Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice PC Performance Review

Graphical Options and Settings

Hellbalde: Senua’s Sacrifice is a game that is based on Unreal Engine 4 and uses the DirectX 11 graphical API on PC, with the game also offering support for Nvidia Ansel, a dedicated in-game photography mode that is exclusive to users of Nvidia hardware. 

In Unreal Engine 4, Nvidia typically has an advantage in terms of PC performance, giving Nvidia an advantage from the get-go, especially when considering the fact that the game was developed with Nvidia Ansel and the fact that AMD lacks day-1 drivers for the game. 

In terms of in-game options Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is very basic, with graphics, Gamma, Control, and Audio options, aside from the game’s difficulty and photo mode options. 

Hellblade makes great use of audio, especially in the form of Senua’s internal voices, which can both help and hinder the player throughout the game, either building her up with praise or pushing her down with ridicule. Senua suffers from psychosis and Ninja Theory has worked hard with both experts and people with the condition to provide what they deem to be an accurate portrayal of the condition in-game. 

Those who have difficulty hearing Senua’s internal voices properly should turn on Subtitles, as they can often give the player tips in combat or alert them to the presence of enemies behind them. Headphones are also recommended as the directionality of these voices greatly add to the game, almost in an ASMR kinda way. 

In terms of graphical options, the game has basic resolutions and fullscreen options as well as some fairly basic graphical presets. Below is a list of the game’s graphical options, all of which have Low, Medium, High and Very High options. 

– Quality – Sets all below settings to Low, Medium, High or Very High
– Foliage (Low, Medium, High and Very High)
– Postprocessing (Low, Medium, High and Very High)
– Shadows (Low, Medium, High and Very High)
– Textures (Low, Medium, High and Very High)
– View Distance (Low, Medium, High and Very High)
– View Effects (Low, Medium, High and Very High)
– V-Sync (On/Off)

It is a shame that Hellblade only utilises the basic Unreal Engine 4 scalability options here, as something a little bit more specialised would be preferable. Where are the AA, motion blur, chromatic aberration or anisotropic filtering options? Dedicated options for these features would be great to see here, but right now Hellblade is lacking in this regard. 

Some of these options can be changed by modifying certain game files, though TBH these options really should be included within the game itself. 

In all the PC graphical options menu in Hellblade makes the game feel rushed on PC and certainly not AAA. Ninja Theory certainly have not impressed us in this regard. 

Control Options

All control options in Hellblade Senua’s Sacrifice are rebindable, though there is a notable absence in mouse sensitivity options. The game is fairly easy to control on mouse an keyboard, though those who must have adjustable mouse sensitivity better start asking Ninja Theory for a patch. 

Mouse acceleration is also enabled by default, with the game lacking the ability to run it off. This will be a big issue for some gamers.