New Hellblade trailer pleads for pre-orders

Ninja Theory has put out another Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice trailer. It shows of a few snippets of action before getting a bit strange, with half of the video being a plea for people to pre-order and support the game. At least Ninja Theory isn’t beating around the bush.

“Hellblade is an independently developed, triple A quality game created by a small team of 20 people,” Dominic Matthews explains as he begins his plea. He positions Hellblade as the game that could bring back those mid-sized adventures that have become an endangered species, and points out that its cost takes into account its length.

“If we can make Hellblade a success, others will follow, to make games a richer, more varied place,” he continues. It’s a bit of a guilt trip, isn’t it? I doubt that the fate of mid-sized games really depends on Hellblade, but I’d be happy to be proved wrong. If Hellblade is great, does well, and spurs on more games like this, then we all win.

Mind you, that doesn’t mean you should all rush out and pre-order it.

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice launches on August 8.

Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.