Hades II Review

Following Hades was the hardest job in the genre, and Supergiant's answer is to build outward rather than repeat itself. Melinoë, Zagreus's younger sister, trains as a witch at the Crossroads under Hecate, then sets out to destroy Chronos, the Titan of Time, who has seized the Underworld and imprisoned her family. Runs go two ways, down through Erebus towards Tartarus or up to the surface and the siege of Olympus, and each route has its own regions, bosses and rhythm.

The combat is why it sits among the best reviewed games of its year. Magick fuels charged Omega moves, every Nocturnal Arm hides several distinct aspects, and the Arcana cards add a layer of build decisions before a run even starts. The Olympians' boons interlock in ways that reward experiment, and the art, Darren Korb's music and the enormous voiced cast all reach the studio's highest standard.

The faults sit at the edges. Gathering materials for incantations and upgrades adds more grind than the first game asked for, and the final act drew real disappointment: after a long build towards revenge, the ending resolves in a hurry and hands its biggest moments to other characters. It is a thrilling, generous game that stops just short of a perfect close.