| Senua | |
|---|---|
| Hellblade character | |
&sq=&lang=&file=File:SenuaHellblade.png) Render of Senua from Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice | |
| First appearance | Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (2017) |
| Created by | Tameem Antoniades |
| Voiced by | Melina Juergens |
| Motion capture | Melina Juergens |
| In-universe information | |
| Origin | Orkney |
Senua is the player character and protagonist of the Hellblade video game series which consists of the 2017 video game Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice that marks her first appearance, as well the sequel Senua's Saga: Hellblade II. She is presented as a Pict warrior who experiences disturbances and hallucinations due to an undiagnosed mental disorder. As a result of Senua's internal struggle with her delusional beliefs, she is determined to travel to the Norse afterlife realm Helheim with the notion of rescuing the soul of her lover from the Norse goddess Hela following his killing by Norsemen invaders, which occurred prior to the events of Senua's Sacrifice.
Created by a development team led by director Tameem Antoniades at British video game developer Ninja Theory, Senua was the product of extensive research efforts conducted by the team into various topics like Celtic history, Norse mythology, and mental disorders. Her appearance, in particular her facial war paint and braided hair clumped with lime, is based on a popular belief about the way Celtic warriors would have looked. Senua is played by Ninja Theory employee Melina Juergens, who was initially used as a stand-in for the character while the team were adjusting their motion capture techniques early in development. Encouraged by Antoniades to channel her own emotions into the context of Senua's struggle, Juergens became the team's final choice to portray the character even though she had no prior acting experience.
The character of Senua has been met with a very positive reception. Several critics considered the portrayal of the character's mental health condition as a landmark representation of people with mental health disorders in the video game medium. Juergens' debut acting performance as Senua has earned critical acclaim, and is credited by critics to be instrumental to the generally positive reception of Senua's Sacrifice.