I missed the boat on Hades when it came out last September. I picked it up when it went on sale during the Game Awards yet didn't start playing until a week ago. I had heard from the underground indie scene that "bro Hades is the best game ever" and had already had high expectations with it being a Supergiant game (of which I had never played their games before) then some of my favorite YouTubers and friends started talking it up and so I finally booted it up and holy shit guys it's so good. It's SO. GOOD. I mean no exaggeration when I say Hades is one of the best games I've played since Celeste and Spider-Man PS4 and is in my top ten favorite games of all time.
I'm begging y'all do not let the "roguelike" part scare you away. I know we're drowning in indie roguelikes like waterboarded POWs but what sets Hades apart is the level of dedication it has to its charm, polish and story. The gameplay is literal hard drugs. They give you little rewards for each run (better ones the further you get) and these can be spent on permanently making yourself or your weapons stronger so you aren't just at the mercy of RNG like Gungeon or Binding of Isaac. The combat is like a nonstop shot of dopamine. Every weapon (sans bow but that's a preference thing) feels great to use and all play differently. The sword is for quick close strikes, the spear (my favorite) is for slower, but longer reaching damage, the shield eats projectiles and Captain America's across foes, the bow is for losers, the gauntlets turn the combat into somewhat of a fighting game juggle combo system, and the gun, while lacking in stun locking and must be reloaded, is kino by sole virtue of being a GUN in a GREEK MYTHOLOGY game.
After every combat encounter you get a reward and often a choice of rewards by seeing what to go for next with limited options. Do you want darkness to use on your mirror to permanently empower you, a key to unlock mirror upgrades, a heart to increase your max health, money for items this run, gems to buy helpful levels with, a shop to buy shit, a hammer to upgrade your weapon, pomegranates that upgrade your buffs, or god boons that give you unique buffs and lets you talk to the gods 80% of which are all hot? It's this choosing that makes each run feel fresh and engaging. And I mean ENGAGING. As in, "I have stayed up until 5:00AM several times playing this game" engaging.
But it's not the just the gameplay that kept me engaged. I have freaked myself silly on roguelikes before, like Enter the Gungeon and Rogue Legacy, but never before has one gripped me like Hades has. Because unlike those games, Hades... has a story. Not just a story, but a good one. It's a little hard to give Supergiant props for originality because all the characters and plot lines have been fished out of the Greek mythos hat (which is what devs often pull from when they're not combing the Norse mythos desert) but full marks go to making the story immersive and enriching. It's not incredibly emotional or reaches marvelous peaks like Undertale or Celeste, but it's absolutely held up by its immersion in Greek mythos and characterization.
I think this might be one of the first video games I've ever played where there isn't a single unlikable character. There are some not so cool characters like Hypnos or the Fury sisters that aren't Megaera but those are the outliers and even then they're not intolerable. All the gods have echoing filters that highlight their commanding presence and godhood, everyone provides enjoyable banter, ALL OF THE VOICE ACTING IS GOOD. There are some characters that come off as they're "acting," but so much of it is in this strange middle ground between "acting" and "normal speech" and it helps makes every conversation so palatable. And the glue that holds it all together is the son of the titular Hades.
Zagreus is low-key one of my favorite game protagonists ever now. He's like this seemingly impossible blend of edgelord, shonen hero, and sarcastic ass that sounds like he'd be the worst aspects of characters like Batman, Naruto and Ichigo combined, but it's impossible to hate Zagreus. He's clever, he's sassy, he's goal-oriented, he makes small talk with the bosses and talks to himself when he's bored. Aside from talking about his father Hades, he never whines or broods. His voice is constant ASMR honey in my ears. He likes to fight and while he would love nothing more than to work things out peacefully with his father and the bosses, he never backs down or gets intimidated by a foe. And in a great motion of combining gameplay with story, his struggle is the same for you the player. In Gungeon, your chosen character has a kind of ending but you are given zero context for it and no one gives a shit about it, and it doesn't make sense why you come back to life when you die, because it's all about the gameplay. In Hades, being a god, Zagreus can never truly die, thus every time you lose a run, he is merely brought back to the game's hub, the House of Hades, and you can go and talk with the House's residents and upgrade yourself. Even when you finish your first run and also when you beat the game proper the reasons given as to why you continue to reach the surface is thought-out and authenticated through the story. Also Zagreus is based as fuck because HE WILL NOT FIGHT HIS DOG. And his dog is Cerberus, mind you. Imagine having a game about Greek mythology and having the cajones to NOT use him for a boss. And yes, you can pet him and give him treats and call him a good boy and it's very Reddit wholesome 100 and I'd be lying if I said it didn't put a big ass smile on my face every time.
