Game: Hades II
Genre: Early Access, RPG, Roguelite
System: Steam (Windows, macOS)
Developers | Publishers: Supergiant Games
Controller Support: Yes
Price: US $29.99 | UK £24.99 | EU € 28,99
Release Date: May 6th, 2024
No review code was used; I purchased the game myself.
Hades II is the 2024 long-awaited sequel to Hades, developed and released by Supergiant Games. You can read James’ excellent review of the first game here.
The Premise of Hades II
In Hades II, we play Melinoe, the immortal Princess of the Underworld and the sister of Zagreus, the witty protagonist of the first Hades game. Melinoe has to take on Chronos, the Titan of Time and usurper of the Underworld. Defeating Chronos is the only way to save her family, but it might be more complex than besting him in combat. After all, he is the master of Time.
Gameplay
Hades II takes the best elements of the original rogue-like dungeon crawler and adds some new aspects, forming an entirely new, endlessly replayable experience rooted in Greek mythology.
Much like in Hades, we have a starting hub and base, which can be upgraded by adding new zones and characters. From there, we have access to two different paths – down and, later, up. The down path is to the Underworld, where Chronos has taken over Hades’ kingdom, and our heroine is trying to root him out. The path up is to Olympus, which is under attack by the Titans.
Both work the same way as in Hades II – randomly generated rooms with roughly the same progression. Each area has its enemies. Along the way, we meet Olympian gods, from Apollo to Zeus, who give us boons, aid, and some information. We also meet some other mythological beings, from Ariadne to some primordial Gods. Some are friendly, some – not so much.
A new element is the addition of witchcraft and dark sorcery. Melinoe is under the tutelage of Hecate, the Titan goddess of witchcraft, doorways, crossroads, and so on. Along the way, between fighting, Melinoe fishes, find interesting stones, harvests herbs, and uses all these in spell work.
The sorcery element can also be seen in combat in the form of casting spells. It makes for a more varied and dynamic combat than in the previous game. Some boons and aids have a dramatic flair and are visually quite spectacular in the best possible way.
A returning feature from the previous game is the upgradable weapon system. We have a choice of several weapons, which we upgrade as we progress in the story. We also have the option to make each run as tricky as we want. The more difficult it is, the more rewarding it is as well.
Instead of Mirror of the Night for upgrading skills, this time, we have Cards of Arcana. We can unlock all of them, but they can only be equipped at different times.
A highlight of the game is the artwork and the characters, each fully voiced with their own stories and quirks. We meet some old friends and a lot of new characters as well. With some of them, we even get to build deeper relationships. The soundtrack is once again excellent and well-suited to the game.
Some Other Things
While Hades II already feels like a complete game, it is still in Early Access. The game is receiving regular smaller and bigger updates, which introduce quality-of-life upgrades and new content, including new features, characters, environments, areas, and so on. Just a few days ago, Hades II players got the biggest update so far—the Olympus update, which introduced the Olympus area.
Hades II has the usual audio, graphics and language support settings, as well as accessibility settings. One interesting option is God Mode, which makes you tougher and allows you to focus more on the story if combat is not exactly your forte.
The game has no Steam achievements or trading cards yet.
Conclusion
Hades II is easily one of the best games for me this year. I await each update eagerly and can’t wait to see what else will come and how the story concludes. If you like Rogue-lite and the previous game, I am sure you’ll also love this one.
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