Hades II

Generally, when the continuation or 2nd series of a created content comes out, it is not as beautiful or enjoyable as the first product. Always the first series remains in the mind and hearts. But the hades series is a game that breaks this vicious circle. In my opinion, this 2nd game is more enjoyable, more polished and more striking than the first game. Although the game is in early access, I quite like it even in this form. So beautiful.. <3

(playtime disclaimer: i played many hours of this during the playtest)
this game feels like hades 1 (a great thing) but with very noticeable differences. the way your cast works (especially with boons) feels completely different. so you already know its fun
the main thing though, for me, is how WITCHY this game is. tarot cards, witches brew, spells, magic circles, the new enemies, and especially the new 1st area are so goddamn witchy that it is such an interesting take for hades. i really love it, it's executed super well.
the new character designs (especially those for returning cast members) are absolutely amazing. the new music is the same: familiar but different enough that it's exciting. and of course it's good, it's darren korb.
its a must play if you like hades 1. that much is obvious.

After a *lot* of hours in both Hades games, I think this is what you need to know if you're considering buying Hades II:
Hades I combat is more 'flashy' to watch, but in time people might struggle to fathom what's going on.
Hades II combat is 'cleaner', but can feel slower-paced.
Currently, Hades I has better storytelling. obviously this is still early access, so expect it to change.
At a high level, for me Hades II feels a little more tactical. The first game had a crazy amount of invulnerability frames, making them the dominant strategy.
Hopefully that helps you make an informed decision

An early access with more content and fewer bugs than most tripple A titles on full release.

one night i'll die fighting an iconic mythological creature, the next night i'll die fighting a rat

In the name of Hades! Olympus, I love this game.
Supergiant, please accept this review as a small token of my appreciation.

Huge fan of the original Hades and completed everything in that game and kept playing consistenly
... Until Hades II.
This game has absolutely improved on what the first game had to offer, it should be seen as the example of how to make a sequel and deliver an Early Access game properly. Now to get into things:
First off in my opinion if you have not played through the first Hades you should do so first. It's a fantastic game in every way and has an intriguing story that Hades II, as a true sequel, will immediately spoil. The gameplay is great but once you get used to the changes from Hades II it would be hard to go back. If that's not a problem for you then I highly recommend this game.
Art:
-The art style remains the same for the most part with new art for any returning characters. I do think the character portraits (specifically of gods) in the first game had more dynamic and interesting posing, but throughout Early Access I've seen a lot of the art get refined over time and it's very good. At the time of writing this there are still a few rough or unfinished pieces of artwork in the game, as it is still in Early Access.
-The music is fantastic once again, but so far we're missing a goddamn facemelter hit song like In The Blood.
Gameplay:
-Combat is more dynamic thanks to the addition of magick and omega moves--these are like charged versions of your Attack, Special, and Cast that use the aformentioned magick. The Cast specifically is very different in this game, it drops a sort of witchy binding circle on the floor that is obviously changed by boons, but strategizing around your Cast still remains fun. While I do miss things like Hunting Blades or Crystal Clarity, I find the casts in Hades II are extremely reliable to build into and clear bosses with.
-Boons. Obviously with different characters and different weapons the boons had to be different. I do think some of the boons aren't as punchy and in your face as the first game. There's a slightly more low key dynamic to them. They are still exciting though and it seems like there's more synergy that you can make happen yourself (like adding the modifications to Cast from Apollo onto any Cast-focused build is super fun). In the first game you had a lot of loud boons that didn't intersect as much outside of Duo boons, in this game you have a little more ability to pair things together because there are more passive boons, or at least boons that can add to an ability without having to replace it. There is also a new boon type called Infusions, this can be very powerful and are something you experience more in the end game.
-Instead of unlocking multiple dashes through grinding runs, you now have a dash and a sprint. The sprint is upgradeable to be faster and where boons used to affect your dash, they now affect the sprint. It's the same concept but changes things up so you dash more as a means of dodging and sprint more strategically.
-The Call has been replaced with Hex, and your options for hexes are not tied to boons from Olympians. On the plus side this makes your run be less based on boon rng, and there are still of course several options for hexes. On the negative this can been seen as a little more boring since you always know where hexes are coming from and it takes a little flair away from the Olympian gods.
-Weapons continue to have the same flexibility (and are likely to be improved upon). These new weapons play quite differently and also have the ability to evolve their playstyle like the Nocturnal Arms in the original game, but added into that is the addition of magick and omega moves. In my experience this additon opens up options to create more builds than I did before.
-The Mirror of Night progression system is replaced with Arcana cards. It's pretty much the same idea with different resources. Where the Mirror was about grinding up the resources and straight buying the upgrade, the Arcana are cheaper but you can't equip every single one so easily.
-Early on resource gathering was quite a slog to get through but it's been fixed due to community feedback.
-There are far more locations, enemy types, bosses, upgrades, etc. even while in Early Access.
Not only is everything that made the first game great present, but it's been improved upon and scaled up. More of a good thing.
Story:
-At the time of this writing the full story of the game has yet to be released, but so far things are shaping up to be on par with the original. There is a lot of new and fun things just like the original, and the writers' knowledge of Greek mythos is still right up there. This game is more vast in scope, which could give us a very rewarding ending or become a little too complicated. Time will tell but Supergiant has proven they can deliver on this in the past. So far it's great though.
-Melinoe is her own character, not just a female analog of Zagreus, and she fits the story perfectly. It's some raid boss level "gamerrrr" nonsense to be pissed at her existence without even knowing this story.
-The whole game is focused more on the concept of witches and it's reflected in how weapons and abilities perform. It deviates a TAD from the hack and slash of the first game but not by much (mostly in things like hexes and infusions). It's just themin but it seems like some people are missing that.
Another huge pro to this game is that Supergiant Games spent patch after patch adjusting the game based on community feedback. Not just small tweaks but true balance changes to make the game both challenging and fun.
Baffling negative reviews mention that combat feels slower and the dash mechanics have changed, in my first hour playing I felt the same way as them but that's how a rogue-like is meant to work. Those players are forgetting or willfully ignoring what the start of the original game was like, and comparing a juiced up endgame save file from Hades to a brand new save from Hades II--it's fair to mention that this specific complaint tends to come from accounts with a low amount of hours in this game. It doesn't really take much time in Hades II to level up your Arcana, get keepsakes, and have the game open up for you and become just as fast and strategic as the original--specifically this is very apparent with the dash and sprint. The fact is you're not meant to feel all-powerful at the start of a game like this, it said "There Is No Escape" for a reason. Some people clearly just wanted this to be a continuation of the first game with the same main character and weapons and all their grinding done already. It's a rogue-like after all, you're meant to figure out builds and mechanics through trial and error.
Regardless, if you liked the first one then you will assuredly like this one as long as you are in the mood for the same type of commitment to grinding and getting better. Good luck killing time.