Ninja Theory's Back With the Dark, Trippy Hellblade

Heavenly Sword....Hellbade? Hmmm. I could have sworn that Sony owned the IP to that world but maybe NT bought it back?

I'm told that girl in the trailer looks like a grown up Kai. And with that title being so similar to Heavenly Sword, this HAS to be a sequel right? Like a Demon's Souls to Dark Souls kinda thing?

It's nice that they've opted to work on a new IP instead of shitting on an existing one.

Yeah, more Ninja Theory is great, but please stop making character action games, guys. You've had 3 chances and you're not particularly great at making them. All their writing and direction is top notch, though.

Oh yeah, and the character in this trailer looks like the touched in the head sister of Noriko (sp?).

I doubt it is related to Heavenly Sword, game looks to be based off Celtic kind of stuff given the design. I think the character resemblance is just that all NT characters look pretty similar.

I am 100% down for a new NT game, especially one similar to DMC as I loved it. Was it the most challenging character action game, not at all but it was really fun and stylish.

Exactly what I was thinking

I have LOVED every single Ninja Theory game made. I will very likely enjoy this as well.

It's not a particulary subtle way to announce a spiritual successor to Heavenly Sword, though.

Looks cool! Maybe I should play Heavenly Sword if they're gonna end up being related. After DmC I'm willing to try anything they put out.

Wow. What a horrific thing to say. Great job man.

I feel like they really hit their stride with the combat in DmC so even as a new IP I hope they carry over some of the lessons they learned.

Ninja Theory has been consistently interesting.

Give me all the Ninja Theory.

As a characterisation of their attitude towards the series they worked on, it's pretty accurate.

Now they're back to making games that those who don't care for their titles can ignore and those that like them can enjoy.

The main character reminds me an awful lot of Kai from Heavenly Sword, like if she grew up and started acting/dressing more like Nariko or something? Looks interesting.

...Horrific?

Not only does she look like Kai, the ending of Heavenly Sword clearly set up the possibility of a sequel featuring Kai. The game ended with Nariko handing the sword over to Kai's care and told her to keep it safe.

With all of that in mind, I am absolutely positive that this is a sequel to Heavenly Sword and I for one am pretty excited about that.

Why is it using Björk's tattoo as logo?

How do you know their "attitude"? You are clearly not ignoring them because you felt the need to insult them. You could have said something that wasn't so derogatory.

Or better yet, nothing at all... since you're ignoring them.

Yo that guy modeled Dante after himself.

Looks like they wanted to make Heavenly Sword 2 but didn't want to deal as much with Sony to make it.

I was noting a positive outcome for the studio and people who enjoy quality video games. I am sorry you don't see it that way.

For the record I am all for a proper sequel to Heavenly Sword where I am really all aboard if it is. And then a third game where Noriko and Kai are wielding both weapons. :)

I instead assumed the snarky journalist persona, and without thinking asked, “So, how do you feel about the fan reaction to DMC?” Tameen looked at me a moment and took a drag of his cigarette. Then without blinking, and without pausing to exhale the smoke from his mouth he said, “I don't care.”

Throughout development Ninja Theory constantly shat on fans and made it clear they had no reverence for the old series. They then unsurprisingly released a mediocre game, and game journos latched on because they'd ignored the "too Japanese" earlier installments and thus didn't notice everything DmC got half right had been done better in 3 and 4.

@maitimo: Agree to disagree I guess.

ninja theory game grr angry words. im the pissed off mad as hell gamer guy

@TechnoSyndrome: When did "I don't care" become tantamount to "shitting on fans"? If game devs catered to every whiny player nothing unique would ever be made.

As far as the "journos" comment is concerned, that sounds like pure hostility and an unjustified blanket statement that undermines your argument and makes you appear petty.

@maitimo said:

The only game NT developed that wasn't a product of their own creation was DmC, not to mention they only have two other games to their name (not counting collaborations) yet you're acting like they deal with other people's properties all the time. Enslaved was, yes, inspired by Journey To The West but it's hardly them "shitting" on an existing IP.

People love to give DmC shit simply it wasn't the same old DMC game/series that had started developing cobwebs.

Sometimes creativity needs arrogance in order to thrive, be successful, or get noticed. It's also just as easy to ignore something that you have a connection to as something you don't. It's your own arrogance, greed, and selfishness that prevents you from doing so.

Could anyone help me out here, on type of game is this? Hack'n'Slash like DMC?

Ninja Theory has improved with every game they've made. Looking forward to this one.

Never beat the game because of that last fucking boss battle, I always assumed Nariko dies, was that not the case?

Sheesh, there's got to be a nicer way to dislike a game without trivializing the efforts of an entire studio and dismissing the thoughts of the editors who run the site you're using.

As a long term fan of Devil May Cry, I thought that DMC was an outstanding experience. It was different in how it handled the story and gameplay, but actually it did it really damn well. Looking back, definitely my favorite of the series.

Isn't it funny how people respond when the things they love are thoughtlessly tread upon? I mean, take this post you wrote, for example.

How did a game that had been different almost every time like DMC been developing "cobwebs"? People give DmC shit because it wasn't a good game and they shit on the fans whenever they could. Was DmC the worst game ever? No, but it was easily the worst in the DMC series. Yes even 2 is better because at least 2 paved the way for 3 in a lot of ways. DmC's combat was boring, repetitive, and easy. DmC's dialogue and story was awful and before you say "DMC's story and dialogue was always bad!" just remember that there's a difference between a game that is basically like a B horror movie getting mashed up with an anime and a "They Live" rip-off that's trying to be super serious one minute and then joking about dick size the next. Pretty much everything about the game is bad. Yes it's been almost two years. Yes I'm still mad. Yes I know that this is a problem, but I will never not hate DmC for the pile of garbage it is. Fuck that game.

