Someone, protect me from Hellblade 2's unbelievably impressive photo mode and its moveable light bulbs

Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 releases next week, but even before getting my hands on the trippy action sequel, I already know its photo mode is going to swallow up hours of my life. 

Developer Ninja Theory has been sharing tidbits from its upcoming Viking epic every day in the lead-up to launch, and today, we were treated to a peek at its photo mode. That isn't normally the most hype part of a marketing campaign, but I'm making an exception here because you can move the light bulbs (I'm super serious.)

The video embedded below cycles through plenty of options in Hellblade 2's photo mode - from the standard camera placement and filter options to the more exciting features, such as manipulating characters and adding effects - as our main gal Senua swings at a foe.

There were two major details that jumped out at me, though. The first was the way Hellblade 2 lets you set a depth of field, literally letting you pull and push a slider across the environment. The other is the aforementioned adjustable light bulbs, which again, I'm going to spend hours moving around the game. From the brief look, we can see there are multiple light bulb types that you can attach to either the camera or any part of the level, as well as options for what it can and can't illuminate. 

Maybe you want Senua under a spotlight, with the horrors around her in shadow. Maybe you want to focus on the drama of a duel and have the light ignore fog or other environmental details. Maybe you just want to light up the dark corners in every level, which I'm sure are plentiful, because there has to be something hidden in at least one of the shadows, right? Right? 

Either way, I'm scared of what this photo mode might do to me. Cosplaying as a pro photographer in Red Dead Redemption 2 or Rider's Republic already consumed days of my existence. But how could I resist when Hellblade 2's combat is inspired by Game of Thrones' most brutally beautiful battle?

Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 comes out on Xbox Series X|S, Game Pass, and PC via Steam on May 21.

Check out our new games of 2024 guide to see everything on the horizon.