Tag: Ninja Theory
Soapbox Once a PS4 Console Exclusive, PS5 Players Are Missing a Visual Stunner in Hellblade 2
Senua's saga continues elsewhere
Back when it was released on PS4 and PC back in 2017, we gave Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice an 8/10 in our review and highlighted that the way it uses the "unique attributes of the medium to raise awareness of mental health" is what "elevates this release beyond the sum of its parts". Since then, Microsoft has bought...
News Ninja Theory Explains Hellblade's PSVR Snub
There's a reasonable explanation
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice was announced for virtual reality headsets earlier today, but it won’t support PlayStation VR, prompting a bit of a backlash. Some felt that developer Ninja Theory – now a Microsoft subsidiary – was skipping Sony’s headset for corporate reasons, an assumption not exactly...
News Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice Updated on PS4 Despite Microsoft Acquisition
HDR support added
The thought-provoking Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice has received one more update on the PlayStation 4, despite Microsoft recently acquiring Cambridge-based developer Ninja Theory. Version 1.03 adds HDR support to both the PS4 and PS4 Pro versions of the game, and it also cleans up some very minor bugs. We really liked the Celtic...
News Why Ninja Theory's Leaving PlayStation
In its own words
If there was one thing at Microsoft's E3 2018 press conference that stung most for PlayStation fans, it was the announcement that Ninja Theory – the cult favourite developer of Heavenly Sword, Enslaved, and Hellblade – had become part of Microsoft Studios. Despite over a decade of games on Sony hardware, this...
E3 2018 Ninja Theory Will No Longer Make PS4 Games
Microsoft acquires Hellblade developer
Microsoft’s always indicated that it wants its own Naughty Dog, and so after Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice launched first on PlayStation 4 – it’s just bought developer Ninja Theory. The acquisition does make sense: it’ll presumably allow the Cambridge developer to work on much bigger games, without...
News Hellblade Raised a Helluva Lot of Money on World Mental Health Day
Senua's sacrifice
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is a great game that’s done a lot of good for people who played it and its developer, too. Even better: it’s about to do a helluva lot of good for people with mental illnesses, as Ninja Theory has raised a whopping £60,798 (about $80,000) for the Rethink Mental Illness charity. Bravo all around...
News Ninja Theory's Hellblade Has Exceeded Sales Expectations
But hasn't broken even yet
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice may not be the best game of the year, but it’s certainly one of the most memorable. Ninja Theory’s tale of mental illness was harrowing and hard to parse – but it was effective in using the medium to convey a very specific state of mind. So it’s refreshing to hear that it’s...
News Hellblade's Accolades Trailer Favours Players Over Pithy Press Clichés
Buy the game tomorrow and support a good cause
How many times does the press need to tell you the latest game is the best you’ve ever played? Even as reviewers, we appreciate you’ve probably got the memo by now. It’s so refreshing to see Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice take a different direction for its accolades trailer, then. This clip is...
Soapbox Hellblade's Permadeath Threat Is What Makes Games Special
Sammy's as worried as you are – and that's the point
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice erases your progress if you let the rot scaling the protagonist’s arm reach her mind. Or does it? I’m not going to get into the specifics of this system because Ninja Theory kindly asked me not to spoil it at all, but it does raise a wider question about games...
Review Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (PS4)
Heavy sword
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice opens with a warning screen, which tells you all you need to know about Ninja Theory’s challenging new character action game. Developed in conjunction with physicians and mental health patients, the title tackles the taboo subject of psychosis – a disorder which causes hallucinations and delusions. As...
News Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice Includes a 25 Minute Documentary on Psychosis
Added extra
One of the key themes in Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is mental health, and developer Ninja Theory’s worked with neuroscientists and patients in order to get that aspect right. So it’s pretty neat that the studio will be including a 25 minute documentary alongside the game itself to detail a little more about psychosis, and how...
News Pick Framerate or Resolution in Hellblade on PS4 Pro
Stunning launch trailer also released
Planning to play Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice on the PlayStation 4 Pro? You’ll have a couple of options to choose from. According to developer Ninja Theory, the game will support either an enhanced resolution on Sony’s supercharged system (no word on what that will be) or a higher framerate of 60...
News Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice Fights Its Demons in 10 Minute Demo
Mind master
Blimey, there’s some ridiculously cool stuff in this Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice demo. We love the way the voices in the protagonist's head are incorporated into the gameplay, alerting you to the arrival of new enemies and impending attacks. And we also enjoy the way the health of enemies is reflected by the wounds on their bodies...
