Hades Review

This weekend, I’ve been kicking myself over one thing – why the hell did I pass up on Hades on the Nintendo Switch and PC. Why did I wait to play this game that everyone and their mum’s have been saying is game of the year material. I honestly don’t have an answer for it, mainly because everything I start to think about it, I throw myself into another chamber of monsters and destroy them with god-like abilities that are so satisfying that I hardly played anything else for 4 days straight.

Hades is an isometric roguelike based in Greek Mythology and has you play as Zagreus, the son of Hades, god of the underworld. When Zagreus learns that his birth mother, the goddess of Spring Persephone, had left Hell, he attempts to find her by escaping the tormented landscape. Of course, Hell is meant to keep people from escaping and Hades attempts to keep its reputation by hiring a bunch of shades and monsters from keeping Zagreus from reaching the exit and finding his mother. Zagreus on the other hand, has the blessing of the gods, a room full of titan killing weapons, and a variety of skills to help him attempt to escape.

This gives us the basics of the game, enter a chamber, kill all the monsters in the room, receive your reward – money, boons, or powerups – then enter the next room and repeat the process until you succeed or die (of which you’ll be doing a lot), and like any good roguelike, dying gives you the ability to become better. Unlocking new weapons, abilities and using your god-gifted boons through the ever-changing dungeons as you climb your way out of hell.

However, it’s Hades combat that gets the gold star, as it is fast-paced with a heavy focus on dodging, and each weapon has its own abilities and move sets that keep you blasting through the hordes that stand in your way. With the boons given from the gods of the Olympus changing your abilities, and the ability to unlock new moves with Daedalus hammer which can drastically change how you attack. Throughout my many escape attempts, I never found the game overly frustrating, at least until I got to the higher levels, but along with the chance to unlock permanent abilities, learning new strategies for each of the bosses and characters presented itself as a fun challenge.

What really drove me to keep playing though was the story, characters, and music – These are things that Supergiant games generally excel at anyways if you look at their past work like Baston, Transistor, and Pyre.

Collecting the Gods Boons give you conversations with the Gods of Olympus, each with their own personalities and abilities to offer. These conversations were a highlight of my run for me as I enjoyed Ares gushing over your weapons, Zeus being a big show-off, and Dionysus being a chill dude who wants everyone to party. Back at home base, you get to pet Cerberus which is a treat on its own, and probably the best Gorgon Servant ever put into a video game – Dusa. Players can use Nectar found in the dungeons as gifts to increase their relationship with the characters, offering a permanent item that gives you a unique upgrade, from defensive abilities, specific boons getting an increase in appearance, or more health. It also continues the story between the characters and adds more depth to their relationship.

Like Transistor, Hades music fits perfectly with the world, from the dark bassline that gets dropped while waiting for a fight, to the Doom-Inspired battle music, to the relaxing (yet still dark) music being played in the house of Hades. Every song here fits perfectly to bring a mood that will get you pumped up for slaying more shades that stand in your way.

I found it nearly impossible to find a major flaw or at least one that couldn’t be easily overlooked. The fast-paced combat is fun, challenging, and addictive, but never overly punishing or unfair. The art is beautiful, the music is amazing, and the characters are interesting and likable.

Plus, you get to pet Cerberus and if that’s not a reason to play this game, then I don’t know what is.