Highway Out of Hell--Hades

I've been saving the (surprising!) best of my summer sale purchase games for last.  My record with roguelikes has been very mixed--sometimes I hate them (Spelunky), sometimes they are alright (Dead Cells),and sometimes I can enjoy them to some extent (Slay the Spire--which I would hesitate to call a true roguelike since it is focused on deckbuilding).  That mixed record has made me fairly cautious about roguelikes--I'm just not sure I truly enjoy them.  It was with this reluctance that I viewed the newest game by a developer who has consistently rolled out unique games that I have enjoyed--Supergiant Games.  Would it be a good idea to buy a roguelike...even if it was from a dev that I trusted to create something enjoyable?  I decided to take a chance on Hades (which is currently in early access) mostly because of my past experiences with the games by Supergiant (Bastion, Transistor, Pyre).

So, what exactly is Hades?  I would describe it as a mix of roguelike, ARPG, and story based elements.  The story is based in the Greek underworld (if you're a fan of Assassin's Creed: Odyssey you should have a fairly good understanding of the gods and mythology related to ancient Greece) and features Zagreus, the son of the god of the underworld, Hades, who is on a mission to escape from the confines of the multi-layered underworld (for reasons that are spoiler-y so I won't get into them--let's just say he's searching for someone else who has managed to escape somehow).  The escape is where the bulk of the gameplay is focused--Zagreus has to fight his way from room to room, level to level, until he finally reaches the surface.  The roguelike elements come into play because each level is made up of a series of connected rooms which change with every escape attempt.  At the end of each level, Zagreus faces a boss-like opponent (which, depending on the level, can somewhat vary) before he can move onto the next area.  Ultimately, Zagreus will find himself failing in his escape attempts and waking up and climbing out of the River Styx only to go through the entire process again...and again...and again.

Luckily, the gameplay doesn't just consist of the process of trying to navigate the gauntlet of enemy filled rooms and boss fights over and over.  Unlike some other roguelikes which mainly focus on the constantly shifting nature of the gameplay, Hades also features some storybased and RPG-like elements.  There are numerous characters who populate the underworld and when Zagreus inevitably finds himself back in the home chambers after dying, he can choose to talk to and learn about the many denizens trapped in the underworld.  Some of them are notable figures from Greek mythology--Hades himself presides over the underworld and is determined to stop Zagreus from escaping; Hypnos is the god of sleep who, between naps, is charged with keeping the various shades who populate the underworld in order; Achilles, the Greek hero, stands guard over the chambers of the underworld--and there are many, many more!  The more you stop to talk to these characters, the more you learn about them and how they ended up stuck in the underworld.  As you spend more time playing and make more progress, more characters are introduced.  Another fun part is the fact that you can find nectar, a kind of special gift, and give it to characters to improve your relationship with them.  As the relationship improves characters will gift Zagreus with trinkets that grant him special abilities and that can be swapped out at the beginning of each level.

The RPG-like elements come in as Zagreus collects multiple types of currency during escape attempts--one of the currency types is called "shadow," and it can be used to purchase ranks of special abilities.  These special abilities give Zagreus various improved skills to use in combat and, unlike other roguelikes will make him more powerful and make the combat easier as you progress.  These talents could help Zagreus find better buffs (called "boons") or even give him a form of extra lives.  There are two different types of mirror talents and you can change them about freely at the beginning of each escape attempt.

The combat in Hades reminds me of that in ARPG's, but I wouldn't classify the gameplay as an ARPG.  Zagreus faces many different types of enemies in each room and has to defeat them to progress--there are numerous enemies, but not a shower of random loot to sort through.  Initially Zagreus is limited to only a couple of different weapon types, but as he progresses several other types unlock--there are melee weapons and ranged weapons and each type has a couple of different variations.  No matter which type of weapon you pick each has a main attack, a special attack, and a "cast."  This is also somewhat ARPG-like because you have a sort of basic set of abilities.

Navigating the rooms of the various levels of the underworld is something that has also been cleverly designed--each room offers a certain reward at the end--some might offer "boons" from specific Greek gods which will provide a buff or special ability (for example, some of my favorite buffs come from Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and reveling.  His buffs will imbue attacks with an effect called "hangover" which places a stacking DoT on enemies); other rooms might offer Charon's obols which are a type of currency which can be used to purchase health, boons, or other items when players find rooms with Charon's shop (there are usually multiple locations on each level); and there are multiple other varieties of rooms.  Part of the fun is the fact that in each room players are generally faced with multiple doors which show what type of reward lies behind it and then you get to choose.  As you progress you can also use special currency to purchase fountains (which restore health) which have a chance of appearing on certain levels.  Special characters also have a chance of appearing on certain levels and giving Zagreus powerful buffs.  It's all very random though, so you can't count on getting a fountain every run or finding one of these special characters.

As Zagreus progresses he will accumulate numerous powerful boons from various gods which help him become more powerful.  The downside of this is that the combat only gets harder the closer that he gets to the surface.  The final bosses on the last two levels are a real doozy, so he needs all the help he can get.

I have been oddly surprised by how much I've enjoyed playing Hades.  Most roguelikes frustrate or bore me within about 10 hours, but I've played Hades happily for 42 hours.  I've enjoyed the fact that the focus isn't simply on the repetition of escaping and that there are characters to interact with and learn about.  The fact that a lot of variety has been provided in the gameplay--choosing which room you want, finding boons from various gods which provide different abilities--really helps a game that is based around the core concept of doing the same thing over and over instead stay interesting and fresh.  I also think the idea of providing talents/abilities helps noobsauces like me be able to actually progress and not hit a wall of difficulty.  After many, many escape attempts, I was finally able to defeat the final boss and make it to the surface (huzzah!).  Fortunately, even after you've escaped there are still reasons to want to keep starting over--the "pact of punishment" places specific restrictions on gameplay and will reset the special items (used to purchase weapon upgrades and other improvements) that bosses drop.  Players can determine the number of special modifiers they want to place and each rank makes combat more and more difficult--but will reset the boss drops, so is necessary to keep getting the items you need.

Even though Hades is still in early access, I have had a lot of fun killing poor Zagreus over and over.  I think it's definitely worth picking it up and only shows promise to be even better in full release.  My only hesitation would be for people who are super-hardcore roguelike players--I think Hades doesn't lean heavily into being a skill-based, repetition fest and has elements that makes the gameplay easier with time.  If you're too leet....stick to the roguelikes for hardcore peeps.  Also, if you're not the type of person who likes repetition and doesn't enjoy things that can get a bit grindy...maybe think it over a bit.

I didn't mention the music, but it's Supergiant, so you can count on an amazing soundtrack featuring the familiar voices from past games.