The roguelike genre is one that’s generally considered fairly unapproachable or hardcore, given its nature. You start a run with what you have, and if you die, you start again. Modern entries in the genre have been a little more forgiving, bearing the name “roguelite”, where you’re able to carry over some of your progress with you in your next run. In 2020, Supergiant Games’ Hades shook up the genre by actively rewarding players for losing and dying. Not by making the game easier, mind you (though it does start to get easier the more you play), but by fleshing it out its story and character arcs further with tantalizing conversations and sharply written dialogue.
Hades II is a direct follow-up to Supergiant’s 2020 masterpiece, but it isn’t just more Hades. No. It’s far more than that. Hades II is even more ambitious than its predecessor. And impressively, it achieves everything it sets out to do.
Princess of the Underworld
Hades II is set years after the events of the first game. After Zagreus is reunited with his mother and makes peace with his father, the family gets back together, and they live out their lives in the Underworld. At some point, Hades and Persephone have a daughter, Melinoe. Shortly after, the Underworld also gets attacked by Chronos, the Titan of Time. Everyone in the Underworld becomes frozen in time, with the exception of Melinoe, who manages to escape with the help of Headmistress Hecate, and she vows to get revenge on Chronos and free her family.
This setup makes it so that Supergiant is free to introduce a whole new cast of characters on top of the Olympus gods that we’ve already met in the first game. Melinoe herself is spunky, not unlike her older brother, but also graceful, and that shows in her play style. But more on that later.
At her side are Dora the mischievous shade, and Hecate, a witch who assists her with various incantations that give her access to more tools and resources to make her journey through the Underworld a little easier. Several other supporting characters hang around the campsite too, including Odysseus, who provides intel on the challenges ahead, Nemesis, your hottie rival, and a perpetually sleeping Hypnos.
While I did find myself missing the original cast, that sentiment was quickly wiped away when I saw just how vibrant and dynamic the new characters were. Nemesis, in particular, feels like a cross between Meg and Thanatos, and watching her friendship with Melinoe develop over time is fascinating. I’m a sucker for the classic tsundere archetype, so Nemesis is right up my alley.
There are also a handful of new gods and goddesses to get acquainted with, including Hestia, who adds Scorch to your attacks, and Selene, who gives you a whole new move called a Hex, which lets you wield some seriously crazy moon powers. There are familiar faces too, including Artemis and Zeus, and it’s fun to see how they react to Melinoe’s existence as compared to Zagreus.
Overall, though, I will say that the edge must be given to Hades in terms of developing relationships. While the new characters in Hades II are excellent, I found myself wishing for more personal storylines between Melinoe and her comrades. Nemesis is the closest we get to anything like that, but it’s just never quite on the same level as what Zagreus had with Meg, Thanatos, or even Dusa. Where Hades II falls a little short on the interpersonal relationships, however, it more than makes up for in the overarching story.
Fighting Above and Below
At first, your objective in Hades II is simple. Fight your way back down to the Underworld to defeat Chronos. Supergiant Games cleverly sidesteps the obvious issue of retreading old biomes by having Odysseus mention that Chronos is likely watching the main pathways, which means Melinoe needs to find an alternate route back down to the Underworld. This means plenty of new biomes, including an Atlantis-inspired sewers level, and the austere Fields of Mourning, covered with shades and an unwelcoming red hue.
As always, enemies start off relatively tame, but the game ramps up in difficulty rather significantly as soon as you jump into the second biome. The bosses are wonderful, as expected, with the second biome boss taking the cake. Here, you’ve got Scylla and her sirens depicted as a three-piece rock band that charms you with a new song each time you defeat them.
Then, just as you’re getting comfortable, getting your runs in, and getting used to the rhythm, things get complicated. Soon enough, you learn that the conflict with Chronos has made its way to Olympus too, and the surface needs your help. Now, you can either continue on your mission to the Underworld, or head up to the surface instead.
When I first got to this point during Hades II‘s early access period, I instantly knew I had to stop playing and wait for the 1.0 release. The fact that you can journey up to the surface or the Underworld underscores just how massive this game is, and it’s a wonder that Supergiant was able to write so much damn dialogue for every character and for virtually every situation or permutation you could think of.
