A singular masterpiece beyond any rating scale

Review
I have a desire to do this game justice with this review, yet I am neither a wordsmith, nor an word-artisan. And only someone like this would be able to achieve this.
I can only tell you of how immensely impressive, beautiful and frighteningly disturbing this game was. And by no means is this a walking simulator.

The obvious thing is, that this game looks amazing. The surroundings and the protagonist are so live like, not only in their appearance but also in the way they act, which really deepens the disturbing images. But only in this high quality could this story be told. A lifeless puppet like the Ryders from the latest Mass Effect would only generate laughs. It is unbelievable, that both Andromeda and Hellblade were released the same year, because the technology seems generations apart.

Now I won’t say I completely understood the story, but I loved experiencing it. I understand the overall arc, but I will return to it, to better understand some nuances. We are dealing with a mentally ill protagonist, and not all makes real life sense, but it still manages to come together to form a touching and emotional whole.

The sound, the music and the crazy voice act come together to create a fresh experience. The surrounding and conflicting voices, some ecstatic, some in agony, some in a state of deep anger are of unequalled quality.

Although I believe this game should be played by anyone, it truly is not material for all audiences. If you are open minded, if you like to try something else and let an experience grow over time, as Hellblade starts veeeeery slow, then this might be something for you. By no means is this game boring, it does build up adrenaline in your system, but it does with high spikes amidst broader valleys.

At the end, this game reminded me of the Witcher 3. Not its scope, or its overall gigantic ambitions. No.
Both CDProject Red and Ninja Theory set out to achieve a specific goal within our beloved gaming world and both provided experiences that have no equals across the whole board.
Two such uncompromising visions, that it is almost a miracle both these game exist.

UPDATE
After a second playthrough I strongly feel that this game is beyond amazing. It managed to touch me emotionally in a variety of ways, not only scared $hitless, but deeply moved too. This is a unique and important piece of art (at least to me).
I really do hope, there is another story to tell.