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Heartwarming / Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

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Hellblade is a dark tale exploring a woman's mental illness, and thus moments of levity are few and far between.


  • One particular moment is a flashback of Senua meeting Dillion for the first time. More specifically, it's her working up the courage to actually speak to him for the first time instead of just watching him from a distance and mimicking his sword practice. It's like a cliché scene from a high school romance, where the shy awkward girl speaks to the nice handsome jock, except instead of silly it's beautiful. It's framed from Dillion's perspective so we see how Senua is so smitten she can barely look him in the eye, and how nervous she is talking to him, while he's just casual and carefree about it, commenting on her prowess with a sword. You half expect her to go full schoolgirl and cradle her chest and twirl her hair in her fingers.
    Voice: How does he so effortlessly court the world in bliss? If only she could do the same. See the world through eyes anew... and dance with it just as he does.
  • Occasionally Senua perceives her mother's face in the landscape. Focus, and Galena gives Senua a few words of encouragement. Dillion wasn't the only positive influence in Senua's life.
  • The game's conclusion is a Bittersweet Ending — Senua finally lets go of Dillion and makes peace with her own demons, looking directly at the screen and saying "Follow us. We have another story to tell."
  • Some of the female voices (Furies) that Senua hears are more often helpful than not, particularly during combat. They also express genuine concern for her at times. It is incredible that Senua, despite her illness and all she has been through, maintains some sense of self-worth which allows her to comfort herself like this.
    • Notably, after she accepts her psychosis as a part of herself rather then a curse, they're entirely helpful, with the more negative and hostile voices seemingly gone.

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