2020’s GOTY could nab a second win with upcoming sequel

I must admit that it took quite a bit of convincing to get me to play Supergiant Games’ Hades, primarily because the roguelike genre was not one I usually dabbled in. Listen, I like my games to be easy enough to not frustrate and Hades sounded like it would do just that.

However, it was the love I have harboured for Greek mythology since I was a kid that finally saw me dive into the game and even in the hardest, most sweat-inducing moments, it was that love that carried me on. Yes, I did have a dinosaur phase followed by an interest in Ancient Egypt but it was my hyper-fixation with Greek mythology that has stayed with me well into my 20s and was one of many reasons why I fell in love with Hades.

Check out the Hades launch trailer below!

If you didn’t already know, the story of Hades follows the rebellious son of the titular character, Zagreus, who is desperate to escape the metaphorical shackles of his father and the Underworld to escape to the surface. To do so, he must battle through the three distinct layers of the Underworld, all whilst battling the monsters of myth and eventually, his own father. This desire is fuelled even more after discovering his mother, Persephone, also resides above.

Despite the odds stacked against me as a non roguelike player, I managed to beat Hades and then beat it again and totalled up 13 runs before I eventually called it a day. Sure, I enjoyed the combat (and also hated it at times). I enjoyed the challenge and the pit in my stomach when I would stand opposite Hades with not one Death Defiance to my name. More than anything, I craved the clears and eventually discovered why the roguelike genre can be so inviting.

However, it was my love for the setting and its characters that kept me so absorbed. Maybe it was because I already had some decent knowledge about these mythological figures before playing the game or maybe Supergiant Games was just that good at bringing them to life.

Supergiant Games

That is why I was over the moon when the developers announced that they would be releasing a sequel during the 2022 Game Awards. Even more so because Supergiant is well-known for only releasing standalone titles.

Fast forward to April 2024 and a Hades 2 playtest is already available to some lucky players alongside the news that the full game would be entering early access later this year.

Despite my initial excitement over the announcement, it also got me thinking about what I would like to see in the highly-anticipated sequel. Not only that, but I already firmly believe that it could nab a second Game of the Year award after winning the BAFTA title back in 2020.

I believe this because as well as being praised for its fun gameplay, challenging combat, and stunning art-style, Hades also shone in one other way and that was how well it presented its characters.

I don’t know about you but putting your own spin on mythological beings that already have enough history to overwhelm even the most intelligent of scholars cannot be easy. Even if you are not too educated on Greek mythology, we have perhaps all heard of Achilles (even if just his heel) or even Hades himself, the God of the Underworld.

Supergiant Games

However, Hades manages to add a new breath of life to these well-known figures and this is something I would love to see explored more in its sequel.

I want to reunite more star-crossed lovers such as Achilles and Patroclus and Orpheus and Eurydice. I want to see more of Greek mythology’s chthonic characters, such as Nyx and Thanatos, being gentle and benevolent figures despite being personifications of the things humans fear most.

We already know of some of the new characters being introduced in Hades 2 such as Nemesis, the Goddess of Retribution, Hecate, the Witch of the Crossroads and Apollo, the God of Light just to name a few. All of which will support our new protagonist Melinoë on her journey.

I want to see the story explore the blurred line between heroes and villains and this could be done perfectly with Hades 2’s main antagonist, Cronos, the Titan of Time. Quite literally, Melinoë will have to fight against time itself, something that us humans are yet to master and probably never will.

When it comes to the addition of new Gods and deities, it is clear that Supergiant Games paid even more attention to how these well-known figures could be presented. Yes, they are all beautiful but they also represent all of us. As a result of this, fans were delighted to see a recent developer test show our first look at Hephaestus.

Supergiant Games

Known as the blacksmith of Olympus, Hephaestus was canonically pushed (or fell, I’m no lawyer) from Mount Olympus and that fact is clearly implemented into his design. We see him appear as a heavy-set man, complete with wheelchair and matching prosthetic leg. He looks just as cool as the other Greek gods and will also appear to give Melinoë a helping hand.

What I am trying to say is that Hades already had the winning formula and it appears that just by adding a few tweaks, Hades 2 is set to take 2024 by storm.