"Hades" The Video Game
A Bisexual Prince (Attempts to) Strut Out of Hell...And Then Some
Games usually collect a handful of laurels to decorate their game cover. It’s that outside validation that makes us more likely to pick up a game and drop a couple Hamiltons on it.
Supergiant’s Hades deserves every. Fucking. Laurel. An aching 91% positivity rating on Google, an Overwhelmingly Positive response on Steam, a 93 on Metacritic Reviews, a whopping 20+ nominations when it released in 2020 and 16 overall awards won.
Yeah. Hades is that good. And it’s currently on sale on Steam RIGHT THIS INSTANT.
Story
You play as Zagreus, the spunky bitchboy spawn of the one and only Hades. Because there are obvious daddy issues baked into Greek mythology, Zag attempts to escape the Underworld to search for his long-lost mother, much to Hades’ chagrin.
You meet a wealth of characters in the underworld, many gods that aid you on your way to defy your father and you make more friends than worthwhile enemies in this rogue-like, dungeon crawler of a game.
All of which compounds with the sound design and music and absolutely talented voice acting crew to create a fun and interesting game with replayability (which is utterly necessary as each death out of Tartarus plunges you back into the River Styx and home to the beginning and Daddy Hades).
The story of Hades in the narrative world canon is well-known, but the creative geniuses at this indie studio wove more into it and gives us familiar faces with a touch of renewal to them.
You fight your way through monsters while unlocking bits of your family history Hades himself wanted to keep from you, and each reveal makes you hunger for the next.
Gameplay
Hack and slash and keep moving forward until you can’t no more.
That is the general idea of this game, if I were to simplify and err on the complexity of the game mechanics.
You receive boons and awards from the gods of Olympus, who want to meet you as much as they want to jerk off their pissy brother down under. You start off with a sword (classic) but the more you progress, the different weapons and aspects of each you can unlock.
If you make it far enough into the game, there is an assumed ending, a clasp to place on the official narrative engine. That doesn’t mean you have to stop playing it though.
There are layers to the game and the higher you climb, the deeper it goes.
What’s Next?
The 2022 Game Awards had everyone buzzing, especially when Supergiant Games released the trailer for Hades II, a sequel to a title they’ve worked on, which they have yet to do in the indie studio’s history.
To say I am stoked is an understatement. I am fucking HYPED for this game to be released and I cannot wait to unravel what kind of story they have woven for us this time around!
A new heroine. A new story. A fanbase waiting to devour it.
Grab Hades so you can enjoy the absolute masterpiece that will be its sequel.
Polygon: Everything We Know About Hades 2
Kotaku: Everyone’s Hot As Hell In Hades II, As They Should Be
I'm not a gamer but I'm intrigued. I told my oldest I'd check out some of the games he's into -so I now have a Steam account and will (at some point) be playing Undertale, Omori and a few other ones - guess I'll add Hades to the list. Thanks!
Thank you for writing about a video game! They’re my other passion, but I’ve always been hesitant to share that, unless I’m around other gamers. I grew up being mostly shamed for liking video games, but am recently learning to embrace it as a worthy part of my persona--and have been toying with the idea of writing about them myself! 😃
Hades has been on my radar for awhile, and I saw it on sale on PSN too. This post made it a must buy!