Hades II
The first-ever sequel from Supergiant Games builds on the best aspects of the original god-like rogue-like dungeon crawler in an all-new, action-packed, endlessly replayable experience rooted in the Underworld of Greek myth and its deep connections to the dawn of witchcraft.
BATTLE BEYOND THE UNDERWORLD
As the immortal Princess of the Underworld, you’ll explore a bigger, deeper mythic world, vanquishing the forces of the Titan of Time with the full might of Olympus behind you, in a sweeping story that continually unfolds through your every setback and accomplishment.
MASTER WITCHCRAFT AND DARK SORCERY
Infuse your legendary weapons of Night with ancient magick, so that none may stand in your way. Become stronger still with powerful Boons from more than a dozen Olympian gods, from Apollo to Zeus. There are nearly limitless ways to build your abilities.
MINGLE WITH (MORE) GODS, GHOSTS, AND MONSTERS
Meet a cast of dozens of fully-voiced, larger-than-life characters, including plenty of new faces and some old friends. Grow closer to them through a variety of new interactions, and experience countless unique story events based on how your journey unfolds.
EVERY RUN IS ITS OWN ADVENTURE
New locations, challenges, upgrade systems, and surprises await as you delve into the ever-shifting Underworld again and again. Reveal the mysteries of the Arcana Altar, tame witchy familiars, and gather reagents using Tools of the Unseen to get closer to your goal.
THE PERKS OF IMMORTALITY
Thanks to a variety of permanent upgrades and the return of God Mode, you don’t have to be a god yourself to experience whatHades IIhas to offer. But if you happen to be one, you can brave escalating challenges for greater rewards, and prove just how divine you really are.
SIGNATURE SUPERGIANT STYLE
Rich, atmospheric presentation and storytelling fused with responsive action is the hallmark of Supergiant’s titles. Vivid new hand-painted environments, even smoother real-time 3D characters, and an electrifying original score make this mythic world burst with life.
BUILT FOR EARLY ACCESS
The originalHadeswas designed for Early Access from the ground up, and the same is true ofHades II. Player feedback will help shape a number of Major Updates that introduce new features, characters, environments, and more as the game gets closer to completion.
Steam User 2007
Been a supporter and tester since it was an early access. No regrets, just endless joy. They had impossible expectations for this game and it’s even better than we hoped for. The graphics, art style, music, characters, voice acting, the unique battle system and story are all amazing. The developers have nailed every aspect of the game. Supergiant just never fails i’m so glad they managed to make another banger. This is a masterpiece. IN THE NAME OF HADES! OLYMPUS, I ACCEPT THIS SEQUEL!
Steam User 639
Hades 2 takes everything good about Hades and then adds so much more. Its not even released yet and it makes Hades look like a tutorial. Fantastic gameplay, beautiful character design, and the attention to detail is insane. Character's comment on little things makes every run feel fresh, its rare to hear the same dialogue twice. Can't wait for the full game. Death to Chronos.
Steam User 233
Game has twice more content than the first and it is not even finished. Everything is polished and the gameplay is fluid and addicting. Absolutely love this game, and find myself coming back to it every week.
Steam User 400
At the start i thought it was worse than the first, now i think its twice as good. How do you make a game twice as good as a 10/10 game ? It's not even finished...
Steam User 162
Just play it. you'll die, get upset about your reaction time and try again. some runs are legendary, and some runs are "what am i even doing right now?". and an actual story throughout, not just menus of upgrades. Peak rogue-like in my opinion. Hades OG is the reason i play so many rogue-likes, and this simply reinforces my affinity for the genre.
Steam User 134
Athena's triceps and Hecate's abs inspired me to start working out again
10/10 game
Steam User 392
P.S. THIS WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE ENDING.
P.P.S. Supergiant has reworked the ending from its previous four-car pileup to a more gentle, screaming six-g U-turn. While I don't think the gist of the review is invalidated, it'll probably not reflect the views of a new player. I leave it as an important historical document.
Overall the game is good, fun and accessible. Supergiant can still deal out a mean action game, and it's still beyond its peers regarding art and sound direction. ok time to nit piiiiiick
So, mechanics-wise: more moves than original Hades, to the point it gets a little complicated to use your whole arsenal effectively and you'll likely favor two or three moves on each play -- and that's probably how it was intended. The boons and other gifts are a bit over-balanced: a lot of boons amount to the same flat damage bonus to a different move or set of moves, maybe with a little condiment on top.
Funny that it does a Silksong and innovates the gameplay loop by adding a mechanic that's over a decade old and maybe two decades old by this point (quests in silksong and crafting recipes here)
Story-wise: Hades 2 tries to be the inverse of Hades 1. Instead of a cynical layabout, the protagonist is a naïve child soldier. The "home base" is not a house, but a refugee camp. The problem is situational, instead of structural, which makes Melinoe an agent of the status quo instead of a revolutionary. And while Hades was a tormented figure who hid his issues with a broken system behind a duty to the same broken system, Chronos is a scenery-chewing deposed king, whose internal conflict amounts to whether to kill the gods or enslave humanity first.
So this is the anti-Hades I. But the story of Hades I was not just a story of gods; it was carefully tailored to the roguelike genre. You have permadeath, you have a story that carries across loops, you need a way to make the gameplay loop continue after the cutscene, and it all needs to be within budget. That means you can't ever shake the story up enough that gameplay would be altered.
This works in Hades I, whose moral is more or less "a system that incorporates rebellion can remain functional and even improve itself". This does not work in Hades II. There is no way to end the story and keep it aligned to the roguelike loop without descending into farce. And that's exactly what Hades II does.
Hades 1 was a demonstration of how far you could push storytelling in a roguelike: Hades 2 may be a demonstration of its limits.