Everyone should play Hades - now there are no excuses

After Hades was available exclusively for Switch and PC for a year, the Indie exception game is finally for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S | X and in the Game Pass (PC / Console). Highest time to explain why everyone, really everyone this, Haha, divine Game should give a chance.

Hades is a dungeon crawler she plays from isometric perspective. With different weapons and magical, better: God-given, skills you broke yourself through masses of megamies Monstren. In the superficial screen, you might think it's about a Diablo clone - and so far from the hand is that is not, perspective and combat system are quite similar to Blizzard classics. But there are also clear differences.

The game is initially a so-called Roguelite . If you bless the time on the way to the surface, this means that: Back at the beginning, the bloodbath in the holy halls of the Hades arrive and start nicely from the beginning. Over and over again.

Story: Father, why are you leaving me in hell?

The story is created in Greek mythology. You play the empathic hero Zagreus. His father: Hades, who in turn is boss in Tartarus. Zagreus's goal: the legendary and the influence sphere of his mostly badly in-house father to escape for all, to breathe the sulfur air of the surface. Because Hades has something mind and wants to leave the son under his fake. In the Tartarus and on the way on the run in front of Muffelfather Zag hits numerous figures of the Greek legendary world of the Greek. To which builds up a connection, he receives special forces (Boons) that improve his skills. At least for this outbreak attempt.

Over time, there are stories in the interaction with the mythological companions stories - about the yes mostly difficult relationship between children to their parents, expectations and disappointments, betrayal and secrets, longing and love. The stories are told exclusively in dialogues - which are quite awarded and in English fullyerted, German subtitles are also available on request. To each NPC Zagreus builds its own relationship and every character has to wear his own parcel, which reveals itself afterwards.

Who now fears the gravitas of a Hollywood melodram, is reassured: The game takes itself everywhere on the shovel, and not too tight . Whether you are back a life point in the form of Burritos, the Impertinent Training Rush Skelly the protagonist with bliss, the Greek gods continuously dissen with small sideholes each other or their deep, although somewhat one-sided conversations with Sysiphus' bullet buddy leads bouldy - Who leads Humor is sometimes humor, Hades will feel a lot of fun.

Gameplay: Positive Dash-Flow

The fight is of course clearly in the foreground . The six weapons - besides a sword and a throwing player, there is another sign, power-reinforced fists, a bow and even an antique MG variant (!) With grenade launcher (!!), which are skill in a Bazooka (!!!) Converted - play completely different. Did I mention that the game is not always serious?

By default, Zagreus has two weapon-specific attacks, one independent and the Dash. For this purpose, ZAG rushes forward by pressing a button and saves from brenzy situations. The Dash is a central element in Zagreus' motion apparatus - without it's not. One internalizes him quickly and he gives the fighting momentum and tactical depth.

Any attack and the later added special skills can be improved with the help of the gods to which you meet all Naselang. There is an attack additional lightning damage (Zeus), because the special attack Hangover damage (thanks, Dionysos!), The Dash throws opposing attacks (Athenas Divine Dash, one of the most important skills) and the weapon-independent attack opens opponents a rotating circular saw The neck (Ares).

All this is very variable, very precise, very dynamic . Although there can be confusing in battles, if many opponents romp on the screen and more effectively decimated by Zagreus, the NU is in a Flow-State - and does not realize that you have played again for two hours.

Who experiments, benefits

Per passage you can expect about 40 minutes of playing time . The choice of the weapon is valid for the entire pass - either you choose the favorite murder instrument or you decide for a certain random weapon, which guarantees more gems and darkness during this run (two of the permanent resources in the game).

Anyone who fulfills special orders, which Zagreus has in a kind of quest book in his private compensation (for example, all the skills that can give a deity has tried once), gets additional resources. With these and similar carrots, which the game constantly hangs us in front of the nose, Hades rewards players and players who try different combat and play styles. You regularly discover such new, powerful attacks.

That may sound complicated, but you will not be overwhelmed as a beginner. Although there are numerous interwoven systems, but they reveal themselves to the playing one and after themselves. There are always click moments when you re-link again understood. Buy and chat, optimize, fighter, try out, die, new - this loop motivates over many hours. Class!

