Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 Only Has One 30fps Cinematic Graphics Mode On Console

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 will be locked to 30fps on Xbox Series X|S consoles, Ninja Theory has confirmed. In an interview with German magazine GamePro, visual effects director Mark Slater-Tunstill confirmed the studio has opted to emphasize the cinematic nature of the game–which was developed on Unreal Engine 5–by running it at 30fps alongside dynamic scaling.

Beyond the stylistic choice, the game is still set to be a technical showcase with its impressive facial animations, realistic textures, and tense combat.

“Senua’s movements in combat look and feel more realistic, prioritizing the heft of her sword, felt through her tired desperation during lengthier fights,” Jordan Ramée wrote in a Hellblade 2 hands-on session. “Whenever Senua clashes swords with someone, Hellblade II makes it feel tense, as if life itself is challenging Senua to earn her right to exist in this world.”

Hellblade 2 will launch on May 21 for Xbox and PC–where people can grab some extra frames if they have the hardware to do so–but it’ll be launching without Ninja Theory founder and Hellblade writer-director Tameem Antoniades at the helm.

An Xbox spokesperson confirmed to Polygon that Antoniades is no longer at the studio and that environment art director Dan Attwell, visual effects director Mark Slater-Tunstill, and audio director David Garcia were leading development on Hellblade 2.

For a closer look at the game, you can see how Senua’s perception of her psychosis will change in Hellblade 2 and how some of the coolest parts of the game is its mind-bending rocks.