The DIALOGUE on this game, bro. Only a handful of times have I encountered moments of repeated dialogue. I stagger to think about how much voice recording went into this game. I know it's been in early access since late 2018 but there's like 30 characters and all of them not only have a LOT to say, but they never have anything to say that's not interesting or fun. I would call Aphrodite best girl for being quite possibly one of the hottest depictions of her in any media ever, but I had to settle for Meg because you CAN'T BANG APHRODITE in this game so it's sad that I must give Hades the 0/10 it truly deserves because of this. Not to say Meg doesn't have a voice I want to have whisper sweet nothings into my ear while I go to sleep in her firm yet supple arms wrapped in her one wing... because she does... and I do. BTW, by favorite character in the whole game is unironically the supportive shade in the Thesius fight. He never talks to you, you can't trigger dialogue manually with him, and you can only say one thing to him per run, but the idea of all these shades in the arena cheering for the champions while this one guy hangs your pennant on the wall and wears red among the ocean of teal makes me feel warm and fuzzy and he's easily the best character. Also Cerberus.
Fuck man, there's so much good about this game it's nuts. The music is bass-heavy with sick licks and occasional vocal tracks that stop me dead every run because I HAVE to listen to Eurydice sing "Good Riddance" every time I see her. The art is that signature hand-painted Supergiant goodness with more Greek theming naturally. It runs PHENOMENALLY on Switch like holy shit no slowdown, no frame drops, nothing. It makes it the optimal platform for the game for portable play with no compromising. The story theming of "eternity doesn't have to be so bad" and family abuse and connections upholds the linear somewhat predictable story (like the ending is good and all but if you didn't see it coming a mile away you are either not well-versed in Greek mythology, Disney movies, and/or are stupid). I'd say the worst aspects of this game are boss variety and the side quests. There are really only four bosses in the whole game with the occasional mini boss or optional/random boss. But the main bosses you fight start to feel samey after a while. They make alterations rarely, such as Meg tagging in her other Fury sisters or the Bone Hydra changing color/design to mark a different attack, but it's so little a change that it's easily negligible. A few more unique bosses to end a floor with would've done wonders for spicing up the variety. The side quests are harmless additions in and of themselves, but trying to complete ones like "get all boons from a god once" or "get all hammer weapon upgrades for a weapon" made me wanna blow my brains out because it's random what god you'll even get and you only get two hammers per run and I SPENT ALL NIGHT TRYING TO FIND THE DUMBASS FLURRY SLASH IT TOOK LIKE FIVE HOURS FUCK YOU POSEIDON GIVE ME YOUR AIDS. Any ideas of 100%-ing this game should be thrown right into the garbage. I'd sooner recommend alphabetizing the contents of a box of Kraft Mac & Cheese because at least then the box won't randomly NOT give you the noodles. I'm charmed enough by the game that I actually do want to get the epilogue (as grindy as that'll be) which is more than I can say for games like Hollow Knight and Forager, but without story beats to carry me through and the game becoming a checklist, it's definitely gonna become a podcast or non-thinking stream kind of game.