While this might seem overwhelming at first, Hades II is surprisingly adept at working around your play style and strategy. The story develops naturally based on whatever you choose to do, with the gods making the odd comment here and there about your continued efforts in the Underworld, or seemingly futile attempts to break through to the surface. The point is, there’s no right or wrong answer when it comes to choosing which to do first. The plot lines will all ultimately converge at a natural endpoint, so feel pursue whichever feels right to you.
It helps that Hades II is so good at constantly surprising you, too, even more so than its predecessor. Within just a handful of hours, the game starts pulling you in different directions, introducing new, surprising characters, and giving you unexpected glimpses into Melinoe’s past that help to inform her motivations.
I’ll point out now that while I do have a couple of completed runs under my belt, I’m nowhere close to seeing the full story or the true ending. I feel like I’ve only barely scratched the surface of this wild, ambitious game, and I’m excited to see what else awaits me as I continue exploring the various biomes.
Hexes and Incantations
Hades II‘s most impressive achievement is the fact that it’s managed to expand upon the first game without replacing it as a “sequel, but better”. Melinoe’s play style feels very different from Zagreus’, and that’s thanks to the new witchcraft-related moves that Supergiant has introduced here.
Her Cast, for instance, summons a circle around her that has various effects on enemies that step in it, as opposed to Zagreus’ Cast, which mostly just served as a ranged attack. When you enhance it with a Boon, it gets even more potent. Poseidon will allow your Cast to knock back foes, while Hestia inflicts Scorch on anyone who enters its area.
To make things more interesting, Melinoe can also expend magic points to use Omega versions of her Casts and Specials, making them even more powerful. Charging up these Omega attacks takes time though, which makes Melinoe’s play style feel more tactical and strategic. You need to think a little more carefully about her positioning, whereas Zagreus usually allowed for a more aggressive play style.
Personally, I’m a fan of Zagreus’ style and getting used to Melinoe’s slightly slower gameplay took a little while. But I guess that’s the genius of Hades II, right? The sequel doesn’t replace what came before it; the two halves come together to make a whole.
And it’s not like Melinoe’s gameplay stays stagnant the whole way through, thanks to the variety of weapons you get to play around with. Naturally, I gravitated towards the Sister Blades, which made her attacks much faster, but there are other weapons like the Moonstone Axe, which move slower but deal more damage. Eventually I got an upgrade for the Moonstone Axe that allowed it to sweep larger areas, which meant that I was able to zone out even enemies that were nowhere near me. Even the weapons in Hades II constantly surprised me, and I didn’t stick with the Sister Blades for too long because everything was just so interesting and fun to experiment with.
As far as the Boons go, there are a couple of repeats here and there from Hades, but you’ll be pleased to know that a lot of them are new to Hades II. Hestia’s Scorch and Zeus’ Blitz are among my new favorites, though I’ll always welcome Pressure Points from Artemis whenever I get it.
As you play, you’ll also gain currencies called Darkness and Psyche, which allow Melinoe to unlock and equip new Arcana cards. These are permanent upgrades (though there’s a limit to how many you can equip at once) which include Death Defiance (an extra life) and other perks like increased stats, shorter cast time, and faster movement speed.
The seemingly endless combinations of weapons, Boons, and Arcana help make your runs feel fresh every time, making this an excellent roguelike game that you’ll find almost impossible to put down.
With Hades, I sunk about 80 hours into the game on PC, and another 50 between the Switch and PS5 versions. I can absolutely see myself beating those playtimes with Hades II, thanks to the sheer amount of content that’s been packed into this game.
Supergiant Games is a studio that’s established a legacy of making excellent one-off games in different genres. Hades was their first successful venture into the roguelike space, and if for some reason you’ve ever wondered whether that was just a fluke, Hades II proves, without a doubt, that Supergiant is a master of their craft.
A review code for the game was provided by the publisher. You can check out our review policy here. Reviewed on Switch 2.
