Hades, if you come from the world of PC games, is technically not a new game. The game was fully released late in 2020. To be specific, Hades came out of early access and was released on PC, Mac, and Nintendo Switch on 17th September 2020.
So, why are we reviewing a game that is has existed nearly a year in the game market? Hades launched for the PlayStation and Xbox platform on the 13th of August 2021. That also means that Hades is also technically a brand-new game for users that are exclusively on the PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles.
We are not going to focus on the differences between different available platforms. Instead, we are going to focus on Hades on the PlayStation 4 Pro (PS4) with DualShock 4 controller platform. While the most updated gaming console at this time is the PlayStation 5 (PS5), there is no getting our hands on one at this time. You can expect similar gameplay experience on both consoles though.
Roguelike or Roguelite?
Before anything else, there will be questions on what this is. Supergiant Games sells this game as a roguelike action dungeon crawler. So that must be true, right?
It is a dungeon crawler, an inspiration from dungeons and dragons. You get into different dungeons or ‘encounters’, as they call it, in your playthrough. You might liken it to games like Diablo for example.
In Hades, permadeath is not a thing. Nearly every encounter that you clear in the game will be quite unique, despite seeing the same dungeons. You also need to clear the dungeon before you can progress your playthrough.
Instead of collecting equipment though you are collecting boons or power-ups. You do not get to keep the boons though. You get to choose your weapons as in the beginning, and you retain the weapon of choice throughout a single playthrough.
In our humble opinion, the game is more Roguelite than roguelike. When you die, you respawn at the beginning. You are not technically starting over though since you can level your character up and keep those upgrades. Each death gets you closer to beating the game.
The Story (Some Spoilers Ahead)
While the game has existed for 11 months now, there are still people out there who has not played it. While we want to ensure that we do not spoil too much of the game, the nature of the game makes it a little hard not to. So, if you do not want us to spoil the game for you at all, do go ahead and skip this part.
You are playing Zagreus, son of Hades. As Zagreus, you are trying to escape the underworld domain ruled by ‘your father’, Hades. As per the name of the game itself, the game’s design, storyline, and characters are based on Greek Mythology, specifically the underworld.
At first, it seems like you want to escape Hades’ realm to join the other Gods at Olympus since the conversations you have with each God revolves around you escaping and joining them. After several conversations with the characters at the House of Hades though, you find that Zagreus’ motivation is more tragic than that. Of course, you must die a few times to know more.
The premise of Hades and storyline are simple, there are not much in the way of cut scenes. You can choose to explore the lore of Hades more after every run by having conversations with character within the House of Hades. Every time you die, the story progresses a little bit more and you have a chance to discover a bit more about Zagreus, Hades, and everything else that is happening around you. While dying and losing is never pleasant, it is just the beginning.
Gameplay – Exploring Hades
To make the game easier to beat, there is something called ‘God Mode’. With God Mode, each death adds a 2% damage resistance. Damage resistance maxes out at 80%. While 40 deaths sound like a lot of death, you might die a lot more before you beat the game. You must have God Mode turned on to get your damage resistance though.
You can turn God Mode on or off at any time during your gameplay. You simply pause the game and turn it on or off. You do not lose any of your damage resistance the next time you turn on God Mode.
There is also Hell Mode, or in simpler terms, Hard Mode. This is the opposite of God Mode. It is an option you select only when you start a new game and there is no turning back. It makes Hades more miserable than it already is. As the game suggests, it is also not for the faint hearted, or new players.
We cannot elaborate on Hell Mode too much because there are a whole set of mechanics that makes the game either more enjoyable or less enjoyable, depending on how you see it. In short, Hell Mode just makes the game a lot harder and complex to begin with. There is now heat levels for example that determines how miserable you will be in your playthrough.
Combat
Hades is a hack and slash game. That also means that 80% of the game is in its gameplay and combat. We have good things to report here.
The combat controls are intuitive, at least for the PS4. You tap or hold and release your Square button for regular attacks. Your Triangle button unleashes special attacks that differs for every weapon. Your Cross button is your dash button to either dodge attacks or be combined with Square button for a combo attack. The Circle button is your ranged attack option, or cast. You have a limited amount of cast attacks though.
You can use a combination of attacks to either create space, set up for a counterattack, or even crowd control. It is a little more action packed than the regular Dungeons and Dragons style games like Diablo, or Baldur’s Gate. It is also not a turn-based RPG game, which means you do have to be a little more active in battles.
While regular encounters can be easy enough to deal with, Boss battles are a little different. You dash a lot to dodge powerful attacks that might kill you in a few hits. Once you catch each boss’ rhythm though, you should be able to effectively strategize and time your attacks.
Items and Inventory
Each weapon you select has their own unique abilities and mechanics. You start with a sword and unlock more weapons as you play more and collect special keys. At random, you get farming bonuses from differing weapons too, it pays to be familiar with each weapon on offer.
There are five main resources you are farming. You are farming gems, darkness, keys, nectars, and coins (Choron’s Obol). Four of those will remain with you even if you die. The only one that does not come with is the coin resource. There are also three additional resources that you can only obtain by beating each of the four main bosses – Titan Blood, Diamond, and Ambrosia, each with their own functions later in the game.
