- Hashem Habibian
- 2021-12-27
- 4:34 pm
Publisher: Supergiant Games
Developer: Supergiant Games
Release: Sep 17, 2020
Reviewed on: Nintendo Switch
Every autumn, the AAA gaming market is so crowded that there is no opportunity for independent games to show up. As we were approaching the end of 2020, and titles like Ori & the Will of the Wisps would not see any rivals for the title of best game among independent games, suddenly a unique Roguelike game was found. Hades, the latest production from Supergiant Games, not only claims to be the best game of the year, but also nominated for Best Independent Game, Best Action Game, Best Director, Best Music, Best Narrative and Best Art Director at the Game Awards, it can also be nominated for the best Roguelike game in the gaming history.
Before dealing with Hades, I need to give a brief explanation about Roguelikes to make the definition of this genre clearer for you. Roguelikes are generally one of the toughest games you can experience. The most important difference of this genre is the lack of check points in the game; In fact, every time you die, you return to the first level of the game due to the lack of save or auto save. If you think this is the end of the story, you are completely wrong; Because you should know that after death in Roguelike titles, not only you go back to the beginning of the game, but two other important things happen to you: first, all the upgrades will be taken from you, secondly, the game levels will be recreated from the beginning; This means that you start from the beginning and the levels ahead of you are different from the ones you have already experienced. Not only the level designs but NPCs and boss fights might be also affected.
Generally, after dying a few times, many gamers will not be passionate to re-experience the game and progress in it, and for this reason, gamers may usually experience a lot of Roguelikes, but generally never finish them. Titles such as Dead Cells and Spelunky are among the most important Roguelikes in the history of the gaming industry. Meanwhile, the title Hades, by adding new elements to our desired genre, has caused not only those who are interested in this genre to enjoy it enough, but also other gamers to be interested in experiencing it.
The story of the game puts you in the role of Zagreus – the son of Hades. In the game, you try to escape from the underworld and go to Olympus, despite your father’s opposition, to join the other mythical Greek gods. During your journey, your father tries to block your path by using the heroes and goddesses he dominates and prevent you from advancing from the underworld to Olympus.
In terms of storytelling, a large part of storytelling is responsible for your conversations with other characters, as well as environmental storytelling. This does not mean that the game’s music does not try to tell the story, but in this direction, it plays a lesser role than the previous two. It is not wrong to say that the game genre is one of the main things of storytelling in this title; In fact, every time you die and start the game, as you meet new NPCs, you hear new dialogues from them that have a great impact on the story. In short, in order to realize the main end of the game, you have to finish it ten times, and during this ten-part effort, some of the puzzles in your mind will be solved for you.
Super Giant Games Studios, which has had successful games such as Bastion and Transistor in its repertoire, has shown with the release of Hades that this title is the result of a decade of gaming maturity. The title Hades has a lot to say in the gameplay and is a revolutionary roguelike. There is a part in the game called God Mode through which, every time you die, the power of the powers that hit you will be reduced by two, and after forty deaths in the game, it will reach its final level of 80%. This is an advantage for those who have not yet experienced a complete roguelike. During the game, some of the upgrades made to the main character in the game will remain with you after death.
As you progress in the game, the store section will open for you and you can add new upgrades to your character by buying and selling in it. In the lobby, there is a mirror that gives you the powers by the keys you have and you can upgrade them with Darkness. For example, one of them is Death Defiance, which you can increase to three. Each of them will bring you to life immediately after death in the game. The desk next to the mirror also defines challenges for you, and if you do, you will receive materials for upgrades.
In Hades, you deal with six weapons, each of them has its own gameplay. The most important, random and attractive part of the upgrades are the abilities that you receive from the gods at each stage as a reward. These features may be mounted on regular or special kicks or even on your move; The only bug I observed in the game happens in this section.
Among all these features, Deflect is undoubtedly the key to completing the game. Many enemies in the game will fight you from afar, and therefore in some situations, you will be fired from everywhere, and the only thing that will get you out of this hell is the ability to deflect. This is why you always have to prioritize Athena when personalizing upgrades; Because this goddess gives you the ability to deflect hits.
Apart from the problem mentioned along the way, you will encounter other things to make you character stronger; For example, upgrading weapons or items to increase health. The randomness of these items as a reward along the way makes you have a different gameplay every time you experience the game. For example, if you have an upgrade such as the Lightning of Zeus on the Dash option, it is normal to be constantly evacuating in the combat environment, but if there is a special upgrade on the Cast (a long-range item that you can throw at the enemy) , you try to use it more during the fights.
Having different stores or NPCs along the way also affects the quality of your upgrade. Do not forget that items such as coins or numerous upgrades that are added to the weapon or yourself along the way, will disappear after death and return to the beginning of the game. Overall, Hades gameplay in the gameplay section increases your control for different experiences to a great extent, which greatly increases the value of repeating the game.
One of Hades’ strengths is the game’s graphics; In such a way that you do not see any drop in frame in the bustle of the fights, and on the other hand, the design of the dungeons and game environments is completely based on the game story. When it comes to Zagreus escaping from the underworld, you expect to walk through a hell. Before the first boss fight of the game, you are dealing with dungeons full of traps and many small and large enemies. After that, the game uses molten material and fire, gives a new color and glaze to the game environment and tries again to use the same atmosphere to depict the first part of the underworld for you. These various colors that will accompany you to the end, not only prevent the monotony of the battle environments, but also play an important role in inducing the protagonist to escape from the world of the dead and storytelling.
The sound and music department for Hades is hosted by American Darren Korb. You might be interested to know that Korb simultaneously voiced the main character and Skelly, one of the game’s NPCs. Regarding the game’s sound and music, it should be said that this section, more than serving the game’s storytelling, has tried to be based on the game’s gameplay. The special sound in the combo section of the game design is undoubtedly one of the main parts of the game’s entertainment; In such a way that the strength of the strike you hit or receive will only be palpable next to this sound. In order to better understand what I mean, I recommend that you try several levels of the game without sound to realize the importance of the game’s sound role in Combat Design.
Finally, Hades is one of the titles that everyone should experience this year without a doubt. A new school that will definitely impress the Roguelike in the future.
Hades Review
Hades is one of the must play games of this year; one that will introduce new standards to the roguelike genre.