Open a door, then back here again, open a door, then back here again. It's as if we're caught in some infernal loop. Thankfully we get to talk to you, our attractive friends, in the moments between.
OK, ready to go again. Let's open the door.
]]>Praise the gods, it's Hades 2 update day, and developers Supergiant are not mucking about. They have bolstered the nippy roguelike with a heap of shiny new things in this "Olympian Update", including a new weapon with homing attacks, a liver-pecking boss fight, two new animal familiars, and the home region of the Gods - mount Olympus. It's probably the biggest update they've made yet in terms of fresh sights. And by "fresh sights", I mean Dionysus sporting a leopard-print thong. Yikes.
]]>We've all seen it. The little spinning symbol cautioning players against impatient acts of powering down. "Don't turn off your system when this symbol is displayed," goes the message seen often while booting up a game (or some other version of these words). The implication is clear. The saving process is delicate and if you interrupt this invisible ritual the data that's being written to some folder deep in your PC's innards will become corrupted, wrecked, banjaxed. You will lose all your progress, all your precious swords and accomplishments.
But is this true? How likely are you to really suffer a catastrophic loss of shotgun shells? To find out, I decided to spend a very annoying afternoon of turning my gaming rig off and on again during multiple games. Was this a good idea? I don't know. I'm a gamer, not an ideas man.
]]>Hades 2's third early access patch is of the gargantuan variety. It improves Olympian Boons, adds lots of new UI icons, reworking Keepsakes, and basically touches every aspect of the game you could possibly think of. One thing it doesn't change is how sexy the gods are, but because they're so sexy anyway, I don't think that's an issue moving forwards.
]]>Chaos and comedy. Death and rebirth. Luck and, uh, running out of luck. A good roguelike doesn't treat the player like other games do. Roguelikes won't guide you helpfully along a path, or let you cinematically snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. They're more likely to dangle you deep between the jaws of defeat and fumble the rope until you go sliding down defeat's hungry gullet. This is their beauty, and it's a part of why we keep coming back for another go. Next time everything will go right. Next time you'll find the right pair of poison-proof loafers, the perfect co-pilot for your spaceship, a stash of stronger, better ropes. Next time.
Here's our list of the 19 best roguelikes on PC you can play in 2024.
]]>Witchy roguelike Hades 2 got a fresh update yesterday that sees a bunch of weapons getting stompier, thumpier, and, yes, whompier. It's like the hammer of Hephaestus himself was put to work on the entire armory. The Moonstone Axe's heavier attacks now channel faster, for one thing, which could make the most sluggish of the weapons a little more viable. I haven't had a go at the re-jigged bashing yet myself but I trust from these patch notes it will be subtly noticeable.
]]>As you might’ve heard, Hades 2 is out in early access, offering up the much-anticipated sequel to Supergiant’s mythical (and delightfully thirsty) roguelite. Though the sheer amount of polish and Stuff in even its pre-release form might have you thinking that a full 1.0 release can’t be too far down the line, the game’s creative director reckons we’ve still got around a year to wait before it’s considered all finished up.
]]>Hell-wandering roguelike Hades 2 has received its first proper patch, and it does everything the developers said it would. You now sprint faster and, significantly, you can gather more than one type of crafting resource per run (as long you've unlocked the tool that lets you gather that resource). This means Melinoë can now go fishing, dig up seeds, mine silver, and gain the trust of errant shades, all in a single night's work. There is a catch though.
]]>Greek god pulverizing simulator Hades 2 is getting its first patch "later this month", say the developers. Two things are on their to-tweak list. First, something might change about the way resource gathering tools are used (the pickaxe you use to mine silver during a run, for example). Second, and perhaps more significant, is an upcoming change to the way Melinoë's dash and sprint work. We don't know exactly what that change is but, according to Supergiant, it has something to do with your witchy batterer's "distinct style".
]]>Looking for Hades 2 romance options? Like its predecessor, Hades 2 offers romance for those who wish to have a reprieve from the Underworld and its legions of enemies.
Whilst the game is in early access there is no overt romance, but there are specific characters whom you can pass the time with and unlock unique dialogue with. We've listed these below along with the gifts they like and the Incantations you can unlock to improve your romantic relationships in Hades 2.
]]>Looking for Moon Dust in Hades 2? Moon Dust is a rare Reagent in Hades 2, needed for Insight. Insight is essentially the system in which you can upgrade Arcana Cards and make their active effects more powerful.
As such, it is a somewhat later-game feature but one of vital importance if you want to advance towards the final boss of Hades 2. See below for all methods of getting Moon Dust in the game.
]]>Looking for Bath Salts in Hades 2? Bath Salts are essential for using the Crossroads Hot Springs, an area of the Crossroads that allows you to sit and bathe with a character of your choice for a while, and get to know them a little better. Hades 2 isn't just a roguelite, it's a story about characters and relationships. And what better way to learn about the backstory of Doom himself than by inviting him for a soak?
In this quick guide we'll walk you through how to get more Bath Salts for use at the Hot Springs in Hades 2.
]]>Looking for Animal Familiars in Hades 2? Animal Familiars in Hades 2 are adorable companions that you can take with you on your travels through Erebus and beyond.
These critters not only look cute but provide additional buffs and can help you gather Reagents. Below we'll tell you how to get Familiars in Hades 2 and what buffs each Familiar comes with.
]]>Looking for Hades 2 weapon Aspects? Weapon Aspects are needed to upgrade weapons in Hades 2. There are a few different Aspects to choose from for all five weapons in Hades 2, and they vary in recipe and buffs.
Below we've gathered a list of all Aspects for each weapon, how they rank and also listed how to initially unlock Aspects in your game.
