Game: Hades
Genre: Action, Adventure, Rogue Lite
System: Nintendo Switch (also on PC)
Developer|Publisher: Supergiant Games
Age Rating: EU 12+ | US T
Price: UK £22.49 | EU € 24,99 | US $24.99
Release Date: September 17th, 2020
Review code provided with many thanks to Supergiant Games
The Long Journey Complete
Hades originally released in early access all the way back in December 2018 on PC. It was actually the first game I ever purchased in early access and I was not disappointed. It was a fascinating journey seeing the game go from something in development to a fully-fledged release. But in the end, was this long journey worth the wait on the Nintendo Switch? It’s time to dive into the underworld and find out.
The Great Escape
You play as Zagreus the son of the God of the underworld, Hades. Zagreus has just about had enough of the underworld and has decided to leave. Unfortunately the journey out is not an easy one and death is a certainty. Zagreus is a little overconfident and just a bit big-headed for his own good. But it’s this smug personality that makes Zagreus a very likeable protagonist.
Fortunately, death is not the end of the world for Zagreus as each time he meets his maker he returns to the main hall. Here you have the chance to talk to a variety of famous characters from Greek mythology such as Achilles the legendary warrior, Hypnos who mostly just mocks how you died the previous playthrough and of course your father who just generally mocks you period because he’s Hades. Also, there’s Cerberus and yes you can pet him!
You usually get some brief dialogue with various characters and it adds more depth to the story, adding further incentive to keep braving the trip through the underworld. I’m a huge fan of Greek mythology myself so this general setting easily sold me but it’s worth pointing out this is, of course, Supergiants somewhat humorous interpretation of Greek mythology. There are plenty of laughs to be had but what impressed me more is the fact Supergiant has poured a lot of time to educate you on the areas you visit as well as the characters themselves. Hey, if this game convinces you to read further into Greek mythology I consider that a massive win!
A Beautiful Underworld
The graphics are quite astonishing. I don’t remember a video game where the Greek Underworld looked so colourful. The artists of this game really brought the world to life with a sort of mix of oil and graphic novel style design. The animations of the characters are smooth and I never encountered any graphical oddities. The colours stand out vividly yet it never slipped my mind that I was still exploring a very dangerous and unfriendly place. Accompanying this is an appropriately tense score though it was hard to fully enjoy it since I was spending most of my playthrough desperately trying not to die, again. There is a fully voice-acted cast which brings all of the characters to life in this game. Should you need to turn the volume down everything is also subtitled in text. Just in case you’re in a waiting area and you forget your headphones as I did.
Hack and Slash Your Way to Freedom
The game plays as hack and slash adventure at an isometric view. The controls are tight and responsive. Each run is randomly generated because of course, the underworld can’t be that easy to escape after all. The variation does at least keep things fresh so your not always seeing the same rooms, enemies and even bosses each time. You start off with just a sword but as you progress in the game you soon unlock new weapons. Since I played this in early access I often favoured the sword since it seemed to suit my ‘bash things first, never ask questions,’ style of playing. But when playing the final release on Switch I actually tried out alternative weapons. Such as the bow and spear which play very differently and felt much more balanced in this final release. The bow is particularly suited to a player who wants to plan out their strikes more.
Tartarus is filled with a variety of enemies, all of which want nothing better than to stop you reaching your goal of escaping the underworld. You have to make use of standard and special attacks as well as a dash button to fully clear out the room of enemies before moving onto another chamber. In each chamber, you’re rewarded with an item. One of the main items you get is a boon from the gods and after they give you a little speech about how awesome they think you are, you get to choose one of three abilities to help in your quest. This could be buffs to your attack, special, increased stats or a unique magic spell. There are tons of abilities to discover and living with your choices and making the best you can of each run gives plenty of incentive to replay.
Hades is a very tough game. Everything seems to be going so well then you come across a boss who just wrecks your day. But you’re constantly being drip-fed rewards each playthrough. You collect purple crystals, keys and gems which can all be used to upgrade your stats, unlock new weapons and unlock new rooms in future playthroughs. You’ll easily be kept busy for several playthroughs. But if you don’t have a lot of time on your hand the game saves every time you enter a new room even during a run. Making this a great game to dive into for minutes or even hours.
Hades has translated brilliantly to Nintendo Switch even in handheld mode. Through my multiple playthroughs and hours spent exploring the underworld, I encountered no glitches or slow down even when the action got really crazy. It was quite the treat to be able to enjoy Hades in handheld mode and take it on the go.
A Gift From the Gods
Hades is a brutal but highly entertaining trip through the Greek underworld. Although I got knocked down again and again much like the stubborn prince himself I couldn’t help but get back up and try just one more time. With so much content on offer, this will easily be a game I’ll have in regular rotation for a long time to come.
Definitely a title worthy of the Gods!
Final Verdict: Two Thumbs Up!