But uh... yeah. Hades is good. It's really good. It's amazing. Quite possibly 2020's GOTY. I haven't played many 2020 releases but until something dethrones it it's taking that spot. (lol bye New Horizons I hope you enjoyed the nine days at the top). I cannot recommend this game enough, especially if you're one of those weirdos that plays every roguelike ever for some reason. I have sunk tens of hours into it so far and I'm probably gonna look like 100 by the time I get the epilogue. And for $25? A fucking STEAL.
I'm begging y'all do not let the "roguelike" part scare you away. I know we're drowning in indie roguelikes like waterboarded POWs but what sets Hades apart is the level of dedication it has to its charm, polish and story. The gameplay is literal hard drugs. They give you little rewards for each run (better ones the further you get) and these can be spent on permanently making yourself or your weapons stronger so you aren't just at the mercy of RNG like Gungeon or Binding of Isaac. The combat is like a nonstop shot of dopamine. Every weapon (sans bow but that's a preference thing) feels great to use and all play differently. The sword is for quick close strikes, the spear (my favorite) is for slower, but longer reaching damage, the shield eats projectiles and Captain America's across foes, the bow is for losers, the gauntlets turn the combat into somewhat of a fighting game juggle combo system, and the gun, while lacking in stun locking and must be reloaded, is kino by sole virtue of being a GUN in a GREEK MYTHOLOGY game.
After every combat encounter you get a reward and often a choice of rewards by seeing what to go for next with limited options. Do you want darkness to use on your mirror to permanently empower you, a key to unlock mirror upgrades, a heart to increase your max health, money for items this run, gems to buy helpful levels with, a shop to buy shit, a hammer to upgrade your weapon, pomegranates that upgrade your buffs, or god boons that give you unique buffs and lets you talk to the gods 80% of which are all hot? It's this choosing that makes each run feel fresh and engaging. And I mean ENGAGING. As in, "I have stayed up until 5:00AM several times playing this game" engaging.
But it's not the just the gameplay that kept me engaged. I have freaked myself silly on roguelikes before, like Enter the Gungeon and Rogue Legacy, but never before has one gripped me like Hades has. Because unlike those games, Hades... has a story. Not just a story, but a good one. It's a little hard to give Supergiant props for originality because all the characters and plot lines have been fished out of the Greek mythos hat (which is what devs often pull from when they're not combing the Norse mythos desert) but full marks go to making the story immersive and enriching. It's not incredibly emotional or reaches marvelous peaks like Undertale or Celeste, but it's absolutely held up by its immersion in Greek mythos and characterization.
I think this might be one of the first video games I've ever played where there isn't a single unlikable character. There are some not so cool characters like Hypnos or the Fury sisters that aren't Megaera but those are the outliers and even then they're not intolerable. All the gods have echoing filters that highlight their commanding presence and godhood, everyone provides enjoyable banter, ALL OF THE VOICE ACTING IS GOOD. There are some characters that come off as they're "acting," but so much of it is in this strange middle ground between "acting" and "normal speech" and it helps makes every conversation so palatable. And the glue that holds it all together is the son of the titular Hades.
Zagreus is low-key one of my favorite game protagonists ever now. He's like this seemingly impossible blend of edgelord, shonen hero, and sarcastic ass that sounds like he'd be the worst aspects of characters like Batman, Naruto and Ichigo combined, but it's impossible to hate Zagreus. He's clever, he's sassy, he's goal-oriented, he makes small talk with the bosses and talks to himself when he's bored. Aside from talking about his father Hades, he never whines or broods. His voice is constant ASMR honey in my ears. He likes to fight and while he would love nothing more than to work things out peacefully with his father and the bosses, he never backs down or gets intimidated by a foe. And in a great motion of combining gameplay with story, his struggle is the same for you the player. In Gungeon, your chosen character has a kind of ending but you are given zero context for it and no one gives a shit about it, and it doesn't make sense why you come back to life when you die, because it's all about the gameplay. In Hades, being a god, Zagreus can never truly die, thus every time you lose a run, he is merely brought back to the game's hub, the House of Hades, and you can go and talk with the House's residents and upgrade yourself. Even when you finish your first run and also when you beat the game proper the reasons given as to why you continue to reach the surface is thought-out and authenticated through the story. Also Zagreus is based as fuck because HE WILL NOT FIGHT HIS DOG. And his dog is Cerberus, mind you. Imagine having a game about Greek mythology and having the cajones to NOT use him for a boss. And yes, you can pet him and give him treats and call him a good boy and it's very Reddit wholesome 100 and I'd be lying if I said it didn't put a big ass smile on my face every time.