]]>In the grand tradition established by one (1) prior release, Supergiant dropped Hades 2 over the weekend and we at the Electronic Wireless show podcast have all been playing and enjoying it bunches! So we wanted to talk about the game, why we're enjoying it, some of the new aspects over Hades the first, and just generally go 'Ooh, this game is fun, innit?'. Not a complex podcast this week.
]]>Wondering where to get G Rock in Hades 2? There are many recipes in Hades 2 that require different Reagents. G Rock is listed as a main ingredient to forge the fifth Hades 2 weapon, the Argent Skull.
Although the game doesn't tell you where to find G Rock, or Glassrock as it's properly known, we've listed the location for you below to save frustration.
]]>Wondering where to get Garlic in Hades 2? Garlic is one of many Reagents required to perform Incantations in Hades 2. Although the game doesn't explicitly tell you where to get Garlic, as you progress through the story you'll uncover Incantation recipes that require it.
In particular, you need Garlic to expand your garden and grow more plants. You also need Garlic to unlock the Crossroads Taverna, a place of respite where you can increase your romantic connections with the various NPC in Hades 2. Join us as we tell you where and how to get Garlic in the game.
]]>Looking to find a Lotus in Hades 2? Lotus is a specific Reagent in Hades 2 that is used in numerous Incantations. You'll need a supply of Lotuses if you want to unlock things like the Crossroads Hot Springs (which progresses romance with certain NPCs) and Animal Familiars like Frinos.
Join us as we go through the most important Lotus recipes and exactly where you can gather Lotuses in Hades 2 for yourself.
]]>Looking for Thalamus in Hades 2? Thalamus only has one important use so far in Hades 2, but it's still one of the most important resources in the game. That's because Thalamus is essential for making your way through the Surface realm.
Thalamus is one of the first really confusing crafting materials you'll come across, beccause you're unlikely to know where to get Thalamus when you first see it listed as an ingredient in your cauldron. In this quick guide, we'll reveal how to get Thalamus in Hades 2, and how exactly it can be used to progress the storyline and allow Melinoë to survive above the Surface.
]]>Looking for Bronze in Hades 2? Bronze is one of the most confusing early-game resources in Hades 2, because you unlock recipes that require it long before you unlock the ability to gather Bronze itself. Bronze can only be found on the Surface above the Underworld, and to get there you'll need to progress the story until you can dispel the wards barring you from the Surface.
In this guide, we'll walk you through everything you need in order to get Bronze in Hades 2. We'll go over how to reach the Surface, where to find Bronze, and how to stay on the Surface long enough to farm as much Bronze as you need.
]]>Looking for Shadow in Hades 2? As its name might suggest, Shadow is a nebulous resource in Hades 2, used only for the most potent incantations at your cauldron back in the Crossroads. Unlike most incantation materials, Shadow can't be found during your runs, but must be crafted by hand.
Follow this guide to learn how to get Shadow for the all-important Permeation Of Witching-Wards incantation in Hades 2, which will allow you to dispel the magical seal on the stairway leading up from your home in the Crossroads.
]]>Want to start fishing in Hades 2? You may on your runs have already seen fishing spots dotted about the Underworld in Hades 2. But if you try to interact with it, all you'll get is a "Tool Required" notification popup. In Hades 2, not only must you choose a weapon before each run, but you must also pick a Gathering Tool so you can gather specific resources when they appear. And of these tools, the hardest to get is the Fishing Rod.
In this guide, we'll show you how to unlock the Fishing Rod in Hades 2, including how to get all of the resources needed to access it. We'll also go over how to fish at any fishing spot.
]]>Looking for a list of all Hades 2 Keepsakes? Keepsakes in Hades 2 are little gifts you can get from various companions after giving them Nectar.
Other than a cosy reminder of your friendship with a Greek God, Keepsakes also provide handy buffs that should make your traversal into Erebus and beyond a little easier. Join us as list all Keepsakes in Hades 2, their unique buffs and highlight the best Keepsakes in Hades 2 to prioritise.
]]>Looking for a list of all Arcana Cards in Hades 2? Arcana Cards are a new mechanic to arrive with Hades 2 which allow Melinoe to apply certain buffs to her build. These Arcana Cards require Ashes to unlock and vary in rarity.
To apply more cards at once, you need to upgrade your Grasp meter with Psyche. Both of these resources can be gathered in Erebus from clearing locations or from the Wrecthed Broker's shop.
For a full list of all Arcana Cards available in Hades 2 as well as our recommendations for the best Arcana Cards in the game and ways to upgrade them, read on.
]]>Looking for the best Boons in Hades 2? Like its predecessor, Boons play a major role in Hades 2. They're essentially blessings from Gods that give you added perks in and out of combat and can mean life or death on a run in Erebus and beyond.
With returning faces as well as some new ones, each God in the Pantheon of Hades 2 offers unique Boons and specialities (or Curses). We'll go through these as well as the best Boons for each major God. If you're interested in seeing a full list of all Boons in the game we have that too.
]]>A bunch of us at RPS have been blattering our way through the underworld of Hades 2, which came out in early access yesterday. Naturally, our favourite gods and goddesses are emerging from our evenings of hacking and/or slashing. For me, Nemesis provides a lot of chuckles. Not because she's bright and jokey (she is frownier than a wet bulldog). But because she's determined to put the player in their place and to beat you at your own roguelike. Narratively, she fulfills a role similar to Meg in the first Hades, that of closest frenemy. But in gameplay terms, Nemesis won't stoop to something as trite as a boss battle. Oh no. She's out to mess with your build.
]]>Looking for a list of all Boon and door symbols in Hades 2? As you travel through Erebus in Hades 2, you'll be offered a choice of doors leading to different pathways. These doors will usually have a unique symbol which represents the level's reward.
