In the midst of a hellish year, Supergiant Games released the action-packed, roguelike game that took the gaming community by storm. HADES, as it was aptly named, is a badass roguelike dungeon crawl revolving around Zagreus, who is attempting to escape the underworld and in turn, the clutches of his father, Hades: the king of said underworld. And oh man, Supergiant Games released not only a succinct, tantalizing game, but they also released a new standard for roguelike games in their entirety and game development companies for the modern era. With a 93 from Metacritic reviews and even winning game of the year award from IGN along with various other medals, HADES is a game not only worthy of its high praise but even more so. HADES is one of the few games that has arguably changed the tide and methodology of its genre for forever; even gamers would be hard pressed to explain how other games like The Last of Us II or Cyberpunk 2077 changed their genre. Let's delve into it, shall we? The Enjoyment FactorOn pure enjoyment alone, HADES smashes it out of the park with a crisp 9.8/10 from yours truly. The controls are instinctive leaving little need for explanation, and it's incredibly satisfying not only to move, but to slash through your enemies. Combined with the various godly boons Zagreus' Olympian cousins grant him from time to time, and there is a lot of room for plenty of interesting combinations that are intensely satisfying all the same. But it's not just the controls. The aesthetics are tied together; the devs behind HADES definitely discussed intensely on what the game should look like. Their united front created a beautiful, succinct game with gorgeous stylized graphics and details. Zagreus is a handsome sculpted man, but the Olympians (along with the other NPCs) have their own sense of aesthetic that tie the cast together well. There is an immense sense of style that other games would be hard pressed to beat. It's dark, it's sexy, and it's utterly badass. Not just the visuals, either; the voice acting within HADES is superb. From new voice actors to seasoned developers that have joined the scene, the voices behind each and every NPC is ASMR-level-worthy. From Zagreus' soft but rugged British voice to Meg's quietly tough tone (that ensures you, the player, will not leave her unscathed) are two great examples that would pull any curious player into purchasing the game. And the music. Oh my god, the music. The controls and player interactions are intensely satisfying, the combat as gratifying as a smooth scoop of peanut butter, but the music of HADES takes it to another level. The intense rock melting in with the slash of swords and flash of fire filling your ears brings an immense sense of satisfaction that can be found nowhere else. HADES does everything within its game well, if not perfectly. And it shows. The StoryThe story is simple. Zagreus is the son of Hades and he wishes to escape the underworld. With help of his foster mother Nyx, his mentor Achilles, and his Olympian cousins he will try and try again to escape the underworld and join his cousins on Mt. Olympus. However, as with all Greek tales, the story can branch out in many complex, intricate ways. There are various hidden side quests that arrive with developing the friendship of each and every NPC. A lot of these side quests also heavily reference the original Greek tales, which of course HADES takes inspiration from. For example, take Zagreus' mentor, Achilles; the two have a very amicable relationship, but there is a length of sadness around his mentor. When taking into account Achilles' canonical origin, the quest to find Achilles' former companion (and arguably lover) Patroclus and unite the two blossoms with an underlying sense of intricacy and depth. The narrative is definitely targeted towards anyone with an even basic understanding of Greek mythology; essentially, Western audiences, especially American players where Greek history and politics is interwoven with their society. For the commonly found Greek mythos nerds, HADES utilization of the canonical Greek myths with the plot of the game is expertly done and only causes hidden enjoyment to be found. The GameplayHADES is a roguelike game, where death (and respawning) is one of the main mechanics. To those new to the roguelike scene, this may be incredibly frustrating, but to the surprise of these newbies there are actually benefits to dying. Firstly, once you enter the dungeons (or the layers of the Underworld), you cannot return to the respawn point. You must traverse through the floors of the Underworld as much as you possibly can before dying and returning once more. The respawn point instantly heals Zagreus to full, and gives him access to multiple boons (such as constructing new structures that could help Zagreus later in the dungeons) and allow him a chance to interact with new NPCs, and so on. If the player desires, they can also swap out their weapon and upgrade their passive boons. However, by dying, the player loses the godly boons granted by the various Olympians and your progress to a certain extent. Luckily, if you've unlocked say the second floor of the underworld, you don't have to run through the first floor to get there. However, if you died while halfway through the second floor... looks like you'll have to start from the beginning. Dungeoneering is also not without faults either; there is little break between combat, each and every enemy increases with challenge, and healing potions are few and far in between. It's challenging, frustrating at times, 100% nonlinear with plenty of backtracking, but it makes it all the more satisfying when you defeat the boss of that floor and are allowed to progress. The Interface and Accessibility (for lack of better words)HADES' UI is just as stylish as the rest of it and just as accessible as about every other game in the market. However, there is one minor complaint... There is little to no tutorial. There are only the basics, such as how to move and how to attack, but the finer details such as the meanings behind various items (what's ambrosia? What's Titan's Blood? what are the healing items called?) and upgrades are lost to the player. When I was prompted by the shades to construct various structures, I initially had no idea what the currency was, what the costs were, and why they were important. I still have no idea what they were or what they were called. I had to gander the names of resources from various NPCs, making it a very inefficient system. (I still have no idea what the Shade Resources are for. Sue me.) In Conclusion...HADES deserved to win Game of the Year at the 2020 Game Awards, arguably so. Not only did Supergiant Games create a product that would forever change the standards roguelike games would be created too, but it did so without upholding the hellish standards of crunch culture most game development companies worship. The workers behind Supergiant Games were forced to take vacations and still churned out a beautiful, succinct and devilishly badass product. In comparison to the Last of Us II, which was created under devastating crunch culture, there is no question which game deserved to set a precedent on how games would be made from the 21st century onward.
I would give HADES a crisp five out of five stars, no doubt. Citations...
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorHey, Jay Phung here. This is my blog where I reflect on various assignments from Game Design! Please enjoy your stay (´・ω・`). Archives
May 2021
Categories
All
|