 Warning, heavy spoilers following. One tale that writers and storytellers have explored time and time again is the descent into the underworld or in ancient Greek catabasis. Hellblade, Senuous Sacrifice is the latest in a long series of works that explored a team of a hero or heroine, in this case venturing into the underworld in an attempt to save their beloved. In the middle of Orpheus and Eurydice, the nymph and daughter of Apollo was bitten by a viper and subsequently died. After a mournful gig played and sung by a recent widower Orpheus, the gods give him the opportunity to venture into Hades' realm and plead for her return amongst the ranks of the living. Even Hades is touched. We'll get back to how all that ends a bit later. Here we have Senuous, named after the early and incorrect first name of the cultic goddess Senune, pardon the pronunciation, knowledge of whom was only recently obtained. Unlike Dante and very much like Orpheus, that's Dante from The Divine Comedy, she knows what she's in for, a journey through the underworld. Not just any underworld, however, and here is one difference that I can't stress enough. Senue doesn't venture through her own underworld, invited by her gods to seek recourse after the unjust death of her beloved, the way Orpheus did. No. Senue goes into hell, the domain of Hellar, the wretched half-roasted Norse goddess of the dead, a Celtic warrior into the Norse underworld. She doesn't belong, and for that her cause is all the more perilous. See Orpheus once again. His venture into Hades, while ultimately unsuccessful, didn't present a danger to his person. It's his weakness and lack of faith that cost him Eurydice. Hades and all the other gods are, if anything, too helpful. Senue doesn't have that problem. No helpful Celtic goddess is the way. Every step is a challenge, nothing enough for downright torment. Alone Hades is the spirit of a deceased slave of the Nords, who later turned scald, and scalds are poets, a sort of Virgil-like character called Drut, well versed in the Norsemen's beliefs and legends. Her old mentor is one of two spirits to offer Senue even momentary comfort. The other is Dylian. Dylian is the spirit of her lover. The other is Dylian, her lover. His spirit serves as a guiding light in Senue's weakest moment, reminding her why she's there. And yet, there's a better sweet moment, for Senue's happiness quickly seeps away, leaving her somehow more alone than ever. But that is to be expected. After all, our heroine doesn't seek to restore Dylian back to life. She merely seeks to save his soul. To that end, she carries his head to use as a vessel, or a sort of compass to lead the way. In that sense, Dylian plays the most important role of Virgil, from Dante's Inferno. That is, his spirit is the one to lead Senue through the underworld, whereas Drut fulfills the more exposition-heavy but secondary role of tour guide. Dante's Inferno describes the recognition and rejection of sin. It is less a tale of lost love than a tale of punishment. Uthius's descent showcases how much a man's lack of fate can cost him. Senue's journey is about making peace with the grief of loss, pain and her very own demons, which are more often than not, not literal, but figurative. Because you see, that entire descent into hell this video is about, it doesn't really happen, as you may know if you have played the game. It's all a result of Senue's psychosis. It's an incredible journey into the mind of a woman whose mental condition forces her to face demons of an old, cruel world. Demons who seem very much real. But the worst one of all is not one you do combat with. Not a Northman whose Senue seizes a monstrous godling but the voice of the darkness. You will be where you see what they did to your dear beloved. You searched for control, a way to pull through. You're in love, you left him in tears, to smother your fury and banish your fears. But in darkness they came. Through stormy black seas they raided shores. Do you still hear his screams? Put your home so far away. They've taken his soul. These gods you cannot pray. That is the voice of Senue's father. As the game progresses, it becomes evident that he abused his daughter both physically and mentally. He believed that her condition and that of Senue's mother, Galina, was a curse sent from the gods. He burned Galina in front of their daughter, making Senue's psychosis so much worse. Every time Senue finds a moment of respite, if you will, a moment of hope the darkness forces the past onto her. Reminds her of her isolation. Through it all, Senue perseveres on her quest, finally realizing the true extent of her father's influence, the poison and vitriol of his hold over her, and freeing herself of it. How does she do it? By accepting that the voices in her head, the furies, are no curse but a part of her and that the death of Deleon was not her fault. And that is, I think, the most important descent into the underworld yet, for it shows our heroine ready to risk all to save what's most important to her, only to find and make peace with herself along the journey and realize the limits of her own mortality. Those are my thoughts about Helblade's Senue's sacrifice story to a very thin layer of mythological examples. I would have loved to include a few more myths, like that of the Sumerian goddess Inanna, or Hermod's journey to the same Norse hell, in an attempt to retrieve the god Balder after Loki's trickery caused the god his life. Unfortunately, both of these didn't have nearly as many parallels as I would have liked, even though Hermod's journey is through the same hell we see, in one way or another, in a different interpretation in Helblade. Plus, it's good to put out a shorter video, everyone's in a well. With that in mind, thank you for watching. If you enjoyed, please like this video, subscribe and let me know what you think. Would you enjoy more of this kind of content? Hope so, because I certainly love making it.