If you're unfamiliar with Hades, these symbols can be confusing at first as you don't know which reward you're agreeing to. Below we've cultivated a full list of all door and Boon symbols in Hades 2, so you can make an informed choice when forging your path through Erebus.
]]>Looking for Hades 2 top tips for beginners? Hades 2 can be a bit of a minefield, especially if you haven't played the first Hades or are unfamiliar with rogue-like dungeon crawlers.
It isn't necessary to play Hades before Hades 2. In fact, there are many new systems the sequel introduces with a new protagonist, Melinoe. Whether you're a returning fan looking for tips to tackle the new systems or it's your first time playing a Hades game, we have you covered with a list of top tips to help you through your first few runs.
]]>Looking for the best weapons in Hades 2? Hades 2 is a gruelling rogue-like dungeon crawler that puts you in the shoes of Melinoe, desperate to avenge her family against the tyrannical Kronos.
If you have any hope of even getting to Kronos, you'll need to have the best weapons possible. Join us as we go through each weapon currently availible via early access, judging the best and which Keepsakes, Arcana Cards and Boons we would pair with them for a successful run. We'll also tell you how you can unlock each one.
]]>I’ve been sampling Hades 2’s early access build on the Steam Deck, and my only complaint – besides the smooching frog having eluded me for hours – is that it’s giving me very little to write about, performance analysis-wise. Honestly, it fits the dinky PC so well you’d have thought Supergiant had decided to make this roguelike sequel a Steam Deck game that just happened to run on desktops by accident.
Hades the first was much the same, taking to the Deck like Hercules to Augean shit, but Hades 2 barely even gives away that fact that it’s unfinished. It doesn’t crash, stutter, or hang, and there’s no point in talking about settings when it runs at a practically perfect 60fps on max quality. Make that 90fps on the Steam Deck OLED, too. It’s just a fabulous game for handhelds, even in its earliest of early access days.
]]>Scylla and the Sirens are a rock band of mythical boat wreckers who insist they have tons of fans. (They do not.) As a boss battle in Hades 2 they are a deadly trio that has bested me more times in the last few hours than I care to admit. But as a sign of things to come for this early access roguelike sequel, they are an encouraging bunch of characterful malcontents. The harbingers of a confident, slash-happy action game, and another poppy adaptation of classic Greek japes.
]]>Were we to pluck up a passing stoat, or wandering pigeon, and inspect their entrails for omens as regards the quality of mythical roguelike Hades 2, we would find ourselves covered in blood and perhaps a little wiser. But I have been given strict editorial directions not to kill any more small creatures for gambling purposes. So let us instead use the semi-public "technical test" as a portentous looking glass from which to discern whether this hell-hopping sequel seems promising. Fine by me, the approach is no less stabby.
]]>Is waiting for Hades 2 to release starting to feel like a sisyphean endeavor? If so, push that boulder no longer. Supergiant announced yesterday that fans of the action roguelite can sign up now to be considered for an upcoming technical test, via Hades 2’s Steam page.
]]>Charity speedrunning extravaganza Games Done Quick has kicked off its first week-long event for 2024. Among the highlights are speedy plays of 2023 highlights including Starfield, Baldur’s Gate 3 and Lies of P, along with a marathon from the world’s first canine speedrunner.
]]>Happy New Year, folks! Have you recovered from the all the 100+ hour RPGs that came out last year? Well, I have good news and bad news for you. The good news is that everyone seems to be taking a bit of a breather in 2024, because (at time of writing at least) the official "big'uns" calendar is looking remarkably slim at the moment. There are still some heavy-hitters coming our way this year, such as Avowed, Star Wars Outlaws and Path Of Exile 2, but 2024 looks like another year where it will be the smaller, independent games that shine the brightest. They certainly make up the bulk of our most anticipated games list for 2024, which the RPS Treehouse has been feverishly putting together over the last few days. The bad news is that there are still loads of great games coming out. So come, join us, and see what's on our personal wishlists for 2024.
]]>Supergiant have announced that Hades 2 - sequel to one of gaming's smoothest and sexiest underworld capers - will release into Early Access in Q2 2024 on Steam and the Epic Games Store. It'll drop with at least as much stuff to do, hack apart, loot, fanship, etcetera as the original Hades, and will be preceded by a limited access technical test.
]]>Out of all of Supergiant’s games, I feel like Pyre is the odd duck out. Bastion, Transistor, and Hades - all fit nicely into the action-RPG genre (as well as all being absolute bangers) but Pyre is something else entirely. Sure it also has action-RPG elements, but also is a story-rich visual novel and sports game? And they not only work together but also compliment each other?? It’s a magical wizardry mix of genres that still feels fresh today, even though it’s been five years since it released. It’s story following a group of ethereal exiles playing fantasy sports ball in mystical purgatory isn’t half bad too (by which I mean it’s amazing).
The rules of the sport are simple - two teams are placed at opposite ends of a pitch each with a flame (the titular pyre) they must protect. An energy ball appears on the map and the two teams must grab the ball and dunk it into the opponent’s flame until that flame has been snuffed out. Each character has a special ability, movement feels good, and when you pull off a combo you feel fantastic.
]]>Whoooo we’re officially in the double-digits gang! We’ve somehow managed to make it to episode 10 of Indiescovery without going completely feral and wrecking the joint. I say that, but this week’s episode is a little, shall we say, unhinged? Rebecca, Liam, and Rachel hadn’t really had a proper chat all week so there’s a lot of Friday energy and catching up, and the energy levels only increase when we start to talk about our main topic of this episode: Eurovision! And indie games, of course.
