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Aesthetically Enchanted Nature Engagements in God of War and Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice

2025; Equinox Publishing; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1558/jsrnc.27580

1749-4915

Jane Skjoldli,

Archaeology and Historical Studies

The Norse-inspired video games Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice and God of War involve virtual biospheres that mediate the games’ engagements with nature in different ways. They also contribute to shaping the semantic field related to the term Norse and the contemporary concept it denotes. Figures in these games bear names known from myths conventionally considered Norse, such as Freya, Loki, Hela, and Jormungandr. How are aesthetics used to construct Virtually Postulated Extraordinary Agents (ViPEAs) and interactions with virtual natures engaged in the two video games? What can a dark green to dark gray religion (DaGr) spectrum tell us about those constructions? In this article, I argue that ViPEAs in Hellblade and God of War tend to appear as situated in human/nature relationships, that the games’ scripted interactions with ViPEAs suggest enchantment through extraordinary visual and auditory figurations, and that Norse-oriented religious aesthetics can be analyzed using the DaGr spectrum.