I had a bit of an idea of what Hades was but I had never looked too deeply into it for whatever reasons. Once it was the game chosen for #VGCAugust2024 in the #VideoGameClub I knew it was going to be one that I sunk my teeth into.
If you’re familiar with games along the lines of Diablo, you’ll be generally familiar with the concept of what the game will play like. You’re a dude, trudging through a dungeon, blasting away at enemies over and over again using a myriad of weapons. That’s the super over simplified version of what Hades is like, however, the actual crux of gameplay is much much deeper.
You play as Zagreus, the son of Hades himself, and are attempting to escape from the underworld. Along the way you’ll meet a legendary cast of characters such as Nyx, the very essence of night and shadows, Thanatos, death incarnate himself, as well as a host of other Cthonic gods. The best part about this is you’ll get to meet Cerberus along the way and, yes, you can pet him. Every game should include the ability to pet the dogs 😃
The game starts with your trusty Stygian sword which has some good all around benefits and uses to them, but as you progress you’ll unlock several different weapons each with their own look and style of gameplay. Some of these are extremely fun to play with like the Twin Fists of Malphon. Others are a lesson in frustration like the Heart Seeking Bow. I tend to prefer being up in the fury of the action so that could explain why I preferred those types of weapons over others. YMMV.
As you progress through the various levels of the underworld, you’re provided assistance on your escape by various gods and dieties from Olympus which will include pretty much everyone you’d expect from Zeus to Hermes and Aphrodite to Poseiden. Each provides you with a “boon” which will change the way your attack, cast, dash, special, or call works. Some of these you’ll find are wildly impactful and others I quickly found myself avoiding (looking at you Hermes).
Each of the levels are procedurely generated but you’ll find some commonalities during each of your escape attempts. You’ll regularly face the same bosses at roughly the same places in the levels which is both part of the charm of the game and part of why I think people ultimately end up dropping it. The game can, and does, start to feel repetitive towards your final runs when you’re just desperately trying to make it out and you realize yes, you will have to fight Theseus and Asterius… again.
The best part about the game is that death is actually a part of the adventure. Not only does it tie into the story and you’ll hear the various denizens of the underworld mention it, but it is the key conversation points for Hypnos when you walk back out of the River Styx. If you play with God mode on, and unless you’re wanting the satisfaction of beating it without, you should, each death will add a 2% buff for decreasing damage which will ultimately keep you progressing forward pretty consistently. There’s no penalty for turning it on but I’d imagine there’s an achievement you can get for not doing so.
In the end, it took me 27 escape attempts to finally make it out, only to be sucked back in because that’s essentially the heart of the story in that you never truly can escape. I feel good putting the game down at this point even though there are a number of rewards you can get for multiple escapes. I’ll eventually pick up Hades II at some point in the future, but I’m ready for a bit of a break from the Rogue-like style games for a bit.