]]>Want to know more about Hades 2, the upcoming roguelite sequel by Supergiant Games? The announcement of Hades 2 at The Game Awards 2022 was a shock to many, not least because it marks the very first sequel that Supergiant have ever made. It speaks to the incredible popularity of the original Hades, where players are treated to a gorgeous isometric rendition of the Underworld of Greek mythology, and all the sumptuous characters, stories, and battles that lay within.
]]>Last night at The Game Awards, we learned that not only will there be a Hades 2, but it will be making the absolutely correct choice of letting Zagreus step aside to make way for a new protagonist. This time around we'll be playing as Melinoë, modelled after the Greek goddess of nightmares and madness. She's also Zag's half-sister — yet another of the dozens of children, step-children, and foster-children of Hades knocking about the place — which brings me to my main take-away from the newly-confirmed existence of a Hades sequel: the title character is a really bad dad.
]]>Supergiant's Hades is getting a sequel. Not a DLC, a full-blown sequel, and wow does it look cool. Announced during tonight's Game Awards, this sequel to 2020's bestest best game breaks from the story of Zagreus to instead follow Hades' ruthless daughter Melinoe. It's Supergiant so of course we get a gorgeous animated trailer for it, too, which you can watch below.
]]>I’ve always been terrible at games. Truly. Trying to join in with any online multiplayer game has been met with quotes such as, "What on earth are you doing?" and, "Wow, 84 deaths? Really?", to name but a few. This led to scenarios where it felt far easier for me to give up and try something new. But when the point of the game is to continue dying over and over again to up my knowledge, skill level, abilities and unlock new weapons and perks? There I have found a place for my unending death and incompetence in Supergiant's Hades.
]]>Supergiant Games' gay, Greek gallivant, Hades, is the first video game to receive a Hugo Award. The awards which celebrate literary works in the science-fiction and fantasy genres, added a special one-off 'Best Video Game' category this year, which is where old Zagreus picked up his accolade. Our short king's battle out of the underworld beat out its closest competition, cosy escapism simulator, Animal Crossing: New Horizons in the polls by almost fourfold.
]]>The Independent Games Festival awards and the Game Developers Conference awards were held last night in cyberspace. Like a Zoom meeting for the soul, the ceremony hopped between the winning game developers’ living rooms, with host Victoria Tran (community director on Among Us) stitching it all together with a remarkable combination of enthusiasm, sincerity, and silliness. She gets an IGF from me.
The big winner was Umurangi Generation by Origame Digital. The photography sci-fi game won the 'Seumas McNally Grand Prize' and the narrative prize at the IGF awards. Hades was also recognised as the game of the year at the GDC awards. The rest of the winners, and the whole darn ceremony, are below.
]]>Over the last few years, early access games have evolved. Games are launching into early access more polished than ever before, and the line between unfinished early access games and "live service" games is increasingly blurred.
To find out more about how things have changed since Steam Early Access first started in 2013, I spoke to the developers of Darkest Dungeon, Baldur's Gate 3, Hades, Grounded and GTFO. They told me about the concerns and difficulties of launching a game after the first early access trailblazers, what they've learned about making games in public, and why they'd be happy to do it all again.
]]>I’ve had a lot of "road to PC games Damascus" moments in the last year - braving competitive multiplayer matches in Age Of Empires 2, jumping into Dishonored to break myself out of a two-game rut, and then letting Agent 47 free me from my obsessive, fun-dampening quicksave habit last month.
Now, it seems, I’ve had another shot of PC gaming validation, courtesy of clashing-eyed funboy Zagreus from Hades. This time, I learned not to be too quick to presuppose what I'm rubbish at. And much like surrogate father Achilles, who instructs Zag in the way of how to do fights good, Hades was a consummately shrewd teacher.
]]>In ancient greek mythology, eating a pomegranate in the underworld would trap you there. In Hades, eating poms gives the main character Zagreus an upgrade to one of his skills. In real life, people don't eat pomegranates, apparently - they just wire them up and turn them into very sticky controllers instead. At least that's what streamer Dylan "Rudeism" Beck did anyway. He managed to beat Hades with a chopped-up pom, and my god was it messy.
]]>Which characters can you romance in Hades? Hades does many things right, but it really excels when it comes to the characters of the underworld, and the relationships you can strike up with them. The idea that you can pursue a romance in a roguelite sounds ridiculous, but in Hades this is very much an option. If you're interested in plumbing the depths of particular relationships, then our Hades romance guide will walk you through which characters you can attempt to start a romance with, and how to go about doing so for each one.
]]>How do you go fishing in Hades? Hades is packed with far more content than you might expect from a roguelite. There's romance, there's decorating, and - perhaps most exciting of all - there's a fishing minigame where you can catch all sorts of underwater underworld inhabitants and sell them for valuable items and resources.
Our Hades fishing guide will walk you through how to get the Rod of Fishing and use it to catch all sorts of different fish. Below you'll also find a full table of every fish in the game, where to find it, and your reward for catching each one.
]]>How do you give gifts in Hades? Having played a fair bit of the godlike roguelite that is Hades, you may have found yourself wondering where you can get your hands on more Nectar, or even Ambrosia, Nectar's rarer and more valuable cousin. Both these resources play a large part in forming deeper relationships with the various characters of the underworld. So in this guide to gifting Ambrosia and Nectar in Hades, we'll walk you through the best methods for gaining these resources, and what to do with them once you have them.
]]>What are God Mode and Hell Mode in Hades? If you've sunk any time at all into Hades, the magnificent roguelite from Supergiant Games (and our favourite game of 2020), you'll know by now that it's a pretty challenging game. But one size does not fit all, and Supergiant have given you the ability to make the game either easier or harder for yourself with the God Mode and Hell Mode settings. Learn everything you need to know by reading our Hades God Mode and Hell Mode guide below.
