Hades 2

Seven years ago the world saw the reveal of Hades by indie studio Supergiant Games. Released into early access the same day as the 2018 Game Awards, and eventually reaching its 1.0 version in 2020. Hades wasn’t Supergiant’s first title nor was it one the team expected to blow up. They are an incredibly passionate team of devs with years of experience in the gaming industry. Their past line up includes Bastion, Transistor, and Pyre which are all very well beloved games. Small titles that would eventually culminate into their magnum opus. Hades was the biggest game the studio had made up until that point, and it did not disappoint. I was somebody who kept an eye on this game since its initial reveal. I’m a huge fan of Greek mythology and history despite not being as much of a nut as most people. I knew Hades was going to be great and purchased it the day its 1.0 version dropped. However, I didn’t truly know how much I’d adore it. Hades is one of my favorite games. Even after having done everything Hades has to offer I enjoy coming back to it to sink in a run or two. Whether it be the addicting core gameplay loop, the writing, characters, thrilling music, glorious art style, and more there’s just so much to love about Hades. 

I’m not the only one on the Mount Olympus of Hades lovers. Thousands of gamers collectively agree Hades is one of the greatest games of the decade, and if not an all timer. Look up any list of top indie games or roguelikes ever made and it’s most certainly in the top five. It’s become a prime example of how to mix gameplay and storytelling together into a wonderful blend, and in a world full of overfunded bloated Triple A games it serves as a beacon of what indie developers can do. Supergiant has risen to all-star fame, and having played their entire library back in 2020 and 2021 they have become my favorite video game developers. Hades is a masterpiece, and you can already guess how excited I was during the 2022 Game Awards when they announced the sequel, Hades 2. I mean it was bound to happen seeing how most successful games receive some sort of follow-up, and how the epilogue ending of Hades still had some leeway. The moment I saw that initial reveal animation I was jumping up and down in my seat. My favorite game was getting a sequel. I didn’t care how long it would take to make since Silksong helped condition me to be patient. I didn’t care if it didn’t change up much gameplay wise, or how wild of a direction the sequel would go. I was getting more Hades, and that’s all that really mattered.

I signed up for the beta last year and got to test out the game alongside a few PC players. I was thoroughly impressed, but when the early access dropped I didn’t immediately buy it. I wanted to wait until the full game was released. Not that I’m against early access. In fact, I think Hades 2 has one of the best early access processes I’ve seen a video game pull off. With the initial release somehow containing more content than the first game, and now the full release being twice in size. Hades 2 felt like a high quality product even in an unfinished state, and continued to rise up in quality thanks to good community feedback. Even with an amazing early access period I did not buy Hades 2 then. I wanted the full product when it was ready, and thank the gods I decided to do that. During the writing of my Hollow Knight: Silksong review Supergiant announced the release date of the 1.0 version. A surprise reveal that got me excited. I was already fired up by Silksong, and now another masterpiece of a game was on the horizon. 2025 has been another one of the best years in gaming. I mean real life hasn’t been really good, but nevertheless a great year for video games. Just like the first game I bought Hades 2 the day its 1.0 version dropped. 

I even brought my Nintendo Switch to class so I’d have more time to play it between a two hour break. I clocked five or so hours in on just day one alone, and the next day I proceeded to do the same thing. The last five days have been me playing Hades 2 nonstop until I finished it. Not as in managing to beat the final boss once, oh no. I mean do everything to acquire the true ending, roll credits, and listen to a wonderful ending song. That’s how hooked I was to Hades 2. In my last review about how Silksong was my Game of The Year for 2025. I need to stop declaring these things before the year is over, because now Hades 2 is my favorite game of 2025. Just like the first everyone collectively agrees it’s amazing. Hades 2 currently sits with a ninety-five percent on Metacritic making it the highest rated video game of 2025. There’s been perfect scores across the board, and is definitely a runner-up to being Game of The Year at multiple award ceremonies. I think it deserves the praise, but this is coming from a Supergiant fanboy. I will admit a majority of this review is going to be biased. Hades to me is a perfect example of how to make a game, and Hades 2 is the next example of how to make a perfect game. It’s a 10/10. I’m not even gonna wait till the end of this review. It’s a 10/10 masterpiece and you should go play it.

