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Hellblade's Permadeath System Appears To Be A Bluff
After a lengthy introductory sequence, Hellblade ends its tutorial with the following message: “The dark rot will grow each time you fail. If the rot reaches Senua’s head, her quest is over. And all progress will be lost.”
This message appears to be false. Over at PCGamesN, writer Ben Barrett put the claim to the test, purposely failing 50 times to see if his progress would be deleted. It did not. You can watch the whole video here:
Of course, this not 100 percent proof that your save data can be deleted or that there is a permadeath system in Hellblade but it is strong evidence that the message is a bluff intended to freak you out.
For more on Hellblade, be sure to check out our review.
Our Take
Video game fakeouts are nothing new, as anyone who has played Metal Gear Solid can attest to. However, if this is truly a bluff, I'm not crazy about it. It feels like a clumsy shock attempt more than something that's compelling.
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