People give DmC a lot of shit for a variety of reasons, but it not being DMC3/4 is hardly the reason. Sure, it was sort of disappointing that it wasn't old Dante, but that would have been fine had the new one been at all likable. He was an edgy teenager who didn't even care when a baby got shot and then proceeded to joke about it. He cursed at random, screwed around with multiple chicks with no explanation, and was a straight dick for most of the game (queue 'But I have a bigger dick,' quote). On top of that, the gameplay compared to its predecessors was really bland, uninspired, and incredibly easy on top of chugging worse than a frat boy at a party because they decided to shun Capcom when they came to Ninja Theory to teach them MT Framework. This is in addition to completely ignoring every other DMC game to date while going as far as to mock the previous Dante.

So there are a LOT of reasons to hate DmC aside from it not being DMC3/4. Most of them come from Ninja Theory's lack of respect towards the original series. If you want people to respect your game, you have to respect others.

@muffincoil: That is a norse protection symbol called Vegvísir. Basically a protection against getting lost. A spiritual compass of sorts.

Also, the runes on the sword looks like it's saying the title of the game in runes and altered for language. So instead of putting runes as the english word, it says "Hel Sverd" as in Hel (norse realm of death) and Sverd being Sword or Blade.

All in all, I'm pretty curious about this now. Especially since they open with the shot of someone having suffered the act of blood eagle.

Guys, I've heard this song before...

There were four DMC games before dMc. One was good. One was an unfortunate product of its clumsy beginnings as another game. One was a lazy joke of a game where you had to play the same game twice and then fight the bosses a third time. And one was just terrible.

None was as good as dMc.

@paulunga: How are they great if they aren't particularly good at everything they made? Maybe stop making games and go make a movie if direction and writing is their strong suit.

I never tried Heavenly Sword but I liked Enslaved and DmC quite a bit. Hopefully this will be good as well.

DMC 3 SE is a far better game than DmC. Puerile humor, mind-numbingly repetitive swearing, color-coded enemies, 30 fps and a dumbed down combat system that lets you get to SSS with no real effort all combined to make a DmC popular among people who want to button-mash thru an action game without any thought or skill required.

It's the worst selling game in the franchise for good reason.

Between the face paint, the hat with cat ears on it, and the facial similarities I can't imagine the resemblance to Kai is accidental.

I feel like I can understand Brad and Patrick's taste in media for the most part, even if they like plenty of things I don't care for and vice versa. But for the life of me I can't understand how the dialogue and characters in DmC get a pass from them when they are pointlessly grotesque and completely unlikable. Constant swearing isn't edgy or amusing, it's just tiresome and pathetic.

Very excited about a new game by Ninja Theory. Is very recognisable as a NT game.

People often mistake good acting for good writing. Bioware may've given Fenris some real groaners line-wise, but Gideon Emery managed to make them passable. Add to competent acting mocap tech good enough to make cutscene models really expressive and you're most of the way to an answer.

The more surprising thing is that it gets a pass on its rampant misogyny, honestly.

I'm glad they are back, I figured it was about time for us to see something out of Ninja Theory. I loved DmC, especially for its art direction, but it also had fun combat (and I'm even a big fan of the original DMC games) and Enslaved was good too. Looking forward to this for sure.

Also, for people (like me) who loved DMC, but (unlike me) hated DmC and vocally wanted it to fail: congrats, it did, largely because of vitriol from people who didn't play it (or before they had played it) and now there will never be a devil may cry game ever again. Which is a bummer.

As a long-time fan of the Devil May Cry series, I always find it funny when "fans" of the series get so worked up about DMC. Was the combat in DMC dumbed down compared to the rest of the series? Absolutely, no doubt about that. Was DMC a bad game? Definitely not.

"Donte swears all the time, is unlikeable, etc." Did you people even play the game and give it a fair shake? Donte only swears at his enemies. You know, like a real person would? Apathetic to the dead baby? The baby was a giant demon monster that tried to kill him - of course he'd have trouble sympathizing! And the "big dick" thing? Vergil says that, not Donte! It's a cute little scene where two brothers take a break from all the violence to joke about their dicks. That's perfectly normal!

I'm willing to bet that people who dislike Donte went into the game wanting to hate him. It's a reboot for a reason; Donte is his own character. Donte curses when appropriate, makes stupid corny jokes when appropriate, and acts like a compassionate human being when appropriate. If people actually paid attention they'd notice that Donte drops swearing almost entirely in the final act of the game. By the end of the game Donte changes from a selfish jerk to a caring, if a bit troubled, young man. Character development, people!

I love Devil May Cry (the whole series excluding 2) and Ninja Theory did a fantastic job with DMC. I also really liked Heavenly Sword, this has me really excited.

I thought Ninja Theory and Sony split in a bad way after Heavenly Sword? Or was that just gossip?

I have no horse in this race, but I reacted when I saw this post. The part where you place the failure on some vocal vitriol from people who didn’t find the new look and/or that it wasn’t developed in-house, to be - or at least one of the main contributors, to the last nail in the chest for DmC.

What utter rubbish And what dramatic closure, to boot.

Fans and casuals alike didn’t care for a western-developed game, where previous entries had made a name for itself with people in the west, in part because of its Japanese, slightly weird but charming flavour. Like MGS and Resident Evil, to name a few titles with similar attraction.

In the same way that the Japanese market didn’t bite because it probably didn’t resonate with them anymore.

Many assumptions and such, sure. But far more realistic than pointing fingers and declaring one of Capcom’s most globally known brands as dead, never to return again (sure).

Thank you for reading this far, I hope we can have some more meaningful conversations in future.

@maitimo: wow, was that a dig in DMC? That game seemed frantastic.

Well said.