Hellblade is a game I would recommend to some and not recommend to others.

Rather than do an overall pros and cons I will share what elements of my own experience make me want to recommend it and what elements of my experience are why I wouldn't recommend it, as well as some closing thoughts:

Why I would recommend it:
> The team put in the effort to capture psychosis and mental illness internally, externally, and culturally really well in this game and it's documented on YouTube. You get a sense of what it's like to be in Senua's shoes. They even provide a site to help seek mental health issues: https://hellblade.com/mental-health-support.
> You know how they say show don't tell? Senua's story does a great amount of fantastic showing and does only what's necessary for the telling. Even though it is just an 8–10-hour journey It’s so worth going through.
> The environments are well crafted ranging from terrifying hellscapes and dungeons to tranquil ruins and coasts.
> The characters are well designed both visually and personality-wise. Even the enemies and creatures you encounter in the game from the minions to the bosses have personality to them.
> Combat can feel clunky but once you get the hang of it, combat feels very engaging and brutal; it’s also pretty simple to pick up on.
> Lore stones provide a great amount of Norse mythology lore delivered to you in an audio format and are a nice mental break from the main quest and challenges you face.
> The music is superb!

Why I wouldn't recommend it:
> The PC optimization was not friendly to my gaming laptop and occasionally I would get frame rate drops and delays that would launch my character forward. I had to play in windowed mode and a small frame.
> It's kind of frustrating that some of the settings (FOV and motion blur) can only be changed by going into the Ini. files in your game
> You do a lot of walking. A lot. Sometimes instead of being able to slide off a ledge easily you have to walk around it. It didn’t bother me too much but I know it may bother others. And sometimes you get stuck in areas for no reason and have to reload the game.
> Two of the trials midway through the game were hard to get through and I felt were very unfairly designed: 1. The Blindness trial’s latter half I feel has some pretty gross and terrifying body horror and imagery that make me want to stop playing for a bit even after I pushed through it, It does have one of my favorite moments between Senua and Dillon so I guess it was worth it, but I have no desire to do it again. 2. The swamp trial’s latter half consists of you running in a maze while being chased by an enemy. If you are in the enemy’s line of sight for too long you die. And when you are put in the maze or repawn right away, if you are not fast enough the enemy will see you right away. Died more times than I would consider fair.
> I don’t feel like replaying just to get all the Lore stores for that one achievement….At least not yet. I think if there were “chapters” you could reload at it would be a better way to collect the lore stones. There’s also a save file on nexus you can download to help get all the lore stones.

Some closing thoughts:
> This isn’t necessarily a con, but knowing some of my friends read this review I want them to know some things before they pick this up. Some of the content covered and some of what the characters do in the game can be very intense and is on purpose made to make you feel uncomfortable (emotionally, mentally, and even physically) - Some moments I struggled to get through because it made me relive my similar mental health struggles, PTSD, and relationship issues in my own life (some of which I am still struggling with to this day). I will include a list of some warnings of what content I can remember from the game:
*CW: Body horror, gore, blood, screaming, self-harm, suicidal attempts and ideations, Spousal violence, abuse, trauma, parental violence and abuse, death + loss + suffering of loved ones, blood, delusions hallucinations, depression, being othered and ostracized, isolation, immolation
Additionally, I think if you are someone who does struggle with any mental health issues and wants to try to play this game with as little difficulty as possible, there is no shame in looking up a guide to know what you’ll be up against or what is coming next; life is too short and too stressful and ♥♥♥♥♥♥ to make a video game more difficult to enjoy.
> There is no heads-up display but a few things to keep in mind are that…
A) if you are downed, : you can get back up before you are dealt a deathblow, controller it’s the A button
B) You will get cues for when an enemy is attacking you from behind or the side.
C) You will automatically lock onto targets and can switch between them.
D) There are no waypoints but the game is pretty linear that you won’t need one.
E) you can tell how much health some enemies have left by vocal cues and how bloodied they look.

I don’t think I’ve ever had a game impact me so much on a personal level as much as since Signalis. Hellblade is a masterpiece, an example of how video games can be art and simultaneously a means of learning, and empowerment.

As I said before, It's one of the few games alongside Baldur's Gate, Signalis, Oneshot, DRG, and Spiderman: Miles Morales that I would give a 10/10.

(that being said if you are uncomfortable with any of the subject matter in the game or require any mental health help, please don't hesitate to hold off on stepping away from it if you need to.)