Upcoming adventure game Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 follows the story of Senua, a warrior impacted by psychosis in her day-to-day journey. In depicting the effects of psychosis, and how it transforms perceptions of the real world, game developer Ninja Theory aimed to represent the condition as accurately and respectfully as possible.
To that end, the studio has been working with Neuroscience specialist Paul Fletcher of the University of Cambridge for nearly a decade, while also working directly with the RCE Wellbeing Hub to gain an understanding of what psychosis is, as well as the stigma that follows it.
It’s a complex topic to depict, and Ninja Theory is keen to avoid it becoming a simple “mechanic” in Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2. Rather, the studio hopes its depiction of psychosis, and how it impacts Senua’s journey, can be a learning experience for all players.
Read: Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 launches as a digital-only game in May 2024
To support that goal, Ninja Theory has announced a special live event highlighting the research that’s gone into developing the game. In partnership with Cambridge Neuroscience, the studio will host Hellblade: A Journey of the Mind, a livestream event taking place on 9 April 2024 PT/ET.
Here’s the official event description, to give you a better idea of what’s in store:
“This collaboration between Ninja Theory and Cambridge Neuroscience will explore the perspectives of both those who have experienced psychosis, and those who work to study and treat it. You will also hear from the Ninja Theory team who will expand upon how we applied these learnings to our games.”
The event will air at 11:00 pm AEST | 2:00 pm BST | 9:00 am ET | 6:00 am PT on 9 April, and will be available to watch on Twitch, YouTube and Facebook.
In hosting the event, Ninja Theory hopes to provide a glimpse at the mountain of work that’s gone into Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, while also providing necessary education about psychosis to the game’s audience.
