Hades, the action roguelike developed by Supergiant Games (From the same creators of Bastion and Transistor), has sold over 1 million copies between PC and Nintendo Switch and that is no surprise at all after playing it like crazy for the past few days. According to the studio 700,000 players took part in Hades’ early access, while rest of the 300,000 players bought a copy after its official launch on 17 September. Those numbers are well deserved and surely to rise as people keep finding out about it.
The closest game I can compare it to is Dead Cells which I’ve also played for countless hours due to the sheer urge of trying that one more run to see how far I can go and what new upgrades I can get. Hades takes the formula of a roguelike RPG and makes it prettier and better all while keeping that one more try addiction intact. It is one of the most beautiful games I have laid eyes on in a long time. Its art direction is brilliant with vibrant colors and animations that pop specially in high octane battle moments, and package that with buttery smooth gameplay and you have a brilliant roguelike in Hades.
So what is Hades about? Simply put, Hades is the story of Zagreus who is on a quest to escape the underworld and his father Hades to reach Olympus with the help of other gods along the way. The story is so well mixed into the roguelike formula that it actually makes sense for you to die over and over and attempt to reach Olympus. The blessing of the gods are various power ups and boons which make combat look amazing and well makes you feel like you’re the son of a god. You will go from chamber to chamber, killing the enemies in each room before one or many paths open up before you.
Players start out with a basic weapon but you can unlock other weapons over time and its mostly about finding out which weapon you love playing with, for me being the spear. Love it. The replay value is extremely high here mainly for the customization options. There are permanent upgrades that will benefit you for the rest of the game and then there are temporary ones that last only for that current run until you die. Permanent upgrades are the ones which are for your for your health, the number of times you can cast, damage, and then some.
Hades runs amazingly well on both PC and Switch with no slow downs whatsoever. If you’re someone who moves around a lot or just wanna do some couch or bed gaming the Switch is the best choice, on the other hand of you have a good monitor you can run Hades in all of its beautiful glory with full controller support. If you loved Dead Cells or love roguelike games in general there is no better game on the market for you to get right now other than Hades. Yes, it is actually that good. Its not the first time Supergiant Games has worked their magic and made a brilliant game but Hades seems to be their finest work yet and totally worth you’re attention. You will love your time in the underworld.