Look, it’s 2am and I just finished another failed run at Chronos, so let me tell you about Hades 2 while the frustration is still fresh. Running this on my RTX 4060 with an i7-12700 and 16GB RAM, maxed out settings at 1440p. Game version as of this review is the Early Access build from late May 2024, about three weeks post-launch. Installed size is roughly 12.8GB, which honestly surprised me given how gorgeous this thing looks. I’ve sunk about 25-30 hours into this over the past two weeks—yeah, I know, “casual gamer” my ass, but Supergiant’s crack cocaine gameplay loop got me again. Playing mostly late nights after work, which means my decision-making gets progressively worse after midnight, but that’s kind of perfect for a roguelike, right?
Performance Reality Check
First things first: this game runs like butter. Locked 144fps on my setup with literally everything maxed. No stuttering, no frame drops, even when the screen is absolutely flooded with enemy projectiles and spell effects in Oceanus. Loading times between regions? Maybe 2-3 seconds tops. From desktop to main menu takes about 8 seconds. The game is insanely well-improved, which honestly shouldn’t surprise anyone who played the first Hades.
But here’s where things get weird. Around hour 15, I encountered this bizarre bug in the Rift of Thessaly where Melinoë just… stopped responding to directional inputs. Like, I could still cast spells and dash, but couldn’t move normally. Had to alt-F4 out and restart. Lost a really good run with stacked Apollo boons too, which still stings. Haven’t been able to reproduce it, so I’m chalking it up to Early Access jank. Reported it on their Discord, no response yet.
Also hit a visual glitch twice where Hecate’s boss fight arena textures just didn’t load properly—everything was this weird flat purple color. Game ran fine, just looked wrong. Restarting fixed it both times. Again, Early Access, so I’m not holding it against them too hard, but it’s worth mentioning.
The one consistent performance thing I’ve noticed: if you’re alt-tabbing frequently (which I do because I’m checking build guides and wiki pages constantly), the game sometimes takes 4-5 seconds to refocus. Not game-breaking, but mildly annoying when you’re trying to quickly check something between regions.
Gameplay Breakdown
Okay, so if you played Hades 1, you know the drill: isometric hack-and-slash roguelike where you die, get stronger, die again, repeat until you either win or go insane. Hades 2 keeps that core loop but adds a bunch of witchcraft-themed systems that honestly change the feel significantly.
You’re playing Melinoë this time, Zagreus’ sister, and she’s a completely different beast. Where Zag was all about getting in close and facetanking damage, Melinoë feels squishier but way more versatile. The starting weapons have more range, and her magic system (called Magick, with a ‘k’ because witches) gives you these special abilities that consume a resource called Magick instead of just being cooldown-based.
The big addition is the Crossroads hub area, which is way more involved than the House of Hades was. You’ve got this whole gathering and crafting system where you collect resources during runs—silver, ash, nightshade, all this stuff—and use them to brew incantations back at base. These incantations unlock new gameplay features, NPC interactions, and most importantly, the Surface path.
Speaking of which: the dual-path system is genius and frustrating in equal measure. You’ve got the Underworld route (down) which is the “main” path toward Chronos, and the Surface route (up) which requires you to unlock it first via crafting, then survive without your normal underworld protections. The Surface feels genuinely different—City of Ephyra has this objective-based gameplay where you’re destroying pylons instead of just clearing rooms, and it threw me off hard the first few times.
Combat itself is faster than Hades 1. Enemies are more aggressive, projectiles are faster, and you’ve got less health to work with. But the dash feels more responsive, and the new Omega attacks (charged power moves for each weapon) add this nice risk-reward layer. I’m maining the Sister Blades right now—dual daggers that let you zip around—and landing a fully charged Omega strike into a crowd of enemies while perfectly dodging their attacks feels chef’s kiss.
What Works, What Doesn’t
Let’s start with what absolutely slaps: the art and voice acting. Supergiant’s art direction has always been incredible, but Hades 2 is on another level. Every environment is dripping with atmosphere. Erebus is this haunting twilight forest, Oceanus is industrial nightmare fuel with all these pipes and steam vents, and the Rift of Thessaly—fighting on ancient Greek warships while the ocean rages around you—is just spectacular. The character portraits are gorgeously detailed, and the animation work is buttery smooth.
The voice cast is also phenomenal. Every character feels alive and distinct. Hecate sounds like the stern-but-caring mentor she is, Nemesis has this competitive edge that makes every interaction tense in a good way, and Odysseus sounds appropriately tired of everyone’s mythological bullshit. The banter system is back and better—characters remember previous conversations, reference your recent deaths, and develop over time.
Now for what doesn’t work: the gathering system feels half-baked right now. You need to collect resources like lotus, moss, and moly during runs, but they’re scattered randomly and there’s no real indicator of where they are. I’ve had runs where I desperately needed nightshade for an incantation and spent 20 minutes combing through Erebus finding maybe two plants. It’s tedious, especially when you just want to focus on combat.
The crafting UI is also kind of a mess. The incantation list isn’t sorted in any intuitive way—not alphabetical, not by resource requirement, not by unlock order. You’re just scrolling through this long list trying to remember what you needed to craft next. There’s a filter, but it’s not granular enough. This feels like an easy fix for the full release, but right now it’s annoying.
What definitely works: the boss fights. Holy hell, these are good. Hecate as the first boss is this perfect skill check—she forces you to learn positioning and dodging without being unfair. The Scylla fight in Oceanus is chaotic in the best way, with her singing causing different environmental hazards. And Eris up in the Rift? That fight is genuinely hard. She has this strife mechanic where she debuffs you in multiple ways simultaneously, and you have to adapt on the fly.
