Before getting into this game, I feel like there is a need to discuss the difference between roguelikes and roguelites. Both of these types of times of games have three core characteristics: random levels, character progression and permanent death. However there is one distinct characteristic that separates the two. In roguelikes, when you die you start again with nothing - no way to level up your character or bring better equipment with you. When you die in roguelites, you have the ability to level up your character and purchase new weapons when you restart your journey. Hades is a roguelite with an interesting story and fun gameplay that is let down by the longevity of its campaign. So lets get into it.
Story
In Hades, you play a Prince Zagreus, the son of Hades the God of the Dead in Greek mythology. Prince Zagreus is sick of Hell and wants to escape to the world above to find his mother who he has never met. Hades is the pure definition of overbearing and does not want his son to leave, which leads to Prince Zagreus trying to escape the depths of Hell (over and over again). The concept of Hades is simple but it is how the developer, Supergiant Games, creates interesting characters to make the basic story more intriguing. Each character you come by is very well detailed - you feel like each character sympathizes with the Prince's mission as they try to help throughout his ventures through Hell. This is actually very impressive since the Greek mythology has been used so much in video game history. The only issue I have with the story (and it's sort of a big one), is that the story feels extremely long due to the nature of Hades' roguelite characteristics.
Gameplay
I will start off by saying Hades is a fun and simple game to play. Every time you begin your escape through Hell, you are welcomed by demons trying to stop you. But you are expected to die...and die often to understand the core mechanics of the game as well as how to strategically get through each level of Hell to reach the ground surface above. It may sound repetitive but because it is a roguelite, the levels are randomized every time your die. So the game is less about memorization of what rooms are coming next and more about understanding the enemies that you spend hours fighting.
The combat in Hades is also very simple. You have four choices during combat: quick attack, heavy attack, magic/long range attack, and a dash/dodge button. This is necessary because you need to be quick on your feet during each battle. In the later rooms, you will come across a lot of different obstacles and enemies to defeat and it's nice to have a combat system that is easy and fast to get you out of tricky situations. While the combat is simple, the challenging enemies keep the gameplay balanced and never feels overpowered.
At the completion of each room, you will be rewarded with in-game currency, health regeneration, or (and more commonly) gifts from the other Greek Gods who try to aid you during your current adventure through Hell. For the items that you can carry over when you die and restart back in the palace, you are able to use them to increase your bond with the many characters you find along your path or increase your skills to help you during your next escape attempt.
At the end of each level you come across a boss that you must defeat. I had the thought that these bosses would become easier after each progression because I would get use to their attack patterns and eventually overcome them similar to the bosses the Dark Souls series (learn, die, understand, defeat). And while that is true, the game does switch up the bosses attack patterns as you defeat them to make each new encounter with them slightly different. It was a nice surprise that keeps the combat interesting.
I love the game's effort to reduce the repetition of its gameplay but this is where the issue I have with the story comes into play. Since the game is designed for you to escape Hell, it is only when you are able to escape will the story progress and eventually you will have to restart from the very beginning and escape Hell again to hit the next story arc. After I succeeded at my first escape from Hell, it was only then I realized "Oh...I am going to have to do this a lot" in order to progress the story. Given this is my first roguelite experience, I was not fully aware of how many times I needed to successfully escape from Hell (especially since I died over 70 times to get to this point in my campaign!).
Graphics & Audio
Hades is a beautiful game. There is an excellent amount of detail in this world from the characters themselves to the four vastly different levels of Hell you will progress through many, many times. The voice acting is top notch and adds another layer to an already details cast of characters you will come across.
Verdict
Hades has some great things going for it: a surprisingly great story in a world that has been used many times over, fun and challenging combat that is perfectly balanced, and great characters backed by top notch voice acting. If you can over the fact that you need to successfully escape Hell multiple times before you can finally escape Hell, then this is a game for you. If you cannot then Hades is still a great game but with a story that, while engaging, can be a little long winded.
Score: 8/10