Xbox's Aaron Greenberg Amazed That Recent Hellblade 2 Trailer Was Real Gameplay

Whilst I was impressed with the visuals, that game-play trailer looked more 'walking' sim than game-play. The walk through the cave seemed quite 'dull' from a Game-play perspective and seemed to have 'cut-scenes' at set points.

How much 'control' you have during the 'run' out too was unclear - are the times you 'stop' to throw a spear triggered by the player or is it automatically programmed to trigger that sequence at fixed points? When back at the 'barricades', some of that looked more 'cutscene' - lifting debris off a fallen comrade before the giant 'reappears'.

Its difficult to know how much of that 'sequence' was actually player controlled. For all I know, the walk in could be but interrupted by cut-scenes at various points, the run out could be player controlled - as could the spear throwing, but actually 'feeling' in control is a different matter without any indications of the Player involvement (moving like a 'player' controlled character, button prompts etc).

Not to say that whole sequence wasn't completely player controlled or very 'limited' player involvement - but that the sequence and visual quality makes it difficult to actually work out when cut-scenes or game-play switched...

It looked like gameplay but the question yet to be answered is how "interactive' that gameplay is. Amazing as it looked, I'm not sure there was much more interaction that pressing forwards to run and aiming/throwing a spear...
I would absolutely love to be proven wrong. But if it's like the first Hellblade game then the set piece moments like that won't be the bulk of the gameplay anyway I'd presume.

Honestly, camera angle aside (and also quality of visuals aside) the scene in question is not that uncommon from what we seen in games so far.

Sneak in onto an enemy, surprise him and throw some attacks, run while doing some more attacks. Save ally NPCs on the way by interacting with them.

My biggest question is: will it be awkward to play with such a cinematic camera settup? Will such a camera settup even make it to the final game?

Weren't we all Aaron! While I agree it looked like a very on-rails/scripted section I don't have an issue with that. There's room for BOTH player expression and curated experiences if done well.

But the visuals were on another level. I'll be amazed if the final game looks that good on XSX. Not even the Matrix demo looked that good and it struggled to run at a 'cinematic' 24fps.

Why don’t Microsoft just do real gameplay show cases like Nintendo and Sony, no smoke and mirrors proper real gameplay for a good 10 minutes, showing combat, locations, environments and variety.
My faith in Microsoft and their ability to produce top AAA games is diminishing as the months go by.

I now have that feeling that gamepass is gonna be all about volume, old games, indies etc and not quality big new AAA games, sort of be like Halo Infinite AA and a little bit.

This is my most anticipated game. I’ve been looking forward to it since its announcement.

Most certainly looking forward to this. The only thing keeping me from really being more hyped about it is not having a Series X to play it on. If only I could get my hands on one.

I hope it to be a bit more open world than hellblade 1 cause it's clear to me that what we saw was visually impressive.

@Dezzy70 Sony didn’t show gameplay for wolverine, and it’s easily a 2023 or 2024 title. Perfect Dark, Fable, Gears, Starfield
hell Blade 2, RedFall and avowed are all going to be big AAA games and coming to gamepass day one. I think they are setup great, now that Covid restrictions are lifting these devs can get back to quicker work times and the industry should pick back up.

@Rural-Bandit
When I see them in full action and looking AAA which I really hope they are then I smile and say Hell Yeah.

It’s a shame really that with every Xbox game hitting pc day 1 the series x versions will never really get the credit they deserve when it comes to graphics as they’ll always be directly compared to high end pc versions on the likes of digital foundry.
This game looks stunning. And have no doubt it will be the first real graphics showcase for series x.

@Dezzy70

"My faith in Microsoft and their ability to produce top AAA games is diminishing as the months go by."

Well, that is alright bud. You can always fall back on the pinnacle of your gaming repertoire HFW, a game that has virtually all the tropes and systems of a FarCry game albeit highly polished 😁. Eurogamer has summarised it perfectly in their review subheading:

**Another beautiful technical achievement, Horizon Forbidden West is held back by clunky characters and new features that lack purpose.** 😉

@Dezzy70 Back to the whole Halo Infinite AA nonsense again huh? Give it up already...

@Sol4ris
That’s cool and fair comment, though having put in 15 hours so far Eurogamer whom I always read are a little harsh, but I understand their comments.

This is not about Sony it is about Microsoft and the manage of their studios.

Where is Xbox first quarter big AAA game from the richest in town worth trillions. Xbox is not getting one until probably NOVEMBER 2022 with Starfield hopefully, fingers crossed it is released then and AAA. So game pass one big AAA game this year maybe yes maybe no. If only one the company is a joke.

