After a particularly stressful pre-Thanksgiving break week, I've found myself trying to engage in a mixed bag of coping mechanisms--some are healthy (rage deep cleaning my house...which desperately needs it) and some are not (I feel a strong urge to shop...at the most consumerist time of year with all those sweet, sweet deals...). What does this have to do with gaming? Well, my impulse buys tend to be largely gaming related. So, last night I found myself grabbing the gold edition of Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (*it's on sale, plus there's a promo code deal for up to 20% off) and then gawping at the 137G download (ouch....). It's downloaded and just waiting for me to dive into a world of Viking fantasy.
Viking energy!
My feelings about Assassin's Creed are complicated and I've been warily side-eyeing the newest entry for a number of months. I love the historical settings and attention to detail in the game world, but man oh man, have the newer iterations of the series become the poster children for open-world bloat. I know myself and I'm a sucker for a map covered in all those beautiful symbols (and I can't resist my own completionist nature to COMPLETE EVERY GD ONE even though the logical part of my brain fully understands the futility of this task). It's a weird relationship and I'd call myself a fan, but with some wishes for a more streamlined and meaningful experience (that isn't really Ubi's can o' worms...so it's a dream on kind of situation).
I've also been puttering around with Hades and I've finally managed to finish the "main" story and make it to the credits. Man, is Hades a great game! I do not feel like I've had a great amount of success, but it has kept me coming back to lead poor Zagreus to his untimely demise time and time again. A few relationships have started to play out in an interesting way--apparently, you can "romance" several underworld denizens (namely Dusa, Megaera, or Thanatos). 100% team Megaera here...there's just something weirdly hot about Meg. Maybe it's the voice? Maybe it's having to frequently fight to the death? Hell, maybe it's the whip and general "punishment" vibe she gives off (...okay, this is getting weird). I'm interested to see how things will play out in the Zag/Meg dynamic.
I'm looking forward to spending my week off needlessly stabbing a lot of video game people in dark ages England (and maybe periodically trying to escape the underworld). Happy Thanksgiving to all!
I guess that sometimes you just want to be cozy (last week I wrote about how my internal gaming clock draws me back to the ol' familiar, heartwarming kind of games during the colder fall and winter months) and sometimes your brain does something weird and tells you that you really just want to rip, tear. For some odd reason I found myself downloading Doom: Eternal and deluding myself into believing that I was fully in the mood to merrily demon-punch my way through multiple levels. This delusion was fully-formed and also included thinking that I could raise the difficulty level and have some success (something that I've never been able to do in Doom). It's no surprise that I quickly found myself floundering and regretting the 80G download. Since the Doom failure, I've been flitting back and forth between Two Point Hospital, where I'm trying to do a full re-play with all the DLC included, and Hades.
In my TwoPoint re-play, I've discovered that I am truly not a fan of the wave-based levels. There are several sprinkled throughout multiple DLC's and I weirdly found myself struggling with them this time around. Some of them are relatively simple--increasing the percentage of patients that you cure during each wave--and some of them just throw random goals out during every wave (like accumulating so many research points or upgrading machines). Beating them requires players to pause and plan at the beginning of each wave and also not to over hire staff (financials on wave levels are very wonky due to the fact that you run out of patients at the end of a wave and won't make much money--it's very easy to bankrupt yourself if you aren't careful). I think I've finally beaten them all...and I am relieved.
Check out some cool Hades art featuring the goddess Artemis.
Being drawn back to Hades has made me re-realize what a great game it is. I'm no fan of roguelikes, but Hades manages to make the repetitious nature feel worthwhile. Since I hadn't played it in over a year, I'm pretty rusty and my first few escape attempts haven't gone well. My first iota of success came last night when I managed to finally full clear with the damn Coronacht (my least favorite weapon). I don't think I had played Hades since its full release and I'm noticing some features that I don't remember. Currently, I'm having a ball with Hades and plan to continue trying to unravel the story of Zagreus and his underworld pals.
Since the new year has officially rolled around, it's time for everyone on the interwebs to start declaring their GOTY picks. Not to be one who isn't completely on trend (hahaha--I generally am not super up to date on my gaming selections), I decided I should join in on this pointless weighing of opinions. I played a few "new" titles and there is one definite standout.
I've mentioned many times before my personal dislike of roguelikes, roguelites, and basically anything that uses the word "rogue" to indicate that most of the gameplay revolves around repeatedly bashing your head up against a metaphorical game wall. I've tried the celebrated titles and generally get bored or frustrated with them within a very short timespan. With this full knowledge of how much I don't do well with roguelikes, I decided to pick up Hades because I had read lots of very positive praise for it. Hades managed to break my streak of absolutely hating roguelikes, which, I think says something about the quality of the game. Hades is my pick for GOTY 2020.