]]>How do you use Titan Blood in Hades? Titan Blood is one of the rarest resources you can encounter in Hades, the fantastic godlike roguelite from Supergiant Games. You can gain these droplets of Titan Blood by vanquishing the toughest adversaries in the Underworld, and then you can spend it to upgrade your Titan-slaying weapons. Our Hades Titan Blood guide will walk you through every method of obtaining and using this powerful resource.
]]>What is the best weapon in Hades? The six weapons of Hades are your primary means of battle through the ever-changing halls of the Underworld. There's an awful lot to learn about each one, with different movesets, upgrades, and aspects to unlock for each Infernal Arm throughout your journeys.
Our Hades weapons guide looks to furnish you with all the knowledge you need to wield these titan-slaying weapons, with in-depth tips and details on every facet of each one - and my personal opinion on the very best weapons in Hades.
]]>What is the best Keepsake in Hades? Keepsakes are a major aspect of your metaprogression throughout Hades, the fast-paced roguelite from Supergiant Games. Bartered from the various Olympians and Underworld inhabitants you'll meet throughout your journey, these Keepsakes offer powerful passive bonuses that can completely alter your playstyle and the outcome of your runs.
Our Hades Keepsakes guide will walk you through how Keepsakes can be earnt, used, and upgraded, along with a tier list of the very best Keepsakes in the game and the full effects of each one (including two secret Keepsakes!).
]]>Which gods in Hades grant the best boons? Boons in Hades are one of the most common and powerful types of upgrades you'll come across. Offered by the Olympian Gods themselves, these Boons are the genetic makeup of your build for each run, which means picking the right Boon in the right moment is extremely important if you want to beat the game and escape the Underworld.
Our Hades Boons guide will offer an overview on how Boons actually work, before delving into the strongest Boons in the game and finishing off with a full list of every Boon offered by every God. So, let's jump in!
]]>How do you beat the game Hades? Hades, the sublime god-filled roguelite from Supergiant Games, was our pick for the best game of 2020. It's exquisitely designed, brimming with character, and remarkably challenging, as you may have discovered. It's amazing just how difficult it is to escape Hell when your dear father, Lord Hades, doesn't want you to leave.
But I've been escaping Hell since December 2018, and with the following top-tier Hades tips and strategies, you too will learn how to defeat the God of the Underworld with ease and reach the mortal realm. So if you've been having trouble reaching the later realms of Hades, you've come to the right place!
]]>If you've liked Hades enough to buy it a second time, good news: you can now play the same save on both PC and Switch. Developers Supergiant Games last night launched the 'Cross-Saves' update on Switch, which lets you hook the game up to your Steam or Epic account and share saves through the cloud. So if you want, you needn't start over fresh and unlock everything again on your Nintendo. That's nice.
]]>Supergiant’s rougelike smash hit Hades has taken the world by storm since coming out of early access in September. Unlike a lot of games, fans seem to be in total agreement on all of the game’s main talking points. For example, we all agree that Meg is hot. We also all agree that Zagreus is hot. That Eurydice is hot. That pretty much everyone is hot. Most also agree that, hot or not, Theseus is the worst.
They are all wrong: Theseus is actually the best.
]]>Hades is a bloody gorgeous game. There's no arguing that. But did you know that the enigmatic Nyx started life as one of the Fury sisters? Crafting a god is a strange process for mortal hands - but such is the job of the artists at Supergiant games, one of whom has this week gone in-depth on how the studio models, rigs, textures and animates a Cthonic diety.
]]>Comb your hair, spray that perfume and suit up for a night of high culture, readers - the third edition of the Game Music Festival is underway. Starting last night, you can already tune into a full evening of orchestral rearrangement of scores from Bastion, Transistor, Pyre and Hades, with Larian Studios picking up the mic tonight for a more high-fantasy swing at the concert scene.
]]>In Supergiant's new brilliant roguelike Hades, you're able to choose between six weapons (or Infernal Arms) to use to battle your way out of the underworld. Each of these then has four different Aspects, which changes the weapons' movesets and bonuses, allowing for really varied runs.
It turns out, though, that Aspects weren't originally going to be in the game. One of the game's developers took to Twitter over the weekend to talk through their development, and even give a little peek at an early iteration of one of the Aspects that didn't make it to the final game.
]]>Supergiant's games all have pretty wonderful soundtracks, and their new Ancient Greek roguelike Hades is no exception. We have composer Darren Korb to thank for that, and this weekend he released a video tutorial teaching how to play one of Hades' delightful tunes. It's not one of the heavy intense tracks from your battles in Tartarus, however. Instead it's one of the soothing melodies you hear when you come across Eurydice in Asphodel.
]]>It's been a real blast over the last few weeks watching my pals and peers pick up Hades. The excellent mythological roguelike left early access last month, and seeing everyone post screenshots of their first clears and fastest times has been lovely. To any of you who think you've gotten good at the game with those cheeky 20-minute runs, however, I'm here to ruin your day. While we're all scraping by the final boss clutching onto our final Death Defiances, speedrunners are already breezing their way through Hades in under eight minutes.
]]>Out of all the -tober suffix trends, I think Blocktober might be my favourite. The now-annual level design hashtag has become a fascinating insight into the grey, blocky roots of all sorts of games. As a bonus, this year sees Hades developers Supergiant jumping onto the bandwagon with a distressingly art-free look at the mythological roguelike's level design process.
]]>Extremely good game Hades got its full release recently. Allegedly a roguelike (but it cannot be, because I do not like roguelikes), in Hades the game you play as Hades the god's swaggering poshboy son Zagreus, who is trying to literally and figuratively escape his father's home. Hades the game makes full use of its setting and is stuffed full of great renditions of Ancient Greek gods and monsters.
