Hades II

Death to Chronos. Death to Time. It's ironic how the mission of Hades II's protagonist has also meant the death of all my free time, as I've spent it - just as I did with the first game - lost in Supergiant's take on the Greek mythos.

The first Hades was a genre-defining roguelike. Many have taken shots at the king, but none have got so much as close to knocking it from its podium. Supergiant has taken it upon itself, then, to try and dethrone its own creation with the studio's first direct sequel. From Hades II's launch into Early Access, it was clear a worthy challenger had finally appeared. The stakes had been raised, the combat tweaked, and yet the core elements of gorgeous art, addictive music and the powerful Boons of the Olympian gods remained. More of what you love without being more of the exact same.

Zagreus, Hades' original protagonist, is gone, locked deep beneath Tartarus after Chronos returned and took over the House of Hades. The infant Melinoë was rescued, alongside Hypnos and brought to a camp where she was trained by the titan and witch Hecate to do the impossible: stop Time. It's a weighty setup, immediately pulling at your heartstrings and making you feel a bit personally offended by Chronos as all of the characters you'd grown to love, worked to please and even romanced are suddenly ripped away. This puts you on the same path as Melinoë; one of revenge as she seeks to restore the family she's grown up without and put an end to the Titan's raid on the gods of Olympus, both from the Underworld and the route to the mountaintop itself.

This serious, important narrative might feel a bit of a contrast at first to the coming-of-age story we saw with Zagreus, where the stakes were high for him personally, but didn't feel like they'd result in the end of the world if we were to fail. Getting used to the more serious tone is a bit of a teething issue when you first start Hades II, and fans of the original will find a few of these in their runs. The introduction of the Cast (an extra offensive option that pins enemies in place), Omega moves, farmable resources, Familiars, Chaos Trials and more don't necessarily make Hades II better, but they do offer differences that must be accepted in order to embrace this sequel to its fullest extent.

Players of the first game are also likely to consider the second game more difficult. You start with next to no permanent upgrades in Hades II, and the bosses will be different. The route to Olympus is especially difficult, as enemies can and will batter you with increased damage. However, it's worth noting that even if the game is a tad more difficult, the original Hades would test you as a player when starting out. Barely anyone beat the first game's run on their first go. So, while you might have wanted to feel like a pro immediately, it's a bold and effective strategy for Supergiant to give you enough differences in the gameplay that you feel like you're learning and growing all over again. Of course, permanent upgrades (including the ever-important Death Defiances) are back, meaning you will get stronger in time, but the best medicine for struggling in Hades II is to stop trying to treat it like Hades 1.5.

The Boons from the gods act as a great example of this. Unlike in Hades, where your gifts from your estranged relatives did exactly what they said on the tin, Hades II's Boons require a bit more strategic thinking in a build to best make use of all the new keywords and powers. You can still absolutely shred bosses with ridiculous combinations, but you feel like you play a more active role in the strength you acquire in a run now. With Sprint replacing the double dash, and deflection Boons being much rarer thanks to Athena's role in the story, you're also not just spamming dash and flying around an arena, which again puts the onus on the player to really take on the titanic challenges offered in Hades II on their own.

Outside of the main meat of the game in its runs, there are still the expected NPC conversations, quests, customisations and more at the Camp at the Crossroads, which acts as Melinoë's hub. Even with more active things to do in the Camp at the Crossroads, like conjuring sorceries and tending to a garden, it does feel as though there's a bit of life, or joie de vivre missing that was present in the House of Hades. That's probably by intention, but it's the one part where even if I know there is a wealth of extra content here, it doesn't always feel like it. In a way, this is part praise and part critique, as Supergiant has done an incredible job in making the world feel like it's yearning for the vibrancy of the first game, but at the same time that can just make you want to return to brighter halls and wittier banter.

This isn't to say the game borders on dull. At no point does it come anywhere close. Themes of night and dreams blend beautifully in the visuals. I've always been infatuated with the character designs in Hades and yet again Supergiant has crafted what I will consider as the canon representation of the Greek gods, goddesses, heroes and villains (even if they are a little watered down to make the characters likeable). I grew incredibly close to the main faces at the Camp at the Crossroads, particularly thanks to the new gifting mechanics where you can do more than just pass a bottle of Nectar to your bestie. You can now fish, take a bath, and share the elusive bottles of Ambrosia with the main players at the camp and watch your relationships grow. Melinoë as a character is just as wonderful as Zagreus was in the first game, and I particularly enjoyed her journey of self-discovery mixed in with the overarching revenge plot. The dialogue is so beautifully written and performed in Hades II that I simply cannot ever skip it, especially as the game is so detailed you know you're unlikely to ever hear a repeat even after more than a hundred hours.

After playing the first Early Access period, I was almost certain Hades II had not lived up to its predecessor, despite still being an all-timer of a roguelike. I soon learned after playing the 1.0 version that I could be wrong. Once you're past the inch-high hurdle of the tonal shift and gameplay differences, it becomes clear that you couldn't ask for more out of a Hades sequel than what you get with Hades II. Bigger in scope and scale, with genuine surprises, a gripping story, and characters you'll check in on every time you get the chance, Hades II is as good as if not better than Supergiant's original roguelike champion without making Hades feel obsolete, accomplishing a feat equal to stopping Time himself.