But here’s a complaint: the difficulty scaling feels weird. The jump from Erebus to Oceanus is reasonable. But the jump from Oceanus to Mourning Fields (third biome) is brutal. Enemies there hit like trucks and have way more health. I hit this wall around hour 12 where I just could not get past the Mourning Fields boss consistently. Had to go grind out more incantations and permanent upgrades before it felt fair.
What also works: the boon system is expanded beautifully. You’ve got all the Olympians returning with new boons plus new gods like Apollo (who’s amazing—his light-based abilities are my favorite) and Hestia (defensive buffs and healing). The boon synergies feel deeper this time. I discovered this absurd combo with Apollo’s chain lightning effect and Hephaestus’ exploding armor that just deleted entire rooms. Spent the next five runs trying to recreate it.
What doesn’t: the Surface path feels undercooked compared to the Underworld path. There are only two Surface regions right now (Ephyra and Rift of Thessaly) versus four Underworld regions. The Surface also has fewer enemy types and less environmental variety. It feels like it was added late in development and needs more content. Given this is Early Access, I’m expecting them to flesh it out, but right now it feels incomplete.
The weapon variety is good but not great. Six weapons at launch (Sister Blades, Moonstone Axe, Umbral Flames, Argent Skull, Witch’s Staff, and the Nocturnal Arms which is the randomizer). Each has four aspects that change how they play. But compared to Hades 1’s variety, it feels slightly thinner. The Staff in particular feels weak—it’s supposed to be the “safe” ranged option, but the damage output is so low that runs with it take forever.
Monetization Transparency
Here’s the easy part: there is none. Hades 2 is a straight $29.99 premium purchase. No microtransactions. No battle pass. No cosmetic shop. No “convenience” purchases. You buy the game, you get the whole game. Supergiant doesn’t do that predatory monetization nonsense, and it’s genuinely refreshing in 2024.
All future updates during Early Access and post-launch are free. When the full 1.0 version drops (estimated September 2025), you’re not paying extra. If they add DLC later, it’ll be a separate, clearly-marked expansion, not some drip-fed content designed to extract maximum wallet damage.
The value proposition at $29.99 is honestly incredible. I’ve already got 25-30 hours in Early Access, and I’m maybe 40% through the content? Full release is supposed to add more regions, more weapons, more narrative content, and a complete ending. Comparing this to other roguelikes: Dead Cells is $24.99, Binding of Isaac is $36.99 with all DLC, Risk of Rain 2 is $29.99. Hades 2 is priced competitively and offers more content than most.
The Early Access model here is genuinely consumer-friendly. You’re buying in cheaper than the eventual full price will likely be, you get to experience the development process, and Supergiant has a proven track record (Hades 1 had an excellent Early Access period). There’s no FOMO mechanics, no limited-time events pressuring you to play, no daily login rewards manipulating your behavior. You play when you want, progress at your own pace, and that’s it.
If you’re someone who hates incomplete games, wait for 1.0. But if you’re okay with Early Access and want to support a studio that actually respects its players, $29.99 is a no-brainer.
Versus The Competition
The obvious comparison is Hades 1. And look, Hades 2 is mechanically superior in almost every way. Combat is tighter, there’s more build variety, the dual-path system adds replayability, and the presentation is even better. But Hades 1 had a complete, perfectly paced narrative, and right now Hades 2’s story is incomplete. That’s the Early Access trade-off. Once 1.0 hits, I suspect Hades 2 will be the definitive better game, but right now they’re tied for different reasons.
Against other roguelikes? Dead Cells has better moment-to-moment combat fluidity and more weapons, but way less narrative depth. Binding of Isaac has absurd build variety and replay value, but looks like garbage and has a learning curve like a brick wall. Risk of Rain 2 has better multiplayer, but the solo experience isn’t as polished.
Where Hades 2 excels is the complete package. It’s got Dead Cells’ satisfying combat, Binding of Isaac’s build variety (almost), and wraps it in this gorgeous presentation with actual characters you care about. The voice acting alone puts it in a different league. No other roguelike has this level of narrative integration where the story actually motivates you to keep playing beyond just “number go up.”
The closest competitor is probably Returnal if we’re including bigger-budget games, but that’s PlayStation exclusive and way more punishing. Hades 2 is more accessible while still having depth.
FAQ + Final Thoughts
Q: Can my potato PC run this?
If you ran Hades 1, you’ll run this fine—same engine, similar requirements. I’m getting 144fps maxed on a 4060, so even a 1660 or 2060 should hit 60fps easily at 1080p. The game scales down well; I tested on low settings for science and still got 200+ fps.
Q: Should I wait for the full release or buy now?
Depends if you’re cool with an incomplete story and potential bugs. I’ve hit maybe three bugs in 30 hours, nothing game-breaking except that one input glitch. If you want the complete experience, wait for September 2025, but you’re missing out on 40+ hours of excellent gameplay right now.
Q: How’s the endgame/replayability?
There’s a fear system (like Heat in Hades 1) that adds difficulty modifiers for experienced players, and I’m still unlocking weapons and aspects at hour 30. The dual paths mean you’re neededly playing two games, and I haven’t even maxed out relationships with half the cast yet. You’ll get your money’s worth easily.
Q: Is it better than the first game?
Mechanically yes, narratively incomplete. Ask me again when 1.0 drops, but right now it’s at least equal to Hades 1, which is insane for an Early Access game.
Final verdict: Hades 2 is exceptional even in its unfinished state—buy it if you like roguelikes at all, just know the story doesn’t have an ending yet.
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