Hades is essentially a cross between Bastion and Transistor with a new coat of paint, some randomisation in how you get your upgrades, and some randomisation in the encounters (unlike in the previous two where the encounters were mostly hand crafted). That's it.

What? What more do you want me to say? The graphics are as ever top notch, the atmosphere is pitch perfect, with a version of Hades that neatly straddles the line between being comedic and ever so slightly dark, with Hades himself almost feeling like the weary administrator of Hell who seems to be the only one doing any real work whilst the gods are busy having fun in Olympus. The soundtrack is second to none, the narrative is rich, funny, and really brings out the personalities of the gods as you meet them, the voice acting is once again right on the money.

The game-play from a mechanical standpoint? It works. It's not going to blow your socks off, think Transistor but a little bit more snappy and a little less thoughtful (no active pause option here, and it's a bit more reaction based), building that optimal deck in your sword is replaced with on the fly decision making as gods offer you a choice of buffs from which you can build out your killing machine, and as you repeat play the game you'll unlock weapon types that significantly affect your baseline abilities (think of weapon picks as "classes" and you'll have a much easier time of it).


The last three games from Supergiant were complete releases, more to the point each of them were unique both in the story they told and had mechanics that actually took things in new directions to some extent (In Pyre's case, the game ripped open the envelope, then set it on fire), it didn't *need* early access, it came out of the gate strong, and was perhaps one of my picks for game of the year. The Storytelling was _so_ good and the game was _so_ unique that you could forgive the fact that the moment to moment gameplay was... kinda strange... but it worked.

So here's my problem. Hades doesn't really do anything that I've not seen before in other Roguelikes, it's not Dungeon of the Endless for example, it's not Dungeons of Dredmor, it's a combination of two of Supergiant's best hits and given a new, demonic coat of paint and a bit of a fiddle here and there. This could have spent some more time in the oven and then just come out as a finished game and everyone would be happy (sortof, there's the small matter of Epic exclusivity but more on that in a second).

This was sold as an Epic Exclusive EA game, where it sat for over a year, and now it's here on Steam, once again in Early Access, and for the life of me I cannot figure out what is so special about it that holds it up from going 1.0, this isn't a Klei game where there's a lot of intricate mechanics that need to be tested and balanced, it's not like say, Pyre (where I could easily understand had that gone Early Access), a lot of what's going on in this game is well documented and understood elsewhere.


So what, polish? Content? Sure, the content isn't done, it's been added to over the year but then that makes it seem like a case of SpaceBase DF-9 where you release a tech demo and then expect consumers to fund the game whilst you build it out. I'm at a loss in understanding where this game needs the Early Access moniker.

The game is great, but I have questions over how the Developers have handled this. The game feels -safe- coming from the people who brought us Transistor and Pyre, and it's in Early Access despite this.

Do I recommend it... yes, but I'm hesitant, more than I should be given the pedigree of Supergiant.

It doesn't help that the fact they went Epic Exclusive over this one has left me feeling very salty.

Verdict: Wait for them to finish the damn game, then buy it.

[H1]As is typical with Supergiant products, the game is excellent. There's no disputing that. There are however some major caveats this time...[/H1] Hades is essentially a cross between Bastion and Transistor with a new coat of paint, some randomisation in how you get your upgrades, and some randomisation in the encounters (unlike in the previous two where the encounters were mostly hand crafted). That's it. What? What more do you want me to say? The graphics are as ever top notch, the atmosphere is pitch perfect, with a version of Hades that neatly straddles the line between being comedic and ever so slightly dark, with Hades himself almost feeling like the weary administrator of Hell who seems to be the only one doing any real work whilst the gods are busy having fun in Olympus. The soundtrack is second to none, the narrative is rich, funny, and really brings out the personalities of the gods as you meet them, the voice acting is once again right on the money. The game-play from a mechanical standpoint? It works. It's not going to blow your socks off, think Transistor but a little bit more snappy and a little less thoughtful (no active pause option here, and it's a bit more reaction based), building that optimal deck in your sword is replaced with on the fly decision making as gods offer you a choice of buffs from which you can build out your killing machine, and as you repeat play the game you'll unlock weapon types that significantly affect your baseline abilities (think of weapon picks as "classes" and you'll have a much easier time of it). [H1]You sound a little nonplussed ser feline, what's up?[/H1] The last three games from Supergiant were complete releases, more to the point each of them were unique both in the story they told and had mechanics that actually took things in new directions to some extent (In Pyre's case, the game ripped open the envelope, then set it on fire), it didn't *need* early access, it came out of the gate strong, and was perhaps one of my picks for game of the year. The Storytelling was _so_ good and the game was _so_ unique that you could forgive the fact that the moment to moment gameplay was... kinda strange... but it worked. So here's my problem. Hades doesn't really do anything that I've not seen before in other Roguelikes, it's not Dungeon of the Endless for example, it's not Dungeons of Dredmor, it's a combination of two of Supergiant's best hits and given a new, demonic coat of paint and a bit of a fiddle here and there. This could have spent some more time in the oven and then just come out as a finished game and everyone would be happy (sortof, there's the small matter of Epic exclusivity but more on that in a second). This was sold as an Epic Exclusive EA game, where it sat for over a year, and now it's here on Steam, once again in Early Access, and for the life of me I cannot figure out what is so special about it that holds it up from going 1.0, this isn't a Klei game where there's a lot of intricate mechanics that need to be tested and balanced, it's not like say, Pyre (where I could easily understand had that gone Early Access), a lot of what's going on in this game is well documented and understood elsewhere. [H1]It's likeable, but it's a bit like what Amplitude did with Endless Space 2, it's more of a cover of their older hits, you end up longing for their originals[/h1] So what, polish? Content? Sure, the content isn't done, it's been added to over the year but then that makes it seem like a case of SpaceBase DF-9 where you release a tech demo and then expect consumers to fund the game whilst you build it out. I'm at a loss in understanding where this game needs the Early Access moniker. The game is great, but I have questions over how the Developers have handled this. The game feels -safe- coming from the people who brought us Transistor and Pyre, and it's in Early Access despite this. Do I recommend it... yes, but I'm hesitant, more than I should be given the pedigree of Supergiant. It doesn't help that the fact they went Epic Exclusive over this one has left me feeling very salty. Verdict: [b]Wait for them to finish the damn game, then buy it.[/b]