@Trmn8r
It’s gunplay is AAA.
As a whole campaign package it’s AA.

Seems like a lot of y'all making comments concerning gameplay versus cinematics haven't actually played the first one. That was one of the most special and immersive parts of the original. Everything felt very fluid and kinetic. It a unique style of play for sure but they did an incredible job of blending cinematics with gameplay, and this new game seems like no exception.

@Dezzy70 averaged out 2.5 rounds up to 3 so it's AAA noob

@Trmn8r
We each have our opinions.
Like I said gunplay AAA for me, grappling hook great introduction.
Open world design, environmental effects, weather system, environmental variety, graphics overall AA.
Even the original Halo which I played day one and for the time it released walks all over Infinite in that respect.

@Dezzy70 when I see it I believe it to with all games and platforms. So I’m with you on that. But Microsoft and Sony will deliver the goods in time. I have faith in the Gen. But I take a see it to believe attitude with all games. Don’t tell me how great it is, show me. Devs are coming off a historic work freeze with Covid. So the Gen got off to a rough start, but I fully believe it will pick up soon.

@Rural-Bandit
Thank you, that is all I ever say on here.
Companies can say what they like, show me your goods properly then I decide.
They can PR and mouth as much as they like but bring the real gameplay and in depth showcase then I might take notice.
The issue with Xbox at the minute it’s all blow and now real show and the also they seem to think Christmas is the only time us Xbox and game pass gamers need the big exclusive AAA games.

@Dezzy70 well I agree with you on that, one thing to remember is xbox is just lately starting to take their first party titles seriously and most of what they bought and internally developed is in its middle life stage, so they don’t have as much to show gameplay wise as say a Sony who had Horizon 2 in development years ago.
Soon xbox should have zero gaps in the year and thats their plan so gamepass members don’t Unsubscribe until the holiday push.
I’d also like to say i see you taking backlash from your Halo infinite concerns and while I don’t fully agree with everything you feel about the game I don’t disagree with you on certain points either, i think the multiplayer is a few maps and improvement patches away from being my favorite arena shooter ever. It’s that much fun to me and very stable even tho lacking maps. But i have seen you on here and Push Square and i know you have your eye and hands very close to the industry and know what you are saying and i value your opinions. Soon we will have more gameplay to look at from xbox and PlayStation and we can only judge what we see. But nothing you said is wrong, others just want to hear what they want to hear. Me and you don’t do that on either site and thats why I consider you a friend in these parts 😁

@Rural-Bandit
Firstly thank you and like wise with you 😁
Yes I hope Microsoft do see this and 2023 onward have a few big AAA releases throughout the year.
A good few like me unsubscribe from game pass then come back when a big new AAA game gets released. Microsoft analysis will show this so they know this for sure.
As for Halo it has amazing FPS handling and the grappling hook is a perfect addition, game play wise my favourite FPS.
Campaign wise it could have been so much more for the budding adventurous chap like me and had variety and effects graphically in all areas.
It was like this is what we have done, this is what your getting and after six years and did not cut the adventure environment worlds we get now a days and are used to. Environmental look at HFW, Dying Light 2, Elden Ring. World wise so far more advanced.
Should I, we, us gamers not have deserved this for our most beloved Halo. I think we most certainly did and where under sold.
People on here now this but they don’t wanna hear it.

@Dezzy70 i agree i thought the campaign was good, certainly fun but could have been more. I still like Reach campaign better. Thats just me, but the grapple hook is killer and it did run very smooth, hope we get ray tracing and some added story to fill it up more. I think the direction is great and really want to see how they expand it going forward and not having to work around xbox one.
But this is what i mean about our passion for the games industry, we are able to pick the good and bad out of a game and discuss it many others only see all good or all bad about a series they love and care so much about. Trust me i get my butt handed to me on Push Square for not loving everything Sony does. It’s like you cant be subjective about Sony, only Nintendo and Microsoft are allowed to be harshly reviewed. But it’s my love for all 3 that makes me say these things and hope they change for the better not just what my vision of better looks like. I see a lot of that in you, its not like you aren’t sending good money and playing games and just bad mouthing them. Far from, you have every right to criticize areas of improvement and as much as i love Xbox, they are still thin on releases, and stick to E3 and holiday. They will soon have enough content to break that cycle, at least thats the plan they are putting forward. Thanks for keeping it real with me buddy. I got your back.

