I spent 100+ hours in Hades. Here are my impressions of Hades 2

The worst thing Hades 2could do is ruin Hades.

The original Hades, a critically acclaimed action game by Supergiant Games, is one of the best games of all time, and it would be a shame for the highly replayable roguelike to be surpassed by a sequel that is just Hades, but more. Thankfully, it doesn’t look like Hades 2 will fall into that trap.

I’ve been playing the technical test ofHades 2 over the past few days. I’ve battled through the first area of the game, unlocked the two weapons available, and sipped the various different systems available to players. I’ve managed to beat the first boss three times, but from the moment I took control of Melinoë, princess of the Underworld and the protagonist of Hades 2, I knew the game wasn’t content to just build on the past.

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Note: We’ll be discussing some elements of Hades 2 that you’ll find in the first area of the game, including new characters and systems.

Different, not better

As a self-proclaimed Hades veteran, I was shocked at first by Hades 2. I’ve put well over 100 hours into the original, and that number isn’t just a cop-out. I have 80 hours on Steam, but I also played early access on the Epic Games Store, completed the main quest on my Switch, and even dabbled in a few runs when the game was available on Game Pass. About a week before writing this, I beat it once again on a PS5, and even after so much time in the game, I still search for excuses to squeeze another run in.

Hades 2 forced me to think differently, and that started with the dash. Controlling Zagreus in Hades, I was accustomed to carving up the battlefield with a series of aggressive diagonal dashes. Melinoë doesn’t slash; she flows. The fully 3D character model allows you to drift in and out of a dash, looping around