Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
UK EditionUK US EditionUS CA EditionCanada AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
Total Film
  • home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • View Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
Subscribe now
Don't miss these
Trending
  • Fable 4 interview
  • New Games for 2026
  • Big in 2026
  • Arknights: Endfield codes
  1. Games
  2. Action
  3. Hellblade

This is not a human being's face - it's PS4's most realistic protagonist yet

News
By Sam Prell published 26 October 2015

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Heavenly Sword (2007)

Heavenly Sword (2007)

Hellblade's Senua is getting a facelift, but it's not like this hasn't happened before. Just compare the "before" and "after" pics of Nariko.

Page 1 of 3
Page 1 of 3
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (2010)

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (2010)

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West gave us the highly-detailed Monkey and Trip.

Page 2 of 3
Page 2 of 3
DmC: Devil May Cry (2013)

DmC: Devil May Cry (2013)

Dante's redesign, while controversial, is anything but lifeless.

Page 3 of 3
Page 3 of 3
CATEGORIES
PC Gaming PS4 Platforms PlayStation
Sam Prell
Sam Prell
Social Links Navigation

Sam is a former News Editor here at GamesRadar. His expert words have appeared on many of the web's well-known gaming sites, including Joystiq, Penny Arcade, Destructoid, and G4 Media, among others. Sam has a serious soft spot for MOBAs, MMOs, and emo music. Forever a farm boy, forever a '90s kid.

Share by:
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Whatsapp
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google

Thanks to some outside help from a company called 3Lateral, heroine Senua from the upcoming Hellblade might end up being the PS4's most lifelike character yet. UK-based developer Ninja Theory, creators of Heavenly Sword and DmC: Devil May Cry, are behind the Celtic goddess' design.

Although Senua was revealed alongside the game in late 2014, the dev diary above shows that her design is getting tweaked and refined before the game's release date. There's a new range and level of expressiveness to the character, and proportions are more human. The eyes in particular stand out as having a lot more depth. The diary also points out that this is not uncommon for Ninja Theory to do. Just look at how much their designs have changed over the years with the gallery above.

Although very little of the game's plot has been revealed thus far, Ninja Theory calls Hellblade an "independent AAA game" about a Celtic goddess diving into the underworld - possibly literally, possibly metaphorically. That supernatural spelunking puts her in plenty of danger, and she'll engage in melee combat - another of Ninja Theory's trademark focuses - with monstrous entities. Considering these production values, it certainly earns the latter half of that label. Hellblade is slated to hit PS4 and PC in 2016.

Seen something newsworthy? Tell us!

Latest in Action
Kiln screenshot of a large red clay cup
Double Fine's next game is a PvP brawler with pottery-powered team battles and a full social hub, out this spring
 
 
Marcus being pinned to a wall by a Locust Drone during the Gears of War: E-Day trailer.
While Gears of War: E-Day rewinds the clock, The Coalition is looking to freshen up the 20-year-old series
 
 
Marcus and Dom looking at the fallen city of Kalona during the Gears of War: E-Day trailer.
Gears of War: E-Day is set in one city as it's both "a rich environment" and "the best gameplay playground"
 
 
Gears of War: E-Day gameplay screenshot showing a blood soaked Marcus and Dom
The Coalition believes that Gears of War: E-Day "has the potential to be one of the best stories in the Gears franchise"
 
 
Pragmata screenshot showing Diana, an android who looks like a little girl with long blonde hair, using what appears to be a hacking ability
In a games industry dominated by safe bets, Capcom keeps getting weird with it
 
 
Lara Croft holding two guns while smiling during the teaser for Tomb Raider: Catalyst.
Tomb Raider's co-creator "really didn't want to alter" her, even after a whole new model was created for Japan
 
 
Latest in News
Forza Horizon 6
Forza Horizon 6 is going full anime with Initial D-inspired Touge Battle mode and a full-sized Gundam
 
 
Screenshot from Hytale, showing three warriors with a sword, bow, and staff sighting a big, icy dragon.
Minecraft creative lead plays Hytale and decides "I'd rather just play Minecraft," Hytale dev says he's "probably right"
 
 
Forza Horizon 6 gameplay screenshot
Forza Horizon 6 adds Assassin's Creed Shadows-style base where you can build anything, if you fund it with tofu delivery
 
 
KCD2 screenshot of a combat encounter
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 dev had to "change the rules of the game" because it couldn't compete with giga budget RPGs
 
 
Fable 4 gameplay screenshot
Fable head says "we can't try to make a Lionhead game" and that the RPG reboot isn't fantasy – it's fairytale
 
 
Forza Horizon 6 gameplay screenshot
Forza Horizon 6 Premium Edition is $120, even more expensive than the previous game, and it doesn't include all DLC
 
 
  1. Origin Story box and cards laid out on a wooden surface
    1
    Looking for a good 2-player board game? This superhero adventure is worth suiting up for
  2. 2
    Trails Beyond the Horizon review: "This JRPG's thrilling real-time and turn-based combat evolves Metaphor ReFantazio's hybrid battles, making up for a poorly paced adventure"
  3. 3
    This alt-history board game is still a gold standard for modern strategy
  4. 4
    Skate Story review: "A beautiful and unique skateboarding game with great, stylized visuals set in a grungy underworld"
  5. 5
    Octopath Traveler 0 review: "The strongest entry in this retro-styled JRPG series yet, I love the greater focus on tactical battles"
  1. Return to Silent Hill protagonist James Sunderland
    1
    Return to Silent Hill review: "Neither an impressive adaptation nor coherent enough to act as a standalone film"
  2. 2
    28 Years Later: The Bone Temple review: "The wildest and weirdest entry into the franchise yet"
  3. 3
    Avatar: Fire and Ash review: "Still a technical marvel, with some of the year's best action filmmaking"
  4. 4
    Five Nights at Freddy's 2 review: "We have waited two years for a Five Nights at Freddy's 1.5"
  5. 5
    Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery review: "Brings Knives Out back to its roots for a sequel that's almost on a par with the original"
  1. Holly Hunter as Captain Ake in Starfleet Academy.
    1
    Starfleet Academy review: "It may feel a little different to what we're used to, but this is Star Trek through and through"
  2. 2
    A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms review: "This Game of Thrones spin-off is a heartfelt and fun return to Westeros"
  3. 3
    Stranger Things season 5 finale review: “Shows off both the best and the worst of Hawkins”
  4. 4
    Stranger Things season 5, Volume 2 review: “All set up for a finale that has so much to deliver”
  5. 5
    Fallout season 2 review: "A hell of a lot of fun despite being overcrowded and convoluted"

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google
  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...