GAME REVIEW: Hades (Switch)

 (After I Stopped Paying Attention - Mirrored Insight)

When people talk about video game genres, terms like 'FPS', 'RTS', 'Metroidvania' and 'MMORPG' get used.  Anyone who has been gaming for any amount of time will understand what most of these words and acronyms mean, and have some small idea about where they came from.  There's one genre however whose name is understandable without being truly understood: 'Rogue-Like'.

This begs the question, "What, exactly, is a Rogue-Like?"  Answering that requires a bit of history...

'Rogue' is a video game title from that misty age of gaming that was the '80s'.  1980, to be specific.  For its time, it was actually a rather remarkable achievement.  Drawn entirely out of ASCII characters, Rogue was a dungeon crawler where you had to guide your smiley face character down through the various floors of a dungeon -- 26 floors, in point of fact -- in order to find an artifact called the Amulet of Yendor.  Once you had the artifact, you needed to ascend back UP all 26 floors in order to win.  There were three major catches:

1. Each time you entered the dungeon, the rooms were randomly generated, no small feat on early '80s computing hardware.

2. There were a variety of monsters waiting in your path, and they came in 26 different varieties. 

3. When you died, that was it.  You were dead.  You had to start over from square one if you wanted to give the game another go.

Along your journey, you could collect a modest inventory of arms, armor, accessories, and potions to aid you on your quest, managed through a -very- basic inventory system.  Rogue looked simple enough, but it was an all-around complex achievement for its time.

To recap:  A Rogue-Like is a game that has an RNG-driven game map, light RPG elements, risk of perma-death, and is generally a dungeon crawler.

And that brings us back to the reason why we're all gathered here: Hades, a game from studio Supergiant, makers of well-received titles like Bastion and Transistor.  Hades touts itself as a modern day love-letter to Rogue set in the world of ancient greek gods.  It calls you to guide the game's protagonist as he attempts to escape hell using a variety of weapons, items, tricks, and favors from the gods themselves.

Should you go to hell?

THE SHORT VERSION:

Yep.  Hades is a hell of a good time.

THE LONG VERSION: 

The aughts have been an interesting period for game development.  Indie darling genres like Metroidvanias have seen some of the most incredible titles emerge that have ever graced the genre.  Hades does that work and more for Rogue-likes while also updating it with some much-needed improvements.

STORY

Hades follows Zagreus, son of the Lord Of The Dead himself.  Zagreus has gotten tired of living in hell --shocker, I know... -- and has elected to leave.  The problem is, you can't exactly walk out of Tartarus.  Almost everyone that ends up there is there for a good reason: They've been very, very bad.  Or, you know, they've pissed a greek god off, which amounts to much the same thing depending on how you look at it.

The story of Hades is actually one of those things that the game does to seriously update the genre.  There's enough story given to you right out of the gate to make sense of Zagreus' actions, and if you're interested in more, there are NPCs in the game that you can quickly and easily engage with to get more backstory.  Doing this is completely optional for those that just want to skip right to the killing.  Those that wish to dig a little deeper are rewarded with a serviceable enough yarn to make speaking with each NPC worth the effort.  You'll also pick up little tips and tricks about the game if you choose to speak with the NPCs, providing further incentive to explore the game's story.  It's a great way to tell a story without getting in the way of the game itself whatsoever.  The additional story elements are simple, to the point, and cleverly written.  Zagreus is slyly self-aware of himself and his environment and a number of nods and winks are given to the player as the game progresses.  Hades never takes itself too seriously, and that's a good thing.  It can be a punishingly difficult game.

GAMEPLAY

At its core, Hades is a 2.5D run and gun hack and slash game.  Anyone familiar Supergiant's other games, to say nothing of the plethora of other titles in the past that have used the perspective, will feel right at home.  The controls for Zagreus are smooth, fluid, and responsive.  That's a good thing, because while the earlier parts of the game can be quite sedate, quick reactions become very necessary about a third of the way through.  The controls are more than up to the task.

The game itself consists of a number of bite-sized rooms filled with a pre-determined number of enemies.  Clear the room, get a prize, and move on.  There are a variety of challenge rooms, mini-bosses, boss fights, and other interactions that you'll find as you explore hell.  This keeps the gameplay from ever getting stale.  Each time you clear a room, you'll have to choose which path you want to take to continue your journey.  There's strategy to be had here, because the game tells you what the reward for each room will be before you choose to enter it.  Sometimes you only have one option.  Other times, there could be as many as three.  This provides a startling amount of control over how you proceed in the game.

Inevitably though, you -will- die.  Death is a big part of Hades, and one of the other excellent ways that it breaks from its forefather's tradition.  As you travel through your play through, you'll pick up several different types of currency.  One of those currencies vanishes each time you die, but the other forms stay with you after you die...whereupon you promptly respawn back in your old house in hell and have the chance to spend those currencies on a variety of upgrades that have the potential to make your next playthrough slightly more successful.  Upgrades are slow and sometimes expensive.  The longer you stay alive, the higher potential you have to gather significant quantities of currency.

