Aesthetically Enchanted Nature Engagements in 'God of War' and 'Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice'
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 th...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2025
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| In: |
Journal for the study of religion, nature and culture
Year: 2025, Volume: 19, Issue: 2, Pages: 176-204 |
| Further subjects: | B
VirtuallyPostulated ExtraordinaryAgents(ViPEAs)
B Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice B Religion B Norse-orientedPaganism B DaGrspectrum B Dark Green Religion B Videogames B religion and popular culture B theory of religion B naturerelationships / human B Neopaganism B Digital Religion B God of War B dark gray religion |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | 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. |
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| ISSN: | 1749-4915 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the study of religion, nature and culture
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1558/jsrnc.27580 |
