Hades is arguably the most well-known and successful roguelike. The game moved millions of copies, earned numerous “Game of the Year” awards, influenced countless titles thereafter, and is even considered by some to be one of the greatest games of the modern era. Developer Supergiant Games had quite the track record of critical and commercial hits prior to Hades, but it’s clear that title is their crowning achievement. Another way of measuring its success is recognizing that Hades is the first title from Supergiant to get a direct sequel.
With the attention Hades brought with it, it’s no surprise to see Supergiant go all-in on a sequel. Their team brought Hades II to Steam early access back in May 2024, but very soon Switch and Switch 2 owners will be able to enjoy version 1.0, and as a timed console exclusive as well. The devs have been listening to player feedback for months, tweaking elements here and there, adding in new features and doing their best to fine-tune the experience. They know there are millions of Hades fans out there, and they don’t want to disappoint with the follow-up.
The great news is that Hades II will absolutely scratch all the itches Hades fans have. As someone who has put plenty of time into the original Hades and now the sequel, it’s hard to come up with anything that would rub people the wrong way. Everything the first game had is here in spades, there’s a lot of new wrinkles to the meta-game, and there’s (not surprisingly) a ton of content to explore. There’s so much here you’ll be easily able to enjoy this one for months on end, and there’s no chance any reviewer out there has seen and done everything Hades II has to offer.
…but
Under investigation
Throughout my time with Hades II, there was one thing that kept nagging at me. It was a little voice in the back of my head in the early hours, and it only grew as time went on. Again, there’s no denying Hades II is stellar from top to bottom, and Supergiant really poured their heart and soul into this one. That said, the question I couldn’t shake is that even with the incredibly high quality bar achieved here, does Hades II do enough to differentiate itself from the first title, or is it mostly more of the same? Even after hours of play, I honestly don’t know…
I can hear a ton of people slamming their keyboards and screaming at their phones while reading this, but hopefully you’ll give me a few more paragraphs to explain why I feel the way I do.
A recurring point that’s already appeared in this writeup (and will likely continue on) is the fact that I truly believe Hades II to be a top-tier game. Just like Hades before it, I believe Hades II will bring in amazing scores, massive amounts of praise, and another heaping helping of “Game of the Year” nominations. I honestly cannot and would not argue against any of that, as I feel it merited. For me personally though, I’m truly struggling to decide if Hades II provides an experience that goes beyond the original in enough meaningful ways to earn its sequel name, or if it feels more like an extensive reskin or DLC.
As you no doubt know, Hades II looks, sounds, and plays very similar to Hades. You work your way through various procedurally-generated stages, unlock new weapons and boons to aid your playstyle, grow your abilities in order to best your foes, so on and so forth. The same rinse-and-repeat gameplay is here as well, where you’ll slowly chip away at everything the game throws at you. As you learn what weapons and abilities work for you, you’ll dig deeper into the game to reach new stages and challenges. You’ll meet new Gods, access new buffs, learn enemy patterns…and die…a lot. Live, die, grow, repeat… It’s a cadence any Hades player will be intimately familiar with, and if you loved the grind in that title you’ll feel just the same here.
They call her the wall, nothing gets by this girl!
One of the more notable twists in Hades II comes from the Magick system. The main character, Melinoë, starts off with a base level of Magick that lets her perform stronger moves. Once your Magick level drains, you’ll have to make it through that particular encounter in order to see it refilled. Of course, there are also other things you’ll come across along the journey that can permanently change how much Magick you have, how much is consumed, and more. This system lends itself to gameplay that can be a bit more strategic, but once you’ve done enough runs, you’ll likely have a collection of power-ups and other goodies that make Magick management a more passive worry.
