As fans of Heavenly Sword and dev team Ninja Theory, we can’t wait to get our hands on Hellblade. The studio is aiming for a AAA action title, but made by a smaller team with a tiny budget. It’s an ambitious project, and they have been very open with their approach since announcing the game and have shown us multiple dev diaries from incredibly early stages of the game.

Today’s diary shows how the team have been creating multiple small ‘vertical slice’ demo for playtesters and the press. With a refreshing display of honesty, they freely admit that the first few were not great and left playtesters frustrated. With the latest build set to be shown to members of the press before E3, they have their fingers crossed that they have improved.

There’s no set release date for Hellblade, and with such a small team, we’d be surprised if it happened this year. As with any game though, we’d rather wait until the game is ready than play a malnourished product. Enjoy the video below and be sure to head to their site to see past entries in the series.

Check out more videos at the Hellblade official site. Ninja Theory have dismissed claims that the game is related to Heavenly Sword, but why not take a look at my early preview piece that explains why you’d be forgiven for thinking it was and also a bit about the mythology of Hellblade’s leading lady – Hellblade Preview – The Heavenly Sword Connection Examined.