I’m honestly a little surprised that Hades II exists. Supergiant Games hasn’t ever been one for direct sequels, instead opting to go in an entirely different direction with each new adventure. Bastion, Transistor, Pyre, and Hades are all so entirely different—stylistically, thematically, and mechanically—and each delivers on its unique premise to a brilliant degree. Hades deservedly blew up in a way that none of the others did, so a sequel was perhaps inevitable, but I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t at least a small part of me that wonders what strange concoction Supergiant might have spent the last few years mixing up if they weren’t making Hades II.
But to be clear: the part of me imagining the possibilities of a road not taken was small to begin, and gets smaller with every minute I spend with Hades II. The first game was a masterpiece, a perfect mesh of finely-crafted roguelite and Supergiant’s penchant for letting authored narrative unfold in response to players’ actions. The sequel follows suit, while kicking everything up a whole bunch of notches.
Rather than stepping back into shoes inflamed feet of Zagreus, Hades II casts you as a new hero: Melinoe, Zag’s half-sister. Sometime after the events of the first game, the House of Hades gets attacked by a vengeful Chronos, god of Time. Melinoe, just a baby at the time, escapes with the witch Hecate and then spends the rest of her life in the secluded Crossroads, training for the day she’ll take down Chronos and rescue her family.
This premise lays the groundwork for a loop that will be very familiar to anyone who’s played the first game. Each night, you venture out into the underworld, collecting power-ups from the full Greek pantheon along the way. The eventual goal is to right your way through four different zones, each comprising a semi-random selection of 10 or so “rooms”—for the most part, these are arenas in which you’ll fend off a swarm of enemies, but with the occasional shop or peaceful encounter with a friendly face thrown into the mix.
Die before you get all the way—as you almost certainly will—and it’s back to the Crossroads to prepare for another attempt. But those brief interludes between runs aren’t simply about picking equipment for the next attempt on Chronos; they’re also where much of Hades II’s narrative unfolds. The conversations you have with the residents of the Crossroads between excursions allow an authored story to be told in a way that’s reactive to player experience: major plot developments are triggered primarily through hitting new milestones in how far you manage to survive, while character-building side-stories follow the particulars of the previous night’s run.
All of the above was true of the first Hades—indeed, the way it wrote a gripping, emotive story around the die-and-retry nature of a slick action roguelike was what made it the hit that it was. In that sense, Hades II is very familiar. It’s got the same sort of captivating story that puts a modern and empathetic spin on a tale of warring gods, and the same approach to character design that makes these mythological figures into loveable (in every sense of the word) and fundamentally human.
But it’s not simply more of the same. This is most immediately apparent in the main cast, most of whom weren’t present in the first game and who, despite stylistic similarities to the first game, bring a very different perspective and attitude. This starts with Melinoe herself, who is incredibly motivated and capable—stopping Chronos is something she’s spent her whole life preparing for—yet naive and unsure of herself in a lot of ways. The game’s writing deftly handles that balance, and the result is a protagonist both heroic and relatable, fated to dethrone titans yet still figuring out her place in the world. That’s only elevated by a stunning supporting cast, from the fierce but kind-hearted Hecate, to a brash rival/love interest in Nemesis, to an especially surprising but effective take on Moros, harbinger of doom, as a quiet and comforting companion.
The overarching plot comes with a greater sense of urgency and more scope for dramatic twists, especially as the background about how and why Chronos attacked Hades starts to unfurl. There’s also the fact that at the same as all this is going on, the gods of Olympus are fending off a separate attack—a detail that, without getting too far into spoiler territory, starts as set dressing and becomes increasingly central to everything that’s going on. For all its stylistic similarities to the first game, Hades II brings a very different atmosphere and theme, and these make for a far more captivating story.
Hades II also builds on the first game with lots of little mechanical tweaks and new features. While the overall flow of combat is similar, Melinoe has more options than Zagreus did: as well as the standard attack and special, she can also spend MP to use charged attacks, and drop an AOE circle that slows down enemies caught in it (along with various other effects granted by power-ups). This means each weapon has four unique attacks, all with varying utility—before you even get into upgrades that can alter those effects even further. Trying to figure out how to make good use of all these tools can be a lot at first, but adds an impressive amount of depth and playstyle variety. With six weapons total, and several different forms for each, there are a lot of different ways to approach the basic idea of “kill enemies, don’t die”.
A crafting system adds another layer, in the form of incantations brewed up in a witch’s cauldron. Don’t worry, there’s no gear management or anything too onerous; it’s mainly just a way of unlocking new utilities within the Crossroads and additional benefits while exploring. Mechanically, it’s fairly straightforward—collect crafting items, spend them to invoke single-use spells that unlock things—but it adds light but welcome touch of resource management. Picking your next path while out adventuring isn’t always just about what’s going to make you stronger for that run; if you’re on the hunt for a certain type of ingredient, and that’s one of the options for the next room, sometimes that’s going to sway your choice.
All of this means that Hades II is, perhaps, a very sequel-y sequel: it’s everything you liked about Hades, but bigger, better, more. That’s an unusual step for a studio that, until now, has always carved a new path with each new project, but given the impact that Hades made and how well Hades II builds on that foundation, it was clearly the right choice. The first game’s clever spin on the roguelike concept made it one of the best games of 2020; in taking all those ideas and kicking them up a few notches, Hades II leaves a similar mark on 2025.
Version tested: Nintendo Switch 2
Review code provided by the publisher.
A direct sequel is an unusual step for Supergiant Games, but a game as influential as Hades deserves a follow-up. The brilliant ways way Hades II builds on the first game's foundation is proof enough of that.
