Should you play Hellblade 1 before playing Hellblade 2?

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is here to continue, well, Senua’s saga. Hellblade 2 picks up an indeterminate amount of time after 2017’s Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice.

The events of Hellblade 1 have a definite effect on Hellblade 2 — specifically on Senua — but do you have to have played Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice to enjoy Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2? Let’s break it down.

Should you play Hellblade 1 before playing Hellblade 2?

The short answer is: You don’t have to play Hellblade 1 before playing Hellblade 2.

There’s a handy (skippable) recap movie when you start a new game of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2. What’s more, the events of the Senua’s Sacrifice are more backdrop than foundational to the events of Senua’s Saga — they’re good to know and they flesh out the world, but they’re not strictly necessary.

Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

Regardless, when you start a new game, you’ll get a five-minute video with carved megalith visuals that covers all of the events of Hellblade 1. It’s thorough enough to get you up to speed for Hellblade 2 without too many questions.

If you missed anything in the video, though, here’s the crash course to get you ready for Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2: Senua hears voices (the Furies). Her mother heard voices too. Senua’s father was a bad man and killed her mother because he thought the voices were evil. Senua fell in love, but it didn’t go well. People died. Senua continued to hear voices, and now had another voice in her head — her father’s (The Darkness and, later, the Shadow). Senua went to Hel(l) to retrieve her lost love and kill a god. She was half-successful, finally learning to accept loss as part of life (but still stabbing a god). She learned to live with the voices as a part of her.

That last part is why the voices you’ll hear throughout Hellblade 2 are kind of neither encouraging or discouraging — they’ve taken on a role more as observers or commenters (or a Greek chorus) than as antagonists.

For more Hellblade 2 guides, check out our guides on the Freyslaug rune puzzle solutions, Hiddenfolk puzzle solutions, and Bardarvik sea giant rune puzzle solutions.