"Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice's" developer sacrifices its profits for something more significant, like donating the game's revenue to promote mental health awareness and to help patients suffering from mental illnesses.
Ninja Theory, the developer of "Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice," will be donating the proceeds of the game's sale to Rethink, a mental health organization from the UK, as a celebration of World Mental Health Day. Along with the announcement, the developers also uploaded a video on YouTube compiling the numerous positive player feedbacks about the game's treatment of mental health issues. The video also shows the support of the developers for people afflicted with mental health illnesses and their thanks to the players who bought the game.
Along with supporting World Mental Health Day last Oct. 10, the developers' charitable gesture aimed to increase the awareness of mental health issues among their player base. They also wanted to provide mental health assistance to those who might need it.
"Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice" is an action-adventure game set in the Viking age where Senua, a broken female Celtic warrior, must embark on a quest to fight the soul of her dead lover. Senua also suffers psychosis, a mental illness which involves the minds of the afflicted losing contact with reality. As such, psychosis and its symptoms are central to the game's story and gameplay mechanics.
In addition to psychosis, Senua is also reportedly portrayed as having post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is a mental health problem that people develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event. These two are thought to be responsible for the character's hallucinations.
Ninja Theory consulted experts, doctors, and people with actual mental illnesses to create an accurate depiction of the manifestations of mental health illnesses and to show people what mental health problems are like for people experiencing them.
"Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice" is also a well-received game, not only for its thought-provoking portrayal of people with mental illnesses but also because of its storytelling and atmosphere, receiving a 91 percent overall positive review rating on Steam, with some of the gamers and critics even calling it a masterpiece.
"Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice" is out now and is available on PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows.
