Hades, being the first rogue-lite that I’ve actually played, was a bit of a blind experience for me. I’m vaguely familiar with the genre but I’ve never played a rogue-lite before now, and I certainly didn’t know anything about Hades itself. I saw a friend streaming it on Discord, it looked neat so I bought it on sale. Not yet known to me, I had just made one of the best gaming decisions of my life. So without further ado, let’s start with the story. I don’t have other rogue-lite games as references, but Hades has such a uniquely splendid balance of info-feeding, humor, and heartfelt story. By nature of being a rogue-lite, the story would always have to be told a bit irregularly. Not missing a beat, Hades takes full advantage of its Greek setting and provides a great in-universe explanation for respawning, why the main character Zagreus keeps traversing the underworld to reach the surface, and how this intersects with both his underworld companions and surface dwelling Olympian cousins, aunts, and uncles.
This is where the theme of troubled relationships takes center stage. True to mythology, everything is politics down where the sun doesn’t shine, with the complicated personal relationships Zagreus has with his father and family serving as the ultimate heartstring-puller and impetus for the game. I won’t spoil anything, but the development and conclusion felt as natural as it did rewarding. It was integrated so well into the gameplay loop too. Every run offers something new to learn about your dysfunctional family, or nets you progress on quest lines to meet and unite fellow denizens of the underworld. It got to the point that I looked forward to finishing a run and returning to the House of Hades. Not because I didn’t enjoy the gameplay but because I loved seeing my quests progress and decking out the palace with fancy new wares just as much, to the humorous chagrin of strict father Hades of course.
Then there’s the gameplay. My sweet beloved gameplay. With a varied 6 main weapons, 6 companions to call for assists, permanent mirror abilities, weapon variants called aspects, and keepsakes to boost stats, influence RNG, or grant abilities, Hades is ripe for theorycrafting. When I started I was intent on just sticking to the bow, as it was the only weapon I was decent with. By hour 4 I was hooked on rotating each weapon out in an ever-revolving door of variety. Each weapon forces you to play differently, whether that be a more tempered, long range approach or an in-your-face frenzy of attacks; they all offer a new flavor of challenge that I couldn’t help but sink my teeth into. It certainly helps that every weapon is viable at all levels once you learn the ropes. The primary method of upgrades are boons, blessings granted by olympian gods that can affect your weapon abilities as well as personal stats and attributes, such as boosting your critical chance or giving certain moves knockback.
Most boons are short, succinct, but exponentially potent with the right mindset and weapon. That feeling when you finally get that boon you wanted on just the right weapon approaches spiritual nirvana. There’s no better sight than seeing those damage numbers shoot out like hotcakes. The bosses fights are fantastic as well, and can be modified with pacts, a post-game modifier list that lets you boost enemies and debuff yourself for more challenge and reward. I’m not exaggerating when I say Hades has 100 hours worth of content on the low end. There is ALWAYS something to work towards. I would be juggling multiple quests, upgrading a keepsake, and collecting as much permanent currency as I could to buy some cool furniture for my room. With each run lasting only around half an hour the philosophy of just one more run took hold of me like nothing else. I was so glued to Hades that it became the first and only game thus far that I’ve proactively 100% completed. It goes without saying I’m absolutely pumped for the sequel and would implore anyone and everyone to give the game the greenlight. It even has a god-mode for those less acclimated to such hectic combat.
This is where the theme of troubled relationships takes center stage. True to mythology, everything is politics down where the sun doesn’t shine, with the complicated personal relationships Zagreus has with his father and family serving as the ultimate heartstring-puller and impetus for the game. I won’t spoil anything, but the development and conclusion felt as natural as it did rewarding. It was integrated so well into the gameplay loop too. Every run offers something new to learn about your dysfunctional family, or nets you progress on quest lines to meet and unite fellow denizens of the underworld. It got to the point that I looked forward to finishing a run and returning to the House of Hades. Not because I didn’t enjoy the gameplay but because I loved seeing my quests progress and decking out the palace with fancy new wares just as much, to the humorous chagrin of strict father Hades of course.
Then there’s the gameplay. My sweet beloved gameplay. With a varied 6 main weapons, 6 companions to call for assists, permanent mirror abilities, weapon variants called aspects, and keepsakes to boost stats, influence RNG, or grant abilities, Hades is ripe for theorycrafting. When I started I was intent on just sticking to the bow, as it was the only weapon I was decent with. By hour 4 I was hooked on rotating each weapon out in an ever-revolving door of variety. Each weapon forces you to play differently, whether that be a more tempered, long range approach or an in-your-face frenzy of attacks; they all offer a new flavor of challenge that I couldn’t help but sink my teeth into. It certainly helps that every weapon is viable at all levels once you learn the ropes. The primary method of upgrades are boons, blessings granted by olympian gods that can affect your weapon abilities as well as personal stats and attributes, such as boosting your critical chance or giving certain moves knockback.
Most boons are short, succinct, but exponentially potent with the right mindset and weapon. That feeling when you finally get that boon you wanted on just the right weapon approaches spiritual nirvana. There’s no better sight than seeing those damage numbers shoot out like hotcakes. The bosses fights are fantastic as well, and can be modified with pacts, a post-game modifier list that lets you boost enemies and debuff yourself for more challenge and reward. I’m not exaggerating when I say Hades has 100 hours worth of content on the low end. There is ALWAYS something to work towards. I would be juggling multiple quests, upgrading a keepsake, and collecting as much permanent currency as I could to buy some cool furniture for my room. With each run lasting only around half an hour the philosophy of just one more run took hold of me like nothing else. I was so glued to Hades that it became the first and only game thus far that I’ve proactively 100% completed. It goes without saying I’m absolutely pumped for the sequel and would implore anyone and everyone to give the game the greenlight. It even has a god-mode for those less acclimated to such hectic combat.