Open a door, then back here again, open a door, then back here again. It’s as if we’re caught in some infernal loop. Thankfully we get to talk to you, our attractive friends, in the moments between.
OK, ready to go again. Let’s open the door.
It’s Hades 2!
James: I don’t know if I’d call Hades 2 a roguelike for people who don’t like roguelikes, because it is very, very roguelikey. And yet here am: just a boy who hates roguelikes, with all their for-the-sake-of-it difficulty and lack of respect for my time, and has nonetheless tossed Hades 2 enough advent calendar votes to now be writing its intro piece.
This is because regardless of its repetitious aspects, Hades 2 is just a bloody excellent action game: a ferociously paced dance of blades and sorceries that demands bravery and aggression as much as it does nimble-toed dodging. The breakneck combat of the original is subtly but satisfyingly expanded with AoE crowd control moves and a variety of charge-up attacks, making good positioning even more vital while letting you buy precious moments of space when the demons’ numbers advantage starts getting a little too numerous. Outside of a few bosses (who, questionably, slow things down with lengthy invuln phases), it’s electric stuff, even before your run gets deep enough to unlock the truly bonkers boons.
It also helps that the sting of a failed attempt is so easily soothed by fresh rounds of charming, mythical Grecian chitchat. Obviously I’d rather just win every time, but when I don’t, getting new lines of spirit-lifting banter from my allies almost feels like a consolation prize. These handsome boys, girls, and rock-singing sea monsters are, once again, the true stars, to the point where I’ll usually go for Hermes’ boons over those of other gods just to enjoy another burst of his delightfully quickfire exposition dumps.
We probably should acknowledge that Hades 2 is currently Not Finished™, and not in the usual early access buggy way, but in the ‘chunks of game and story are not there’ kind of way. Still! what is present works very well indeed, and it’s possible to complete and repeat the meatiest of its two main routes.
Head back to the advent calendar to open another door!