Game:

Hades (2020)

Duration: 33:13

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Well, this is...certainly different! So very recently, Supergiant Games' latest title, Hades, came out of Early Access and officially hit Version 1.0, on top of also making its console debut on Switch. Supergiant is known for visually stunning, narratively-driven experiences with Bastion, Transistor and Pyre, so hype was pretty high for this game...however...I wasn't expecting this game to hook me so much!

As you can see at the start, I've played this game a LOT. Beaten it, in fact, though there's still so much to do! But I was curious how far I could get on a fresh file, and figured I'd record my attempt as a possible introduction to the game for anyone interested.

Hades is a rogue-lite, a sub-genre of the rogue-like, a dungeon-crawler that challenges players to beat it in one go, and if you fail...back to the start, with the caveat that everything will be randomized with each attempt. In a rogue-like, you don't keep anything after a failed attempt, but rogue-lites there's still SOME sense of progression. In Hades' case, there's quite a few currencies you'll keep after death, on top of multiple story beats and bits of dialogue that make reference to your exploits.

In this game, you play as Zagreus, the Prince of the Underworld, who is DYING to get out. Why he wants to leave is a bit of a mystery, though his father, the titular Hades himself, doesn't seem like the nicest guy in the world. Zagreus will be able to gain a variety of power-ups to give him a better shot at defeating enemies and getting to the surface. It takes more than one run to see everything Zagreus can utilize, and in fact this first run at the very least seems somewhat fixed. For example, you are ALWAYS guaranteed to gain a boon from Athena as your first reward, and several Gods won't show up on a first run from what I hear. Each God has their own specialty of course and Athena's is defense. Most of her boons are about protecting you, typically giving you the ability to deflect attacks back at opponents or otherwise negate damage. Her boon for Zagreus' dash is widely considered to be one of the best in the game bar none because of how useful it is. Dionysus, the God of Wine, fittingly grants you the "hangover" effect on attacks, which is basically this game's version of poison. I chose the Boon that changes Zagreus' Cast, his projectile, which in this case, produces a cloud of Festive Fog that stuns enemies. But there's SO much more to this game.

Of course...I didn't last all that long! I made it a good deal farther than my actual first attempt for sure, and I'm sure it's technically possible to get a winning run on a fresh file but...they really stack the deck against you. With no way to deal with armored enemies, for one, Asphodel was a lot harder for me. Not to mention I miscounted how many chambers I went through before the boss, so I passed up a trip to the shop near the end there. But death is only the beginning of Hades!

After a death, you return home and get to chat with a wide variety of characters, on top of getting to use a variety of currencies you've picked up to strengthen yourself and prepare for another escape attempt. Really, consider your first attempt (or maybe first several attempts) as tutorials for various aspects of this game. This game doles things out at a decent pace; every run feels different and I always felt like I was making some progress. I unlocked a new weapon or got a little farther.

Consider this a plug for Hades overall, not a continuing series or anything. Definitely my favorite game I've played this year, and I highly recommend it. If I might shill myself a bit, I actually wrote a more in-depth review about the game on Tumblr...you know...that site everyone still uses? R-Right? A-Anyways, here that is: https://xb-squaredx.tumblr.com/post/632528977903468545/please-dont-sleep-on-hades

Take care out there, folks!

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