Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice caught the attention of the public thanks, in no small part, to the harrowing tale it told. Focusing on a warrior plagued by psychosis, the title put Senua’s mental health issues at the forefront, portraying a protagonist constantly hounded by her demons. To achieve this powerful portrayal, the developer has worked with Cambridge Recovery College East, learning from the group’s “lived experience with psychosis”. Today, Ninja Theory announced that their collaboration will continue with Senua’s Scholarship. The developer-funded scholarship will allow one student to train with the Recovery College every year in order to become a tutor. This will enable them to help those in need and “show people the opportunities of life beyond diagnosis”.
Alongside announcing Senua’s Scholarship, the developer has also uploaded a 25-minute video feature that tackles the very subject of Senua’s psychosis. The video starts by discussing the character’s origins and goes on to detail how the team collaborated with various experts to successfully put players in the shoes of a character that has a different perspective. It shows the recording techniques used to create Senua’s unseen companions. The feature also explains how people’s firsthand experience with psychosis went on to inspire the way flashbacks are presented in Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice.
This isn’t the first time developer Ninja Theory supports organizations that deal with people suffering from mental illness. In the past, it donated $50,000 to Mental Health America when Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice reached 100,000 copies sold on Xbox One. Announcing Senua’s Scolarship on World Mental Health Day follows last year’s gesture when all proceeds from Hellblade sales on Oct. 10 were directed to charity. Back in June, the game had sold over one million copies accross all platforms. Currently available only digitally, the console version of the title is also getting a physical release this December.
