Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II launched on May 12, 2024 on Xbox Series X|S, and PC on Steam. While the game was generally well received, Ninja Theory’s continuation of Senua’s story proved surprisingly contentious. It didn’t quite become the next big game to elevate the franchise or the studio, but of course, it wasn’t like Ninja Theory and Microsoft couldn’t fix that.
Last May, a few days after its one-year anniversary, Ninja Theory announced Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II Enhanced, a new version of the game that would also bring it to PlayStation 5. Today, we have more details on this new release, thanks to a new post on Xbox Wire.
The big albatross around Ninja Theory’s necks is the game’s graphics and performance. On this end, they promise to have fixed things. Performance Mode on Xbox Series X now adds the option to play the game at 60 FPS. Steam players already get a wider range of performance options, but Ninja Theory has also added a “Very High” Preset for PC gamers to make that higher performance level more accessible.
This preset will adjust to your personal PC builds, so you won’t even have to put in any extra work. Lastly, the game is now Steam Deck Verified. For gamers who already bought the game on Steam or Xbox, this is all a free upgrade.
PlayStation 5 gamers will get the game on the same day Xbox and PC gamers get the Enhanced upgrade, on August 12. There will be a Standard Edition for $ 49.99, and a Deluxe Edition which bundles a PlayStation 5 optimized version of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and its original soundtrack. Ninja Theory has also gone above and beyond for fans who bought Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice on the PlayStation 4, as this will be a free upgrade for them on the PlayStation 5.
There are even more special features coming for this game. A Dark Rot mode adds a unique challenge, as every time you fail, Dark Rot will grow more and more on Senua, and if you keep failing too often, the rot will go to Senua’s head leading to a complete progress wipe.
Photo Mode itself has been enhanced, with more options on that toolset, and a new Motion feature to let you take some Video Capture. Finally, Ninja Theory has added a developer commentary.
PlayStation 5 gamers do get one pre-order bonus: the Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II original soundtrack, which will come as an app on PlayStation Store.
You can watch the official release date trailer below.
