Hellblade 2 divided the opinions of journalists, but the editors of Digital Foundry believe that Ninja Theory's creation represents a real breakthrough in graphics.
Hellblade 2 is, according to Digital Foundry's John Linneman, “a defining moment in the evolution of real-time graphics.” The journalist gives the game excellent reviews, confirming that the developers have created “an audiovisual design masterpiece” as well as “a stunning showcase of the core technologies of Unreal Engine 5.”
“Since the game is story-driven, characters and their portrayal play an important role in the presentation. One of the game's most important visual elements, Hellblade 2's character rendering sets new standards, creating sequences that at times almost resemble real movie scenes with real actors. This is one of the first examples of the game delivering on the promises made in the UE5 The Matrix Awakens demo.”
“When the camera zooms in, the level of detail is such that I couldn't tell if I was looking at real-time graphics or a pre-rendered cinematic interlude. Luckily, photo mode is available at any time, so you can easily make sure everything is happening in real time. Of course, what impressed me most was the animation in the game. Facial expressions during combat or just exploration really help bring characters to life.”
The journalist emphasized that in photo mode you can see “an extraordinary level of detail.” Every smallest detail on the heroine’s face is worked out to the smallest detail.
To achieve the unique effect, the developers used an anamorphic lens with accompanying focal effects, which allowed them to achieve “a realism that creates the feeling that what you see was shot on a physical camera.”
“Hellblade 2 is one of the Unreal Engine 5 games that takes full advantage of the engine to create visuals that feel like a true leap in technology.”
Hellblade 2 takes advantage of the full range of Unreal Engine 5 features, including Lumen global illumination and the next generation Nanite geometry system.
“The real magic comes when artists combine all these techniques. This isn't the first game to take advantage of such features, but it's probably the best example we've seen so far. Of course, all of this comes at the cost of frame rate, but that's a bit of a stretch for a game like this. As we know, Hellblade 2 is limited to 30 frames per second on Xbox consoles. In my experience, this is achieved flawlessly, with virtually no hiccups – the game runs at 30 frames per second, and 30 frames per second is exactly what you get from start to finish.”
John Linneman had a lot of positive things to say about the audio department, although the graphics in Hellblade 2 are the most important element that makes an electrifying impression.
“In terms of presentation, I can say that Hellblade 2 is one of the best looking games ever made. It's a great combination of UE5 and Ninja Theory's talented team of artists. Everything in the presentation is polished to perfection.”
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Cover author: Ninja Theory. Cover source: YouTube