Ninja Theory, known for the Hellblade series, announced a mysterious horror game in 2020 called Project Mara, which was described as a "real-world and grounded representation of mental terror." The project sounded ambitious, but it has now been revealed that development has been canceled.
In a statement from Ninja Theory while discussing the newly announced Senua, the studio said:
“And with the fact that we have the entire team working on this game, I suspect some people might ask what's happened to Project Mara [a previously announced horror title] - I took the decision to not work on that any further. These decisions are never easy, but I did so to take the opportunity to have all of the talent and expertise in the studio, all 85 creatives, working together to realize the potential of what Senua can be.”
It's hard to say too much given how little we ever saw of Project Mara. Moving on to the new game, Senua, outside of the reveal trailer, we still don't know a great deal about the game, although Xbox Wire did share some additional details about what players can expect.
While Project Mara may be gone, it sounds like Ninja Theory is using that additional development power to make Senua a much more ambitious project than either of the previous Hellblade games.
According to Xbox Wire, Senua is being positioned as a full action-adventure game, with Ninja Theory describing it as "a bold new step for Senua" that expands combat, exploration, and puzzle-solving while retaining the intimate storytelling the series is known for.
It was also revealed that Senua will feature tactical combat with multiple weapons, dual-wielding, stealth options, special abilities, and boss battles. The world itself will be roughly twice the size of Hellblade II's, built as a large interconnected map that rewards exploration without becoming a fully open-world game.
Let me know your thoughts on Project Mara's cancellation as well as Senua in the comments, and be sure to take part in our poll!
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