To the surprise of many, Ninja Theory showed up to the Xbox Game Showcase to debut a brand new game in the Hellblade franchise, Senua.

Fans who wanted more combat in Hellblade 2, it appears Ninja Theory has listened. The 2 minute trailer featured a heavy dose of combat mixed with the jaw dropping visuals we are now used to from Ninja Theory.

At first glance this kind of seems like a bit of an origin story for Senua, the Celtic Warrior. Senua is about her being trapped between life and death in a fractured vision of purgatory. Fighting off enemies in purgatory she must work to save those she lost to reunite with them in the afterlife.

In an Xbox Wire post, who spoke to Ninja Theory studio head Dom Matthews about Senua. When asked whre Senua fits into the timeline Matthews says “Well, we can say that this game takes place after the events of both Hellblade I and Hellblade II – and it’s set in Purgatory. It’s Senua’s vision of purgatory, which is a vision of her childhood homeland. So in one sense she’s returning home.”

Visually, it is a much more vibrant game than the darkness that was Hellblade 2 which makes sense if she’s seeing her homeland.

I’m personally a huge fan of the Hellblade titles. While Hellblade 2 was a big light on combat, it was a stunning game with a great narrative and exactly what I wanted to see from Ninja Theory. In my review I gave it a 9 saying “Everything from the story to the graphics and world building to the gameplay have seen massive upgrades from what was already a great original game to deliver a sequel that is one of the can’t miss games of 2024.”

Senua is scheduled to release sometime in 2027 for Xbox Series S/X, PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam. It will be an Xbox Play Anywhere title and day one on Xbox Game Pass.