My adoration of the original Hades could be likened to Dionysus’ appreciation of wine, or Zeus’ fondness for lightning (and titan slaying). Since its release in 2020, it’s sat at the pinnacle of the roguelike genre in my estimation, and nestled within my top 10 games of all time. Supergiant’s blend of Nectar-level addictive gameplay, nuanced storytelling and breathtaking art style sat at the top of Mount Olympus, basking in the adoration of a job most definitely mastered.
Yet, the development team were clearly not content with their technical mastery. Instead, they set out to deliver not only their first ever official sequel to one of their IP, but to topple the godly throne they themselves sat upon. Released in 2025 to overwhelmingly positive reviews, Hades II has now begun its descent to the underworld and ascent to the overworld on PlayStation and Xbox. Can Melinoë face the wrath of her familial ties on a par with Zagreus?
Adorn your nocturnal arms and prepare for the pits of Tartarus and battlefields of Mount Olympus alike.
A Curse Upon Your House of Hades
Similar to its predecessor, Hades II has us playing as another child of the lord of the dead. Instead of Zagreus from the original, we’re following the adventure of his sister, Melinoë. Chronos, the Titan of Time, has broken free of his captivity by the Gods, capturing Melinoë’s family and unleashing war upon Olympus when she was but a newborn, determined to eke out their suffering as retribution for their betrayal.
Provided you have passing knowledge of Greek mythology, you can get by just fine. In the first game, Supergiant Games evolved the roguelike genre by delivering cascading levels of story that unfolded over dozens upon dozens of runs. For the sequel, they continue that formula, with now Melinoë developing her relationships with various characters through progress checkpoints, defeats, consumable items and repeated interactions.
You may struggle to follow much of the overarching narrative or stakes if you passed on playing the first before tackling the sequel, which would be a mistake in and of itself, in my opinion. However, Hades II is approachable enough that newcomers can pick up the story threads pretty quickly and appreciate the sharp writing. Every character feels like a perfect rendition of their mythological background. Odysseus muses on the freedom of immortality, Zeus is eternally humiliated by Hera, and Prometheus is a tortured soul who’s made friendly with the bird destined to torture him for all of time.
Witch Fork In The Road to Take?
Melinoë, having been whisked away by the Witch of the Crossroads to save her from Chronos, is rather removed from the wheelings and dealings of Olympus. Instead, she’s been raised to be a weapon of vengeance, moulded solely to reclaim her home and restore the power of her house. It creates a compelling new perspective that allows the writers to flex their creative muscle, while still holding onto what made the original’s storytelling so fun and engaging over multiple hours.
All of this is to say, I believe Supergiant are masters of the craft when it comes to overlapping story and narrative pacing. Uncovering Melinoë’s past, with the vested interest of reclaiming all that we worked for as Zagreus in the first game, is utterly brilliant, equaling the blast of the action, and then some. Outside of discovering the lore of the myths themselves, this may be one of the best ways to learn about Greek mythology.
Credit must go to the superb voice acting performances across the board. Few games could make Polyphemus sound so believable when he complains of losing his sheep and slapping about a couple of lost souls. Each of the Gods, witches and Titans deliver their lines with the kind of zeal only matched by Hermes’ speed. If your slower moments can be just as compelling as your thrill-a-second combat, you’ve achieved a real symbiosis worthy of praise.
Face The Fire of Hades
Alas, Melinoë isn’t here to just wax lyrical with Odysseus; she’s a formidable witch, one capable of wielding the nocturnal arms. Combat in Hades II is once again spectacular. Input delay is almost non-existent, meaning every dash, attack and special you unleash is of your own design. Take a hit while attempting to channel your special? You only have yourself to blame.
Enemy variety is frankly ridiculous in the sequel, owing to there now being eight regions to conquer. Opposition compositions will change the more runs you embark on, with mightier foes, larger mobs and even new styles or movesets given to both basic foes and bosses. Hades set the benchmark in keeping your engagements fresh from hour 1 to hour 50, but Hades II reaches higher than a Titan to raise it.
My only caveat to the moment-to-moment hack-and-slash joy fest is that once you’ve accrued several boons with an absurd number of effects going on, it becomes visual carnage. Between my own specials, enemy assaults and various environmental effects, I could barely ascertain where Melinoë was, never mind make out what was dealing damage to me. Thankfully, this is offset by just how glorious carving through foes always feels, and the fact that the carnage is stunning to behold.
Hera I Come
The boon system once again returns for Hades II, this time formed of a host of both familiar and newer Gods or allies. Unlike the first, where Athena’s deflection blessing became somewhat of a crutch, almost all of the Gods’ offerings in the sequel feel meaningful and, more importantly, powerful. Each time I believed I’d cracked the “ultimate” build, I’d find myself running rampant with an all-new setup that would demolish an army of Titans, never mind just the one.
Boon selection is brilliantly intuitive and easy to master, with that perfect blend of RNG and careful consideration being key to success. I had an absolute blast tearing through the under and overworld alike with each of the new nocturnal arms, not least of all the Umbral Flames, which are frankly ridiculous. Stack up some Hephaestus hammers, Hestia’s Scorch effect and a couple of Daedalus upgrades, and you’ll be decimating the entirety of Mount Olympus like the sun scorching Icarus’ wings.
