Hades is a roguelike isometric dungeon crawler by Supergiant Games that just recently came out of early access. Set knee-deep in some pretty thick Greek mythology and lore, you take control of Hades’ son Zagreus who wants to climb his way out of the Underworld.
To put it simply, that’s easier said than done. True to its rogue-like, Metroidvania-esque roots, you’ll be dying quite a few times trying to leave.
If you’re on the fence about picking up Hades or wondering if it’s worth your time, long story short: it is. We’ve put together a few reasons why you definitely need to pick this game up and hop into the Underworld.
Its Pretty Difficult
It’s an understatement to say that Hades is difficult. You start from the bottom of the Underworld and you need to climb your way up to the surface to escape. However, there are numerous enemies, bosses, and randomly generated rooms in your path.
The difficulty ramps up the further and further up you climb through areas and you’ll quickly find your screen filling up with a whole bunch of enemies, projectiles, or a varied combination of the two.
There are no traditional health potions or ways to heal so if you get knocked down to 3 HP early in your run, it’s very likely you’ll be stuck at that amount for a good chunk of the journey.
Your dash ability will easily become your best friend because it helps you dodge attacks, cross gaps, and close the distance between you and an enemy.
However, Hades softens the difficulty a bit with the fact that death isn’t exactly a punishment. The story actually progresses and dialogue expands every time you die. You can also upgrade weapons, unlock abilities, and mess around with your build before you dive back into the Underworld.
There’s also something ridiculously satisfying and fulfilling about managing to beat the area boss when you’re only hanging onto 20 HP and a dream.
There’s also an option to crank down the difficulty if you’re in it mostly for the story so Hades doesn’t lock you into its harder gameplay if it’s not your cup of tea.
