#177 | Our Hellblade 2 Review Is HERE - Did It Deliver?!

Defining Duke: An Xbox Podcast

The next major release in Xbox's first party family has arrived! Senua's Saga: Hellblade II has seen an increased amount of pressure placed upon it as concern for the platform holder as ramped up. Stripping ourselves from the heightened emotionality of that situation, how does over five years of development, a team size four times bigger than the original, and a big Microsoft check benefit the newest entry in the Hellblade series? The Dukes are joined by Gene Park where all three were able to play through the game a week ahead of its launch and let their thoughts marinate. Sitting at an 82 on OpenCritic, Hellblade 2 is off to a solid start, but where do the Dukes sit? Well, it's time to dig deep and find out!

Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement.

Timestamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:06:00 - Ninja Theory's next game greenlit

0:15:57 - Xbox games to PS5

0:20:38 - Xbox 360 JRPGs

0:26:39 - Lies of P DLC confirmed for second half of 2024

0:30:34 - GTA 6 launches Fall 2025

0:35:53 - Star Wars Total War game coming from Creative Assembly

0:39:47 - Assassin’s Creed Shadows revealed

0:56:09 - Valve’s Deadlock leaked

1:00:15 - Larian opens up new studio

1:03:39 - Kingdom Hearts comes to Steam on June 13th

1:11:55 - IGN acquires a ton of gaming news outlets

1:20:19 - What We’re Playing

3:11:03 - Activision opens studio called Elsewhere

3:20:16 - Call Of Duty to Game Pass is all but confirmed

3:33:36 - Final updates for Redfall and Hi Fi Rush

3:37:53 - Game Pass Pick Of The Week

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