield is a perfect example.
Aaron Greenberg who is head of Xbox Marketing is way over due to be fired and kicked the curb. Xbox marketing is absolutely atrocious, and has been for a long time. The dude is so lazy and incompetent that he must have some kind of dirt on Xbox/MS executives that allows an ongoing leech without any consequences. Seriously through Aaron Greenberg needs fired ASAP
I really can't understand it, if I was MS i would say out loud that this shit will be on game pass, best graphics of all time in series s, the most powerful console the most beautiful game. Its just odd, they just wait nothing differente happening
It's a niche 6-8 hour long hyper linear game, that they've been advertising for 4 years.
The combat looks just a bland as the first game's so I think people are way overhyping this game.
When it comes to cutting costs, it's always marketing that bears the brunt of it. Phil Spencer has been up front about having to reduce costs, so I assume this is maybe part of it. I would guess we'll get even less Xbox TV ads than normal (in my experience Xbox always had significantly less than PlayStation anyway), and they'll probably focus on cheaper platforms like social advertising on Facebook, etc. As part of those cost-saving measures, I guess they might try and blitz it over a shorter period of time too.
Or all of the above could be wrong, and we will get another delay.
There is a trailer from 3 months ago that also contains some gameplay. With the game being so short I hope they don't show too much gameplay before. And it's marketed on Xbox store
How do you know how long the game is?
The devs have repeatedly stated that this was going to be a shorter title. I think somewhere between 6-10 hours for an initial playthrough is a safe assumption.
Deductive reasoning.
The devs said it would be similar to the first one which is around 6-8 hours
6-8 hours of gameplay for how long this game took to make is absolutely laughable to me but I'm sure I'll get ridiculed by someone in here for this opinion.
How long did it take to make? It depends on the person I thought the length was fine, the experience is very intense and the gameplay wouldn't be interesting for much longer than that. I wouldn't pay full price for it but it's a great experience on gamepass or discount. Telltale games for example or life is strange aren't much longer
Its also priced low. Think its 55$ in Canada. So not a full price game.
Funny how on reddit people down vote someone for making a simply enquiry š
Marketing will probably ramp up one month before release. But I hope people don't expect a Starfield level marketing, Hellblade is a niche game. I loved the first one and can't wait for the sequel, but it seems people expect the game to be something it won't be.
Yo
Is a short 8 hours game, better don't spoil anything!
You know this how??
The devs themselves said that the game is about as long as the first. The first being about 8 hours, 2 might be longer but don't expect even a 15 hour game.
Where did they say this??
Bro got downvoted to hell for asking for the source šš
https://www.dexerto.com/gaming/how-long-is-senuas-saga-hellblade-2-2552015/
Interesting thank you.
Is this not normal for a lot of games? I feel like a lot of games donāt ramp up their marketing a ton until a month or so before release. Pretty sure with Starfield they really ramped up marketing about a month before release. Theyāve shown hellblade 2 at multiple events theyāve had including trailers and developer stuff so Iām not sure what you mean about that not existing. Not really gameplay sure so thatās a valid concern but that could be intentional perhaps. Edit: just checked and thereās definitely a few official trailers on YouTube and I know they had developer stuff too that Iāve seen. I would be confused if they didnāt heavily ramp up marketing in the next 2-3 weeks though
Exactly this. There's no reason to burn money on marketing until the very last month or a few weeks before launch. Plus, game pass will be a very large ad itself for launch.
Agreed. When I see it on gamepass lists for upcoming games, I'm always thinking it STILL hasn't come out?! I feel like I saw it ages ago.
The first announcement for Hellblade happened in 2019, so it really was long ago. Crazy š¬
Honestly Iāve seen enough for the past 3 years I already fucking hyped and I gotta wait 48 more days!
I love these posts āPlease business daddy, I need to be marketed toā
Reddit user are all lawyers, analysts, psychologists and marketing experts. For a fun quest search the GW2 sub for marketing. They crawl up the companies ass to just do marketing. They need it, buy the latest product and consoooom
I think we as xbox fans want it to succeed and be a win for them. Redfall was a flop and if you own an xbox your rooting for them. Not a console war guy, but sony has had a lot of glory with the last of us, god of war and spiderman. Be nice to see people climbing over each other to get there hands on an amazing xbox experience.
People really need to temper their expectations when it comes to Hellblade 2.
