Hades II First Impressions Review: A captivating, bewitching sequel
Hades II is finally out, and if you're anything like me, you waited until its 1.0 release to finally begin your foray into this highly anticipated sequel. I couldn't bear the thought of being left on a cliffhanger during development!
So, 1.0 has finally arrived, and with it brings a new story, with a whole new system added on top of the old one from its critically acclaimed predecessor. This article dives into the old, the new, and how the gameplay feels compared to the original.
Minor spoiler warnings ahead, images and minor spoilers ahead for the plot. We won't talk about minibosses, or even the first area boss, but gameplay mechanics will be discussed and what our protagonist Melinoë hopes to accomplish in this story. We'll also cover some NPCs appearing in the main area of the game.
Story
The story of Hades II is fairly straight forward, the Titan Chronos has escaped his prison in Tartarus, imprisoning Melinoë's family in the process of taking over the House of Hades. Melinoë, the little sister of Zagreus, is the protagonist the player controls this time around, controlling fairly similarly with new weapons of the Night, rather than Infernal Arms. Her mentor, Hecate, has been with her for a good chunk of her upbringing, training her to one day defeat Chronos. The story itself has many witchcraft themes, in addition to gameplay elements mirroring this, which we'll discuss in a moment
As a result of Chronos taking over the Underworld, its denizens have fled to the surface, hiding in an inbetween area called the Crossroads, located between the Surface and the Underworld. Melinoë's journey is the exact opposite of Zagreus's from the previous game, she must go to the depths of Tartarus and reach the House of Hades to stop Chronos and his war he's waging against Olympus itself. Many of Hades' previous characters seem to be absent in this sequel, at least from my first few hours into playing.
Gameplay
The overall system and mechanics of Hades II are largely the same but better, many of the same elements are present from the previous game - Pom of Power, Daedalic Hammer, Centaur Heart, etc. This time however, you gather more materials, particularly those revolved around things such as the Cauldron, which allow you to do things such as Alchemy and Incantations.
The combat mechanics are deeper in the sequel as well, with Ω versions of your Cast, Attack, and Special this time, used by consuming your new Mana bar, which give more powerful variants. In addition, your weapons are no longer Infernal Arms, but rather Nocturnal Arms, unlocked through an area called the Silver Pool. In addition, the Mirror of Night is replaced by a different system called Arcana, where you unlock various cards to help you on your journey (very similar to tarot cards).
Final Overview and Opinions
It's overall still a challenge getting through the Underworld in Hades II, I only just barely defeated the boss on my last attempt while gathering the images you see in this article. Thus far, veterans will likely not have much of a hard time getting into this sequel, and newcomers will still be able to enjoy Hades II, complete with all of its content in this 1.0 release.
The story and gameplay overall are just as if not more engrossing in this sequel, if you loved Hades, there's not a lot to hate about Hades II, I fear the material gathering may get tedious as the game continues, but thus far its serving the story and gameplay well. I'll leave with you these words as I get back into playing this wonderful sequel: Death to Chronos.
Source(s)
Sasha Mathews - Notebookcheck
