A sequel in every sense of the word. This game is essentially another hades 1. I think it makes some improvements with the core issues I had with Hades 1: the lack of re-playability. The builds here seem more interesting and diverse, however it suffers from the same fate as hades 2, once you find a build you like, why change it? I still don't think it holds a candle to other 10/10 roguelikes (i.e. ROR2, Binding of Isaac, Dead Cells, etc.) as those games you can put 1000's of hours into, and for me at least, Hades will be a 100 hour game.

It is SO hard to do but I am putting this one down until 1.0.

I got past the second boss (INCREDIBLE) and a fair bit in to the third area. I somehow think I am already liking this more than Hades and am actually going to lose my mind when the full thing comes out.

I love Mel and her move set and her cast of characters at the crossroads. I love the writing and the music and the art. I love the whole thing and absolutely can't wait for the finished product!!!

Hades 2 absolutely rips, but that isn't surprising in the slightest. It's a really exceptional game, and a surprisingly fresh follow-up to what is one of my favourite games ever.

I think the shift in stakes is what's made this one feel so unique. Rather than being a pretty insular tale of Zagreus escaping hell in search of his mother, the scope of the mission has broadened for his sister Melinoë, tasked with defeating Chronos, the Titan of Time, and insodoing, save her family from imprisonment. It's unclear what the fate of the House of Hades is exactly at this point, but I'm confident in whatever Supergiant decide to cook up here.

Regardless, the tone switch to one of saviour rather than rebel is tantalising, and the ways in which that burden weighs upon our new protagonist is making for some delicious character drama. The denizens of our new hub area, the Crossroads, are all fun to interact with, and their motivations are just as compelling as what has come before. I think the interactions are a little different this time, with a fresh-out-of-hiding Mel much more likely to come across fresh faces than Zag who, having lived in the Underworld his whole life, knows pretty much everyone already. I'm not sure if I'm as fond of the new approach, given that I think Supergiant excels most in writing relationships and their backstories as mysteries to be solved through repeated conversation, but the writing is still so bouncy and fresh that I can't say the difference is too noticeable to me.

The game plays pretty much the same with some differences to the way certain mechanics operate, but for the most part it's been quite easy to slip back into the signature Hades feel. I like the changes to how boons work, with Selene the Moon Titan working as the dedicated God Call - now called Hexes - and being able to customise that Hex accordingly. I like the new boon additions too; the inclusion of new gods like Hera, Hestia, Hephaestus and Apollo is neat and it's cool to see Supergiant's gorgeous artistic interpretation of them.

What I'm less sure about is the new resource gathering system. On the one hand, I understand it; the original Hades only really had a small handful of options to use as currency for upgrades, so I get the impulse to diversify that aspect of the game. That being said, it has now created a brand new frustration in that it's entirely possible to be missing a really specific material you can only get in a late game area, and depending on how unlucky you get with your build in any given run, you can spend ages throwing yourself at the same situation again and again, to get to an area where the thing you're looking for doesn't even show up. I get that this design is supposed to incentivise repeated runs, but I think the promise of possible friendly encounters, fresh dialogue in boss fights, and just the base level fun of playing the game, is more than enough incentive, at least for me. As it stands, it feels like an unnecessary roadblock.

Ultimately though, the game is still in early access so much can change. Supergiant have already said that they're likely to keep tweaking the game balance all the way up to release, so until that day, we'll have to withhold judgement I think. As it stands, Hades 2 is awesome, and between the success of this and Baldur's Gate 3, the future of self-published games is looking bright. I hope the game only improves with Time.

(Review of the early access, I doubt I'll finish it before the full game comes out, but I might play it here and there)
First off, this game will be compared a lot to the first hades in this review. While there are some aspects that this has over 1, a lot of the changes to progression and gameplay I just find lacking. OfCourse this all can change or be improved upon in the full release, and I hope that's true.
I like the changes to the combat; it feels good and fluid while keeping the basis of the first game. The axe is a really fun to use, but the rest of the weapons are not as good as it or the ones from hades 1. Also, the encounter rewards aren't as fun as the first game. From what I've played I haven't had as much fun making different builds or experimenting with boons that just might work well together. The number of boons you get feels a lot less and it doesn't feel good coming across rooms that just give you the currencies that you can only use in your next run through. I have no idea why they don't let you switch keepsakes across areas like Hades. And while I've only just finished the second area, the bosses don't feel fun to play against. I hope just for the sake of making it different, the devs don't remove the features that made Hades so fun.

who could have predicted supergiant could hit it out of the park twice thrice four times oh right i forgot they were just this consistently great

i think its very good as is. i know it is likely multiple people thnk that it will be worth it to wait until completion, and while i'm not going to say they're incorrect to do so, i'm going to do something i almost never do which is to argue for playing an early access version of a game. thats what below is, and if you don't care then my answer is its good areadly, and already has more to do than hades 1, at the cost of using more placeholder art and sketches.

i bought hades 1 IMMEDIATELY upon the announcement of it, even with early access. it's the reason i created an account on epic's godless platform. it was completely worth it. one of the most interesting things about myth is not necessarily the flexibility but the way that a single story can exist in multiple different forms while being the same story, and nothing quite captured that for me like the experience of playing hades 1 as it was built from the ground up. rooms and builds shifting being accompanied by the story readjusting, more coming into view. it's weird how well the early iteration being public fits hades and greek myth, and even moreso when you have a guaranteed finale unlike some sort of live service hell. i replayed hades for the first time since the original full release about a month ago and it's such a unique feeling going from the fireplace storytelling of my original save to reading carved tablets from millennia ago. right now you have the same opportunity to do so with hades two, and i recommend doing so for yourself so so sooo much.

Fantastic but still in early access in the simplest definition. If you can accept that there are placeholder models and portraits or unfinished portraits, and one route isn’t fully finished and the story isn’t done yet, hop on. This is excellent. It changes systems and feels fresh, yet so loving to the original. I’m not going to give a rating until 1.0, as that’s not really fair of me if I give something which is explicitly in early access a 4.5, yet openly diss games which release unfinished. It’d be disingenuous to the process too. I look forward to seeing what Supergiant creates here. I’ll re-review it and score it once we truly have an ending. For now, I think it’s best I put it down until its next major update to reduce any chance of burnout.

It's insanely good but this is the definition of early access. All the content here is absolutely fantastic but the lack of some is very jarring. Major content missing, placeholder models and portraits, balancing issues etc. Playing it now is very interesting and it's gonna be really fun when the updates start rolling but unless you're absolutely craving for more Hades I would recommend holding off until the full release. This here's a masterpiece in the making, just gotta wait till the making is done.