Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice er en fortælling om psykose, og selve afbildningen af sygdommen er noget udvikleren Ninja Theory er ganske stolte af. Faktisk er de så stolte, at "Mental Health Advisor" er den allerførste rolle der krediteres i spillets introduktion. Selvom spillet har høstet positive anmeldelser, er det ikke alle der er lige glad for afbildningen af sygdommen.
En af disse er Jason Faulkner, der har udgivet en længere artikel om hans problemer med spillets fremstilling af psykose ovre hos MIC. Faulkner har selv stiftet bekendtskab med psykose og skizofreni, fordi han har taget sig af hans mor der lider af begge dele siden han var ni år gammel.
Han har selv erfaring med behandling og forståelse af disse lidelser, og han synes ikke at Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice formår helt og holdent at præsentere spilleren for dem:
"Senua is a great character, and Ninja Theory did an admirable job attempting to portray the complexities of psychosis, but the game fails to help people truly understand its nature.
In the game, players are left knowing that Senua lives with "psychosis," but that term typically refers to a symptom of an illness — not an illness itself — or a reaction to an environmental factor. Knowing the truth of her world — of her diagnosis — would have helped us to tangentially experience what those affected by schizophrenic behavior suffer through each day.
I don't doubt that Ninja Theory did its best to make Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice as kind and accurate in its portrayal of psychosis as it could. However, in attempting to make the concept accessible, the narrative fell short of focusing on the topic. Instead, it becomes a plot device to propel Senua through Helheim. If you took away the conceit that Senua lives with psychosis and replaced it with real demons, ghosts or dark magic, how different would the game be?"
Det er så sandelig en interessant side af sagen. Hvad synes du?