If you have time to stick around then surely do. Cronos does, so you should. Hades 2 is as amazing as people are saying it is, and today we’re gonna be exploring why I love this game. Few tales are told of the House of Hades, but this tale is certainly one for the history books.

Story

Well I said I was a Greek mythology nerd during the intro, and right now I’m gonna flex some of the knowledge I’ve learned from past history and Latin classes. Thought it fun to help add some lore and context to a Greek mythology game. Anyways, thousands of years ago the world as we know it was ruled by two ultimate beings, Gaia and Uranus. One was of the earth and the other was of the sky, and together they conceived children. The Titans as they were once known, and they hoped their children would help look over the earth alongside them. However, those Titans would overthrow their parents out of rage and together they brought a new age. The Golden Age as it were. One full of peace, prosperity, and love. It was perfect to their eyes, and as bolstering rulers they too would eventually make love. Having children of their own, but one of the Titans named Cronos was fearful of these children. He was the Titan of Time, and using his powers he saw into the future. Learning Titans’ children would overthrow them just as they did with their own parents. Cronos would slowly but surely let this get the best of him. He transformed into a bitter, power hungry man who ate the children. Hoping to keep them imprisoned in his stomach forever and that he along with kind would never be taken over. However, he didn’t manage to eat all the children. Cronos’ son, Zeus, was hidden by his wife and trained to save his siblings. He tricked his father into drinking a tonic that forced him to vomit his siblings.

Together Zeus and the rest waged war with the Titans, cut them all down, and started a new age of Gods. One not as chaotic as with the Titans. Certain facets of life were split amongst the gods and when their children came they’d take on minor duties. Zeus would rule the skies and all of the Gods, Poseidon would rule the sea, Demeter would help with the seasons, Hestia created fire and warmth, and of course there was Hades. You know how the story goes. Drew the short end of the stick, got angry, secluded himself, transformed the underworld into the realm of the dead, tricked the girl into becoming wife, and had a son. That son was Zagreus and through numerous escape attempts and trials he managed to reunite his parents, reunite Hades with the rest of the Olympians, and create a healthy family relationship once more. A happily ever after, or so you thought. Remember how the gods slayed Cronos? When they finally killed him they chopped him into pieces, and scattered them around Tartarus. Hoping Hades would safeguard them so the evil Titan never rises again. Something happened and now the Titan of Time is back and angrier than before. Cronos storms the House of Hades, imprisons everyone in time aside from Hades who he keeps in chains, and takes over the underworld. He then wages war on Olympus sending an army of monsters to wreak havoc across the land till the Gods give up.

The world has now become unstable as the souls of the dead can’t move into the afterlife, and the Gods are busy fighting back against the endless hordes of monsters. All is hopeless or at least it’s what you think. Between the time period Zagreus reunited his family and the takeover of Cronos, the two rulers of the underworld had a second child, Melinoe. Persephone had hired Hecate, the Witch of The Crossroads, to be a part time headmistress of the house and during the attack Hades instructed Hecate to bring an infant Melinoe to safety. Melinoe would spend her childhood being raised by Hecate and trained to one day take back what was stolen. To fight her way deep into the depths of the underworld, slay Cronos, and end his tyranny once and for all. However, there’s also the attack happening on Mount Olympus, and Melinoe will have to figure out how to stop both at once. She’ll make numerous allies, receive the help from Gods above, and die over and over again until she eventually figures out what to do. Can time truly be stopped? Who knows.