I've been getting up an hour early to play Hades before work, so I have spent a lot of time thinking about the characters you run into on your multiple attempts to get out of hell. I was going to do a list of them in order of how hot I think they are, but I think you know me well enough by now to know the list would be a bit of paper with "idk they're all pretty hot" scrawled on it in biro. So instead, as is applicable in many situations, we turn to John Mulaney.
]]>Hot god encyclopaedia by way of hack ‘n’ slash roguelike Hades was basically already game of the year when it released into early access in 2018. Its core components were all in place. You fight through a constantly randomised hell filled with monsters and bosses as Zagreus, sarcastic and perpetually titty-out son of Hades. Along the way, you can pick up abilities bestowed by gods from across the Greek pantheon. And it’s all set to an obviously perfect Darren Korb soundtrack.
]]>Bad news for sexy demigods who wanted to bring their slaughter to the bus stop, I'm afraid. While Supergiant' underworld slasher Hades is still set to enter 1.0 this autumn, it'll no longer arrive with cross-play between PC and the incoming Switch release. That platform-hopping feature has been pushed back beyond Hades' release, arriving as a free update later this year.
]]>The rad roguelikelike hack 'n' slash action-RPG Hades will leave early access in autumn, developers Supergiant Games say, alongside the launch of a newly-announced Nintendo Switch version. Players will be able to transfer their save files between the PC and Switch to carry their progress over, which is nice. Hades has already received its last major update before launch, so now we're waiting on the final ending and a little polish when it launches full and finished.
]]>Hades is a roguelike dungeon crawler that sees you fight your way through ever shifting levels of the underworld, from wispy shades of the undead to foes of Greek legend, on frantic battlegrounds that can send you to your death in an instant. As a disabled player, oftentimes I don’t have access to kinds of games like Hades.
I have a connective tissue disorder that means all of my joints naturally extend beyond their normal range due to… something funky with my collagen. It’s great for party tricks - I can unhinge my jaw like a snake to fit an inhuman amount of cheese in my mouth - but I also can’t opt out of hyperextending, which means every time I move a joint without being intentional about what I’m doing, I can risk a sprain or dislocation. I both have to be careful to not over-strain my joints, and also deal with just an inordinate amount of muscle fatigue from normal activity.
This hasn’t stopped me playing video games, but it does limit how I play them. Greg Kasavin, the creative director for Supergiant Games, was kind enough to provide some insight about the design process for weapons like the Twin Fists, and the introduction of accessible design throughout Hades.
]]>Hades has been in early access for over a year now, though you'd hardly know it—what with being on RPS's list of best action games already. Supergiant Games have now pushed out what they say is the last update standing between the hellish roguelike and an escape from early access. The Blood Price update is out now and the next big release will be version 1.0.
]]>Wielding the almighty Heart-Seeking Bow, Coronacht, I weave with godlike alacrity between the attacks of my foes, line up the shot, release at just the right moment, and - pop! - they dissolve with a sigh back into the underworld from whence they came. I'm clearing out rooms in record-breaking time, and it's a good thing too, because the infernal contract I signed with my father, Lord Hades, means if I spend too long in any particular region of the underworld then there will be swift and painful consequences.
And then I dash into another flame-filled area of Asphodel, and I'm halted in my tracks. Any notion of haste falls out of my mind. Because there is Eurydice in her chambers, singing her beautiful, haunting song. And, like every other time I've come across this particular room in Hades, I stay still and listen until the song is over before continuing in my quest to escape. I don't want her to think I'm being rude, after all.
]]>Animal Crossing: New Horizons may only be on Switch, but that will not stop me from finding ways to talk about it in relation to my fave PC games. We've already seen loads of the adorable mashups of Isabelle and Doom Guy, frolicking amongst fields of demons, and now I want to show you the cutest piece of Hades fan art where someone has drawn all the gods as cartoon-y Animal Crossing Villagers.
]]>Travelling in games is special. The Lord Of The Rings might describe Frodo popping over to Mordor to chuck a ring in a volcano, and 1917 might show you every inch of ground covered by those soldiers, but short of physically going on a yomp in the real world, nothing conveys a sense of a distance travelled quite like huffing your way across the open world of a game in real time.
Still, there's a reason Bethesda fill their games with monster-shaped loot-piñatas and mysterious quest-givers. If you've any experience with long-haul travel in real life, you'll know it's often the kind of journey that plays out quite unlike the experience most games want you to have: boredom, insomnia, a severe lack of personal space, and the odd chafed arse. So how do you capture this feeling in a video game, a medium simultaneously uniquely suited to simulating travel, but deathly afraid of boring players? If you’re one of the wonderful minds behind Supergiant’s Pyre, the answer lies in abstraction.
]]>Grecian roguelike Hades has taken one more step towards leaving early access hell. The Nighty Night update came out last night, unleashing some new spikey gloves, a trip to a library, and a tiny, evil, rat. There's loads more besides, but that new weapon, the Twin Fists of Malphon, is the highlight. I am looking forward to punching small malevolent rodents.
]]>It took me a couple dozen attempts to escape hell in Supergiant Games’ early access roguelite Hades. Once I succeeded I thought I might give it a break; return when there were new updates. But it absolutely has its claws in me, which is how I found out that mucking about and losing is actually way better than trying to win.
]]>When Supergiant Games started to make Hades, their Roguelike action-RPG, they had plenty of experience making narrative games. Across Bastion, Transistor and Pyre, they’d found they were pretty good at telling stories. But in a Roguelike? And what’s that? They intended to put Hades in Early Access? Could they ever fit with the kind of rich characterisation and storytelling that made Supergiant’s name?
