I guess sequels are always difficult. How do you capture the core brilliance of something and build from there? What is added and what is removed? I’ve always liked Sid Meier’s rule of thirds in Civilization games: one third remains the same, one third is improved, and one third is completely new. But not every game is Civilization.
But what about the sequel to the roguelike? division. Difficulty cubed. Is this because a roguelike’s campaign consists of endless repeat runs, all with their own opportunities for variation? Roguelike games have included countless sequels. Even now I play Spelunky and it feels like a sequel to the first game, something unprecedented is happening and I feel like I see the whole challenge in a completely new way, completely reframed. If spelunkers are struggling with this problem, what hope does anyone else have?
Hades 2 seems happy to be a sequel, even a sequel to a roguelike game. Everything from the snappy art style and evocative, brooding soundtrack to the menus, fonts, and user interface choices reflect this desire for continuity. After years of running around a bad guy’s room filled with classic horror like Zagreus, it almost took a period of reorientation before I started running around a bad guy’s room filled with classic horror like Merlino. In fact, I’ve talked to a few people about this, and it’s almost perverse: feeling at home from the get-go is pretty much the most confusing thing about Hades 2.
That said, there are some changes, and big ones. But before I get into that, there are two interrelated questions and answers. First: are these changes big enough that they don’t feel like the kind of thing that might have happened in Hades back in the day? Not sure actually. Secondly: does it really matter in terms of the amount of fun I’m having? not at all.
Melinoe is a great new leader, fast and smart, and as of the current build, he’s more destructive in combat than Zagreus. Her standard weapon is the Witch’s Staff, which is like wielding a sacred cattle prod, but there’s one unlockable weapon in particular that I love, the Sister’s Blade. First of all: it’s a great name. Second, it has the standard one-two-three attack, with the third beat going off like a machine gun. There are no standards!
Like Zagreus, Melinoe has dash dash, and has standard attacks, special attacks, and spellcasting attacks. Cast Attack is now a circle placed on the ground that does various forms of useless work – doing no good to anyone within it, depending on your upgrades. But the biggest change to the system is the addition of Omega attacks.
Omega attacks act on the magic mana pool above the health bar. (Or maybe less? Hades 2 is still crazy enough that my concept of the UI is more impressionistic than normal.) Omega attacks consume Magick, and you can trigger them by holding down Standard, Special, or casting an attack for a period of time , and then you let go. They’re bigger and more destructive, and if holding release brings back fond memories of Fable 2 combat, then have fun! They do feel a little like that to me.
Crucially – and I feel like this is at the heart of Hades 2’s intent – the Magick pool refills automatically as you move between rooms, even before you start leveling up, potentially recharging faster. Please note: Hades 2 wants you to feel comfortable using Magick. It wants you to pay for every room of waste, but it also wants it to flow cheaply enough that you feel like you can try it and come to understand it without feeling like you have to save it or that you should put it off until you need to. cash.
This is just one way that Pluto 2 demonstrates the deep comfort of the traditional Pluto process. You know: you enter a room, kill everything in it, and then choose which room to enter next, guided by an icon on the door that tells you which god will give you a gift in the next room, or which of the game’s resources you’ll get Return. Two things about this – and it’s clearly a day for two things: First, for the casual player, Hades 2 is yet another bunch of resources that you can ignore for a while, because in the end they all do good things. They all unlock opportunities in your home, which is now the witch’s camp, which will either give you new options like weapons or let you level up your character in a more permanent way than each run offers. Secondly, Hades 2 seems very interested in accumulating power from the beginning. Melinoe feels so dangerous because the gods go to great lengths to upgrade her, making her feel overpowered at first and then becoming more and more overpowered as your choices stack up.
Example: I got a boon on my last run that gave me a 100% attack bonus for the first ten seconds every time I entered a room. Reader, it’s like gaining brief control over a Zamboni at the start of each round, it turns out that when you have a Zamboni you can do a ton of damage in ten seconds. This is powerful enough, but by the end of the game, the 100% attack bonus steadily increases until it reaches 150 through upgrade options. If I had to say that there was one core theme that came out of Early Access when Hades 2 launched, I would say, I think it was this: You’re going to be overwhelmed here.
Well, no matter what, you’ll become incredibly powerful. Now, a typical run might have me sprinting along, being lethal in the first ten seconds, blitzing enemies, leaving them living under moody little storm clouds, and firing golden arrows every few seconds, like Vampire Survivor Same. But the enemy is also building. Even the early rooms were a bit more fleshy than I expected, often featuring emaciated horrors who often had a weird Jody Ives feel to them, with hints of glossy white plastic and bandages and viscera. Meanwhile, bosses aren’t messing around. Hades 2 doesn’t screw up. This may be its defining characteristic.
There’s a lot more I could say, but it really depends on what you want to focus on and where you want your attention to be. Some people play this for the sliding and smashing combat. Some people enjoy classical reality shows in which the gods weigh in on each other. Others just love the coziness of the center, which is classic here, a glade with a friendly frog and a giant cauldron where you can unlock upgrades like tarot cards and tarot cards. Then wash them into the most exciting hands.
I play games to be surprised—and I’m still surprised, just like I was in the first Inferno. Running back a few steps, I entered a quieter room amid the carnage and found myself face to face with Arachne. She provided me with multiple clothing options, each of which limited my resources in some areas while providing upgrades in others. I chose and moved on and couldn’t be happier with things.
But I thought: Arachne. The more I think about it, the more connections I can form that make me understand more about Hades 2. I’m going to quote the Spanish artist Velázquez very briefly here, so sorry, but yes, I do need a broader cultural touchstone. In any case, one of Velázquez’s last paintings, “Las Hilanderas”, has been considered for many years to be a painting of a group of people spinning yarn. Until one discovers that the real drama is playing out in tiny forms in the background of the image. This is where two unrecognizable characters take part in the Arachne fable, in which a great weaver fools a goddess and pays in a way that you can predict from her name cost.
Over the years this artwork has been misunderstood and its point overlooked, in part because it’s just another masterpiece from an artist who only really makes masterpieces – which is probably very much in line with my current opinion of a team like Supergiant near. You know: OMG, another lively classic, so good.
My point is, Hades 2 strikes me so far as mostly the same, but – two things again! – One: Maybe I haven’t fully understood the deeper, secret point of the whole thing. And, secondly: we’re at the beginning of this journey, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the game I’m playing today (one that I already love) isn’t the game I’m playing a year from now. This is a very good idea.
Hades 2 code has been provided for review by Supergiant Games.