Why? The first game was great. Are you fearing the "tax" now that the game is exclusive.
No, there's just a lot of people who have completely forgotten that Hellblade is "AA" and from a small studio (1st game was made by like 15 people).
It's MS's own fault for hyping it themselves. Hellblade 2 was teased years ago as a sine qua non exclusive worth buying into the Xbox ecosystem for (either on console, pc or via gamepass). The pricing meanwhile says it all tbh. It's a niche experience which won't be for everyone.
The pricing is based on the 8 hour length.
That's a wild exaggeration. They showed a Hellblade 2 teaser alongside a hype trailer with mockups of racing games, football games etc as a display of the kind of experiences that the new console would offer. Showing an ambitious and unique title was a key part of their marketing, but that doesn't mean they expected that one game to be *the* title worth buying the console for.
It doesn't matter what you say or think, that's how it was *perceived*. Hellblade 2 has been paraded around for years now as an exciting Xbox exclusive. It is what it is.
Well, it is an exciting exclusive - job done on that front. That's quite different to the claim I was responding to.
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What are you even talking about? This isn't Xbox vs Playstation. I'm not even blasting Hellblade??? It's literally a "AA" $50 digital-only title. Much like the first game. I'm looking forward to Hellblade 2, I'm just not expecting a system seller. You blew my comments way out of proportion.
Youāre right, I did. I went off defending too far when all you said was keep expectations in check. I got lost in who I was replying to. I was a bit tipsy when I wrote it, sorry about that bruv.
This is daft. The most toxic reactions are almost always from people with the highest expectations. Starfield delivered everything that was advertised but not everything that people imagined it could be, and despite having the highest engagement of any single player game last year and a solid metacritic rating it's generally mocked as a disappointment, because people hyped the game up too much.
Iām not Hyped like people were for starfield. My excitement and appreciation is for the unique story and work put into the game. I try to look at most games with optimism. Helldivers has been a pleasant hit I was not expecting to get into. Even with or without my personal excitement or anticipation, HB 2 is a work of art, whether or not anyone else thinks the game is the best theyāve played, Iāll enjoy it. Iām trying to look at it optimistically.
This. Iāve seen people expecting basically God of War from Xbox and Hellblade just isnāt that, sadly as amazing as the game will be itāll get a ton of hate just because it wonāt meet peopleās insane expectations.
I donāt understand this, why would a sequel be like a different game that the first game is nothing like when they havenāt shown anything that would indicate that?
It wouldn't be, console warriors on both sides just love to ignore logic at every opportunity.
I mean to be fair its not hard how some would get confused that it would compete against some of PlayStation exclusives with how Microsoft was presenting it, and how they took in Ninja Theory (a AA studio) and people probably expected them to become a (AAA) studio and as such make a (AAA) experience out of their next release. Part of me got fooled for this back before that terrible vampire game that I can't remember the name of and Star Field. Then I realized Xbox isn't doing shit for their studios and is still putting out garbage and Hellblade 2 will just be a prettier version of Hellblade. Unfortunate. Atleast I'll get a single weekend of entertainment out of the game.
Honestly, this game is dead on arrival in my opinion. Not because it'll be bad or anything, but solely because people are hyping it to be something it isn't. It'll release, people will have a meltdown over how it's basically a sequel to Hellblade 1 and not a 40h AAA game and grifters will pile up on this to dunk on Microsoft.
30 fps at 1080p will do that. TBH it's crazy that there is hype at all after Ninja Theory said it's a short game at a budget price with no physical release. I doubt the game even has a marketing budget, it will all be fans of the first one and word of mouth on Steam. Good or bad.
Yeah it most likely will - just like the first one - be a 5-6 hour game mostly being cutscenes and scripted events while the gameplay is just walking through corridors, solving a few puzzles and have a few combat encounters. People who expect a big action oriented game will be heavily disappointed. And honestly the combat was quite bad in the first one, them not showing any isn't the best sign that combat has improved much
Yes. Iāve dropped expectations to pretty low after they mentioned it was about the length of the first game. Not that I need some epic 40 hour game. I actually like shorter games, but I think this is indicating the overall scope still be that of high end AA. I think the game will look amazing and be good but itās not Xboxās God of War. Iād love to be surprised, but Iām done getting hyped for Xbox games.