Gameplay

Hades 2 is more of Hades 1, so you know what that means! Fighting your way through the four regions again and again hoping each run you’ll get a bit further. Everytime the player manages to succeed in a run or die they get sent back to the Crossroads. A homebase where players can use any valuable resources obtained during a run to purchase upgrades or equipment. As much as the roguelike purists will hate to hear this is something I’ve always loved about Hades. It’s a really hard game, but future runs get easier not just by skill alone but also unlocking the means to make it more manageable. Darkness was the currency used in the last game to purchase stat upgrades, and now it’s Ashes used to not buy stats but Arcana cards. Perks you can equip each run as long as you have enough slots for them. Slots you can unlock more by using Psyche which is another resource you’ll find while exploring. There’s also a myriad of other resources you’ll uncover, but they can only be collected using specific tools. These tools can be unlocked through finding the right resources, so there’s a certain dynamic happening here. The first few runs of Hades will be rough. You hit a boss that even with decent enough skill you can’t beat, but sometimes dying is not always for the worst. Sometimes you manage to come across the right resources to purchase gear you need. If not, future runs can be spent scouting for what you need, and there’s even a ping system so paths containing what you want are highlighted.

To put it simple: gather as much as you can. Mine, dig, extract, etc. There’s even gardening as certain resources take time to cultivate. You can spend these resources on upgrades and some can be spent at the cauldron. A cooking put where incantations can be placed upon the world. New paths can be opened during runs, fountains to purchase goods, and much more. Hades rewards you to not just rush to the end. Talk to people, take time to get stronger, and surely you’ll reach your end goal. The relationship system is back with more characters than ever, and gifting nectar for the first time to a character usually grants you a Keepsake. Equippable items you can swap out at the start of each run to be granted a perk or increase the chances of getting a specific gift you’d want, so keep that in mind. I’ve spent quite a bit of time talking about the progression in this game, so let’s discuss the real meat of Hades 2. Each run sees you battling through regions. Each composed of multiple sectors and different rewards depending on the room you decide to venture into. You have a main attack, special attack, dodge, and cast but Melinoe has more tricks up her sleeves than Zagreus. Having been trained by a witch she can charge up spells. Powerful abilities for each of her three attacks, and when charged they are devastating. They can only be performed if you have enough mana. It’s important to be on the lookout for refills, max mana upgrades, or god blessings that allow you to restore mana when in a battle.

God blessings work the exact same way they did as in the original Hades. A God will give you one of three choices, you make one, and it’s either assigned to one of your attacks or is a passive perk. If it’s assigned to one of your main attacks not only do you get a damage boost but also it gains either an affliction or effect. This may include a brief damage debuff from Aphrodite, chill your enemies with frost from Demeter, slamming a hammer down by Hephaestus, etc. Affliction and effects will change depending on what attack you assign them to, and the rarity of a godly gift will change the potency and damage. It’s not always a good idea to go after mainly just the blessings. Sometimes you may want to find Pomegranates of Power which level up the blessings you have. Obols to spend at shops, or health and mana upgrades. Hammers of Daedalus to give your weapon different traits for a run, or run into other characters. Such as Chaos who can grant a power blessing at the cost of having a debuff that lasts a bit, or locals who can bestow Melinoe whatever they have on hand. At the end of each region lies a boss. A blockade between you and the next area. Testing the mechanics you learned throughout a level while also introducing new ones to turn the tides. It’s all about reaction and learning their attack patterns. If you manage to die or fail before reaching at least you know how to work your way back efficiently. Fight harder, learn from your mistakes, and eventually you will topple the strongest of fiends. That’s about everything I have to say. Go forth dear sister and remember: Death to Cronos.

Thoughts

Hades 2 is a masterpiece and you should know this by now. Whether that be the joyous ravings I gave at the start or the glowing reviews sweeping the internet these last few days. Just like the first game, there is so much to love about Hades 2. However, I am about to say something that may be seen as controversial but maybe a few more weeks from now people will share the exact same sentiment. Despite not having any major complaints for Hades 2 there’s still a part of me that loves the first game more. Not just because it’s important to me and contains a narrative I heavily relate to as a person. Or the simple fact of how it’s one of my favorite games ever made, but there are a few things I think the original did better. Hades 2 is a much grander game. It fleshes out certain systems more and adds a ton of quality content. Compared to most games the statement “bigger but not better” does not apply here with Hades 2. It is equally as good and in some cases it is the better video game. Let me just get what I liked about the first game more out of the way first. The areas of the original Hades were more condensed and this allowed battles to be sustainable. By that I mean enemies were always nearby, spawned near you, and you could keep the combat up. Even while some areas had enemies wander off the center battlefield whether that be into the lava in Asphodel or just flying around in Elysium they were always close by. Hades 2 has much larger areas and while they do give you more room to fight the onslaught of enemies it does mean at times you'll be running to keep up.

