Hellblade Not Tied to Heavenly Sword

[Esmeralda Portillo]

Hellblade Not Tied to Heavenly Sword

[Vimeo=102969072]

Ninja Theory wants their fans to know that their newest game Hellblade has no connection to Heavenly Sword.

When the name for the new Ninja Theory game was released, Hellblade, fans were immediately speculating if this product tied in any way to the company's first game Heavenly Sword [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/heavenly%20sword]. The games have similar elements such as a female protagonist and ninja-like elements, and even the names seem to be direct antonyms of one another.

When Dominic Matthews, a product development manager at Ninja Theory, was asked to set the record straight about Hellblade's connection to Heavenly Sword he confirmed that, "No, it's not. It's a brand-new IP. Senua is a new character. It's not tied to Heavenly Sword at all." Hellblade was just announced at Gamescom and is currently a PlayStation 4 exclusive. " It's a new IP. It's a brand new game. It's brand new characters. It's a brand new world. It's not linked at all." Hellblade will be the first game Ninja Theory publishes themselves and will be a digital-only title.

Matthews continues to explain that the similarities of the names wasn't an intentional move to make a hidden connection, "I saw someone describe the name as someone just putting Heavenly Sword into Thesaurus.com and going, oh it's Hellblade," which now just seems to be a coincidence, "It's actually more just we like making female protagonists that look in a certain style. And we like swords. And we like hell. It's more that."

Ninja Theory wouldn't even go so far as to state Hellblade is a spiritual successor to Heavenly Sword, "... because that has certain expectations," such as having the stories link or having similar game designs. However, even if Hellblade is a brand new property, Matthews reaffirms fans that, "If you like Heavenly Sword, like Enslaved [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/reviews/2142-Enslaved-Odyssey-to-the-West-Video-Review], and like what we did, then the aim is you'll like this, too." And if we're to go off the announcement trailer, it has some dark elements of DmC in there too.

Ninja Theory has had good success with its current titles and attained favorable reviews on most of their products. Ninja Theory is currently pronouncing themselves as "AAA indies" and hoping to keep creating the work they love [http://www.hellblade.com/?p=16972].

Source: GameSpot [http://www.gamespot.com/articles/hellblade-isnt-tied-to-heavenly-sword-nor-is-it-a-/1100-6421787/]

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[Zhukov]

I can see why people would think it was connected. She even looks a bit like the kooky kid from Heavenly Sword, except all grown up and angsty. Given the ending to Heavenly Sword, I would have felt safe assuming this was a sequel.

Oh well, new IP is always welcome.

I shall eagerly await their next game, Purgatory's Dagger.

 

[mysecondlife]

So no twing twang? There better be som'a those twing twang's.

 

[Rawbeard]

Yeah, right. New IP, new character. It is a wild coincidence that character looks excatly the same like one from Heavenly Sword... AND the game is called Hellblade. Seriously, if you are so afraid to tie your new game to an old of yours DO NOT MAKE IT LOOK AND SOUND AND FEEL THE SAME IN ITS FIRST TRAILER!

Argh. I don't care for this franchise at all, but this kind of spineless marketing is pissing me off.

 

[Something Amyss]

I shall eagerly await their next game, Purgatory's Dagger.

I'm hoping they do Limbo's Spoon first.

 

[Zhukov]

I shall eagerly await their next game, Purgatory's Dagger.

I'm hoping they do Limbo's Spoon first.

They already used that title. It was the name of the alternate ending DLC for Edged Weapon of the Afterlife.

 

[Skeleon]

So, basically, they're saying...
"No, this is not connected to our previous title, we're just not very creative."

 

[Something Amyss]

They already used that title. It was the name of the alternate ending DLC for Edged Weapon of the Afterlife.

I thought that was Pointy Thing of Valhalla.

 

[Zhukov]

I thought that was Pointy Thing of Valhalla.

Possibly. Although you might be thinking of Lance of Hades.

 

[Asclepion]

Possibly. Although you might be thinking of Lance of Hades.

Samsara's Razor

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well considering Sony had dibs on Heavenly Sword I can only expect they own that IP. So really why not swing another IP even if it is the same thing, this was after all the biggest problem with DmC... they made something after their own taste, signed a contract to call it something that it wasn't and then people went ape.

 

[DerpHerpilous]

Ninja Theory has had moderate success with its current titles and attained stellar reviews on most of their products.

Uh, no they haven't.

Their games roster includes:
[ul]1) Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (Metacritic ratings between 70 and 82, user rating 7.5-7.9), with total sales figures of 1.04 million units across two major platforms.
2) DMC: Devil May Cry (Metacritic rating of 85-86, user rating 5.0-6.7), with total sales figures of 1.09 million units across three major platforms.
3) Heavenly Sword (Metacritic rating of 79, user rating 8.3), with total sales figures of 1.61 million units.[/ul]

I find it hard to argue that they've had "stellar reviews" with not a single game carrying a 90+ composite score on their history. I guess you could probably call three games with over a million copies sold "moderate success", though.

I like how you are implying that metacritic scores mean anything. Personally, if I made 3 games and they all got around 75 out of 100 I'd be pretty damn happy with that turnout. It's not saying it's the best game ever but it is saying that they are fun. Enslaved is a very much underrated game that does have it's own problems but is still worth a playthrough or two.

 

[Grabehn]

"Ninja Theory wouldn't even go so far as to state Hellblade is a spiritual successor to Heavenly Sword" It's actually a good idea, since all most people said about Heavenly Sword was "Oh look, it's she-Kratos" and it was pretty much forgotten after that.

I seriously think though that if they don't want people to think it's a "successor" they should really think about having SOMETHING that looks a bit different from the previous one, and a better naming convention that's not "Adjective/Place-Weapon".

 

[Drummodino]

Will keep an eye on this one. Loved DmC and while I haven't played Heavenly Sword or Enslaved, what I've seen of them was pretty good. They have a real knack for creating vibrant and beautiful games.

 

[Something Amyss]

Possibly. Although you might be thinking of Lance of Hades.

It may actually have been Spork of Elysium. I often confuse the two. I don't think I've played LoH yet.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

I fully expect them not to have learned a damned thing about game design. After three games it's clear they haven't improved in providing gameplay. It wouldn't be so bad if their beloved storytelling wasn't so mediocre at best. As for them being successful, we all know that's hyperbole. None of their titles have been a financial success and the reviews for them are nothing special.

Also, I can't help but think that their claims of this being a "AAA indie" is just another example of them clearly not understanding why their titles failed. After Heavenly Sword it was because it was on one system. But when Enslaved flopped it was was because it was a new IP. And then their putrid DMC reboot attempt failed (which was an especially hilarious blow considering how they bragged about it surpassing DMC4 in sales and reviews...only for it to at best match DMC4 in reviews and not even reach half its sales). Out of excuses now. Seriously, these guys have an ego problem and it's only going to get worse when this game turns out to be another disappointment for them.

 

[JoJoDelight]

Well hell, Ninja Theory just happened to a penchant for stoic, dreadlocked female protagonists if they're denying that this game is linked to Heavenly Sword in any way, despite looking eerily identical.
It's probably just a cost-conscious decision, less hair to animate and all that.

 

[The_Blue_Rider]

Now lets just hope it plays better than Heavenly Sword. Not that Heavenly Sword played badly mind you, it was just, average. It was God of War knockoff exclusive to the system that already had God of War. I guess its a title to watch at least since I did like Heavenly Swords style, so heres holding hope itll be good