If you are familiar with my Letterboxd account, you know that when I give something a 4 out of 5, that means I would recommend it to everyone. That description is stretching it for this game, which I would recommend to everyone... who is willing to trudge through a generic opening and boring main quest to get to the meat of the Nemesis system. The Nemesis system, however, might be the greatest piece of ludonarrative design I have ever seen. The game remembers so many things you wouldn't have thought it would, and your actions are reflected back at you. When a game makes me emotional about a procedurally generated ally turning against me, that's how you know it's great. Overall, the graphics and main story might be shit, and the mechanics might be just a slightly revised version of Batman Arkham mechanics, but I will always cherish my time in Mordor, and I can't wait to jump in again.

(This is more of a story about my experience with the game than a review. It spoils the end of the first run. If you want to know how good the game is, it's great. Some mechanics were a bit unclear, but overall it's very well-designed.)

During the past three weeks, I was working at an overnight summer camp. In the staff lounge, there was a Switch. I was excited because I could play Smash and Mario Kart. However, one of my coworkers brought a copy of Hades. One night, after dying again, he passed the controller to me. "Wanna try it?" he said. I said sure. I had heard much about this game, and I wanted to try it for myself.
From that first run, I was hooked. I started my own save file and became invested in both the gameplay loop and the story. Nearly all of my time off I spent on Hades. That is, until something happened.
Most staff members were granted one 6-hour period of time off during the summer. When mine came, I went down to the staff lounge and started playing. But something was different this time. I didn't want to see Zagreus die anymore, even though that would allow me to see more of the story. I wanted him to escape. So I did something that devastated the hardcore gamer in me: I turned on God Mode. After nearly five hours, I reached the eponymous boss before dying again. I should have seen the writing on the wall and realized I wasn't going to complete a run that night. However, I didn't. I tried again, this time dying to a butterfly in Elysium. Frustrated, I had a near-midnight snack and then went to bed.
During the next day, images of the game flashed whenever I closed my images. I suffering videogame compulsion, the restless wanting of a game that is often mistaken for addiction. I cut myself off from Hades for the rest of the time campers were there.
On the day campers left, I returned to the staff lounge for a few hours before staff banquet. As the strumming guitars of the main theme started, I realized something: This was personal. If Zagreus could escape the Underworld, then I could finish something. I could write a book, or a composition, or see something to the end. I could do something with my life without messing up. I could be a person people admire. With this in the back of my mind, I began another attempt.
I didn't complete a run that night. The next day, after finishing work around camp, I went back, missing out on the other staff hanging out. With a plan in mind, I started another attempt. After three or four more attempts, I finally beat Hades. The boss, at least.
Then Zagreus, sitting with his mother in her garden, realized he could not stay. He was made of blood and darkness, and as much as he hated it, the Underworld was part of him. As he realized that, I had a similar realization. I cannot change who I am. I can be the best version of myself, but the core of who I am will always be with me.
As Zagreus was taken by the Styx back to the House of Hades, I paused for a moment, then closed the game. Although I am sure there are more runs left in the game and an ending where Zag is able to stay with his mother, I learned my lesson from the game, and my time with it is complete. So thank you, Supergiant Games. Not just for creating a great videogame, but also for creating the vessel for my own personal journey.

I really don't know what to think of this from a gameplay perspective. Outside of the Tips system, there is basically no gameplay, and at first that was really annoying. However, I really got used to it as I went along, although there were still plenty of moments where I wished this was a novel or a 4-hour-long arthouse film. The story is extremely well told, although Keichii being just a generic anime protagonist made some moments really annoying. Also I thought it was hilarious how Tomitake was first described as an "average-looking man" right as they show an insanely buff person, but thankfully they acknowledged it later. I probably won't continue for many reasons, including the fact that I'll be taking a break from videogames soon and how well this first chapter works as a self-contained story. Overall, surprisingly good, especially the soundtrack.

I come from the future with news.

This game exists.





Seriously, why is this game already on Backloggd?