Developer Supergiant Games
Release Date September 17th, 2020
Played on Nintendo Switch
If you haven’t noticed the internet is currently abuzz with how much they’re loving Hades. Hades is a roguelike action game from the awesome developers Supergiant Games. Supergiant is known for putting out some quality games like Bastion, Transistor, and Pyre. Hades is no exception.
Hades originally came out on exclusively on the Epic Games Store as an early access title. It was a game in progress, only releasing the first world, and slowly updating it until it hit its full release on September 17th. I personally never really thought about picking it up when it first came out in early access. Early access can make or break a game for me, and I think I would rather just see it in its final state, even if I do end up saving money buying in early.
Now that Hades is officially out, I ended up picking it up almost immediately. The amount of praise I saw from people on Twitter really had me interested. I’m a fan of the roguelike genre. I’m also incredibly bad at them, so I get a lot of replay value.
Side Note: Everyone is so damn good looking in this game.
Hades takes place in Greek mythology. You play as Zagreus, the son of Hades. At the start of the game all you know as the player is that you are trying to escape hell, to get away from your father. What’s cool is that your distant relatives, aka the other Gods of Mount Olympus, are above sending you help. They can buff Zagreus, make his attacks stronger, or add affects to the weapons you wield. The cool part is that all of these characters are voiced. They sound awesome, and they seem to constantly have new lines every time you accept one of their gifts. The more you accept a God’s gift, the more you’ll learn about them. It’s all incredibly cool.
Zagreus’ dad, Hades, is trying to prevent him from leaving Hell. All these monsters are trying to stop him. Why won’t he just let him leave? At this point, I have no clue, but I’m sure with the ever evolving story I will eventually find out.
Hades plays like a traditional third person roguelike. Moving from room to room, killing off enemies, getting stronger, finding resources, and eventually coming to a boss of that level. The first level has Meg, a bad ass Harpy. Zag and Meg of course know each other, so their banter before a fight is pretty great. Even after defeating Meg you can find her in the Hall of Hades, and she’ll make a remark about it.
Hades does a lot to move the roguelike genre forward in my opinion. The voice acting is great, the constant story moving forward every time you die is awesome. Even when I end up losing a run, I know that there is going to be more content waiting for me in the main hub. The game even plays amazingly well on the Nintendo Switch. I am surprised at how well they ported it over.
So far I have only made it to the second level twice. I actually just beat Meg for the second time a little bit ago. I did make it to the end boss of level 2 on my first try, but also didn’t quite make it out alive..
My favorite weapon so far has been the shield. Being able to throw it around a room like Captain America, hitting multiple enemies is super satisfying. I am currently using the trident for the first time and it has been very fun as well. I know I will eventually have to give the bow a shot, but I’m just not feeling it yet..
Have you been playing Hades? If so, let me know what you think of it! I’ve been having a great time so far.
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The Tired Obsidian 
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