This Confessions of a Middle Aged Gamer guest review is from Crystal Anne! Crystal Anne with An E comes to us from a sunny clime, but prefers to remain a pale indoor cat. She enjoys reading, cross-stitching something nerdy, going to see live music, and playing video games. She works as an autism consultant by day, got a degree in information science for fun, and currently serves on her local library advisory board.

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Over the past year or so, I have seen my gaming time increase. Some of this, I believe, is the embarrassment of riches that is my backlog, and some of it is that some of the :::gestures broadly at everything:::. If I’m gaming, I’m not doomscrolling.

In 2021, which is when I started gaming again for realz, the game Hades was one of the major contributing factors to my purchase of a Nintendo Switch. (You can read Tara’s review of Hades if you like!)

There were several reasons for this: I had heard of it, read several reviews, and everything said that this was something right up my alley. I like games, but I particularly like a good story, and this had that in spades, and that story was based in Greek mythology and culture.

Uh, gimme.

I ended up loving the game. I loved the characters, I loved the sneaky little references that you would only get if you had read quite a bit of Greek mythology. I also liked the bashy-bashy combat, I developed affinities for certain weapons (spear all day, I like hitting things from afar so they can’t hit me back), and I liked the gameplay loop.

Then, a couple years ago, they announced it: we were getting Hades 2. This could be construed as somewhat surprising, since up until then, Supergiant Games had not produced sequels to any of their games, and they had been pretty upfront about the fact that they wouldn’t make Hades 2 unless they could make it special.

Fast-forward a couple years, a lot of time with the devs futzing around with it while it was in early access, and the announcement was finally made that it would be released as a Nintendo Switch/Switch 2 exclusive.

Again, gimme.

I’ve been playing it for a few days now, and if you need the shortest description of why you might like it, I can give you this: Hades, but MOAR.

This one focuses on Melinoë, the younger daughter of Hades and Persephone, and at the beginning of the game, her father has been imprisoned by the Titan Chronos (the guy who ate his kids, and trust me, do not Google image that search term, some artists have had way too much fun with that), while Persephone, Zagreus, and the rest of the House of Hades denizens are MIA (except Hypnos, he’s around, if not particularly useful at the moment).

Things are also difficult up on Olympus, but the gods are loath to give specifics, though they will always happily throw some Boons your way. In the meantime, Melinoë has been raised and trained by the Head Witch In Charge herself, Hecate, and it’s time for her to put those skills to use.

So far? SO FUN.

The gameplay loop is the same as the first game: you head out on a run, you fight some monsters, you meet some gods on the way, and eventually you die, returning to your home base.

This could feel repetitive, but every time you return to that base, you get to further the story a touch, by interacting with and building relationships with the people around you. Thus far, I’ve unlocked three weapons and beaten the first boss twice (only to have my ass fully handed to me on the next level).

The mechanics remain similar to the first game (muscle memory kicked in pretty quickly), but Melinoë has a somewhat different power set than Zagreus did, as she was trained as a witch rather than a death deity, so there’s some variety there. The gameplay, much as in the first game, feels smooth, and as I said before, if you played Hades, the muscle memory kicks in quickly.

I like the new Cast function quite a bit better in this iteration as well. In the original, it took me a while to learn how to use the Cast effectively, whereas with this, its functionality is much more apparent (it works as an area of effect as opposed to something you have to aim). I’m also enjoying the new Boons, particularly from Hestia. I’m a big fan of setting people on fire in games, and most of her Boons have something to do with fire. Burn, baby, burn.

The characters remain a highlight, both new and returning. So far, I enjoy Dora, a shade that is haunting the base. Definitely salute her when you can; she’s the cutest thing. I also am a big fan of Hecate so far. She takes her mentor role seriously, and is both loving and not here for the nonsense. There is a sense of history and relationship there, and I particularly enjoy when Melinoë is in danger of becoming mopey and down on herself, and Hecate sternly tells her to get over herself.

Also, let’s hear it for THEM ABS.

And Melinoë’s legs.

The character design remains delightful, in both new and returning characters. They made some unexpected choices with a few new characters, including Hestia and the utterly adorable Arachne, and some amusing alterations in existing ones (did you play the first game and think there was no way Aphrodite could get more naked? Because she can!). All the characters are hot and it’s a lot of fun to look at. And other gaming companies should study the voicework. It’s perfection.

I’m not far in at this point, but every new little discovery and introduction keeps me engaged and ready to always make another run so the story continues. I could keep going (seriously don’t get me started on the music), but I could also be playing it right now.

As for continuing the series from this? I am ready for Hades 3. Let Zag and Melinoë play with the Norse and Egyptian pantheons! Give me all the mythology and jokes and stories and godly pettiness! I want it all!

Grade: A for Absolutely