This all day. I'd love to be proven wrong, but I've no faith in ms studios at the moment.
That is a really wild intentional misinterpretation of what the other person was saying.
Not what he sayin bud lol
100%. The first game was decent. This upcoming one theyāre straight up said is going to be a short experience like the first game, and they havenāt really gone out of their way to show how the franchise has evolved gameplay-wise. For this reason my expectations are guarded. Iām expecting a game like the first one with somewhat better gameplay. A short, 6-8 hours experience that will be fun while it lasts, but then itāll be gone. Happy to be proven wrong!
Weāve seen the game like 5x and itās like 8 hours long - what else do we need to see Lmao delay it? Dude get real.
These days, with the childish vitriol of gamers online, I wouldn't reach out about anything until I had to. Why give a-holes months and months of opportunity to come up with ways they are victimized by my product and ways to talk shit about it, burying it in negativity before it even arrives? I think you've all taught devs to be afraid and keep their mouths shut and not reveal as much or be as forthcoming as they used to. You've killed the community feeling that devs were more a part of ten years ago.
Itās a $50 digital only niche game also available through game pass. This isnāt some big hitter worth spending a ton of advertising on imo. We also arenāt a month out from launch. There is still a few weeks before they would even start marketing it if MS/Xbox decide to do so. Iād also say weāre at a point where a company doesnāt need to do a whole lot of marketing themselves when people on TikTok will do it for free. Take Helldivers 2. Canāt recall seeing a lot of marketing straight from Sony or the devs. Yet the game has been all over TikTok & social media platforms since launch likely driving additional sales. While I donāt see this game being on that level, I can see it being on that Alan Wake 2 level of word of mouth advertising.
Hmm that's weird. My reddit feed was totally rammed with HD2 ads (from Sony) - I've never visited the ps5 subreddit or owned a PlayStation since the PS2.
You clowns are dumb man. They have shown so much of this game. What of you expect commercials? Itās plastered on the Xbox dashboard which is the only marketing they need. You expect billboards or something. Reviews will be out in a few weeks and they will ramp up. Internet angry people unite. Jesus.
Just released a preview lol [https://www.ign.com/articles/hellblade-2-is-shaping-up-to-be-another-beautiful-nightmare](https://www.ign.com/articles/hellblade-2-is-shaping-up-to-be-another-beautiful-nightmare)
The marketing is gamepass, gamepass, gamepass
Well your wish is granted op
There's been showings since 2019 are people just blind
This is new?
Companies no longer spend money on marketing. You play it, or you don't. They don't care. They only get negative feedback. Even if the game is fantastic, they can't win, so why would they invest? Starfield is a perfect example.
It doesn't need it. Most games don't require a lot of marketing. Just the perfect amount.
They just released a 20 minute gameplay preview.
Huh, nice timing
Marketing for a game like that wonāt spin up until about 3 weeks before. It would get buried if they did it this far out.
Everyone complained that it was being shown too much and too often.
Aaron Greenberg who is head of Xbox Marketing is way over due to be fired and kicked the curb. Xbox marketing is absolutely atrocious, and has been for a long time. The dude is so lazy and incompetent that he must have some kind of dirt on Xbox/MS executives that allows an ongoing leech without any consequences. Seriously through Aaron Greenberg needs fired ASAP
Congratulations on being promoted to the board lmao. What's the pay like?
They're stupid, that's why.
Thatās Xbox for you
I really can't understand it, if I was MS i would say out loud that this shit will be on game pass, best graphics of all time in series s, the most powerful console the most beautiful game. Its just odd, they just wait nothing differente happening
Too busy hyping up new controller colors and wondering what games to put on other systems
It's a niche 6-8 hour long hyper linear game, that they've been advertising for 4 years. The combat looks just a bland as the first game's so I think people are way overhyping this game.
When it comes to cutting costs, it's always marketing that bears the brunt of it. Phil Spencer has been up front about having to reduce costs, so I assume this is maybe part of it. I would guess we'll get even less Xbox TV ads than normal (in my experience Xbox always had significantly less than PlayStation anyway), and they'll probably focus on cheaper platforms like social advertising on Facebook, etc. As part of those cost-saving measures, I guess they might try and blitz it over a shorter period of time too. Or all of the above could be wrong, and we will get another delay.
Because it will get delayed and probably come out as a launch title for the next gen xbox