Hades II (PS5) - Review
by
Karl Koebke
, posted 3 hours ago
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The original Hades was a landmark rogue-like in its time for how it used voice acting and character interactions to take some of the mundanity out of repetitive runs that almost always end in defeat. You aren’t just fighting the first boss for the 40th time; you’re interacting with a character whose relationships continue to grow each time you fight, thanks to new lines of dialogue. This, as well as the overarching narrative and drip feed of new features & goals to keep things feeling fresh, helped to make Hades standout from the crowd. Hades II, therefore, follows in some pretty big footsteps, but will repeating the same tactics start to feel repetitive in itself?
When I first heard about Hades II I was a little surprised, as the narrative from the first game seemed pretty sewn up. This is likely why Hades II eschews the main character from the first title and instead focuses on his sister, Melinoe, after a significant time skip. You’re introduced to a new cast of mythological characters and a new familial antagonist: Melinoe’s grandfather, the Titan of Time, Chronos. Chronos has imprisoned most of the main cast from the first game and threatens to topple Olympus itself. Melinoe has remained safe, however, and has trained for years to defeat Chronos. She must trek back down to the underworld’s throne room to defeat him and take back her family. This all ends in a way that felt too similar to the first for my liking; it fit the setting of eternal familial strife, but I found myself rolling my eyes a bit.
The overall narrative isn’t really where Hades II shines for me; instead, it's in the banter with the lively cast of characters. Every time you repeat your journey, there’s a new bit of dialogue and voice acting to maintain your interest. It’s impressive how much work went into this. I particularly enjoyed interactions that reacted to some part of the gameplay. A standout was when I got shrunk as a buff and Melinoe’s voice went higher, while characters had new dialogue to showcase their surprise. The other standout in the presentation is Scylla, a siren boss who sings a song about beating you while you fight. How the music changes as you take out her bandmates, or she hides in her shell, makes the fight entertaining even as its gameplay becomes rote.
Hades II’s gameplay focuses on fast action, just like its predecessor. Melinoe chooses a weapon from a diverse if not extensive list, and must dodge & kill her way to her prize. These include a heavy but slow axe (my personal favorite), magic-focused staff, and fire slinging torches. You can use these weapons to perform an attack, a special, and a cast, with all of these having powered-up versions which use mana if you hold the button long enough. Exploring how different weapons are used and can be upgraded throughout the run is helpful in bringing variety to the combat for a time, but I found myself gravitating to a tried-and-true mainstay after a while. Even while using the same weapon, however, variety comes from the various boons you can get from Gods, and other upgrades you can get during the run, and how they all work together. Strategizing how to best strengthen Melinoe for the final fight kept me thinking even when I could otherwise mindlessly go through the non-boss fight rooms.
Speaking to a coworker about the game, they remarked that the best strategy to win was ABD (Always Be Dodging), and I agree for the most part. There were times I felt myself dodging non-stop to avoid hits that I didn’t necessarily register, but Hades II was at its best when I was forced to be more methodical. Examples include kiting standard enemies around to avoid minor damage, or making sure I applied all the damaging effects I could to a boss. It may be because I mostly used the heavier axe, but I felt like Hades II gave me more reason to strategize during the fights than the original. Another way that Hades II stands above its predecessor is that you eventually unlock another route and goal for Melinoe to take on. You don’t always have to go down to fight Chronos, instead you can go up to help your other family members on Olympus. This is a great way to give yourself a break when you just mentally can’t go down the same path to get to the boss that just defeated you.
By and large, I think I probably enjoyed my time with Hades II about as much as I did the original, but having been here before it lost the wow factor for me. It’s arguable whether that’s a fair thing to judge a sequel on, or whether an improved new entry in a series should be thought of as the better game and reviewed accordingly; I might even be thinking back to Hades with rose-tinted glasses, considering it’s been quite a few years and my memory for the details is fading. I ultimately remember Hades being a fun action game with some standout voice acting, and I imagine, given another five years, I’ll view Hades II in much the same way, for better or worse.
This review is based on a digital copy of Hades II for the PS5Read more about our Review Methodology here
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