There are some other smaller changes and additions to Hades II, such as new challenges beyond the main game, a revamped dash/running system, a series of Arcane cards that give you various buffs, and so on. There are actually quite a few of these new, minor elements that you’ll happen upon throughout your time with the game, and many feel like nice quality of life adjustments or fun tweaks to the gameplay you know and love. I’m sure some will argue that a handful of these refreshes make for an experience that’s wildly different, but I can honestly say I didn’t feel that way. I didn’t hit on anything bad or disappointing by any means, but nothing surprising or mind-blowing either.
This all brings us back to my struggle with Hades II. I feel like I’m complaining about what amounts to a perfect game. I’m sure experts from the first game will find some exploits or combos that will make Hades II “broken,” but I’m nowhere near that kind of sophisticated player. For what the game offers and how I engage with it, Hades II easily stands toe-to-toe with the first game. I just can’t stop asking myself if that’s enough to be satisfied, and I feel horrible for even wondering that.
Windmill breathing, second form
It’s not like we haven’t seen sequels in the past that didn’t break the mold for subsequent entries. In particular, I’m thinking of examples like Mega Man, the Metroidvania-style Castlevanias, and Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2. I don’t think many would point to these titles as shining examples of follow-ups that added in wildly new features or experiences. They all do pretty much what the games before them offered, so why don’t I feel the same way about those sequels? After thinking long and hard, I think it has a lot to do with level design and approach.
Mega Man 1, 2 and 3 are by-and-large the very same gameplay experience. Yes, there are miniscule tweaks like the amount of Robot Masters, and some of the power-ups. You fire the game up, run through a stage, defeat a Robot Master and do it all again. While I would never deny that these titles are largely the same between one another, they still feel very fresh to me. As I mentioned, that is directly related to the level design and how you tackle it. Mega Man is a platformer at heart, and having new stages with pitfalls and enemy placements make things feel different…at least for me. (The level themes also help, but that’s something Hades II offers as well.) The exact same thing applies to the Castlevania titles and Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2. Those games are pretty much carbon copies of one another, yet the variety in platforming and hazards makes each entry feel unique. I look back at all of those titles as very specific, well-defined packages that created new memories. With Hades II, I feel like I’m playing more of Hades. It’s like I just kept going through the original game, hit a loading zone, and then continued on into Hades II.
One more time, and I really can’t stress this enough, this does NOT make Hades II a bad game. No one in their right mind could call Hades II a bad game, or anything close to it. I don’t like to talk in absolutes like that, but I sincerely hold that belief about Hades II. This “sameness” feeling of the game is just something that kept picking away at my brain, and now it’s nestled deep inside. I think it’s probably only drilled that much deeper into my noggin due to the game’s roguelike nature. Hades II has you doing the same thing over and over more or less, just like the game before it. Now when I zoom out and I feel like I’m doing the same thing over and over…which I did over and over again the first time around, it just feels like a bit of a drag without some major changes to freshen things up.
A pirate’s life for me
What I can say is that if that same feeling doesn’t creep into your mind, then you’re in for an unbelievable treat with Hades II. Controls, voice acting, music, artwork, enemy design…everything is about as pitch-perfect as you can get. It takes 5 minutes with this game to see how expertly everything was crafted, honed to the nth degree. The amount of attention to detail and care on display here is nothing short of staggering. A wonderful cast of characters, a supremely addicting gameplay loop, plenty of Easter eggs for fans of the first game…this is a game built by a team that truly, deeply cares about their property. Oh, and it all runs like a dream on Switch 2.
That just leaves the question of whether or not Hades II will be enough for you.
I will say that Hades II was/is still enormous amounts of fun for me. I wasn’t running through the game thinking it was a slog. It just left me with a tiny thought that ended up being a burning question, so much so that I literally made it the focus of this review. I have to wonder if others will feel the same, or if the game will be exactly what fans want. I think an interesting discussion surrounding Hades II is going to follow in the weeks after launch, and I’m definitely eager to see how things play out.
All I know is that I can unequivocally say that Hades II was made by experts, shined up to a blinding degree, and will keep players enthralled for a long, long time to come.
