Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice tasks you with exploring a hellish underworld as titular character Senua, who’s on a journey to relieve her beloved. As you make your way through the world, you’ll be met with specific doors that can only be opened with certain runes.
When you come across said runes, you’ll need to take note of them and search around you in the adjacent area to find something in the environment that looks like the rune you’ve been assigned. This is an important mechanic in Hellblade that you’ll need to get familiar with quick if you want to advance. Here’s how to figure out where to find each rune so you can pass through every gate quickly.
How Runes Work
When you happen upon a rune door, you’ll be met with a rune that you need to find using Senua’s third eye feature (pressing R2 and holding to inspect) on the door. When you do this a rune overlay will appear on your screen. You need to find somewhere around you that matches this shape, then focus on it. The rune gate will then open and you can advance to where you need to go. This mechanic will be repeated several times over.
How to Find Matching Runes
When the rune you’re looking for appears on your screen, you need to start searching around your general vicinity to figure out where the shape is you’re after. The game will help you with this, as small red versions of the rune you’re seeking out will start floating around on your screen the closer you are to finding the shape. The overlay will center on the screen as well, until you find the shape. Once you do, focus on it and you’ll find what you’re looking for.
Be sure to check everywhere around you, including the sky, trees, cliffs, and even the ground. You never know where the symbol may be hidden in nature. Sometimes it can be frustrating, but keep an eye out and stay open to any shapes. That weird configuration of branches may lead you where you need to go next.