News Hellblade to Host First Ever Q&A with Video Game Character
Innovative new MoCap makes it possible
Ninja Theory’s created some ridiculous motion capture technology which basically allows it to render in real-time. And it’s going to use that Unreal Engine 4-based equipment to host a live Hellblade question and answer session today – with, er, Senua from the game. Seriously! You’ll be able to send your...
News Hellblade Goes to War with Its Inner-Demons in New Trailer
The voices
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is a game primarily about mental health, and this trailer shows how it aims to depict the struggles of its lead character. In it, we see the heroine plagued by voices, and about to do battle with the demon in her mind. It’s really well done, actually – enhanced, of course, by some good acting and amazing...
News Hellblade Gets Seriously Stressed from 8th August
Senua's sacrifice
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice – the exciting independently developed adventure from Heavenly Sword developer Ninja Theory – will battle its demons starting 8th August on the PlayStation 4, with pre-orders open now. The title promises to pit the titular Celtic warrior against the Viking underworld Hel, and will tackle taboo...
News Hellblade's Two Year Journey Nears An End As Ninja Theory Hits Alpha
Senua's sacrifice
It feels like we've been writing about Hellblade for a lot longer than two years, as the title's been re-tooled a couple of times since it was first announced. Still, developer Ninja Theory's been steadily making progress with the intriguing project, and it's announced on the PlayStation Blog today that it's finally hit alpha. This...
Video Through the Fire and the Freeze of PlayStation VR's Dexed
Panzer Dragoon meets Rez
Ninja Theory: the industry's most divisive developer. Many love the Cambridge-based company for its work on Heavenly Sword and Enslaved, while those with anime avatars hate it for the colour of Dante's hair. Either way, the studio generally makes good games, and Dexed represents its first foray into the wonderful world of...
News Heavenly Sword Dev's PlayStation VR Game Dexed Drops Next Week
Song of ice and fire
Ninja Theory may be best known for its narrative-driven games, but it's going full-on arcade for its PlayStation VR debut Dexed. The game – billed as a Panzer Dragoon-esque rails shooter – sees you wielding two PlayStation Move controllers in order to summon ice and fire. You'll need to inflict these spells on their opposite...
News Obviously Hellblade Ain't Coming Out on PS4 This Year
No need to stress, though
Ninja Theory's fantastical take on mental health issues Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice will now release in 2017, in case you hadn't figured that out already. The ambitious indie experiment, which is being developed without publisher intrusion, has gone through multiple changes since its inception – but despite finding its...
News Ninja Theory's Really Innovating with Hellblade on PS4
Real-time cinematography will blow your mind
Ninja Theory, much like Naughty Dog and Quantic Dream, has always been at the forefront of motion capture – but some of the stuff that it's doing with Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is frankly insane. In this video detailing its Siggraph 2016 award-winning real-time cinematography technique, it...
News Eviscerate the Voices in New Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice PS4 Footage
Heavenly sword
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice has changed a lot over the past couple of years, but it's really starting to come together now. After going back to the drawing board, Ninja Theory's now published a new development diary which showcases the title's upgraded combat. And it's looking good, with Sen
News The Voices Teach Us How to Say Senua in Hellblade Trailer
Attractive outing's looking lovely
Bloody hell – this is intense, isn't it? Hellblade's not only gained a subtitle since last we saw it (Senua's Sacrifice, in case you're curious), but its lead character's also got a new look. And in this trailer designed to show off the indie title's outrageous production values, we also get a glimpse into the...
News Don't Expect to Be Playing Ninja Theory's Hellblade For a While Yet
Studio scraps a bunch of ideas
Hellblade's story has been more than a bit up and down so far hasn't it? The PlayStation 4 title was originally shown at Sony's Gamescom conference back in 2014, and since then, we haven't really seen all that much of the game. It's always sounded intriguing - an action title that deals with the topic of mental health...
Gamescom 2015 Hellblade Unsheathes Its Sword in PS4 Gameplay Clip
Battles in the brain
Ninja Theory's probably one of the most divisive names in gaming, but we're rather fond of the Cambridge-based studio's portfolio. Hellblade, however, definitely looks like it could do with a lot more time in the oven. Some very early footage from the forthcoming Celtic escapade has battled its way out of Gamescom 2015, and...
News Hellblade Is As Much About the Mind As It Is Murder
Imagine demons
Hellblade may look like your average character action game, but developer Ninja Theory has greater ambitions for the forthcoming PlayStation 4 release. The trailer embedded below – which includes a quick glimpse at several gameplay sequences – offers us a proper introduction to protagonist Senua, who suffers from a mental illness...
