Hades

Supergiant Games has always been an interesting studio, a purveyor of artisanal, narrative-rich experiences like Bastion and Transistor. But with Hades, they’ve crafted their magnum opus. On the surface, it’s a roguelike—a genre infamous for its punishing difficulty and procedural repetition. You play as Zagreus, the petulant son of Hades, fighting his way out of the Underworld one death at a time. Yet, to label it just a roguelike is a profound disservice. This is a game that fundamentally changes what the genre can be. It takes the core loop of “die, learn, repeat” and injects it with a relentless forward momentum, not just in power, but in story. Every failure pushes the narrative forward, every conversation deepens the connection to its world, and every escape attempt is structured as a genuinely unique chapter in a sprawling Greek myth.

The market is saturated with dungeon crawlers, but Hades distinguishes itself by refusing to compromise. It doesn’t sacrifice gameplay for story or vice versa. The combat is designed as a lightning-fast, top-down hack-and-slash affair built for precision and satisfaction. At the same time, the game weaves a tale of family dysfunction on a godly scale, delivered by a cast of characters so well-written and superbly voiced that hearing what they say next becomes its own reward. This audacious marriage of mechanics and storytelling is what makes Hades a landmark achievement in interactive entertainment. It proves that repetition doesn’t have to be a chore; it can be the very engine of discovery.

• A-List Olympian Pantheon: The core of the game’s variety. Players receive Boons—temporary power-ups—from a cast of Olympian gods like Zeus, Athena, and Dionysus. These dramatically alter attacks and abilities, creating thousands of potential builds.
• Narrative Progression Through Death: Unlike traditional games where death is a simple reset, every failure in Hades advances the story. Players return to the House of Hades, where they can interact with characters, unlock new plotlines, and learn more about Zagreus’s quest.
• Deep Weapon & Upgrade System: Six distinct Infernal Arms, the mythical weapons of the gods, each with its own move set and multiple unlockable aspects that fundamentally change how they play. This is layered with a permanent upgrade system that ensures constant growth.

The genius of Hades is not in any single component, but in the execution and integration of all its parts. It’s a game that understands player psychology on a profound level, turning potential moments of frustration into rewarding steps forward.

The Perfect Loop

The gameplay loop is the heart of any roguelike, and Hades’ is as close to flawless as the genre gets. The combat is designed to be kinetic, responsive, and deceptively deep. There’s a primary attack, a special, and a ranged “cast,” all of which can be augmented by the Olympian Boons collected in each run. One attempt might see sword strikes calling down chain lightning from Zeus; another might have a spear inflicting a vicious “hangover” effect from Dionysus.

This system turns every run into an exercise in improvised strategy. Players are constantly making critical decisions: which god’s Boon to accept, which chamber to enter next, how to spend precious Charon’s Obols. The design rarely feels unfair—deaths are meant to read as the result of miscalculation rather than cheap shots. And death isn’t a punishment; it’s a narrative device. Players awaken back in their father’s house, defeated but not reset. There, resources can be spent on permanent upgrades, Achilles or Nyx are available for conversation, and chambers can even be redecorated. This structure is built to sand down the sharp edges of the genre, so that no run is designed to feel like a waste of time.

A Story Worth Dying For

Where Hades truly innovates is in its storytelling. Most roguelikes use narrative as a thin veneer to justify the action. Supergiant Games embeds it into the very DNA of the experience. The game carries an enormous script of dialogue, and it’s built so that no two conversations ever feel quite the same. Characters are designed to remember previous runs, comment on the weapons used, and remark on the bosses who won.

This creates a strong sense of a living, breathing world. The gods are fully realized characters with egos, jealousies, and complex relationships, not just dispensers of power-ups. Building relationships with them, as well as with the residents of the Underworld, unlocks new dialogue, side-quests, and even gameplay mechanics. It’s a revolutionary approach that makes the spaces between the action just as compelling as the fighting itself. The estranged relationship between Achilles and Patroclus can prove just as gripping as finally conquering the Elysian Fields.

Supergiant’s signature art style is on full display and has never looked better. The hand-painted environments of the Underworld are lush and vibrant, from the fiery pits of Asphodel to the ethereal glow of Elysium. Character portraits are incredibly detailed and expressive, conveying a huge range of emotion that is perfectly complemented by the stellar voice acting. The UI is a model of clarity and elegance; it’s clean, intuitive, and stays out of the way during frantic combat, yet presents a wealth of information when needed. A 2D game of this scope is also light on hardware, and the art direction is built to stay readable even when the screen fills with particle effects and demonic hordes.

Hades is available on both Steam and Nintendo Switch, and the choice may come down to playstyle. On a capable PC, the game’s art can be pushed to 4K, and a dedicated controller or mouse-and-keyboard setup offers maximum precision—the mouse is well suited to aiming the ranged “cast.”

However, the game may have found its spiritual home on the Nintendo Switch. The bite-sized nature of a single escape attempt is perfectly suited for handheld, on-the-go play, and the ability to suspend the game at any time and pick it right back up is a massive quality-of-life feature for this type of loop-based design. The visual fidelity is designed to hold up well on the smaller screen.

Hades sets a new standard for what roguelikes can achieve, and frankly, what video game storytelling can be. It is a triumphant fusion of addictive, high-skill gameplay and a narrative with genuine heart and wit. Supergiant Games has not just polished a genre to a mirror shine; they have fundamentally elevated it. We rate it Outstanding—one of the very best in its category, and an essential purchase.