Speaking of onslaught Hades 2 is not afraid to just throw a horde of enemies at you once. I think regular battles in Hades 2 are much larger than the first, and this can create a bit of visual chaos if you don't manage it well. Hades 1 did have this at times, but it wasn’t as extreme. That is not to say Hades 2 is a much harder game. In fact, I can’t tell if Hades 2 is harder. On one hand a lot of the systems have been reworked and getting used to them takes a bit of time. On the other end of the spectrum once you do wrap your head around them you begin steamrolling through the whole game. Yet again, that can be me and the hundred hours I clocked into the first. You could say I’ve become a pro at Hades. (Not really) This does bring me onto why I love Hades 2 for the same reason I loved the first. It’s a game that rewards mastery, knowledge, and understatement. A video was made recently by JM8 of Second Wind where he talks how Hades 2 allowing the player to forge broken builds across multiple runs is actually a good thing. I share the exact same belief with this game. Hades 2 starts you off at a pretty weak state. As you unlock upgrades you make future runs easier, but at the same time they don’t completely remove the difficulty of the game. You still have to learn the attack patterns of bosses, and what upgrades to get. While you can unlock Keepsakes to increase the chance of getting what you want, the game still randomizes what you get. No run is like the last and it’s what makes Hades special.

When you fully understand the mechanics of the game and come to terms with how it works it becomes a blast to play. Learning how to make a broken build as you go and transform the many tough encounters into fun clusterf*cks. I hate to say it, but you really feel like a god in Hades once you reach this state. A reward for mastering the rules of the world and coming to terms with how the developers probably intended you to play. Once you beat the final boss for the first time you have gameplay modifiers to make future runs harder. A choice to push your mettle further, and I always liked how Hades and Hades 2 does it. Allowing you to earn more rewards if you manage to do so. Adds further replay value to a game with already really high replay value. Yet it is not just the core gameplay loop and satisfying progression that leads me to logging an ungodly amount of hours into Hades. What separates Hades 2 from a majority of roguelikes, just like in Hades 1, is of course the story. Hades 2 uses its narrative to make both failure and winning feel good. Character conversations will change depending on who you interacted with, favors you have fulfilled, what you unlocked/brought, and whether you won or lost. It allows conversations in these games to feel dynamic and that every step leads to something.

Hades is one of few games where no matter how I died or if I lost when I was close to success I didn’t get angry. I never get angry, because I’m happy to interact with these characters. Learn who they are, be basked in their joyous personalities, and help them whenever I can. Characters are what define Hades, and Hades 2 has more characters than ever before. Returning gods I love such as Hermes and Artemis, or new ones like Hestia and Apollo. Characters from myth such as Heracles and Arachnae are here, and I love how many more incarnates there are. In Hades 1 you only meet Thanatos, Megaera, Hypnos, and Charon. Here you meet Nemesis, Oros, and Eris. See what Nyx’s children are up to above while the others are below. You get to see things Hades 1 didn’t show including Olympus. 

Which brings me onto the next thing I love about Hades 2. There are now two routes for which you can now venture through. One that leads down into the underworld and another rising up to Olympus. They each have their own unique enemy types, encounters, region mechanics, bosses, the list goes on. It amazes me how much Supergiant were able to fit into this sequel. Hades 2 is twice the size of Hades 1, and I imagine people will get more hours out of this game compared to the first. Most of the regions are pretty fun to venture through and I like how they experimented a bit with some of them. Each area in the Mourning Fields has two to three rewards in one place, and you choose which ones you want first. Exploring to find them while also finding smaller prizes. Tartarus has you ticking down to the final room, but you can choose to not do that and explore harder rooms to obtain better rewards than ones you got earlier in the run. Fun stuff.

