I absolutely adore Hades 2, and this epic from Supergiant Games lives up to my wildest expectations

Dash, attack, cast a magic spell, dodge the laser beam.
Dash, fire a lunar ray, attack.
Dodge the tentacle a hair too slow, die.
Start over again.

That's how it goes in Hades 2, the follow-up to Supergiant Games' acclaimed 2020 title Hades. I absolutely adored the first Hades, playing it at a low point in my life when I needed it, and so any kind of sequel had a lot to live up to.

Hades 2 has, technically, been available for some time, with the game first launching back in May 2024 through early access, letting players enjoy a portion of the story as the developers worked on updates the size of Mount Olympus.

Ahead of the game's full launch, I've been going through more and more runs of the 1.0 build, diving into the endgame and seeing what else the story has in store. Overall, I'm happy to say that Hades 2 doesn't meet my expectations; it exceeds them.

Why You Should Trust Me

Why You Should Trust Me

Samuel Tolbert

I loved the original Hades, and found it to be a meaningfully personal game at a rough time in my life. This is despite me not usually enjoying roguelike titles. I'm also a gargantuan mythology nerd, growing up on tales of Olympus and the many its denizens enjoyed interacting with humankind.

What is Hades 2?

Hades 2 is a roguelike action game developed and published by Supergiant Games. Players progress through encounters with randomized enemies and occasional bosses, growing stronger by collecting various upgrades such as Boons, boosts that are sent down from gods and goddesses.

Hades 2 picks up some years after the events of the first game, dramatically upping the stakes along the way. It introduces a new protagonist, Melinoë, who is fighting to rescue her family from the clutches of the resurrected Titan of Time, Chronos.

Hades 2 is available for $30 on Windows PC (via Steam and the Epic Games Store) as well as Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2.

Hades 2: $30 at Amazon

Melinoë has to stop the Titan of Time, fighting to save her family from forces that have imprisoned them in the Underworld and laid siege to Olympus itself. After over a year in early access, Hades 2 has received numerous updates that make it an even more masterful experience than the first game.

Buy from: Amazon (Nintendo Switch 2) | Steam | Epic Games Store

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Hades 2: Story and characters

The cast of Hades 2 is too large to count, so let it suffice to say that there are a vast number of different gods, goddesses, and other mythological figures to interact with. Many are friendly, and many are not. The vast majority are extremely attractive.

With that said, Hades 2 is a more complicated story, eschewing the simple plot of the first game with an epic of revenge, family drama, generational problems, and much more.

I appreciate how so much of this is in essence Supergiant Games responding to its own work. Of course, things would be complicated, and the fallout of different problems is hardly easy to solve, and so it takes Time to cut through it all.

Without any spoilers, Melinoë's work to take down Chronos is hardly straightforward, and there's a lot to be reflected upon, as well as numerous friendships (or more, if you're romantically inclined, in a few cases) to be found along the way.

I also appreciate just how much there is. The first game already had tons of contextual dialogue; Hades 2 ramps this up to a ludicrous degree. Did you bring a particular Keepsake to a particular fight? NEARLY accomplish a specific goal before failing the preceding night? Rest assured, you'll hear what others think about it.

Hades 2: Gameplay and features

As discussed above, Hades 2 naturally shares a lot of DNA with its predecessor in gameplay. You'll be hacking down thousands of foes with weapons like an ax, a sickle, or what is basically a proto-mech suit, with uncountable randomized elements to hinder and help you along the way.

What's more interesting is the handful of ways in which Hades 2 differs. While Zagreus was a warrior, Melinoë is a witch. That means she has access to upgrades and incantations, granting bonuses through her mastery of the arcane. She also grows stronger through her bonds with animal Familiars, each of which can aid her in different ways.

Frinos the frog, for example, can stand in the way of enemy projectiles, happily hopping into her a deadly blast that would've otherwise yeeted you directly to the Underworld. Raki the raven increases your chance of dealing critical damage, and so on.

Melinoë also gathers reagents for various spells, working her way towards her goal by gathering materials. Bit by bit, every loose flower, mystery seed, or special grain of sand can serve a purpose in her cauldron. It's a fun take on witchcraft that feeds directly into the game's story at a level I haven't seen before.

Hades 2: Visuals and audio

Hades 2 is utterly gorgeous, despite not requiring high-end hardware. While the textures and effects are decent, the game's visual strength is in its beautiful art direction, with a wide range of color usage that isn't afraid to revel in utter chaos.

That extends to the detailed character models you'll be seeing for hours and hours in conversations.

Supergiant Games' interpretation of different gods and legendary beings is fantastic, with fun mythological in-jokes and references beyond count. My personal favorite is the Titan Prometheus, but basically every new and returning deity or undead figure is worth gawking at.

Supergiant audio director Darren Korb once again provides the extensive soundtrack, unleashing a dizzying array of tracks that can go from mournful laments to rock-and-roll in the blink of an eye.

Hades 2: Accessibility and approachability

Hades 2 has a couple of accessibility features designed to make the game easier for players. In addition to removing screen shake and adjusting the subtitles, players can also enable "God Mode," just like in the first game.

God Mode slowly increases the amount of damage players ignore (up to a massive 80% cap), significantly easing the difficulty of most fights over time for anyone who finds themselves struggling.

Hades 2 is a direct sequel, and as such, you really should be familiar with the original game before diving in.

While the in-game notes do a good job breaking down all the different characters and familiarizing newcomers, there are still quite a few reveals and moments that simply aren't going to hit if you haven't gone through that first journey.

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Hades 2: My final thoughts

✅You should buy this if ...

• You enjoyed the original Hades.
  • Practically every aspect of Supergiant's first outing into Greek myth returns here with an even more polished sheen, and if you enjoyed the trials and tribulations of Zagreus, seeing the narrative continue through the eyes of his young sister is well worth your time.

• You enjoy roguelike games.
  • As mentioned above, I'm not usually a fan of roguelikes, as the random nature of everything can impede progress in ways counterintuitive to the overall game design if the developers aren't careful. My love of Hades 2 is a testament to just how well the systems work here, and anyone who normally enjoys most roguelike titles will feel right at home.

❌You shouldn't buy this if...

• You don't like games that have fast reflexes
  • While there are plenty of options that make the game easier (such as the myriad boosts you build up over time to improve various runs, as well as the God Mode feature), Hades 2 is, at its core, a challenging, fast-paced game. You can dilute that, but it can't be removed entirely. If that kind of thing isn't your speed, you may not enjoy it.

If the first Hades is a treatise on the nature of stubbornness, then Hades 2 is best summed up as a story of perseverance.

There's a significant amount of overlap (both games are roguelikes, after all,) but where Hades sees Zagreus repeatedly throwing himself into the same problems over and over to see one goal through, Hades 2 is a more complicated journey, with Melinoë pulling at threads carefully to unravel the whole.

Any annoyances born out of the randomized nature are quickly and easily overcome by how deftly Supergiant Games weaves the tapestry of this game. The story, the characters, the art, the music; it's all absolutely excellent.

Hades 2 was already a great game when I first played it in early access over a year ago. Now? It's an absolute masterpiece that doesn't just take its place by the first game, but handily succeeds it.

Hades 2 is available Sept. 25, 2025, on Windows PC, Nintendo Switch 2, and Nintendo Switch. It's expected to launch on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 at a later date.

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