I played this on the Switch and the port is kind of... bad. Every time a cutscene tries to end seamlessly by framing the camera in the way it usually is framed when you play, the quality just jumps out of a bridge and I couldn't help but cringe a little bit. Some weird pop-ups far away and loading textures up close too. I'm not usually one who cares that much about graphics but Hellblade is clearly trying to be a cinematic experience, at the expense of what sometimes could gameplay more involving than walking around, so visuals should be one of the more important things to it. Sound, on the other hand, is great! I couldn't play with headphones but still, the way the games uses audio to create an experience that doesn't rely on HUDs, questmarks or whatever is a very well done choice of design.

Gameplay can be a bit of a drag because so much of it is doing puzzles that start to repeat themselves very early, they just start asking for more of the same mechanics, which I'd say is pretty bad. The combat is fine, but I don't like how the slow motion trivializes the combat. I think I'd work just fine without it. And, in general, it could have either less downtime or more meaningful content.

The story is not ground-breaking with it's revelations that can be seen from very far away with not-so-sutble hints, but it is functional and tight. It develops well in simple terms and it portrays mental illness in a way that is supposedly very respectful. I couldn't say because I'm pretty neurotypical. But yeah, it's good.