“We were really curious to see if narrative could fit into an Early Access experience,” writer and designer Greg Kasavin tells me. “And it turns out, it immensely benefits from it.” I have to agree. Hades’ Sisyphean-twitch-action, in which you take repeated runs through the Underworld in an attempt to escape your hellish dad, is brought to life by a setting within the rancorous interplays between the gods of Greek mythology, and dynamic story design which responds to your progress.
]]>Everyone loves a good action game. It's the driving force behind so many of our favourite PC games, but only a few can lay claim to being the best action games of all time. That's why we've compiled this list - to sort the pulled punches from the bestest biffs that PC has to offer. Whether it's the joy of pulling off a perfect combo, riding the wave of an explosive set-piece or the hair-raising thrill of dodging enemy attacks in slow-motion that gets you going, there's an action game here for you.
]]>Hades this week launched The Long Winter Update, bringing more blessings and boons to help poor Zagreus escape the underworld. This time around the game is introducing us to Demeter, the goddess of seasons, who'll be offering us her powers over the cold to fight back against the fires of hell.
That's not all though, there's a new weapon modification, new upgrades and story events, and there's even fishing now too!
]]>Let’s take another look at Hades, the rogue-ish-action-hack-n-slash-n-chat-em-up by Supergiant Games, developers of Bastion and Transistor, in which you play Zagreus, the immortal son of the lord of the underworld on a quest to repeatedly run away from home. Home, in this case, is a giant-ass castle in helltown where the tortured souls of the deceased languish while they await processing, like an infernal waiting room or a less depressing version of Digbeth Coach Station. Yeah, that’s right Birmingham, your dumb coach station is whatever the building equivalent of abject misery is. The toilets cost 30p and they don’t give change. I once saw a rat eating a pigeon there.
]]>Good news, Epic Store renouncers. You can now play Supergiant's latest game without getting your fingers dirty, as Hades has landed on Steam and is no longer exclusive to Epic. The Hellenic action roguelike is still in early access, but it's also still really good. It's plenty polished, with swords that wallop and dodges that delight. I've played for dozens of hours already, and haven't yet checked out all the new stuff in last week's big update.
]]>Hades, the roguelike game about running away from your home in Hell, has released a new update today. This one is called "Welcome To Hell" and despite the name, adds ways to make the typically frustrating genre harder or easier.
]]>Supergiant Games launched Hades exclusively on the Epic Games Store at the end of 2018, becoming one of the OG combatants in the Great Store War that followed in 2019. Though we’ll never truly know why they set-up in a store that's paying games to be there, they’ve decided that a year is enough time to be away from Steam. Hades is coming to Early Access on Steam December 10th.
It was worth it to Supergiant to make a trailer about this. Here you go.
]]>Hades can be hell to play. This is Supergiant's early access roguelite, a different beast from the story-rich fare of previous games Bastion and Pyre. I've been dipping in and out for months, compelled to batter the end-game hydra once with every weapon. Then an update from a while back added a new area that kept grinding me up under the wheels of demonic chariots, and I lost the patience required to reach it.
The sixth "Major Update" came out earlier this week, adding yet another area, a final battle, and a handful of smart new ideas. If you haven't checked out Hades yet, there's never been a better time to jump in. I've burnt out on it for now, though, and think I'll wait until hell's been polished over.
]]>The increasingly great roguelite dungeon crawl Hades has just rolled out another early access update. The High Speed Update is focused on Hermes, messenger of the gods. He's fast, but developers Supergiant want you to slow down and ruminate a little on their efforts, so they got voice-of-gold Logan Cunningham to read the entire patch notes in character as The Storyteller. Personally I'd have asked for him to bring back Rucks from Bastion or the Sword Boyfriend from Transistor, but the video below is still an enjoyable twelve minutes of raspy ASMR-adjacent tech talk.
]]>I really like Hades, Supergiant Games’ early access roguelite. It’s a bit of a surprise – “early access” and “roguelite” are never usually descriptions that I seek out when I’m choosing what to play. Even more surprising, then, that it’s exactly those two things that I really appreciate about the game. Let me explain.
]]>I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with Supergiant Games. I loved Bastion, didn't really get on with Transistor, and have never summoned the strength to try another one since. Indeed, fellow Supergiant admirers Matt and Ollie were, and I quote, "aghast" when I said I wasn't much of a fan of Transistor's soundtrack earlier in the week (which are fighting words coming from the self-proclaimed soundtrack queen herself), but our chat reminded me just why I love Bastion as much as I do - and part of that is because back in 2012, I decided a fun thing to do would be to record every line of dialogue in the game, not once, but twice (because the New Game+ dialogue is different, I'll have you know), and then type it all up and write a 6000 word essay about the real story of Bastion for no reason in particular.
]]>Transistor is free for the next two weeks on the Epic Games Store and it is my humble opinion that you should be playing it right now, because it is a gem. Currently my favourite of Supergiant Games's all-excellent lineup (with wizard-sportsball adventure Pyre a very close second), it's part action RPG, part turn-based tactical combat, and all classy. Set in a jazzy art-deco cyberworld, Transistor has gorgeous art and music and features a giant sword that is also a USB stick containing Logan Cunningham's most doting, boyfriendly voice. Nab it here, keep it forever.
]]>The aptly named Murder Death Kill update had me descending back into Hades this week, checking out the new enemies like Thanatos, Alecto, and Tisiphone, and learning how to use Zagreus’s new Wrath Of Olympus power. (It’s basically an ultimate ability, charging as you fight until you can unleash a new divinely gifted attack.)
But it’s also got me thinking about the premise of releasing the game in early access, and how it seems especially thematically appropriate for a game rooted in mythology and a shifting underworld.
