Hades’ showcases a sensational and addictive gaming experience
There was a gap between the 1980s and the 2010s when games were actually pretty easy. Accessibility was embraced so gamers of all age ranges could break piggy banks over the latest releases.
When home consoles were becoming an entertainment superpower, millions wanted to get a taste of what was once considered a childish pastime. Interest in critically difficult games waned as diverse audiences accrued, many of whom just wanted a good time after their daily dose of life. Scaling difficulty was included in almost every release, and it wasn’t until games like “Super Meat Boy” and “Dark Souls” that interest in solely-challenging games was reignited.
In the year 2020, there are just as many bruising games as there are that cater to the psychological need for victory. There’s a line in the sand, one drawn through the entire population of gamers with very few exceptions of straddlers: On one side you have people like me, casual gamers who prefer a good time over a fiercely difficult one; on the other are people who phlegm-snort in our direction, thinking the only real games still being made are those that force you to, in slang, “git gud.”
Why should any of that information matter here, in a review? Because it might help you understand why Supergiant Games’ “Hades” is going to be a sensation for a long time. It might illuminate why what this game has achieved is significant enough to be — gasp — uniting. It might also be the first truly great game to successfully discover a happy middle ground; one that everybody can agree is crazy hard and wonderfully accessible at the same time.
The idea behind this game is that you are going to die. No ifs, ands or buts. No sly maneuverings, and definitely no prodigy-speedruns from the first go. You are going to get smashed, slapped, steamed and dry-cleaned. Then you are going to be asked to try again. And again. And again.
If this sounds “Soulsy” to you, I promise it isn’t. The above description of the concept was how the game was sold to me by my closest gaming friend. I didn’t entirely trust him that the game was as accessible as he was assuring me it was; assurances that came from the just-as-definite guarantees that I would be demolished so frequently as to doubt the righteousness of my quest, only to find myself automatically taking on the task again because, in his words, “It’s just that addictive.”
I’m not into Sisyphean gameplay, but “Hades” costs significantly less than most major titles, so I gave it a shot. And I’m glad I did. Hell, I’m grateful. I barely slept last week, and when I did I dreamt of this game. I dreamt of winning, something I hadn’t yet done and could only speculate on the sweet, sweet feeling of. I even woke myself to the sound of my fingers drumming on my mattress in button-mashing language: Y, X, A, B. Y, X, A, B.
You are Zagreus, the ungrateful son of Hades who yearns to escape the underworld and find momma Persephone. The charm of this game doesn’t kick in at first: You get the standard brooding narration to set the mood… But then Zagreus starts talking back to the grim voice. Commenting on the narrator’s comments; poking fun at his super seriousness. Then you notice that this anime-styled underworld isn’t so bad. When you die, you go back home to a vast headquarters that includes a lounge for your buddies and enemies alike. You bond with them, no hard feelings no matter how many times you kill each other. Frustration turns into grudging respect, which progresses into love.
Zagreus is respectful and kind to everybody in sight, even to his father, who taunts him and promises he will never get out. Instead of flipping his dad the finger, Zagreus seems to take the constant hurling of insults in an inspirational stride. Through the game’s incredible writing (over 20,000 lines worth), you emotionally feel the same things Zagreus does and interpret characters’ mysteries and flaws like him. He is extraordinarily likable.
Zagreus is assisted through procedurally-generated levels of the underworld by his benevolent estranged family, Team Olympus. Zeus, Poseidon, Hermes, and many of the greatest mythological hits are joyously on display, rendered in beautiful, manga-like illustrations. They give you countless powerups, some of which merge and combine with others, making each playthrough a unique and unpredictable one. But no matter how amazing your combinations of abilities and weapons are, the game never makes your way to the top a cakewalk, even if you enable the attractive Godmode option, which only minorly enhances your damage resistance. No matter how you play it or what background you come from, climbing out of the depths never seems impossible. You will think — no, believe — going into every run that maybe this time you can pull it off. That hope is exhilarating.
A lot of the time you’ll be wrong and die, but what keeps this from becoming too frustrating is that there is no wrong way of playing “Hades.” It wants you to dearly enjoy your time getting reacquainted with the heroes and stories you read of in Homer and Edith Hamilton. Even in tribute the writing remains original, breathing a sweet (but never gooey or patronizing) modernity into these characters. The enormously gifted staff of writers, animators, and designers at Supergiant Games make every interaction with these legends unique, playful, and at times, oddly romantic.
Yes, there’s even a friendship/relationship meter for each inhabitant of the underworld. If you die, you don’t just lose everything and start from scratch: you collect items that can be traded for gifts. If you want to learn more about the despairing Orpheus, or simply hear him play his music, you can buy him nectar. Gifts of nectar to any character unlock more opportunities for fun interactions. In the case of characters like Nyx (Mother Night, as well as your surrogate mom) Megaera (your enemy and, it is implied, former lover) and Dusa (the floating gorgon head maid of Hades’ palace), gift-giving can lead to story-altering relationship dynamics, all of which are delightful and miraculously dodge mean-spiritedness, despite the setting and your many brutal deaths.
The combat is what will draw most people into this game and never let them go: It is fast-paced, strategic, gritty, and slick all at the same time. Finally conquering each boss battle (all brilliantly paced and balanced) becomes as engaging an endeavor as any in your personal life, and it would probably be that way even if COVID-19 were not confining us to our pleasures like liferafts.
I was not expecting “Hades” to be one of the most addictive experiences of my gaming life, but it is, still even as I write this. There is no real way of beating this game (i.e., reaching a “go away now, you’ve done everything” conclusion), you just do it over and over again, and like the gregarious Sisyphus you will meet along the way, “Hades” manages to replace life’s insanity with fleeting glimpses of startling, satisfying hope.