You also want to collect boons, a sort of temporary buff from other Gods and your allies. Certain boons also change the way your weapon behave, or how you attack. You cannot keep boons with you though, you lose it when you die. Boons are also random in nature, as with the dungeons and encounters you will have in the game. You will not know what you are going to get or what choices you have until you beat the encounter and accept the boons. You can combine different boons and upgrade them to give yourself a fighting chance to beat the game.
Dumped into the Deep End Immediately
While the game is relatively simple to understand, it does a bad job in starting you off. You get thrown into the deep end of the pool immediately. You start out as a lost puppy trying to figure out your battle mechanics.
The game throws you into the beginning dungeon with only one way forward. You hit the ground running, and you will be mostly confused in the first 10 minutes of starting Hades, you might die pretty much immediately too. As mentioned, dying is only the beginning.
You are not going to get very far in the beginning. You might need to clear up 45-50 dungeons or encounters to eventually run into Hades’ and beat him, effectively escaping hell. You also realise you might have to die plenty of times before beating the game. The game still does not end there though as you can return to the residence and use different weapons to try to beat the game again, and again, and again.
Dying may not be such a bad thing in the game since you get to learn more about the game’s lore. If you have God Mode on, even better. You get more tanky with each death and playthrough.
Art Style
You might have come across some of the game trailers for the game before you even decided to eventually buy the game. You would come across a traditional anime type animation on the trailers. While that does not reflect the full art style of the game itself, it is close.
Conversations are not animated though. While having conversations with a character, you get various images of the character that sort of reflects their emotions at the time. The conversations come with a text box too, so you technically can comb through the conversation.
Yes, the characters are designed the same way you see in the trailer. While it does look like a traditional anime style that you might be used to, it looks fresh. It feels polished, and it does not feel old or traditional in any way. The game somehow feels a lot more natural on PS4 and Xbox and even the Nintendo Switch. You do get to play the game at higher resolutions (up to 4K) with the PS4/5 and Xbox.
The characters are designed with classic Greek in mind as well. Each character is tied to a sort of colour too that matches their personality and background. For example, Hades and Zagreus themselves are designed with a lot of red tones to kind of represent what we perceive hell to be. Aphrodite is designed with a shade of pink around and on her to reflect her status as the goddess of love, lust and beauty.
The colour schemes extend to your power ups too. Your power ups, or boons, that you might use for various parts of your combats will flash in colours that reflects the God or Goddess that provides you with that particular boon. For example, if you get a boon by Zeus, your attacks will flash in yellow colour and a boon from Ares flashes red.
While most of the character designs are very inspired by anime, the game does look a little different overall. There is still that anime quality in the overall game design, especially with the sort of pastel colours they choose and the way they choose to shade the characters. They choose to use colours that really pops on a good display. That means on a 4K display, the game should really pop.
Sound Design
They actually put a lot of effort in this department for the game. Your purchase of PlayStation version of Hades entitles you to a free digital copy of their soundtrack album. The collection of soundtracks composed by Darren Korb contains 30 original tracks created just for the game. You are reading that right, 30.
Most, if not all of the 30 tracks from the album will be featured in the game in different sequences. Of course, you might not hear some of the songs from the album making it to the game. When you do though, they fit the encounters, which does add to the immersive experience of the game.
The sound design for Hades goes deeper than just the soundtrack though. While you do get text boxes to read through for conversations you might come across or have with other characters, dialogues are voiced by voice actors, and they are done well.
Of course, there is a lot of focus on creating the right sounds for combat. Each boss battle has their own soundtracks that matches the boss fights. Of course, they are intense, and they need to be for the boss battles. Regular encounters and even mini boss battles are accompanied with their own soundtrack too. The intensity of the soundtrack prepares you for each encounter. Of course, your attacks come with their own sound effects too. All these makes Hades feels organic, more alive. Ultimately, the sound effects and soundtracks makes the game more immersive.
Hades – Roguelite Made for the Consoles
You cannot expect Hades to deliver a gaming experience that compares to titles like Red Dead Redemption 2, or even GTA V (Supergiant Games is also part of 2K). That said, you are getting a game that is well designed all-around. While the general animation design can look a little janky when you put it against mentioned titles, those design choices are what made Hades charming. While launched on PC and Mac first, the game feels more native on gaming consoles. You do get to play the game at higher resolutions (up to 4K) with the PS4/5 and Xbox.
It is entirely possible to finish the game within 2 hours. All you need is one perfect run without dying and resetting to the House of Hades. If not, it could be a game that you quickly fire up, do a single run, and turn off when you die in less than 15 minutes. It is a fast-paced game, but we suggest taking your time with the game.
It is a game that rewards players who pay attention to timing, rhythms, and patterns. At the same time, it is an extremely punishing game when you make mistakes. Your mistakes are extra punishing when it comes to bosses.
That is not to say that it is a difficult game. It gets ever so slightly easier too as you progress along. Of course, If you are lucky, you can get away with a weapon that you might not be too familiar with and nearly beat the game with it.
The game is worth MYR 99 on the PlayStation Store. Compared to usual PlayStation titles, MYR 99 is relatively low. You are getting a lot of game for that kind of money though. While encounters can be repetitive, you can replay each dungeon multiple times and still feel that Hades still has more to offer. You can always go back and beat Hades a few times too, if you really need an outlet from a long day.