Developer: Supergiant Games
Publisher: Supergiant Games
Rrp: £18.99 (Epic) or £19.49 (Steam)
Released: 17th September 2020 (Official full release)
Available on: Epic and Steam
Played Using: An Xbox One Control Pad
Approximate game length: 20 Hours (for main storyline)
No one said that family was easy. It’s especially not easy when you’re dealing a god within the Greek pantheon. Let’s just say that their family history is… complicated, very very complicated. Every so often though the family works together (mostly) to overcome a problem. In this case its that Zagreus wants to leave the underworld and his father, Lord Hades himself, doesn’t want him to and is very willing to put every obstacle he can muster. Thankfully your family, high up on Olympus, are willing to give you a helping hand.
Originally released in early access in 2018 through the Epic games store, Hades is an Isometric roguelite in which you play as Prince Zagreus as he tries to escape the underworld. His father, Lord Hades, is none too pleased at this impertinence and will pit every soul he can muster against you, and when you consider that Hades rules over the entire underworld where every soul that has ever lived will end up, he has quite the roster to pick from.
However all is not lost as Zagreus has got allies in the form of the Gods of Olympus who are willing to bestow boons upon our hero.
The main thing to remember about this game is that it isn’t meant to be completed in a single run, in fact it’s impossible to complete it in such a way. Sure, it is possible to get past the final boss on your first try (though it’d be incredibly difficult) but the actual story requires repeated completed runs, at least eight by my count. In the very likely event that you do die, Zagreus will return to the House of Hades. Something that is important to note is that unlike most roguelites there’s no such thing as a wasted run as you’ll always be progressing something in some way. I’d actually say that in this game death is your ally (in more ways than one), being defeated and sent back to the House of Hades is by no means a punishment as there things you can only do there that will make your future runs easier. You can also interact with the various NPCs that inhabit the House of Hades such as Achilles or Dusa these various NPCs are incredibly well written and each is fully voice acted and they all have their own storylines that you can interact with.
You can also perform renovations to the house, most of the changes have no real effect on your various runs (though some definitely do) but can affect the various NPCs and trigger storylines. Of course one of my favourite reasons to return home is to hear the various admonishments from your father, which is always entertaining.
As you make your runs through the underworld you’ll come across multiple currencies, Darkness, Gems, Obols, Cthonic Keys, Titan Blood and Diamonds. Thankfully none of these are tied to any kind of micro-transaction and each has its own quite specific purpose. The main thing to remember is that all the currencies carry over from run to run with exception of the Obols which are coins that you earn through killing enemies (and occasionally find as a room reward). These coins are used to purchase items from Charons shop, many of these purchasable items only apply for that run and for a set amount of chambers. However he also sometimes sells other currencies and the Gods boons.
During each run you will gain boons from the God’s of Olympus, each time they do you’re allowed to choose one of a choice of three. The boons and abilities you currently have affect what other boons you can acquire later on, in quite a few cases a pair of gods will combine their powers, often to devastating effect. As you accept these boons you’ll find out more of Zagreus’s plight and of the various Gods interest and involvement. You can foster this relationship by offering nectar to them (once per run) which will make them view you more favourably (and will also net you a reward). The Gods aren’t the only ones you can give to, the various NPC’s in the world also love the stuff and giving them it will improve their relationship with you. However, at a certain point the various Gods (and other NPC’s) will no longer being willing to accept nectar and will instead want Ambrosia, which is only attained after having defeated a specific boss.
The way out of the underworld involves you making your way through chamber after chamber battling the inhabitants within. Before entering a chamber you can see a preview of what the reward is for successfully defeating it once all the enemies are dead. The underworld rearranges itself for each run, sure you’ll always go through Tartarus, Asphodel, Elysium and the final area but the rooms will have changed with some not appearing at all. There are of course some set locations, such as boss rooms.
Once you’ve managed to escape that’s when the game really starts to open up. You get to redo the runs but this time add in new conditions that make it more difficult through something called the ‘Pact of Punishment’. Each new condition you add to your run adds ‘Heat’ that fills up a ‘Heat Gauge’ within the Pact of Punishment. It’s advised that you gradually increase the heat rather than go in with everything turned to full, partially because the game will be insanely difficult but also because building the heat up gradually actually nets you rewards. The changes in the runs can be quite subtle such as increasing the prices of the items in Charons shop, where as others will allow the bosses to use ‘extreme measures’.
Strictly speaking this game is without an ending, there is a story line that once complete causes the credits to roll and after that there’s some post endgame content that lets you attain an epilogue and tidy up the loose ends if you so wish. But even once you’ve done all that you can keep doing runs.
If you’re having trouble there’s an option to activate ‘God Mode’. This doesn’t mean what it traditionally means. You aren’t immortal or anything like that, however you are quite a bit harder to kill. This is an option that can be toggled on and off within the options menu with no consequence.
This game has so much depth to it, every time I thought I had the measure of it something new would pop up. This is still occurring even now when I’m at least a hundred hours in. There’s even content to complete after the credits have rolled, because it turns out that initial quest was only the start. There are several systems and unlocks that I’ve not touched upon because all of that is post endgame and has even more impact upon the plots of various NPC’s.
I’m not sure if it’s obvious but I really like this game, in fact I absolutely adore it. However I recognise that it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, I can see that having to do the same action (even with different weapons and abilities) over and over and over again will grate on some peoples nerves. But funnily enough the repetitive nature of this game is VERY Greek Mythos, with poor Zagreus forever seeking the surface only to return to the depths time after time after time.
If this appeals to you perhaps try;
Children of Morta
Dead Cells
