Has it really been four years since ‘Hades‘? Still feels like that came out yesterday…
Indie games have been absolutely crushing it these last few years. Whereas the AAA industry has become a festering pit of massive budgets, microtransactions, and inhumane business practices, the indie scene has become a breeding ground of innovation, creativity, and consumer-friendly practices. They alone are keeping gaming afloat, and likely will for years to come.
When it comes to beloved indie devs, Supergiant Games has stood at the forefront for a long time. ‘Bastion‘ was one of the first big indie hits that I can remember, ‘Transistor‘ was a mixed but still enjoyable bag, and ‘Pyre‘ was the most fun I’ve ever had playing football. When ‘Hades‘ dropped, it quickly became the studio’s most successful title, taking its place as one of the most beloved rogue-likes and successful indie games ever made.
Now, for the first time ever, they’re doing a sequel. And just like the first game, ‘Hades II‘ has officially entered early access! After twenty hours of play, I can safely say that they are not going to disappoint!
*Important note: this is not a full review of the game. Namely because the game is still in development. These are just my first impressions, a few critiques, and general excited ramblings.
Considerable time has passed from the end of the first game. Chronos, Titan of Time, has conquered the Underworld and wages war upon Olympus. Luckily, the princess Melinoë was rescued and trained by the witch Hecate to destroy Chronos and take back her homeland. But can the young goddess defeat Time himself, even with the aide of Olympus and her friends?
This setup is a perfect follow-up to the first game. Before, we were escaping the Underworld. Now, we must infiltrate it and take it back. Luckily for us, the character work is just as strong here as it was in the first game. Melinoë is a great protagonist, the perfect blend of charming, friendly, and edgy. Chronos a menacing and loathsome antagonist, calm and cocky with all the power to back it up. The supporting cast are all really fun and interesting as well, from the asshole rival Nemesis to the mighty mentor Odysseus! I can’t wait to see how Supergiant expands on all this as development goes forward!
I especially love Dora. The friendly but apathetic ghost who makes a hobby of trying to be frightening. I wish I had a ghost friend who tried to jump scare me every time I got home from work…
It should go without saying that the game looks and sounds great. It’s Supergiant; their games are always gorgeous! Sure, there are some placeholder models and concept art character portraits, but that’s to be expected with an early access title. If anything, that makes the polish we already have even more impressive! Most ‘finished’ AAA games don’t have this kind of quality!
I especially love the music. Supergiant OSTs have only gotten better since Bastion, and they already started out incredible! One of the bosses are the Sirens, and their OST is a straight-up diss track of Melinoë! And it’s a god damn banger!
So far, it looks good, sounds good, and we’ve got a good story. But is it actually fun to play? Or do we have to wait for that to be patched in?
Nah, this shit is fucking fun!
If you’ve played ‘Hades,’ then you know what to expect from ‘Hades II.’ Fight through room after room of monsters, get boons from the gods of Olympus and various other upgrades to become stronger, see how far you can get before inevitably dying. Rinse and repeat until Chronos is dead, then repeat again anyways. Classic rogue-like goodness.
Unlike her warrior brother Zagreus, Melinoë is a witch. She’s armed with powerful magic, with each of her attack buttons having a powerful charge attack that take time to charge up. Luckily, she can put down a magic circle to restrain enemies and give you some breathing room. It’s super easy to pick up and incredibly satisfying to master!
With that said, it definitely needs work. Melinoë’s movement feels slow, especially her dash. A lot of the boons feel very samey, completing the same function as half a dozen other boons from other gods. Even after changing weapons, a lot of my builds felt identical to one another. Luckily, the devs are already on top of this, as they released the first patch while I was writing this article, in which they addressed the movement problem.
Regarding the boss fights, I currently have no complaints. They’re all fun to fight and extremely satisfying to defeat. I only hope they grow and change as development goes on; the extreme boss variety that made ‘Hades’ so replayable is still yet to come.
It’s honestly stunning how much content is already here. Six different levels, dozens of enemies, tons of items, and so, so much dialogue! Even after twenty hours of play, I’m nowhere close to seeing it all! The full game is going to be crazy, dude!
Incomplete as the game is, ‘Hades II‘ is still every bit as fun as the first game. It’s fast, intense, and addictive, with a charming cast of characters and style oozing out of every inch. Once it’s refined and content-complete, I have no doubt it’ll be a game of the year contender!
You can even pet the frog! What else do I need to say?!
You cannot, however, pet the dog yet. 0/10, game is trash.
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