Note: This blog contains unmarked spoilers for Hades, as well as unmarked spoilers for the mechanics of Hades II. Story elements included in the technical test of Hades II have been marked as spoilers, with the exception of the main character’s name and general descriptions of the supporting cast.
The first thing I would like to say about Hades II is that while I have no idea how many people were given access to the technical test, I feel incredibly lucky to have been one of them. The second thing I will say is that I wish I could keep playing it. The tech test is limited to the hub world and the first dungeon area of the game, including its boss. After beating the boss for the first time (on my third overall run), a message popped up informing me that after 5 clears of the first area, my time with the tech test would be over. The game even made a crack about time being “cruelly cut short” for the protagonist, who is named Melinoë, before sending me back to the hub world in the same manner Zagreus experienced after each successful run in the first game. I debated taking a dive on the final boss just to keep the tech test going, but pride sure is a motherfucker.
Right off the bat, this game feels like more Hades. If you’re familiar with the first game, you will very quickly fall into the same rhythm from your past experience. Ordinarily, I would say that this would be a bit of a disappointment. However, this is Hades we’re talking about, and more of “one of the best games of the last decade, possibly ever” is unequivocally a good thing. The first key difference is the inclusion of a magic bar, which fuels your more powerful attacks (called “Omegas”). Your basic attack, special attack, and Cast all have Omegas, and these range from rooting your enemies to the ground to teleporting behind an enemy for a backstab, in their most basic incarnations. Boons may also alter how magic is used and/or regenerated. Finally, by using enough magic points, you can charge up a “Hex” ultimate attack, mirroring the Calls from last game. I’ve only unlocked one Hex thus far, but each of my three options was transparent about how many magic points I would need to spend to recharge it. In short, the magic bar appears to be the most significant difference from Hades and perhaps the most intriguing wrinkle among returning mechanics.
Another difference from the previous game is that Melinoë can sprint by holding the dash button. Most of the boons that apply to the dash button that I saw are activated by sprinting, not by dashing. These include a knockback effect (that costs magic points per enemy affected) and destroying any nearby projectile while damaging the enemy that fired it. I ran into an early skill check for this new ability with a miniboss, where their projectiles were very hard to dodge just by tapping the button. When I faced it a second time, I was able to run circles around it and better choose my opportunities to get some damage in by deploying the sprint button at the right times. Dodging is still a key piece of the puzzle, and it has better visual prompts than the last game to inform you when it’s ready to be used again.
The two weapons that were available to me were the Witch’s Staff (which plays a lot like Zagreus’ spear) and the Sister Blades (which felt like a hybrid of the fists and bow). Both boons and the Daedelus Hammer make their return, and their impacts on playstyle are very similar to those in Hades. The boons in particular feel very similar to the previous game, though I’ll save the precise differences for the spoilers section below. Other familiar items such as pomegranates, coins, and Centaur Hearts make reappearances, joined by new upgrade currency rewards and the magic bar equivalent to the Centaur Heart. Sisyphus has been replaced in the first area, though again, see the spoiler section for more on that.
The hubworld, named The Crossroads, is also fairly familiar. You have a little bedroom area carved out for Melinoë, several people to talk to, a cauldron that functions very much like the Contractor in Hades, and other things that appear as you upgrade the hub. The Mirror of Night has been replaced with an Altar of Ashes, which allows you to unlock and equip tarot cards similar to the effects you got from spending Darkness. Another currency increases your limit on how many cards can be equipped. The tech test includes nine Tarot cards, and I have to imagine the grid will expand in the full version of the game. Next to the Altar is where you can equip weapons, limited to the two I mentioned earlier. Additionally, you can unlock and equip one Tool per run. This starts with a mining pickaxe that allows you to collect Silver, which is used in recipes and other unlockables. In theory, the Fishing Rod can be acquired as a Tool, though I hit the end of the tech test before I could unlock it. It was a little frustrating coming across another vein of Silver while I had another Tool equipped, but it adds another element of risk/reward to each run that’ll surely have me furrowing my brow at the training grounds every time.
Lastly, while the game does feel very complete for being a mere tech test, it definitely had some placeholder elements. There are a couple of characters I ran into with very similar designs, both lacking any detail on their face. It definitely didn’t affect my enjoyment of the game, and it was a reminder that as good as it feels to play, it’s very much a work in progress. If what’s already present in this tech test was released in early access tomorrow, I think a lot of people would still be very satisfied. Speaking of early access, I saw a mention in the completion screen that threatened informed me how many times I’d completed a run that the early access version will be released “quite soon”. I’m fairly convinced that the game will come out in May, after they’ve had a chance to digest the data from tech test participants. I absolutely cannot wait to play the early access version, and I’m looking forward to watching the game’s progress after only jumping into the first game at 1.0.
OK, enough vague talk: let’s discuss some spoilers.
In short (too late), I can safely say that Hades II has justified its status as one of my most anticipated games of all time. Its predecessor was my Game of the Year, and there’s no reason to expect any less from this game, even when it’s just in early access. I definitely hope it’s available to everyone sooner rather than later.
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