Hades – Escape from the Underworld

I did not plan to get into this game at first and was initially surprised that it won Best Action over DOOM Eternal at the 2020 Game Awards, but overtime I decided to learn more about it.

This game eventually got my attention with the main focus on Greek mythology and the use of so many iconic Gods present.

Zagreus the Prince of the Underworld is tired of his father’s (who is the titular character) control and confinement so he attempts to escape the Underworld to the surface and gains the support of other Gods in the journey.

The story unfolds more and more each time Zag tries to run away. He grew up seeing Nyx, the Mother Night as his own mother. But then he soon learns that his real mother, Persephone had abandoned the Underworld long ago and Hades refuses to speak of her.

Even when I successfully made it to the surface, completing my escape, there was still more to the story yet to unfold but I think I have enough material now to write something decent here.

As for gameplay, this is my first roguelite, which is a subgenre of rogue-like. Unlike the latter, death isn’t permanent, but with each death, certain aspects of progression tend to carry over, allowing me to make it closer to full victory. So when I die I may have to start at the beginning and lose all of my abilities but at least I still can use the mirror for anything permanent. So I went into this game knowing that this was going to happen but I was even more pleased when I learned it wasn’t total permadeath.

I get abilities from the Gods at each chamber or things like coins to spend, max health increase, and it seemed I had to learn everything on my own for this game which is generally common with genres like these.

There is also a God Mode which enables an increase in damage resistance of up to 80%. In a way, it makes the game more accessible for those who don’t want to struggle constantly and just want to progress the story, like me!

I really love the characters in this game. each of them have a bit of unique charisma to offer, so that’s why it doesn’t feel so frustrating to return to the House of Hades after dying. Then I get to chat with everyone before I attempt to run away again.

I like Zagreus in this game, he’s pretty chill and determined to learn more about his family and even though he is desperate to reach the surface, he makes a lot of friends back in the Underworld.

I can also give nectar to NPCs to build closer relationships with them and this game has a lot of replayability so when I return to it someday I would like to explore that further. Apparently there’s romance options as well, one of them being Megaera who is one of the first bosses I fought along with her sisters.

So who are my favorites? Well I like Nyx for always having faith in Zagreus, Dusa for being insanely adorable, and Skelly for being chatty when I don’t smack him around. I also would pet Cerberus every time I saw him.

As for the other Gods in terms boons and personality I will have to go with Athena, Ares (kind of disappointed he’s not wearing a Spartan helmet in this game though), Zeus, Demeter, and Dionysus. In my successful escape attempt, I took as many boons as possible.

I really wanted to like Aphrodite’s boons but they never cut it for me.

The best parts of the game for me is when I finally started to make some progress toward reaching the surface because many times I felt like I was stuck in the same loop until I had enough darkness to get further. The bosses would remember me every time, I always found Theseus and the Minotaur annoying, though the latter seemed to block every attack. I remember getting slaughtered by Meg so many times until I found a way to beat her, and then her sisters started to appear. One time I faced her nearly nonverbal sister Tisiphone at least four times and the fourth time I faced her in what was probably attempt 40 or more, was when I finally defeated Lord Hades.

I was so happy when Zagreus reunited with his real mother and now I see where he got his hair from! It made me sad that he couldn’t stay forever because he’s still bound to the Underworld and is eager to return once again to learn more from Persephone. So once you make it to the surface once, after that it’s just an endless cycle of continuing to escape again and again to learn more of the story.

All I can say about Hades himself is that he’s determined to control his son no matter what. When Zagreus returned to the Underworld via the Styx after spending time with his mother, the first thing I made him do was talk to Hades and they had some falling out where Zag ended the conversation by saying.

I know how we can discuss this then.

Which means I’ll have to keep defeating him to see Persephone again. Well, remember Zagreus, Hades may be your father, but he’s not your daddy.

There’s still so much to do in this game, I know that, and I will return to this game at some point because I would love to learn more about the characters and build some closer relationships with them.

All in all it’s a great game and I’m glad that for a roguelite that it can still be easily played by anyone who wants to check it out but have an easier time. There’s a sequel in the works, and I can’t wait to check that out too.