Hades
2020 · Supergiant Games · 22h to beat · our rating 93
Has it aged?Why ↓
Every failed escape gives you a new conversation with your awful family. Twenty minutes a run, and you will absolutely say one more.
Defy the god of the dead as you hack and slash out of the Underworld in this rogue-like dungeon crawler from the creators of Bastion, Transistor, and Pyre.
The publisher’s description, from its Steam store page.
What it looks like
the trailer, then the store's own shots
The verdict
The game that solved the roguelike's oldest problem: losing usually wastes your time, and here it advances the plot. Dying returns you to a house full of people with new things to say, so the story only exists because you keep failing. Add combat this sharp and it is close to perfect.
93our score
Play it if
Anyone with twenty minutes rather than an evening, and anyone who normally bounces off roguelikes because the repetition feels empty.
Skip it if
Anyone who wants a story that ends cleanly the first time they finish it — the real ending takes many more runs after the credits.
Common questions
- How long is a run in Hades?
- Twenty to forty minutes. It is unusually well suited to playing in single sittings.
- Do I need to be good at action games?
- No. God Mode grants a permanent, stacking damage reduction that grows each time you die, and it is not treated as cheating.
- Should I play Hades or Hades II?
- Start with the first. It is finished, cheap, and the sequel assumes you know these characters.
What everyone else said
we link, we don't reprint- Rock Paper Shotgun
Supergiant's action roguelike was already a game of the year contender when it first came out in early access two years ago. It definitely is now.
Jay Castello
- Eurogamer5/5
Christian Donlan
Has it aged?
How does it hold up today? Based on recent reviews, how opinions have changed since launch, player activity and updates.
% positive each month, last 4 years.
Reviews via Steam ↗Peak: 20k in Oct 2020.
Player counts via SteamCharts ↗A little less liked than at launch, but still well liked.
No update in the last year.