News You'll See More of Ninja Theory's Hellblade Very Soon
Senua soon
Hellblade is being shown at pre-E3 event Judge's Week right now, but you'll get your very first look at Ninja Theory's hack-'n'-slash title on 10th June. As part of a new behind-the-scenes video, the Cambridge-based developer has outlined how it went about building the title's first vertical slice – and the many challenges that it faced...
News Heavenly Sword's Art Director Has Returned to Ninja Theory to Work on Hellblade
The circle of life
Ninja Theory's forthcoming PlayStation 4 foray Hellblade is clearly a spiritual successor to Heavenly Sword – that name's a dead giveaway, after all – but the Cambridge-based developer has recruited the PlayStation 3 exclusive's art director, Hugues Giboire, just to make the link complete. The veteran has rejoined the team...
News Here's a Quick Glimpse at PS4 Hack-'n'-Slash Hellblade
Celtic chaos
Cambridge-based developer Ninja Theory wants to prove to you that indie games don't have to be cheap and cheerful. In this brand new behind-the-scenes video, the developer explains some of the ways that it's saving time and money with its forthcoming PlayStation 4 title Hellblade – without necessarily sacrificing overall quality...
News Whatever You May Think, Hellblade Is Not Heavenly Sword 2
Heaven and hell
Ninja Theory is pleading innocence, but Hellblade’s name has got to be some kind of hint, right? While the British developer made Enslaved: Odyssey to the West and DmC: Devil May Cry, it’ll probably be best known by readers of this website for Heavenly Sword – a PlayStation 3 exclusive that shares a name so similar to its lates
Gamescom 2014 Hellblade Is Ninja Theory's First AAA Indie for PS4
Adapt or die
When the trailer for Hellblade started during Sony's Gamescom 2014 press conference, it was hard to shrug the resemblance to the PlayStation 3 title Heavenly Sword. That's for good reason, too, as it's being created by Ninja Theory, the same studio behind Enslaved and DmC: Devil May
News Ninja Theory Has Not Enslaved Itself to Mobile Development
Heavenly sigh of relief
Keep harbouring those thoughts of Trip’s great comeback, as Ninja Theory – the developer behind Enslaved: Odyssey to the West – has denied reports that it’s abandoning console development. Rumours today suggested that the Cambridge-based studio best known for Heavenly Sword could be turning its attention solely to the
News Ninja Theory Searching for Protégés, Working on Blockbuster Game
DmC developer's latest is probably for PS4
Fresh from irritating the entirety of the Internet with its reimagining of Devil May Cry, divisive developer Ninja Theory is recruiting for a brand new blockbuster project. Last week, the Cambridge-based outfit revealed that it was on the lookout for fresh blood, and it’s since followed up with a slew of...
Talking Point Could Heavenly Sword Cut a Pose on the PS4?
Next generation sequel unsheathed?
Among the excitement for Ratchet & Clank’s big screen debut, the announcement of Heavenly Sword’s cinematic adaption sort of got lost in the shuffle. The flick was backhandedly referenced in a
News Dante Dashes Through Dreamlike Environment In New DmC Trailer
There's more than a hint of Alice: Madness Returns to Capcom's latest DmC gameplay vignette
The gameplay short shows moody protagonist Dante darting through a bizarre, dreamlike landscape. Being a Devil May Cry game, there's some midair brawling too. The game looks uber-pretty and the combat sharp. But dare to venture into the game's YouTube...
News That Devil May Cry Game That Everybody Hates Actually Looks Really Cool
It'd be euphemistic to say that the reception to Ninja Theory's Devil May Cry has been less than favourable, but it's always puzzled us exactly what everybody's got their panties in a bunch about
Sure the new Dante looks like he listens to way too much My Chemical Romance, but everything Capcom's shown of the game has looked pretty darn stellar. Not...
News Ninja Theory's Devil May Cry Reboot Continues To Look Pretty Cool
We know fans of the franchise absolutely hate what Ninja Theory's shown of its Devil May Cry franchise -- or DmC as we're supposed to call it
But everything we've seen of the game looks nuts. Drumming up our hype is this rad new batch of screenshots, which shows Dante sprinting through an almost Wonderland-esque skyline. "But why's he got brown...
News Ninja Theory's DmC Set In Parallel Dimension To Previous Games
Finally, an explanation for the emo look
Developer Ninja Theory has revealed that its new Devil May Cry reboot, DmC, takes place in a parallel dimension to previous entries in Capcom's popular series, lending some explanation to the not-so-subtle tweaks the British developer has made. Capcom's said that the traditional silver-haired Dante might...
