Use these Hellblade 2 tips and you'll have a much smoother time battling Icelandic horrors and exploring. Aside from showing you the controls at the start of the game and being able to refresh yourself in the game's pause menu, Hellblade 2 doesn't give you any hints or help. No HUD, button prompts, or tutorials. Núll.
It's not like the game is especially complicated, but it mixes walking around with puzzle-solving and a bit of combat, and if you've not played the first game, it can make for a slightly confusing experience. However, the tips and tricks for Hellblade 2 that I've laid out below should give you the guidance you need to figure out your way through Senua's ordeal.
1. When in doubt, push the left stick forward
This is a seriously basic tip, but with the seamless transitions between cutscenes and gameplay in Hellblade 2, it's sometimes hard to tell when you're in control of Senua. It's good to hold the left stick forward, especially if she's climbing or crawling through something, as these moments sometimes seem like cutscenes and the game gives you no button hints at any point. Obstacles can also get in your way which you'll need to press A to move and get past which the game also doesn't clarify.
2. Look for rocks and objects with white markings
Rock formations that you can climb or squeeze through are usually marked with white paint, helping you find possible routes to reach collectible or puzzle areas or ways out of areas to continue through the game.
3. Don't forget to use Focus
Using Senua's "Focus" by pressing and holding RT or LT is necessary to solving every puzzle in the game as it has different contextual uses. For rune puzzles, you need to use to activate a rune once you've recreated the shape, as in the very first Hellblade 2 rune puzzle. Later, you'll face puzzles involving bubbles that act as switches which are also activated using Focus.
Not too far into the game, Senua will also unlock the ability to use Focus in combat. Once her mirror is charged and glowing, press RT or LT to briefly slow time and increase Senua's attack speed, letting her batter an enemy with a flurry of blows to get an easy kill.
4. Listen to the voices during puzzles
Listening to voices in your head is bad advice in all cases except for when playing Hellblade 2. Senua's inner voices sometimes offer minor hints for puzzles, which is about as much help as you get throughout the time it takes to beat Hellblade 2, so it's important to take what you can get. Listen out for phrases like, "Focus, Senua", and, "find the right perspective", to help you understand what you need to be doing.
5. Dodging attacks is much easier than parrying
During combat, Senua can block attacks by holding RB or even parry, but the timing is pretty strict from my experience. I found dodging attacks by pressing A as the enemy's weapon is about to hit Senua to be much easier to execute, and dodging a string of attacks leaves your enemy open to attack as they recover. Furthermore, especially powerful attacks from enemies that have a faint red glow are unblockable, so must be dodged anyway.
6. Heavy attacks are good for breaking through enemy defense
Senua delivers a slow but powerful strike when pressing Y. These heavy attacks are very useful for breaking the guards of enemies that are capable of blocking or use shields, leaving them open to more attacks. However, heavy attacks need to be timed well as they leave Senua highly vulnerable to attacks from foes. Use them after a string of quick attacks or after the enemy has just finished their attack pattern.
7. You have a chance to resist death in combat
Taking too much of a beating leads to Senua getting knocked down in combat, which can sometimes lead to an immediate black screen, meaning you died, or a moment where the enemy prepares a final killing blow. When the latter happens, time will slow down, giving you a chance to mash any button or activate Focus. Senua will dodge the attack at the last second and get back up, letting you carry on the fight.
8. Explore areas for collectibles
Achievement hunters should go off the beaten track as you walk through Icelandic landscapes to find lore totems and faces in the rocks which lead to magic trees. These collectibles are purely there to flesh out the Norse world of Hellblade 2 and provide some gamerscore/trophies for finding them all, so skipping them means you don't miss out on any gameplay benefits.
If you do want to go back and get them, you can use the chapter and checkpoint selection options on the game's main menu to save you replaying the whole game.
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