2023 was a year of recovery for Microsoft, with the likes of Hi-Fi Rush, Forza Motorsport, and Starfield adding solid titles to the Xbox Series X/S’ lineup of first party titles, and 2024 is looking even more stocked for the current-gen console duo.
Among several games confirmed for a release this year under the Xbox Game Studios umbrella, the one that’s attracted the most buzz and attention since its announcement years ago is Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, a game that’s widely anticipated to be just as critically well-acclaimed as its predecessor was, if not even more so. In fact, that seems to be the internal expectation within Microsoft as well.
That’s as per prominent leaker NateTheHate, who said in a recent episode of Spawncast’s DirectXbox podcast that based on what he was hearing last year, Microsoft’s internal projections for Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 are for the game to land a Metacritic score of over 90. The leaker says he isn’t sure if that’s based purely on internal mock reviews or if Microsoft has had external mock reviews done as well, but the company seems to be expecting widespread critical acclaim for the action-adventure title nonetheless.
Of course, it’s worth keeping in mind that mock reviews (internal or external) don’t always accurately represent what actual critical reception for a game will turn out as, something Microsoft itself will be too keenly aware of. Last year, for instance, Xbox boss Phil Spencer suggested that the company’s internal expectations for Redfall had been of an aggregate score at least somewhere in the 70s, only for the co-op shooter to end up with a Metacritic score of 56 (53 on PC). Either way, Microsoft’s expectations for Hellblade are certainly high.
Last year, Microsoft announced that Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 will launch sometime in 2024, with Xbox’s head of content and studios Matt Booty suggesting afterwards that it will release later in the year. A gameplay trailer of the title was premiered at The Game Awards last month, showcasing plenty of its brutal combat.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is in development for Xbox Series X/S and PC.