News Ninja Theory Blames Marketing For Poor Enslaved Performance
Y'know, we really liked Enslaved, but there's an irony to developer Ninja Theory's whiny public perception
Prior to Enslaved's release, studio gaffer Tameem Antoniades talked up the benefits of going multiplatform after its previous PlayStation 3 exclusive project — Heavenly Sword — didn't meet expectations. But since Enslaved sold similarly...
News Ninja Theory Closes Book On Enslaved
Ninja Theory's Enslaved sure had its flaws when it released on PS3 last year, but we loved every minute of it regardless
With stunning visuals, quality character development and some breath-taking set-pieces — what the game lacked in polish it made up for in heart. But a sequel's not going to happen according to Ninja Theory boss Tameem...
News TGS 11: Capcom Goes Big With New DmC Trailer
Controversial as it may be, Capcom's pushing on with its Ninja Theory developed Devil May Cry title
The publisher has released a new trailer of the title as part of this week's Tokyo Game Show. You can catch it after the jump. (We still think it looks rad).
E3 2011 Ninja Theory Releases Debut DmC Gameplay Trailer
Look, Devil May Cry fans are going to find a reason to hate on this brand new DmC footage -- but we think it looks great
The action looks sharp and suitably flashy. Similarly, we like the game's visual style. There's even a glimpse of the white-haired Dante that everyone loves. But yes, we're aware of the old adage: "Haters gonna hate".
News Namco's Committed To Pushing The Enslaved Series
Sometimes it feels like you could be sentenced to death-row for publicly acknowledging your enjoyment of Ninja Theory's Enslaved
People really hate that game. It's probably because it was developed by the same team that stole the dude out of Devil May Cry's hair bleach, but whatever — we liked it. May as well cart us away now, huh? At last count...
News Enslaved's Lifetime Sales Cross A Reasonable 730,000 Units
Most people were disappointed to see Ninja Theory's stunning Enslaved flop at the end of last year
The third-person action game wasn't the most polished game on the market, but had some wonderful characterisation and voice acting. As such, most people were willing it to succeed. But at last counting, Enslaved had sold just 460,000 units. That number...
News Wait A Minute, There Might Be Another Heavenly Sword Game On The Way?
Consider us completely caught off guard with this one
UK gaming magazine, PlayGamer, is hinting that Sony will announce a sequel to Heavenly Sword at this year's E3. It's unlikely that original developers Ninja Theory will be at the helm, as they are currently busy working on a Devil May Cry reboot for Capcom. Our top bet for taking on the franchise...
News Enslaved Gets Nominated For An Ivor Novello Award
Enslaved was one of the most under-rated games of last year
Anything it lacked in gameplay polish was more than made up by the game's beautiful art direction and fantastic characterisation. While the game might not have been recognised as widely as it should have been amongst the gaming community, it can at least add a feather to its bow in the form...
News Namco Speaks Openly About Enslaved, Puts Low Sales Down To "Busy Holiday" Period
The more we think back to Namco and Ninja Theory's Enslaved, the more we realise how much we enjoyed it
There were quirks to the visuals and gameplay, but ultimately the package was original, well told and lovingly put together. Unfortunately, the game didn't do anywhere near the numbers it deserved. Speaking frankly with Siliconera, Namco's...
News Shame On You: Enslaved Sales Sit Below The 500,000 Unit Milestone
Ninja Theory's Enslaved: Odyssey To The West was not a perfect game, but it was still a very good one
Above all, it was refreshing to play something unique. While the game clearly took a lot of inspiration from the likes of Uncharted, it was well written and lovingly put together. In short: Enslaved deserved your money. Sadly consumers disagreed...
News Pigsy's Perfect 10 DLC Heading To Enslaved Alongside 3D Support
Pigsy was the worst character in Enslaved as far as we were concerned
Aside from some comical moments, he kinda broke the tone we'd grown to love about the game. That said, Enslaved was absolutely brilliant, so it's hard for us to be too down on the character's central role in the game's first slice of DLC. The DLC, entitled Pigsy's Perfect 10, will...
News Ninja Theory Hiring For "Unannounced" Title (Bring Trip Back, Just Sayin')
Enslaved and Heavenly Sword developer, Ninja Theory, has revealed on Twitter that they are staffing up for an "unannounced" title
The company detailed that they're looking for a new "lead designer" for the title. We'd like to think Enslaved did well enough to warrant a sequel. We did think it was really good to be honest. Ninja Theory are...
