Review – Hades II

Over the last five years of video games, I struggle to think of a greater success story than Supergiant Games’ Hades. A shining example of a studio building upward with each of its releases, carrying the best parts and lessons learned from their previous work, it rightfully swept nearly every award imaginable — including our own 2020 Game of the Year. 

So, how do you follow that up? Fittingly enough by doing it all again; reinvesting resources and experience to take on something Supergiant had never done before — a sequel. Announced back in 2022, Hades II was an unexpected surprise. For all the first game’s acclaim, Supergiant had never done a followup like this. Not to mention, it was a fairly well done experience throughout — how can you polish something with that much shine? 

Throughout its Early Access period, that question was swiftly put to rest. Everything I loved about the first game was intact and expanded upon, and in many (oftentimes thematic) ways improved unexpectedly. This isn’t just another excellent roguelike or one of those “wow, the sequel is even better than the original” releases. This is a damn near-perfect game.

 

 

Rather than Zagreus, the first game’s lead, Hades II is his sister Melinoë’s story. Thanks to the circumstances at play here, she can come off as more serious than Zag’s continual barbs against the stubborn lord of the dead and his forces. Thankfully, Mel is her own kind of endearing. There are layers to her and her interactions with the dozens of other deities and denizens that make every line worth taking in. It takes a special blend of writing and voice acting to make me care about the ramifications of working with gods while also being friends with a woman cursed by them into a spider for her hubris, yet the game pulls that and several other relationships off effortlessly. 

Where Hades was shaped by rebellion against one’s house, Melinoë is someone eager to reclaim hers. Chronos, the Titan of Time and her grandfather, has imprisoned her entire family since Mel was a baby. Trained into a witch by Hecate herself, she’s spent her whole life driven by the adage “Death to Chronos.” The contrast and raised stakes give added weight to the experience, feeling more appropriately epic (in the classical sense). 

Yet this isn’t a simple revenge story; Melinoë has a found family of fellow moonlit deities as well as other colleagues in arms against Time. This coven and collective, The Unseen, anchor the experience and add to the gravitas. It’s so easy to get lost in the character relationships and storylines of Hades, drip fed to you one exchange at a time between and during runs, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. 

 

 

If you’re at all familiar with Greek myth you’ll be amused when giant cyclops Polythemus muses over his run-ins with “Nobody” or you find yourself playing messenger between Narcissus and Echo. Even if you aren’t concerned with myth, there’s plenty of appeal in running into familiar faces from the first game along the way as well, and if you somehow haven’t played the first game and don’t know your Hermes from your Hesperides… I’d still suggest you play Hades II anyway. 

All of this is carried by gorgeous illustrations, an evocative soundtrack and the aforementioned writing and vocal performances. Nothing about Hades II’s presentation comes up short. Designs are more detailed, with plenty of silver flourishes and moon imagery reflecting Melinoë’s aesthetic. I could look at this game for dozens of hours and it wouldn’t get old. I have looked at this game for dozens of hours and it never got old. For a core loop that’s all about repeat roguelike runs that’s essential, and Supergiant has delivered yet again.  

 

 

The larger-than-life Olympians are back and more directly involved than they ever were in the first game. That includes filling out the entire group, adding Apollo, Hestia, and Hephaestus to the lineup after they skipped the first game, though some of them have been relegated to less frequent, area-specific encounters. 

Primarily, the Olympians are your source of powers (Boons) that shape your skillset and passive abilities during each run as they’re accumulated. Instead of simply lifting those kits and porting them over, each god and goddess has been adjusted to accommodate Melinoë’s base capabilities and other new systems at play. 

And there really is so much at work here. Melinoë’s main difference from Zagreus from a gameplay perspective is the addition of magick. Mel is able to charge her attacks with a mana bar, enhancing their properties and fueling more powerful Hexes via their use. There’s a curve to understanding how to best use these techniques, and eventually weapons and Boons that play with their conventions in interesting ways. None of this is overwhelming to pick up as a new or returning player, and the fundamentals of the first game do carry over very well. 

New to Hades II are elements like animal familiars, resource gathering to concoct incantations, and an overhaul to how Melinoë improves her own capabilities via tarot cards. All of these, as well as weapons and keepsakes, can be leveled up and modified in different ways before you even set out for a run. To call it “more Hades” might be reductive, but it’s also as accurate as it is welcome. 

 

 

Speaking of “more,” the major shakeup to the first game’s formula is that there’s an entire second path on the surface to play through. Everything in place is built off of the same gameplan, making for a seamless transfer of skill and understanding, but with enough changes to make the paths distinct. For example, the first portion of the surface path puts you into a city, with all your potential rewards shown upfront (as opposed to the typical “pick between these two” the game commonly presents). It’s up to you to decide which of those you’ll claim from a finite amount before taking on the city’s boss. These differences, as well as the fact there even is a second path, are the biggest factors to expanding the game’s scope. 

The other area where Hades II indisputably bests its predecessor is those aforementioned bosses. The first game had four, though two of those had variations, and all could be enhanced to more difficult fights. The sequel doubles that and makes each more interesting, both from a character and gameplay perspective. No disrespect to the first game’s bone hydra, but I’ll take a sea monster rock band and a Titan voiced by Ben Starr (of Final Fantasy XVI and real life Balatro fame) over it any day. Even Chronos manages to one up Hades (the character) in this regard, being far more sinister and worthy of opposition.

Varying how the environments work goes a long way towards contributing to both influencing a potential approach and keeping every run feeling fresh. Further unlockables and discoveries take this even further, up to and including changes that take place once the credits roll. Hades II doesn’t demand perfection or completion, but those who seek it will be busy for a long, long time. Even after completing its “story,” some narrative threads remain that I’m eager to explore as I work through heaps of smaller objectives (minor prophecies from the Fates, for example) and decorate Melinoë’s home base as I like. 

 

 

If, by chance, you read my review of the original Hades, you’ll realize that every single minor complaint I had — that there were only four areas, the hope for more mythic figures, that some aspects could veer towards being a bit grindy — have all been resolved here. I don’t know if that’s pure foresight or the devs being that attuned to their audience, but I genuinely have nothing even remotely bad to say about Hades II. This is about as close to perfect as any game I’ve ever played can be, and as a critic that’s simultaneously confounding and incredibly satisfying. 

Will everyone enjoy it as much as I have, or walk away feeling that way? No. But the amount of polish, care, dedication, and understanding on display here are exceptional. This is Sisyphus actually managing to get his boulder up the hill and deciding, “You know what? That mountain over there looks pretty inviting.” I genuinely cannot recommend this god-like game enough. Not just as a game you’ll be able to play again, and again, and again; but as a celebration of the craft of making a game that’s worth playing again, and again, and again.  

 

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