Trivia:

• Hades contains more than 21,000 dialog lines with more than 305,000 words.
• The genesis history of HADES is held in a six-part documentation on the NoClip YouTube channel.
• The fishing mini-game, the opportunity to cope with the tartarus with furnishings and the fact that some NPC also exudes flowers at the lookout, are pretty significant animal crossing references.

_A a bit moving picture to Hades - here the launch trailer: _

fun doing

Simply the game is not, Hades demands the playing a lot, especially at the beginning, if you have not internalized the types of movement and attacks. Of course, in the beginning, it dies earlier and more often, especially at the beginning nasty minibuses. It takes a while (with me 41 passes) until it creates it for the first time to the surface, but death is not a frustration moment **. On the contrary: to learn how the action progresses, to use the gems, darkness and other resources to have it easier in the future to try out other weapons and attack types, let me approach the next demise. Who wants, can also turn on a god mode, which simplifies the game a little more after every death.

By the way, Hades also has a very comprehensive and satisfying endgame . With the help of the heat system, the gaming experience can be made heavier at different levels, for which special rewards wave. Say: Both on the side of the game systems and the action there are good reasons to start a new run again and again.

Always the same, always different

Okay, again to the elephant in the room: Hades is a roguelite. That is, the game is always the same, right? Well, Jein. Although you always run through the same environments, knows after a few runs all enemy types and the boss angels anyway. Thanks to some soft design decisions, Hades is not boring.

On the one hand, the path changes with each pass. So you never crossed the rooms of the four different environments in the same way . Both the random factor as well as their own decisions that have continuously demanded Hades, leave each run differently - thanks to the different weapons and fighting styles, versatile boons and other skills, random events and constantly new rewards. These can also show new facets of the game after dozens of playing hours. In spoiler reasons, only the keywords private presentations, heat and surprising consequence of a theft are exemplary here.

On the other hand, you do not start at zero, There are advantages that persist over the game death - that's why it's also a roguelite instead of Roguelike: New details of the story gradually result, the relationship to the NPCs improves with every conversation and every bottle of Ambrosia, which you can earn and then give away.

Zagreus improves his skills, receives more lifestyles, new weapons and weapons specializations, as a player or player can and must be constantly superior to what direction one wants to evolve. Thanks to the Roguelite concept you do not care, or at least not permanent - In each pass, you can specialize again .

Love for detail

A big plus of Hades is the presentation: Whether Hero Zagreus, the drawn gods and fallen in the dialogues, the weapons and effects, dungeons, NPCs or opponents and end bosses - just everything in the game is completely hand drawn and animated . This is a power that you can not estimate high enough, even chronic indiemuffel must nod.

The setting is amazing too. From the rich sounds in the fight to the imposing soundtrack, which sometimes accused the sometimes hectic game events in each second - not only friends of the rock spectrum between progressive and metal are likely to feel their bright joy here. Should mean: in this game is insane a lot of love.

My conclusion about Hades

Are there any catch? Well, The scope of Hades is not huge . I am at a point in the game after 70 hours, because I would like a paid DLC with a new weapon and one to two new environments. Another annoying little thing is still that Cross progression can only be supported between switch and PC (STEAM / EPIC) or XBOX (Microsoft Store version on PC, Xbox and the Game Pass). Developer Supergiant says that technical reasons would handle a truly cross-platform score. Who knows the industry knows that it is probably more political reasons.

Show Hades in the shops: For Nintendo Switch: Amazon, Saturn, Mediamarkt, eShop For PS4 / PS5: Amazon, Saturn, Mediamarkt, PS Store For Xbox One / Series: Amazon, Saturn, MediaMarkt, Microsoft Store (incl. PC version) For PC: Steam, Epic, Microsoft Store (incl. Xbox version)

Despite these tiny criticisms, my conclusion remains: Hades is great. A masterpiece, full of details and gamepad handkramping action . Hades' Gameplay has flow factor, promotes and demands decisions that the exciting story and a magnificent humor make the slightly small extent more than any. Yes, you should play Hades - even if you otherwise have little or no playing Indie Games and a wide berth Roguelites / roguelike makes.