Unsurprisingly, Hades 2 is an even better game than Hades. Released the very same way in early access mid-2024, it’s now out in 1.0, and it’s the natural evolution of the solid foundation of the first game. Supergiant Games’ first follow-up release is a mandatory buy on any of the systems it’s out in, even more so on Switch 2, where it runs at 120hz – if your display can handle it – and it’s one HELL of a portable experience.
Playing now as Melinoe, the sister to Hades’ Zagreus, your target is Chronos, the Titan who controls time and who wreaked havoc to your family, as well as the whole of your estranged relatives in Olympus. Helped by her instructor and a number of other mythical figures, the heroine this time is an entirely different archetype than her brother, a powerful witch with the power to concoct upgrades at her lair between every run.
Speaking of runs, those can take place not only through one path, but two, since eventually you get to unlock a path to go and help Olympus in place of your quest for revenge against Chronos, but before that happens, you have to get stronger. And in order to do that, comes the incredible gameplay which was so well developed in the first game, making a comeback and managing to be even more enjoyable this time around.
Melinoe, as weak in defenses as she can be at first, is an absolute beast when it comes to magic. Her spells already hit like a truck as you start and only get crazier as you accrue upgrades during your runs. This time, you have a magic meter alongside HP, and that is put to good use as you unlock better attacks, but before even spending that, you get to play around with some useful tools that are your bread and butter in crowd management.
First, there’s your binding circle, and as its name implies, it helps keep enemies in place so you can smash them to pieces. By getting some powerups in, the circle becomes incredibly useful not only in stopping nearby foes at their tracks, but also damaging the ones who are further away. That works in tandem with the ranged magic at your disposal, making you feel like a supernatural badass blur of a destructive machine. Melinoe’s weapons, slowly unlocked in the same way as Zagreus’, come bundled with a handful of tools that make her progression easier, like a fishing pole and a mining pick, all of which open up fun avenues to further spec your character to your liking with options to just about every style of play imaginable.
But much more than fighting is the clear evolution of the storytelling as you make your way through the game. In Hades, that came in via the increasing dialogue that popped up as Zagreus would circle back home upon defeat and for as awesome as it was, it feels somewhat more limited when compared to what Supergiant is delivering with this sequel. Melinoe not only gets to talk to more people and give them presents, just as her brother could, but now gets to relive memories in playable form, sing along with her friends, and other interactions that are best left to your discovery.
Safe to say, Hades 2 manages to be a superior time than its already successful predecessor. And thanks to God Mode, just about everyone can enjoy it all, including me. Differently from most roguelikes, while the Hades games can, yes, be very challenging, they come packed with the option to continuously buff your character up with each defeat, the aforementioned mode that makes it possible, with time, to eventually get to the juicy story bits for those who can’t or don’t want to put up with the inherent difficulty of these games. It’s a welcome option for sure, and one that both of them incentivize you to use without having to be condescending or demeaning about it.
As for how Hades 2 performs on Switch 2, there’s no circling around the fact that it’s very playable on Nintendo’s new portable hybrid. Unlike the first game, there are no visual compromises this time around, and all the bells and whistles of other versions like the PC are present, including the new favorite among enthusiasts, the 120hz toggle, which like Hollow Knight: Silksong, makes the action even smoother and responsive to controls by doubling the amount of frames of animation per second. On the system’s built-in screen, the game’s visuals simply pop, with vivid colors and no drops in performance whatsoever. Outside of a Steam Deck, ROG Ally or whatever other PC-centric devices, Switch 2 is your go-to to playing Hades 2 wherever you might happen to be.
It’s also worth giving the studio props in regards to the sound department. Hades 2 is ridiculously well crafted when it comes to its soundtrack, once again handled by Darren Korb, who has been with Supergiant Games since Bastion, their first release. The melodies are energetic and at the same time haunting, pumping up as the action gets more and more intense, helping up an already bustling time even more. Voice acting-wise, keeping with tradition, this game has some of if not best performances in the business. Melinoe in particular, who you’ll hear much more often than the rest of the cast obviously, who is dubbed by Judy Alice Lee, is versatile, emotive, and feels like silk in our ear even hours or even days into the game.
If at this point you’re still in doubt about whether or not it’s worth picking Hades 2 up, go ahead and do this experiment: play the first game if you haven’t, as it’s often on sale, and if you come close to liking it, imagine a sequel that builds upon and improves just about everything about it. That’s Hades 2, without exaggeration. And that’s not to belittle what came before it as that was already an easy top game of the decade contender on its own. It’s just that the new one is a study case on how to bring about a sequel, which for Supergiant Games is a two-edged sword: how will they be able to top this? Should they try? For someone who has been playing their releases for years at this point, I’m curious to see what their answer will be. Until that time comes, there’s plenty of Hades 2 to dig into, so if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some abominations to slaughter and upgrades to sink some currency into…
