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  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.

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DmC: Devil May Cry (2013)

DmC: Devil May Cry (2013)

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

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CATEGORIES
PC Gaming PS4 Platforms PlayStation
Sam Prell
Sam Prell
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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.

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.

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  • Oblivion Remastered "Sir Vancealot" Ex-Skyrim dev grants "most absurd face" award to Oblivion Remastered player's Sir Vancealot: "I think this would have won" Bethesda's internal competitions
  • Upcoming PS5 games title image showcasing Death Stranding 2, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, Ghost of Yotei, and Doom the Dark Ages Upcoming PS5 games: New PS5 games for 2025 and beyond

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Max Payne
Max Payne's iconic mug came about because of its creator's university TTRPG club, but he got so "self-conscious" after the game's release that he had to change his hairstyle to remain incognito
Oblivion Remastered "Sir Vancealot"
Ex-Skyrim dev grants "most absurd face" award to Oblivion Remastered player's Sir Vancealot: "I think this would have won" Bethesda's internal competitions
Upcoming PS5 games title image showcasing Death Stranding 2, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, Ghost of Yotei, and Doom the Dark Ages
Upcoming PS5 games: New PS5 games for 2025 and beyond
Death Stranding 2 Sam running through the desert near a derelict city
Hideo Kojima fans are discovering just how good Death Stranding 2 looks thanks to a generational Norman Reedus comparison
The Witcher 4 screenshot with Ciri using sword and sorcery to fight an ancient monster
The Witcher 4 first look - State of Unreal 2025 Live Coverage
Early dark-haired character face model for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Watch in horror and awe as Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 director uses early builds of characters like a vtuber model in the only video on Sandfall's old YouTube channel
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