Welcome to our review of Hades, a roguelike, unlike any others you ever played!
Defy the god of the dead as you hack and slash out of the Underworld in this rogue-like dungeon crawler from the creators of Bastion and Transistor.
As the immortal Prince of the Underworld, you’ll wield the powers and mythic weapons of Olympus to break free from the clutches of the god of the dead himself, while growing stronger and unraveling more of the story with each unique escape attempt.
The Olympians have your back! Meet Zeus, Athena, Poseidon, and many more, and choose from their dozens of powerful Boons that enhance your abilities. There are thousands of viable character builds to discover as you go.
A fully-voiced cast of colorful, larger-than-life characters is waiting to meet you! Grow your relationships with them, and experience thousands of unique story events as you learn about what’s really at stake for this big, dysfunctional family.
New surprises await each time you delve into the ever-shifting Underworld, whose guardian bosses will remember you. Use the powerful Mirror of Night to grow permanently stronger, and give yourself a leg up the next time you run away from home.
Permanent upgrades mean you don’t have to be a god yourself to experience the exciting combat and gripping story. Though, if you happen to be one, crank up the challenge and get ready for some white-knuckle action that will put your well-practiced skills to the test.
The rich, atmospheric presentation and unique melding of gameplay and narrative that’s been core to Supergiant’s games is here in full force: spectacular hand-painted environments and a blood-pumping original score bring the Underworld to life.
So when I started playing Hades I never really enjoyed many of the roguelike games. I did read up on a lot of other articles to see if this game was really something for me and all of the other reviewers basically said that this game was the one that would make you fall in love with the genre even if you disliked it.
So I started playing the game and I must say what usually gets me in these roguelike games is the repetitive nature of them but it’s actually not that bad in Hades . So what happens is that every time you play, you do gain some in-game currency and that is used to upgrade pretty much everything about your characters from a different weapon like the first one you can unlock is a bow, one of them was a shield and it’s really a lot of fun .
The majority of times you are basically entering a dungeon-like room where it’s your job to stay alive, there is no real easy way of healing except with some upgrades, and unless you encounter a vat of potions or a deer heart, your health is very limited.
At first the game might be a little tedious to play as you have very few health, you have no idea what to do and it just does not really make sense but the more you play the more sense it makes. Personally I really like the dash move, especially when you can upgrade it to include damage done to enemies.
So I had a lot of fun playing this game, More than I expected to. What really got me going, is the fact that despite its repetitive nature, it does not feel repetitive at all. Everything you do, it’s for a reason. You keep going into the Dungeons, slay the enemies, try to survive all while learning how the enemies attack. The better you become at avoiding their attacks, the higher chances you have of surviving.
Let us also not forget that there is a full-fledged storyline going on in the middle of things. The Olympians are trying to help you get to Olympus. What is fun here, is that they are lending you their powers and that you often get free upgrades by means of higher attack rates or quicker evades. Despite maybe boring interludes, you will love getting their attention.
Hades is probably the first roguelike game I truly enjoy it and that is saying a lot. Whether it was the mindless slaying of enemies or the advancement of the story, there was never a dull moment in this game. While I am still not convinced this genre is for me, this game sure kept me busy many more hours than I anticipated, full credits to the developers for this.
In conclusion, even if you are not a fan of this genre, you should give Hades a try. Everything you do in this game is done for a reason, it just does not get boring. Everything you do in this game just makes sense in the bigger picture of the world in Hades. The first time you will encounter a boss fight, you will realize this game is very demanding and while I enjoyed it, it still might not be for everybody due to its difficulty level.
I had tons of fun playing this game and despite some second thoughts on whether this game is for everybody, I am still giving it a perfect 10, because it just made me enjoy myself in a genre that I generally hate. Hades might be the most unexpected yet perfect game of the year.
