Ninja Theory a few years ago gave us, in my opinion, one of the best games in recent times. This game beingnHellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice which launched on PlayStation 4 and PC in 2017. An Xbox port appeared a year later then the Nintendo Switch in 2019. The Xbox Series X/S upgrade was released in 2021. The game was a success and a sequel was announced, which is Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. With Microsoft now owning ninja Theory, this title will be console exclusive to Xbox. We also know that the game when it launches will be running in Unreal Engine 5.
We’ve yet to really experience the full capabilities of the new Unreal Engine 5 technology. There has been a recent State of Unreal showcase at the current GDC event. During this, a tech demonstration on the upcoming reboot, Lords of the Fallen, was shown and also Ninja Theory showed some of the tech behind Hellblade II. So what we have is a look at “realtime facial animation” in the game where the transition from actress Melina Juergens into her role at Senua is seamless.
How Hellblade II Is Embracing Unreal Engine 5
This is achieved using Unreal Engine 5. However, to be more specific, it’s using the MetaHuman technology of the engine. Needless to say, the results are mind-blowing, to say the least. Then the engine becomes even more impressive. There’s another video below which is by IGN. However, it’s the description that made me take notice. So we see that “Unreal Engine 5’s MetaHuman is getting a new update called Animator to create new fully animated facial models in real time with just a phone camera. The team from Ninja Theory, including Senua actor Melina Juergens shows this process in real time”.
The video above is just over five minutes in length and from the start of recording to viewing the end result. We still await a release date for the game, but it looks like visually at least it will impress. Ninja Theory was very thorough in the first game over the psychosis representation. They did thorough research as well as interview those who are diagnosed with as well as professionals in the field. So for me, the sequel I am really excited to see