One new addition is Gifts of the Moon, or Selene blessings, which imbue an “ultimate” ability of sorts for each run. These are, once again, incredibly powerful and amp up the God complex beautifully. Which you’ll need, because the overworld in particular is savage upon starting out. While I found myself relying a little too much on the Umbral Flames, every weapon is thoroughly viable, with enough time, patience and perseverance. What virtues to imbue for a roguelike.
Hold Back The Titan-ic
Throughout every facet of Hades II’s design, you’ll discover evolutions of the formula that made Supergiant’s first entry so mesmeric. You’ll instantly feel at home in the Crossroads, as if you were in Hades itself, but each facet has seen significant expansion and refinement. The core structure of the regions you’ll have to repeatedly overcome demonstrates this most aptly.
Upon completing a successful run of each world, you’ll embark on a journey to repeat the feat. The Oath of The Unseen returns, this time with specific nightmare-related items tied to beating certain bosses with certain weapons. These are used to upgrade each weapon, alongside other consumables acquired through runs or farming. Then there’s Chaos trials, where you’re pitted with a specific build in a particular region and forced to make do with what you’ve got.
There’s just so much game to Hades II, it’s remarkable at just how many layers I kept uncovering. Even at 20 hours, having finished the main story, I still feel like I’ve barely witnessed all the possibilities. Perhaps more pertinently, I’ve found myself itching to get back to the game. I log off after spending hours tearing my enemies apart, only to be desperate to get right back to it. It’s as addictive a delicacy as Ambrosia, and it doesn’t take long for the intoxication to take hold.
Nyx The Lot of Them
If you’re someone who’s often found yourself loving the idea of roguelikes, but feel uncertain about the difficulty or frustration of them, there’s plenty to love and curse Hades II for. Upgradeable keepsakes are back, with two new features to improve Melinoë’s survivability. The first is Arcana cards, of which a certain number can be activated, which give huge boosts to facets of your toolkit.
The second is animal familiars, which provide powerful buffs depending on which you take with you. The overworld in Hades II, as mentioned before, is rough. Even as someone who platinumed Hades 1 and conquered the Underworld in II within half a dozen runs, it kicked me into the Styx numerous times (and still does). However, between keepsakes, Arcanas and familiars, you can, for example, set up with 6 death defiances, with even more available in-run depending on RNG.
Make no mistake, this is a tough-as-nails experience in places, but you’re given a massive swathe of tools and weapons with which to overcome it. Besides, felling literal Time itself should never be easy, should it? The thrill of besting some of Supergiant’s most challenging yet well-designed boss encounters yet can be matched in very few other games. Achieving that victory can be gruelling, but it’s all the more compelling and satisfying when you know you’ve mastered the mechanics to make it a reality.
Glory of Olympus
Supergiant Games’ outputs are often impeccably beautiful games to behold, and Hades II continues that form with aplomb. The shaded colour palettes and hand-drawn aesthetics are whimsically stunning in every frame, every environment, every animation and every line of accentuated text. Journeying through Ephyra or Thessaly is like weaving through a painting. One depicting the mass slaughter of hundreds in your wake, in true Godly fashion, of course.
Even towards the end of runs, when there are literally dozens of power effects active, a multitude of enemies on-screen and swathes of damaging AoE attacks unfurling, Hades II never wavers in performance. The framerate is rock solid, the action ever smooth and a joy to behold, much like how Narcissus looks upon his own reflection.
A shoutout too, to the immaculate soundtrack and sound design for the sequel. Just like the first, the sound, voice acting and audio direction are phenomenal. While there’s not a track that matches The Exalted from the first, there are plenty of harmonic beauties in here. The Sirens boss fight is a particular highlight, but I’ll let you discover why on your own.
So Mote It Be
More than anything else, the sign of an exceptional roguelike is the desire to constantly return. That nag in the back of your brain that can only be quelled with the controller back in your hand. Simultaneously, it’s also the moments of triumph and utter despair. I can recount numerous “hell yes!” exclamations when I stumbled into a synergised build, alongside the desperate sigh after a run that came oh-so close.
But Hades II isn’t just exceptional. It’s a masterfully crafted video game that excels in almost every area. It expands and improves on the formula of the original, while its story and narrative dovetail with its predecessor with finesse. It’s a brutally challenging but enthrallingly satisfying roguelike, one which no other can match in terms of spectacle, visuals or combat refinement. There’s a well as deep as the river Styx itself from which this game continues to dole out new mechanics, new stories, new builds, new challenges.
In all, Hades II is the summit of roguelike games. For the longest time, I believed nothing would top the original as my favourite in the genre. Turns out all I needed was for Supergiant to outdo themselves. They were the Titans and their overthrowing Gods all wrapped up in one. Hades II is a masterful triumph that sits atop Mount Olympus as the pinnacle of its genre.
Hades II is available April 14th for PlayStation 5 (review platform) and Xbox Series X|S. It is already available on PC.
Developer: Supergiant Games
Publisher: Supergiant Games
Disclaimer: In order to complete this review, we were provided with a promotional copy of the game. For our full review policy, please go here.
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