@Rural-Bandit
Yeah I get my butt kicked on the sites, especially if you upset the Nintendo Life gang, some are so loved up by Nintendo they can do no wrong.
All of them need improvement and none of them are perfect and where I wish them to be overall.
Maybe Covid has effected all a bit, but it’s now time for them all to take responsibility and stand up and dish out the games and give the quality we deserve.
Yes they have to run a business of course they do and the only way we can get them to take notice is really with our wallets.
But when it comes down to a game you really want to play you spend the money, was I unhappy spending £70 on HFW yes, but I so wanted to play it and are playing right now, just got to some camp area.
But I would have gladly paid £70 for Halo Infinite had the campaign blah blah been as perfect as the gameplay and similar to quality environmentally, variety and graphics wise etc to HFW.
Anyway we shall keep gaming and getting out butts kicked, it’s such fun really.

@Dezzy70 oh i know a thing or two about the Nintendo fanboys
They are a passionate group for the lack of a better word. HAHA
I used to defend the GameCube when i was younger to all my friends, they thought it was stupid and ugly looking, they all had PS2 and XBOX, i as always had all 3, never played favorites and wouldn’t be able to call myself a gamer not owning them all. My point is i really thought the GameCube was awesome, but it got harder and harder for me to defend nintendo in the years to come after the GameCube, i think the switch is awesome, minus a ton of areas it could be better, but if i go on there and talk bad about the online or Eshop etc etc , they will tear me a new one. Not sure why either its not like im saying Nintendo sucks and i wont give them my money, just the opposite i give Nintendo lots of money and wish they would listen to peoples concerns with the machine. I played sports as a kid and coaches taught me the only way to get better is listen to Constructive criticism. Those days are in the past for kids now, they just want to hear they are right and get a trophy and not a PSN trophy by the way HAHA

@Rural-Bandit
I thought the GameCube was great.
Got mine day one at Midnight on release.
Games Luigi mansion and stars wars rebellion, I think.
Mario sunshine, wind waker, Metroid prime, resident evil 4, what enjoyment I had with that console.
The little discs where fab at the time.
Was not into PS2 in them days.

@Dezzy70 yeah man GameCube was fun, Metroid Prime better come to switch or switch 2. I miss playing that game. I used to play Super Punch out so much. Always loved Nintendo and still do but they got lots and lots of areas they could get better in.

@Rural-Bandit
Thing with the switch I loves the first 2 years then you know me the big AAA game dried up a bit.
I think they suck sometimes big time.
But then they release say BOTW2 or Mario Odyssey 2. And I go running back 😂
Us gamers suckers 😂😂

@Dezzy70 Haha facts. We are suckers for the good games. Yeah there was so much going for switch early on. Zelda, Mario, Hades, etc etc. then lately it just dried up to the point Metroid Dread was the only game I bought last year. My wife has 120 plus hours of Mario kart on her switch lite. Her best friend has 1,355 hours on Animal Crossing. You read that right. 1,355 as of today . So casuals like her and my wife are playing and the hardcore like us get a huge game here and there. But this might surprise you but the only game I’ve bought so far on my PS5 is Ratchet and Clank.
I don’t buy physical media at all. I buy everything from the shops online digitally. I even bought the PS5 Digital. So I don’t take as many chances on certain games. Now with Gamepass and Spartacus I will try more and buy more. So this whole idea that game pass and the upcoming Sony new service won’t or don’t make money isn’t true. At least in my case. The 20% off the purchase of the game is genius and I hope Sony does that also. Nintendo is easy I know what I want to play on the switch much easier and download it.

@Trmn8r got him there 😂

@Dezzy70 "Should I, we, us gamers not have deserved this for our most beloved Halo. I think we most certainly did and where under sold.
People on here now this but they don’t wanna hear it."

I wanna agree but you've probably not taken into account that there's also people playing Halo for the first time ya know, I know it's unlikely but it's an actual thing. I've played the smallest bit of halo 2 that was possible for me (because I disliked it that much) so when I played Infinite I didn't have anything to compare it to. The way I felt after I had completed it was as a good game, sure it was short and mp is all ***** up. But when I see people complain about; forge (didn't even initially know what it was, and even after looking it up I don't 'understand' its significance) and the co-op I don't really get what I'm supposed to miss lol. I did get an overall barebones feeling from the game, and I've seen you say it's AA instead of AAA plenty of times to which I agree, but at the end of it all I just want you to know that there's actually people around who might not know better.

I thought hellblade was amazing. Usually not my type of game and I put it down for a year. I played this and plagues tele simultaneously and they paired really well.

I will take a guess here that the cinematic sequences in this game are simply interactive, unlike most games. You may have a bit of simplistic control of the character and scene, but certain things will play out automatically, such as camera work and events important to the sequence. I think this will be separate from normal gameplay, which will visually be the same, but with less cinematic camera work, events and animation.

So yeah, this was probably running in real time with a controllable character, but in a limited fashion compared to normal gameplay.