Hades II Review (Switch)

Supergiant Games have a reputation for creating games which are nothing less than amazing, and most of the time highly original and unique to boot. Bastion remains a masterpiece of isometric action adventure, Transistor a stylish mix up of turn based and hack and slash and Pyre is just nuts in about every way. The one thing they haven’t done until now is produce a sequel, I mean where can you go when you’ve already perfected what you are trying to achieve which each title?

So, it’s brave decision to not only make a sequel, but a sequel to one of the most highly regarded indie games of all time in Hades. It’s a good thing then that they have done it right.

Hades II, thankfully doesn’t stray away from the ancient Greek roots of the original. While that story focused on a son trying to escape the depths of hell (and the grasp of his father), Here we have a female lead, Melinoë the princess of the Underworld, trying to defend her home against Chronos the Titan of time. There are a host of new characters here for the studio to play with and each is beautifully written- if you wish to really dive into the law and setting.

Of course, the real heart of the original Hades was the Rogue-like structure and the flexibility of the combat. In this regard not much has changed in terms of the scope. This is still a Rogue game where each run is designed to have you gather resources for permanent upgrades which in turn allow for players to get ever so slightly closer to their goal on the next run. If anything, there are perhaps too many resources to manage here. There are seemingly endless things to change and upgrade and numerous currencies and trinkets to collect and trade for other currencies and trinkets, which in turn can be used to invoke spells, create new areas in the hub world or upgrade your character, weapons and several hundred other things. It really did take a good few hours for us to start to get to grips with everything that was going on.

In terms of your arsenal, you start out with one weapon and unlock other options as you progress. Each of these react differently with the various attacks you have. Players can perform and chain basic attacks, perform a ‘cast’ which creates a ring on the floor which can be used to halt or entrap enemies (among many other things). Special attacks can be initiated by holding the attack button down, and there’s a range of close combat moves as well. You can also pick up a ‘hex’ attack which needs to be charged in each location and has its own development path as well. If you are going to master all this, it’s really going to take a while and for those of you that thought Transistor was complex you are in for a shock. Oh, and you have a dash/dodge as well.

At the outset Hades II is quite a tough proposition. Our first few runs didn’t really yield much progression at all. But as these things go, you slowly start to break the back of the first area and suddenly more options open out to you. The game does seem tougher than the first one though with the second level being a real baptism of fire on the first few runs. But while you may be beginning to get frustrated at not getting past a rock band made of Sirens, the game has something else up its sleeve. You see, the hub world is the crossroads and, initially, you can only descend into the depths. But after casting a particular spell at the cauldron it removes the ward on the stairs that go up as well.

From that point you can continue to forge your way down to Hades or alternatively head to the surface and make for Mount Olympus. This initially comes with a curse which drains your heath, but once you have cleared that the surface world provides a very different approach to the game.

While the downward dungeons remain much in the same format as the original game, the surface world mixes things up a fair bit. The first area for instance, is set in a city of interconnecting rooms. Here you can roam the central areas and decide which door you are going to go through in whatever order you wish. After besting a Cyclops, you are sent to the docks where instead of changing rooms you decide which direction to steer the ships. These surface realms are much larger and wider and require some consideration in approach if you have been used to the cramped caves of the subterranean route. It provides some much-needed flexibility and variety if one location is causing you a lot of issues.

Overall, Hades II is as good as its predecessor in its own ways. It takes a slightly different approach but retains the soul of the core concept and develops it well. It doesn’t make the original game obsolete as it feels different enough while also being strong enough in its own right for both new players and those familiar with the original to dive right in.  

Overall 9/10

Hades Review (Nintendo Switch)

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