Hades has been my latest and favorite fixation. The game revolves around Hades’ son, Zagreus, whom, with aid from the gods of Olympus, attempts to escape the underworld in order to see his mother, Persephone, who resides on the surface. The catch, however, is that Zagreus must escape in a singular attempt – if he is killed by any of the monsters of the underworld, he is resurrected in the River Styx, and must thus rebegin his ascent to the surface.
What makes this game so captivating is that to a mythology nerd like myself, the lore of each god or goddess is sprinkled within the gameplay itself. One can notice the similarities in not only their voice lines and how they affect cutscenes, but one can also notice said similarities in how their buffs affect Zagreus. For example, Aphrodite, renown for her beauty and being the goddess of love, provides Zagreus with a buff that allows him to charm his enemies. This is one of many examples throughout the game that adds to the already seemingly limitless amount of depth the game has.
I say seemingly limitless because the underlying buff system is vast in it’s complexity. Zagreus himself is able to equip six weapons, each of which have four unique forms. Each form has its own buffs that are unlocked as the run goes on. Furthermore, each god or goddess has unique buffs that can only be unlocked under certain conditions (e.g. having another god or goddess’ buff). This skill system allows for the players to create fun and unique builds, which then allows for creative skill expression in terms of how the game is played. No build is ‘wrong’ per say, and every build has its merits.
With all of this in mind, Hades provides a very refreshing take on the roguelike genre, allowing for hours and hours to go by without the player noticing. There is a consistent desire to unlock different skill combinations and to see what playstyle befits the player most. I myself am no exception, and will continue to be spending hours and hours on this game until I have unlocked its true ending.