To further liven things up, Hades offers a variety of weapons for Zagreus to use as he battles his way out of hell.  Each weapon offers a varied combat experience.  All of them can be upgraded to become ridiculously powerful, but your play style will see you prefer certain types of combat right out of the chute.  Said upgrades come in two main forms: Those that persist, and those that do not.  Special items can be found to aid in permanently upgrading your weapons if you can survive long enough so that the benefits are there for your next run.  Other, less-permanent benefits come with greater frequency in the form of Boons from the various greek gods on Olympus.  While those Boons go away each time you die, they can dramatically increase your power for the current run you're on.  There are a lot of gods, a lot of boons, and a LOT of combinations.  While you can play the game through paying only limited attention to them, truly successful runs will require you to keep track of which god gives the best boon for each weapon.  If you have the patience for this, it's the difference between merely good players and those who can easily blow through the game.

To further keep the game playable, there's a great deal of upgrading content that doesn't get unlocked until you actually beat the game for the first time.  Only then will you be able to begin permanently upgrading your weapons and playing with some of the End Game content.  These upgrades require very special currency that can only be obtained by repeatedly playing and beating the game.  This was a risky move on the part of Supergiant.  It's an excellent way to add value for completionists, but it provides no incentive for everyone else.  Once you beat Hades, if you're not really interested in weapon upgrades, you may never end up going back to the game ever again.  Fortunately, for those that do end up wandering back down to Hell, you'll at least have something to do instead of simply starting all over.

AUDIO AND VIDEO

I'll keep this short and sweet: Supergiant does this right.  Sound effects are lush and vibrant without being obnoxious.  Voice acting is mostly top-notch, if overly dramatic.  The game's score is catchy enough to enjoy while listening to it OVER AND OVER again.  It doesn't rise to the dizzying heights that find games like Hollow Knight and the Ori series, but it's still well above average.

Hades is an absolute steal of a game.  You can find it on sale in the Nintendo eShop for a measly $20, which is more than a fair price for a trip across the river Styx.  If you enjoy a good Rogue-like, love sharp combat, and admire well-produced gameplay, you absolutely need to go to hell.

TIPS FOR BEGINNERS - VERY MILD SPOILERS

Hades throws a lot of options at you when you first start playing and it can be hard to know where to spend your money, what weapon to choose, or what currency to pursue.  Here are a few suggestions:

- Pay attention to the symbols on each door that you walk up to before you enter them to proceed to the next section of the game.  Each symbol tells you what the reward is in the following room.  You can find a comprehensive guide on the Inverse site.  You'll pick these up in a hurry, but this guide doesn't hurt.

- You may feel overwhelmed on which path to take in the early parts of the game.  Prioritize the Cthonic keys whenever you can.  They unlock new weapons, new abilities within the Dark Mirror, and can be traded for other forms of currency at the Wretched Merchant.

- Each time you play a run, one of the weapons in the weapon room will be surrounded by a purple glow.  If you choose that weapon on your next playthrough, you'll receive a bonus amount of Darkness gems that you collect on that run.  Always choose this weapon unless you are playing the run through to meet a specific goal.

- Talk to the NPCs.  It doesn't take much time and they'll provide you with excellent information.  Plus, you can give some of them Nectar, which will prompt them to give you a Keepsake in return.  Keepsakes are items you can equip each run that will give you bonuses are auto-leveled the longer you wear each one.  And on that note...

- You can give Nectar to the gods.  Each time a Boon spawns, walk up to it.  If you have nectar available, you'll have the option to make a gift to that god.  The first time you give a god nectar, you'll be rewarded with a keepsake.

- The Contractor seems like a stupid NPC, and for the most part, it is.  There are a few Work Order upgrades that are very worth it, however.  Read more here on PCInvasion's Hades Contractor Guide page.  Pay close attention to the Fated List Of Minor Prophecies.

- SLOW. YOUR. ROLL.  Seriously, you're going to jump into Hades and immediately feel the need to go full HAM on the enemies in the game.  This is an excellent way to end up back in the House Of Hades.  Learn the virtue of dashing behind an enemy and attacking from there.  When you attack an enemy, it stuns them most of the time and they cannot attack back.  You will never beat Hades unless you're willing to slow down and attack strategically rather than just trying to use brute force to make it through the game.

- Stay on the move and attack from a distance whenever possible.  This seems troublesome when you're using in-close weapons like the Twin Mits or the Sword, but with certain boons and some patience, it can be done.

- There is no 'best weapon in the game'.  Each weapon has its own strengths and weaknesses.  That said, many people find the bow to be the easiest weapon to go farther with at first because you can keep enemies at range while still killing them.  Keep your eye out for Daedalus hammers and always, ALWAYS pick the upgrade that removes power shot while giving you the ability to rapid fire instead.  This plus a good damage boon plus some Poms Of Power and you become a ranged nightmare. And on that note...

- When in doubt, choose the path that takes you to the Daedalus Hammer.  These hammers offer a weapon upgrade for the run you're currently on that can be game-changing -- and sometimes game-breaking, depending on which weapon you're using.  The bow and the spear both have STUPID powerful upgrades here, though as I said, every weapon can be made nasty before it's all said and done.

- Finally be patient.  Hades will seem like it has a monstrous difficulty curve at first, and that's because it does.  Your patience will be rewarded with a slowly growing bank of upgrades, and then you'll suddenly catch a wild break with a good weapon and some good boons and clear another 10 rooms beyond your previous 'Best'.  Doing that is like a shot of adrenaline in the arm, and will keep you coming back to the game.  Be patient and slow your roll.