In the name of Hades! Olympus, I accept this message!
Gameplay – Hades
Hades is a first-class hack&slash roguelike with RPG elements made by our all loved Supergiant Games. You play as Zagreus, immortal son of Hades, whose only desire is to escape from Underworld. But his father thinks another way – “There is no escape”.
A hard way awaits you – randomly generated rooms filled with dangerous monsters with a boss in the end which has its own set of abilities and attacks. However, the gods of Olympus will offer their help to Zagreus. There are 9 Gods in Hades game – Aphrodite, Athena, Ares, Artemis, Demeter, Dionysus, Hermes, Poseidon, Zeus and separately Chaos. Each boss has its set of boons – passive abilities that enhance attacks and abilities of your champion.
Moreover, there are five types of weapon with specific modifications in the game. At the beginning of your run, you pick one and for every cleaned room with mobs you get boons, upgrades or currencies as a reward. With currencies (Chthonic Key, Gemstone and Darkness) you can unlock new weapons, abilities or even change contents of a dungeon. In addition, you can also change the appearance of Zagreus’s room. Gods’ and their boons you will find randomly. Moreover, they are of different rarities – from common to heroic, the most powerful ones. That’s the reason your every run will differ from the previous one. With the help of boons, you will have the ability to make unique builds.
One of the key points in the game is Codex that you get from Achilles. It stores all information about all the monsters, items and weapons that are in the game. but the main point in it is information about characters – Gods and champions. With many of them, with Nectar, you can pump Affinity, which in turn provides access to items such as Keepsakes. Each of them gives a special passive bonus that will enhance the character’s abilities or help meet certain Gods. And if you pump Affinity with some characters, you can unlock Companions, which give unique summon ability per run.Graphics and Controls
Each location has its own special style, with its mobs and environment. Portraits look great, but objects and characters lack detail. In addition, the animation of enemy attacks is clearly visible, you can always prepare for a dodge or deflect. Unless sometimes you can not see attacks from behind the columns or off the screen.
Controls are probably the only weakness of this game. This is especially noticeable at the end of the game when the player performs many actions simultaneously. Animation of attacks and special is not always perfect, and if speed attacks are pumped, it becomes very difficult to keep track of the correctness of the dash attack. And personally for me it was difficult to use charging abilities – too slow for this genre of games.
Sound and Narrative
Together with Hades, you can buy Original Soundtrack (check on Steam here). And it really is worth the money! The music is just superb, fighting bosses and just mobs is absolutely fantastic.
The main plot is simple – you try to escape from the Underworld. But what are the storylines with the various gods and inhabitants of Underworld! Each meeting is a superbly voiced dialogue that reveals not only the gaming plot but also ancient Greek mythology.
We hope you like the game the way we do! If you have any thoughts, please, share them in comments below! And don’t forget to share this post with your friends!
Summary:
Our reviews are based on five criteria that allow us to give the most accurate assessment of the game. Gameplay displays the main features of the game, mechanics and overall player’s game interaction. Narrative reveals the main storyline, well-written dialogue and the impact of the player’s actions on the world around them, as well as the atmosphere. Graphics shows how well a game looks visually, regardless of type and perspectives. Sound is how well the dialogue and sounds of the game are sounded, as well as how the music and soundtracks accompany the game. Last but not least, Controls are how comfortable they are and allow the player to expect full control over their character.
Total Score – 84/100
- Gameplay – 8/10
- Narrative – 9/10
- Graphics – 8/10
- Sound – 9/10
- Controls – 8/10
Pros&Cons
+ Amazing storytelling and dialogues (with astonishing voice acting!)
+ Great replay-ability with boons system
– A bit clunky controls
– Not so many bosses/content right now