I may be too late to the discussion about Hellblade II's dubbing, and I apologize for reigniting the discussion, but I just so happen to have actual info regarding it as I read an interview that touches on it not so long ago.
Original article, in Brazilian Portuguese.
When our first impressions of Hellblade II went live, the main question readers asked was whether the new game would have dubbing. The answer is: no, just text and subtitles in Brazilian Portuguese, as was the case with its predecessor. During our visit to the studio, this question came up from practically every journalist, whether they were Brazilian, German, Chinese or Spanish.
So far, no Hellblade has been dubbed into another language. The audio is in English only, and localization takes place for more than 20 languages via text. On the final stretch of the visit, we visited the studio where Senua's head voices are recorded, with a demonstration of how the game's binaural audio is made - that is, it reaches the ears from different sides, to give the feeling that the voices are coming from the left, right, back or front, always surrounding the player on all sides.
The demonstration was impressive. Under the command of audio director David Garcia, two actresses walked around the room, dropping sharp phrases into a microphone shaped like a human head. In the game, the voices in Senua's head take different stances. Some are aggressive towards her, others are suspicious or shy. According to Garcia, the process depends a lot on improvisation between him and the actresses - and this is the barrier to dubbing into other languages.
Spanish, from the city of Valencia, the audio director explained that improvisation is a two-way street: it gives naturalness to Senua's psychosis, making the voices sound alive and reactive, rather than scripted and robotic; but it makes dubbing and mixing in other languages very difficult, as binaural audio is an essential part of the experience. David Garcia said that if Ninja Theory decides to dub the games into other languages, they will have to do the dubbing at the studio in Cambridge, under his supervision, to ensure the best possible result.
Original article, in Brazilian Portuguese.
Hellblade II: Senua's Saga evolui o melhor do pesadelo nórdico original | Preview - Jovem Nerd
A convite da Xbox, viajamos ao Reino Unido para jogar uma prévia de Hellblade II: Senua's Saga. Confira o que achamos.
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