How to solve the first Hellblade 2 rune puzzle and clear the barrier

Hellblade 2's first puzzle tasks you with using perspective tricks to create a rune symbol, just like some of the puzzle in the first game. It's a simple puzzle made a little complicated by the fact that Hellblade 2 barely explains any of its mechanics, so you might have trouble figuring out what to do.

To help you understand how this first rune puzzle in Hellblade 2 works (and therefore how many of the other puzzles work since a lot of them use the same tricks), I've explained the solution below.

Hellblade 2 rune puzzle solution

To solve the first puzzle in Hellblade 2, you need to line up some objects floating around the area to recreate the rune symbol on the barrier blocking your path, then hold RT to focus on the rune.

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If you're facing the barrier, turn around and you should see a large boulder in the middle of the clearing. Head over to the far side of the boulder, look back at the barrier, and then move Senua around to line up the red bits of floating debris above the boulder to recreate the shape of the rune. The rune itself should appear in white on your screen when you're close to lining it all up.

Once Senua is standing in roughly the right spot, press and hold RT – the Focus button – to activate the rune and lower the barrier, letting you squeeze through the rock gap and carry on your trek across Iceland. These perspective puzzles appear several times during Hellblade 2, so you can apply the same method here to any of the others. Although, the most important thing to remember is the Focus button as it's used in all puzzles, for every collectible, and even in combat, so don't forget to use it throughout Senua's journey.

Later in the game, you'll come up against the Hellblade 2 bridge puzzle.

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