Zagreus and his underworld foes.
What is it about Hades that has managed to break the streak of roguelike hatred? One of my major difficulties with roguelikes is the repetitive nature with the only real goal being to simply get farther each time. Simply getting farther is just not motivating enough for my peanut brain. Instead, I need a reason to WANT to get farther. Hades does this by using several different methods--the first one is by using a story. Zagreus, the son of Hades, wants to escape from his virtual imprisonment in the underworld. Each attempt to escape introduces Zag to a cast of Greek gods and other mythological characters who give you just a little sliver of information about the world or Zag's complicated family situation (no spoilers, but it gets messy and complicated). You want to keep playing for the sake of unraveling the story and finding out what is truly going on in in this fictional world of Greek gods.
The characters themselves also give you a reason to keep playing. As you speak to them (and the gameplay mechanics make it so you might not encounter the same character every run) you learn more about them and your relationship with them is strengthened. You can also find nectars, which you can gift to them, which will also help build up the relationship meter. As the meter gets stronger, these characters reveal more about their own stories and also about Zag's. It's fun to hear the heartbreaking story of Achilles and Patroclus or to get to know the silly, shy gorgon Dusa.
One of the more gameplay related features of Hades that I enjoy is the shadow mirror/talent system. As you progress and gather a special resource, you can use it to unlock strengthened abilities. In a way this does make progressing easier than in a traditional roguelike--you get stronger the more you play, which means you have a better chance of clearing. I'm sure the hardcore folks out there would scoff at this feature, but for someone who has traditionally felt stymied and bored with roguelikes, this feature helped make me want to keep playing because I know that I can make it farther. It's also nice that you can swap out your talents at the beginning of each run.
There are also lots of other motivating reasons to keep Zag rocking and rolling through the underworld. There are gemstones to gather so that you can make the underworld a slightly less depressing place to live by unlocking cosmetic features. The boss at the end of each level drops a specific type of special resource that can be used to upgrade Zag's weapons or unlock special features (like using diamonds to unlock new songs for Orpheus to play while you take care of business between runs). And simply trying to befriend the entire pantheon of Greek gods and goddesses is enough to keep you playing for a very long time.
So, for me, Hades is the rare roguelike that has managed to build in plenty of ways to motivate me to want to keep playing (even though, at its core, you really are doing the repetition). I think figuring out how to crack that formula deserves some special praise. If you haven't already grabbed Hades, do it!
I've been spending my gaming time this past week between a couple of different pursuits--namely the excellent roguelike Hades and the game-within-a-game CrossCode. I've also been keeping my eye on gaming news and have seen some eye catching tidbits. One of my favorite silly management sims, Two Point Hospital, is getting another DLC! The "Culture Shock" DLC offers up three new hospitals with a sort of artistic theme and boasts of more new illnesses than previous DLC's. I will definitely be scooping it up! I've also been excitedly watching any and all news from CyberPunk 2077--it's getting close, so exciting!
If you were someone who played Hades during early access and then walked away (something that I did), I would highly recommend returning to the full release. The story has been fleshed out and now there is more to encourage your repeat trips through the underworld. I generally get bored with roguelikes within a few hours but I have been going strong with Hades. SuperGiant has brilliantly placed small chunks of the story and characters at the beginning and end of each effort to escape. There's something there for different types of gamers--for those who simply want the challenge of fighting out of the underworld there are modifiers to increasingly make those escape attempts even more challenging. For the players who are more interested in the more story based aspects of the game there is "God Mode." God Mode makes Zagreus stronger with each death which allows players who might struggle with the combat related parts of the game to enjoy getting to see the story without the frustration of repeatedly dying over and over.
I've been playing on normal mode and I've noticed some changes--one that I've been enjoying is that fountains are more likely to appear during escape attempts (once you're purchased the upgrade, of course). I rarely got fountains during early access. They've also added in even more fun cosmetic items to spice up the House of Hades! Give it a play, you won't regret it!
Even thought I'm having fun with Hades, I will generally play 1-2 escape attempts per session before I'm ready for a break. I decided it was time to revisit a game that I had put a bit of time into several years ago and had then shelved. CrossCode is a sort of action/adventure/pixel game that is set in the world of an MMO. One of the fun parts of the game is all the MMO related references and jokes--it has a serious story, but the world is filled with characters and elements that will make anyone who has spent time playing MMO's chuckle. I'm looking forward to trying to finish it and checking a title off the list of the pile of shame.
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.