One thing I will admit is that Hades 2 has better bosses than the first game. Their mechanics and the way they fight had me fighting more actively. I really love the Scylla boss fight. There’s three singers and throughout the fight they’re blasting a killer song. With the song adapting to which of the three singers you take out first. It’s a group battle where you have to manage what each of the members are doing while keeping up with their attacks. Prometheus sees you clashing against an opponent of the same size. Unleashing heavy blows, spewing fire around the arena, and then occasionally sending his pet eagle to attack. There’s not a single boss fight in this game I’d say is bad. The only one I feel mixed on is the final boss of the Olympus route. It’s a large still foe who unleashes attacks at you. It’s not a hard fight, but it is a long one where after you beat it a couple of times future encounters become kinda boring. Other than that, the combat loop is fun. 

The Arcana card system is quite nice and I’d argue it’s somewhat better than the Mirror of Night. You can’t bring every Arcana card into a run due to the slot limit, and upgrading cards takes a bit of time. Now that you need the incantation and resources to increase their effects. The developers probably thought about how many people strived to unlock Death Defiances or the one perk that lets you do double damage when two afflictions are applied as soon as possible. So they changed it so experienced players wouldn’t overpower themselves easily. The call ability has also been changed, but for the better. In the last game it was ultimately built up after having done or taken enough damage. Usually an instant win button you saved up for bosses, but now you got Hexes. Special moon powers gifted by Selene, and instead of lashing away to build them up you either wait or spend mana through charged attacks. Instead of being instant win buttons these powers are a bit more diverse. Maybe you get a small health refill, time slowdown, or your attack is a beam or meteor crashing down. Again, another change you have to get used to, but the way they make up as a replacement is cool. Finding Selene again has you working your way through a skill tree for the Hex, and this improves the power while giving it passives. For example, that beam can be given the ability to split into three or burn anything close to you.

They changed how much Artemis, Dionysus, and Athena showed up in runs. By “how many’ I mean they show up once now by chance. Their gifts were crazily overpowered in the first game, so the devs probably saw what players most popularly chose and wanted to avoid. So instead of having critical damage each attack, full health refills with fountains, the ability to afflict literal poison, or just have your dash reflect every attack they went for more special stuff. Blessings you actually have to decide on what’s better rather than hope a specific one appears. I like the new weapons this time around. You get a staff, dual blades, axe, mech gauntlets, and now two ranged weapons that feel good to use. I personally liked the starting staff the most, especially once you max out the Aspect of Melinoe as it grants more mana, but the others are still fun to use. I think my platystyles will change in the future once I start unlocking the other aspects for weapons.

Now I’ve talked enough about the gameplay, so let’s move onto the other things I love. The art is as glorious as ever with returning artist Jen Zee. Drawing beautiful backgrounds, locations, and killer looking characters. The art style has changed to be a little darker, but it makes sense for the wartime setting Hades 2 is going for. Even then these characters are beautiful, and the real genius is how character designs match or describe the personality of these characters. It may even match who these gods are and what they represent. Even the slightest detail has a massive nod to their myth and history, and I love this. The soundtrack still slaps delivering a nice mixture between rock and mediterranean instrumental. Darren Korb is awesome. I think I’ve said this before so let me say it again. Ashley Barrett and him are awesome, they have incredible voices, and if I had a record player I’d buy vinyls of the soundtrack. Have their songs play in my humble abode. I do hope somebody in the voice acting department gets nominated for something, because I always loved the range there is amongst the cast. How characters not only look how you’d expect them to act, but also sound the way you expected. Booming might or smooth lingo.

It took roughly around twenty hours to reach the true ending of Hades 2 and roll credits. About the same amount of time it took for Hades 1, and I expect this to be a game I’ll continue playing for the next year or two. In between reviewing other games or just when I need a break from the reviewing process. There’s so many things to unravel even after rolling the credits, and for thirty US dollars you cannot go wrong with this purchase. Supergiant Games are a talented dev team who continue to deliver high quality games that stand tall amongst the rest of the industry. They deserve every ounce of respect they’ve gained, and Hades 2 shows that not only can they capture lighting in a bottle twice but expand upon something in an amazing way even when there’s no room for improvement. Hades 2 has gone down as another one of the greatest games I’ve ever played, and I’m sure it will for you too. In the end I give Hades 2 a 10/10 for being incredible.

10/10, Incredible