Hades 2 Early Access Preview

Summary Hades 2 introduces a new protagonist, Melinoë, with unique gameplay and story, setting it apart from the original Zagreus-led Hades.

The game remains familiar with UI, art style, and mechanics of Hades, but also focuses on roguelike progression and Magick systems, promising fresh experiences.

Hades 2 offers a wealth of content and polish in its early access release, setting the stage for a likely successful full release.

Hades 2 is developer Supergiant Games' follow-up to 2020's influential and adored roguelike Hades, and to say that expectations are high would be something of an understatement. It's hard to look at a successful roguelike in the wake of Hades and not find some of its fingerprints somewhere in the game's approach, whether it's careful attention paid to world design or an upgrade system that's adjacent to Boons from the the gods of Olympus. Character design, soundtrack, deep mechanics, customizable runs - the original Hades had it all and then some, and still features as a genre touchstone for innovation.

It's encouraging, then, that after dozens of hours with Hades 2, the game doesn't seem like its bogged down in its predecessor's identity. Zagreus is missing, replaced by Melinoë, a Goddess born to Hades and Persephone and the little sister of the previous game's protagonist. She immediately establishes her own identity both in her attitude - a bit less cheeky and a bit more nonchalant than Zagreus, to begin with - and her gameplay, which features magic, witchcraft, incantations, and more. While the core systems and designs remain the same, everything else is fresh and exciting, and Hades 2 has the potential to exceed Hades when all is said and done.

Related Hades 2: Everything We Know About Melinoë So Far Hades 2 has a new protagonist, Melinoë, the Goddess of Nightmares and Ghosts, but who is she in the game and why does she want to kill Cronos?

The Same Old Song & Dance - But New & Exciting, Too?

Hades 2 Thrives In Its Similarities To Hades

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The immediate takeaway from playing any amount of Hades 2 is that it's incredibly familiar for anyone who has played Hades. The UI remains the same, for the most part, save some nice new touches and a bit more polish, and the art style, environmental design, movement, and basic mechanics are all almost one-for-one ports over from Hades. That might be an issue for some, but given the overall quality of the build of Hades, starting from that baseline as a foundation for Hades 2 makes perfect sense. Why change something that works when Supergiant Games can just pile on new, exciting things to keep it fresh?

The basics of Hades 2 is the same roguelike progression system that made Hades so addictive. Melinoë begins each run by selecting the Boon of a god, having a conversation with them to develop their relationship a little and provide context for the game's story, and also selects a weapon prior to this meeting that will define the adventure this time around. So far the weapons in Hades 2 are both exciting to use and a little underwhelming when compared to the past game's array - the impact of some of these, in particular the more witch-based items, don't feel quite different or captivating enough when compared to some of Zagreus' arsenal.

But that's something tweaks during the Early Access period will undoubtedly fix, and while not all the weapons make a compelling case to deep dive them on a slew of runs, none of them are anything short of entertaining, either. Melinoë also has distinctive access to Magick, which allows her to manipulate the battlefield through various means. Omega attacks use the game's mana resource to provide different effects, and holding down the Omega attack button results in a charge that can alter its use a little or just make it stronger. Omega attacks are flashy, fun, and can save runs for the low cost of some of Melinoë's limited amount of mana.

Hades 2 isn't stingy on Magick, though. Every room refills the mana bar and encourages players to experiment again with how they can best manage that particular resource in the context of a fight to the death with several mobs shooting purple glowing orbs at Melinoë. On top of this, several builds encourage players to really lean into Magick, amping up Melinoë's regeneration of the resource even more or providing alterations to how Omega attacks affect enemies hit by them.

Hades 2 combat is a mix of familiar and fresh that manages to recapture that "one more run" mentality that was so crucial to the success of Hades. While it might feel like it hasn't changed at first glance, the weapons and Magick systems add more than enough to justify a journey back into the dungeons of another Supergiant Games' masterclass. With even more content set to come before the Hades 2 1.0 release, that depth of gameplay will only deepen. Here's just a few options in combat that have stood out:

Using the charged attack from the Sister Blades to teleport between enemies near environmental damage triggers, starting the damage before leaping away to the next target

Accidentally stumbling onto a ranged build for the Sister Blades that helped make mob-clearing easier

Aggressively taking Magick pool upgrades to have access to some unbelievably powerful alternate attacks from Selune

That's just scratching the surface of what feels possible in Hades 2 - and in early access, that means there will be even more to come with greater refinement as we get closer to the Hades 2 1.0 release.

Superior World Design & In-Between Run Shenanigans

Hades 2 Shines Brightest In Its Character Interactions & Upgrade Systems

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Hades 2 is really about Melinoë's journey to find the family she never really knew, having been separated from Hades, Persephone, and Zagreus before she could even remember what they were like. In their place is Hecate, the Witch of the Crossroads and a powerful tutor who, alongside Odysseus and others, has trained Melinoë to help aid her as she tries to find out what happened to her family - and also save Olympus while she's at it, as there's a new threat, Chronos, the Titan of Time.

If nothing else, Hades 2 is simply fun.

To the surprise of no one who played the first game, Hades 2 succeeds at deftly and slowly providing more details about its conflicts, its cast, and their concerns. Melinoë is a star both in aesthetic and personality, and Hecate is far more likeable than Hades was as Zagreus' foil, which makes the dynamic have a very different vibe overall. While there's still mysteries abound and I haven't had a chance to push the content to its absolute limit yet, I feel confident in saying that Hades 2 is everything players loved about the first's story but with lessons learned by Supergiant Games in making them more gripping from the onset.

And that's to say nothing of the game's upgrade systems, which are now far more interesting than the original game's. There are still "renovations" that can be made to the home base, but these are done largely through Incantations, which require ingredients to perform. Resources now appear on the ground in dungeons but can only be harvested by the right tools, which can be unlocked at the home base and then equipped - one per run. This makes finding the right elements of a recipe just as important, sometimes, as clearing a section of a Hades 2 progression run.

What a delight these systems are, too. There's something special here in Melinoë, the young witch's apprentice and daughter of Hades, going around what is essentially a hellish garden collecting flowers so that she can build a hot spring. The more serious moments of the game's relationships, whether it be Melinoë with another character or multiple cast members interacting once she's returned from an unsuccessful run, also strike a chord. Anyone worried that Hades 2 characters wouldn't measure up to Hades' loveable band of misfits needn't be anxious - they're every bit the great group that their previous counterparts were.

Hades 2 Is Basically A Full Game Already

With Story Hooks And Unexplained Mysteries That Make Returning Easy

Hades 2 has a nearly unbelievable amount of content and polish for a game that just released into early access this month. It's basically a full game already with a narrative that's compelling enough to make returning once Supergiant Games adds more an easy sell. It's incredible to me just how great Hades 2 already is and just how much potential it still has - when it's full release is closer, we may just look back on it as one of the most successful early access games of all time, like Baldur's Gate 3 before it.

If nothing else, Hades 2 is simply fun. Just as much fun as Hades, in fact, though there's a case for Hades 2 to be an improvement. It's a game well worth checking out in its current form and makes it seem all but assured that its full release will make waves once it's launched, whenever that may be.