]]>I'm a big fan of Hades. You'd think an early access roguelike wouldn't be a great fit for the Bastion devs, but I should never have doubted Supergiant's ability to knit a story around whatever genre or development structure they please. Last night saw the release of the Chaos Update, and there's something else lurking among the balance tweaks, art changes and new room types. That something is Primordial Chaos, and they've got a deal for you.
]]>Large portions of my personality owe a great debt to Greek invention, from ABBA musicals and feta cheese to anal sex and fiscal irresponsibility. But for the past few thousand years the country’s chief cultural export has been its dramatic and complex mythology. A cross between Aesop’s Fables and Hollyoaks, Greek myth forms the basis of every story ever told. Scarface, King Lear, that episode of Hey Duggee where they find a dead body in the woods, all of them are essentially rehashes of the time Zeus and his pals got up to some mischief around the pantheon.
And it’s in this rich old fantasy world that Hades is set. An isometric roguelike from Supergiant Games, developer of Bastion and Transistor, it has you slip into the immortal sandals of Zagreus, son of Hades himself, on a doomed mission to escape the underworld.
]]>My 2018 in games had me dealing with failure in multiple ways. Designed to move further and further away from the fantasy of the all-powerful player ever looking for an appropriate challenge, these games teach to forgive and accept – forgiving someone a past hurt, accepting the lack of a perfect solution to a problem. From the satisfyingly familiar to a type of game I would usually avoid, 2018 had it all.
]]>Supergiant Games, the makers of Bastion, Transistor, and Pyre tonight both announced and launched their next game. Hades is its name, and roguelikelike hack 'n' slash dungeon-crawling is its game. And as you'd expect from Supergiant, it's got a colourful illustrated style and a bit of a twang to its sound. It launched into early access alongside its announcement and, curiously, is currently exclusive to Epic's new store. Here, have a watch.
]]>Today's Humble Bundle - probably the PC gaming deal of the day - contains a lot of grimdark Bat-biffery, and a few surprises on the side. Seven games for (up to) $12, mostly comics-themed, but with some underappreciated stuff in there. Plus, the incongruously bright Bastion and the wildly weird and happy Scribblenauts Unlimited, all capped off with the complete edition of Batman: Arkham Knight (which I reckon has grown past a lot of the flak it caught at launch) at the top tier. Below, trailers both cheerful and bat-grumpy, and some thoughts on the games included.
]]>Have You Played? is an endless stream of game retrospectives. One a day, every day of the year, perhaps for all time.
The mission statement of Supergiant, the developers behind Bastion, Pyre and Transistor [official site], is “to make games that spark your imagination like the games you played as a kid.” They’ve got a knack for doing just that.
]]>Pyre [official site], the sportsdunking new RPG from the studio behind Bastion and Transistor, has added a tough new difficulty mode in its 'True Nightwing' update. Unlocked after completing the main campaign, the new mode is "reminiscent of an 'Ironman' mode in other games" according to developers Supergiant Games. In short, it launches you right into the full experience with everything unlocked and no reloading from checkpoint or restarting sportsfights.
]]>How many times have you played as The Hero of the Revolution? Where you get to lead the charge against an evil government, backed by a rag-tag rebel group, as a rough, gruff outsider. You’re the one who drives the action, at the head of every important rebel action - it’s your guts and your guns that will win glory for the revolution. You’re the face of change, in that you literally show up on all the WANTED posters. The rebels cheer for you when you walk close. Everyone assures you history will remember your name.
Pyre’s not that game. You’re just a hero of the revolution, no capital letters, and certainly no glory. No one will remember your face, much less your name.
Extensive spoilers for Pyre follow.
]]>A purgatorial fantasy sport is not the direction I expected Supergiant Games, creators of Bastion and Transistor, to go with their next game. Then again, expectations seem increasingly useless when it comes to a studio such as this. Pyre [official site] is set in a world where literacy is banned and punishable by exile – banishment to a dangerous land called the Downside, cut off from the home realm of the Commonwealth. This underworld is where you find yourself. But you soon make new friends and, to earn your freedom, you start to compete in a quasi-religious tournament of orb-throwing and goal-scoring.
The sport of Pyreball itself has caused me to curse and sigh many times, but I can’t accuse it of being uninventive. That goes double for the story of this band of exile-sinners, told through visual novel-style interjections and dialogue choices. It’s a great story. One I often wish didn’t have fantasy netball clinging to it.
]]>What's that unsettling white noise coming from the other room? Oh no, it's the 10th episode of the RPS podcast, the Electronic Wireless Show. This week, the gang are talking about horror in games (but not necessarily "horror games"). Adam and Brendan are terrified by the depths of Subnautica, which doesn't frighten Pip in the slightest.
But we also like playing non-scary things. Brendan has been competing in the purgatorial fantasy sport of Pyre, and Adam has been catching fish and watching tranquil sunsets in Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles. Meanwhile, Pip has been dating dads in the gay suburban utopia of Dream Daddy. There's also reader questions, in which we return to the subject of horror, and experience the shrill scream of a truly terrifying beast...
]]>Pyre [official site], the new party-based basketballing RPG from Bastion and Transistor developers Supergiant Games, is now out. Our boy Brendy set himself ablaze in his fervor to finish it and tell us all Wot He Thinks, which was evidently foolish. We'll find out his assessment after he's released from the burn ward so, for now, here's a reminder that Pyre is now out.
]]>Pyre [official site], the party-based RPG from the creators of Bastion and Transistor, is out next week, and there's a fiery new trailer out to celebrate the launch. You control a party of exiles trying to escape from a pretty purgatory by taking part in ancient competitions, called Rites, which are 3v3 real-time arena battles. You've got to extinguish the other team's pyre (hence the name) while keeping yours alight.
The hand-painted art style shown in the trailer trailer is absolutely stunning. It's no surprise, really, given Supergiant Games' past efforts.
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