Supergiant Games are not ones to rush things. The company seems to take the approach that games are released when they are ready and as a result all three of the studios previous releases have hit an incredibly high benchmark. Bastion is perhaps the most iconic with its pitch perfect bashing but Transistors considered style and upgrade system and Pyre bringing its own twist on the RPG have carved put a loyal following. But what if all these elements could be combined? What sort of digital nirvana would that produce? Welcome to Hades everyone.
Based heavily in Greek mythology Hades has you playing as the
lord of the underworlds son as he repeatedly tries to escape and reach the
world above. Standing in his way are all manner of traps and monsters and some
pretty full on boss fights as well. In order to succeed you’ll need to make it
through from start to finish in one run as there are no shortcuts here. No one
said the journey out of hell was easy after all.
Set over four areas, Hades is a Rogue style action game.
Combat is in real time in the vein of Bastion. As you progress you’ll pick up enhancements
from the many Gods and familiars that you meet. These last the length of your
current run and reset upon death. Permanent unlocks are also available and
allow you to expand your weapon set, health and a host of wide ranging other
elements such as gold and resistance.
Each area of Hades is broken down into different enclosed
rooms. Once all enemies are defeated you normally get an enhancement of some
kind before progressing to the next. Sometimes these are health or gold but
gifts from the Gods are also available and they stack. The key is to pick gifts
that compliment the weapon you are carrying so that by the time you reach the
upper levels you’ve got a fiend slaying device to rival any mythological sword.
These can be very flexible as well with each God giving out gifts that range
from simple speed buffs to things that weaken or poison enemies or create
explosions or lightning strikes when moving. This is where the Transistor and
Pyre influences come in.
While the game draws on the company’s previous work it
certainly doesn’t feel like them in terms of how it plays. Hades is very much
its own game and while you can see the influences everything has been altered
so that the various systems focused on in previous titles begin to blend together
and create a weird and wonderful hybrid of awesome possibilities.
Combat is solid and you have a basic attack and dodge
button, magic and summons attacks and the ability to cast an object into
enemies which makes them more vulnerable to attacks, acts as a grenade or does
whatever else you’ve got it do with your many gifts of the gods. Once you find
the right weapon for your style it works in a satisfying way and allows for a
flexible approach to battling beasties. It’s has its moments when it’s not very
colour blind friendly as well, especially in handheld mode where projectiles
can be near invisible against the backdrops at times.
Hades doesn’t do anything wrong but with so many systems
incorporated each one doesn’t quite have the focus of the games that influence
them. The combat isn’t quite at Bastions level and the upgrade system in
Transistor still feels a touch more dynamic and flexible for instance. It’s
amazing to have everything merged together but we feel Bastion and Transistor
may still be the ones that hold the most love for long term fans.
When it comes to the Rogue genre there is always a certain
amount of bashing against a brick wall for a number of hours and Hades is as
guilty of this as any other game. We did find ourselves thinking “just stick
with it” in the early going and after a while things did begin to click. It did
take a fair few initial hours though to get to grips with all the different systems
and how to go about making progress. There’s a lot to look at and understand. It
will click though and then everything becomes so much more rewarding.
Once you’ve passed that point progress is quite steady but
you’ll also need a fair amount of skill to beat the game. No matter how much
you level there will always be a challenge awaiting you and for those who just
want to relax there is a God mode included which will strengthen your character
with each failed attempt. The game keeps things fresh as well by altering end
of area bosses and changing other small elements which means there is always
something new to see and do with each run (and it also stops you breezing
through early levels).
Overall, Hades is a massively ambitious and successful take
on the Rogue genre. Everything here works well and will allows both hardcore
and casual players to get something from the experience of playing. The setting
is inspired, the story is deep for those that want to experience it and the
presentation takes the game to new heights. It’s simply a great example of a
game with triple AAA ambition and appeal from an always impressive indie
studio.
Overall 8/10
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