The DIALOGUE on this game, bro. Only a handful of times have I encountered moments of repeated dialogue. I stagger to think about how much voice recording went into this game. I know it's been in early access since late 2018 but there's like 30 characters and all of them not only have a LOT to say, but they never have anything to say that's not interesting or fun. I would call Aphrodite best girl for being quite possibly one of the hottest depictions of her in any media ever, but I had to settle for Meg because you CAN'T BANG APHRODITE in this game so it's sad that I must give Hades the 0/10 it truly deserves because of this. Not to say Meg doesn't have a voice I want to have whisper sweet nothings into my ear while I go to sleep in her firm yet supple arms wrapped in her one wing... because she does... and I do. BTW, by favorite character in the whole game is unironically the supportive shade in the Thesius fight. He never talks to you, you can't trigger dialogue manually with him, and you can only say one thing to him per run, but the idea of all these shades in the arena cheering for the champions while this one guy hangs your pennant on the wall and wears red among the ocean of teal makes me feel warm and fuzzy and he's easily the best character. Also Cerberus.
Fuck man, there's so much good about this game it's nuts. The music is bass-heavy with sick licks and occasional vocal tracks that stop me dead every run because I HAVE to listen to Eurydice sing "Good Riddance" every time I see her. The art is that signature hand-painted Supergiant goodness with more Greek theming naturally. It runs PHENOMENALLY on Switch like holy shit no slowdown, no frame drops, nothing. It makes it the optimal platform for the game for portable play with no compromising. The story theming of "eternity doesn't have to be so bad" and family abuse and connections upholds the linear somewhat predictable story (like the ending is good and all but if you didn't see it coming a mile away you are either not well-versed in Greek mythology, Disney movies, and/or are stupid). I'd say the worst aspects of this game are boss variety and the side quests. There are really only four bosses in the whole game with the occasional mini boss or optional/random boss. But the main bosses you fight start to feel samey after a while. They make alterations rarely, such as Meg tagging in her other Fury sisters or the Bone Hydra changing color/design to mark a different attack, but it's so little a change that it's easily negligible. A few more unique bosses to end a floor with would've done wonders for spicing up the variety. The side quests are harmless additions in and of themselves, but trying to complete ones like "get all boons from a god once" or "get all hammer weapon upgrades for a weapon" made me wanna blow my brains out because it's random what god you'll even get and you only get two hammers per run and I SPENT ALL NIGHT TRYING TO FIND THE DUMBASS FLURRY SLASH IT TOOK LIKE FIVE HOURS FUCK YOU POSEIDON GIVE ME YOUR AIDS. Any ideas of 100%-ing this game should be thrown right into the garbage. I'd sooner recommend alphabetizing the contents of a box of Kraft Mac & Cheese because at least then the box won't randomly NOT give you the noodles. I'm charmed enough by the game that I actually do want to get the epilogue (as grindy as that'll be) which is more than I can say for games like Hollow Knight and Forager, but without story beats to carry me through and the game becoming a checklist, it's definitely gonna become a podcast or non-thinking stream kind of game.
But uh... yeah. Hades is good. It's really good. It's amazing. Quite possibly 2020's GOTY. I haven't played many 2020 releases but until something dethrones it it's taking that spot. (lol bye New Horizons I hope you enjoyed the nine days at the top). I cannot recommend this game enough, especially if you're one of those weirdos that plays every roguelike ever for some reason. I have sunk tens of hours into it so far and I'm probably gonna look like 100 by the time I get the epilogue. And for $25? A fucking STEAL.