I’ve been playing Hades II (Supergiant Games) on God Mode, and I’m still having mixed feelings about it. Yes, it’s allowed me to get to the top of the upper path again (twice!), but there’s still a corner of my brain that tells me it’s cheating. Intellectually, I know it’s not. Emotionally, I am still struggling with whether to use it or not (as I use it).
Ian and I had a talk about how difficulty modes are becoming pretty common in games. I think that’s a good thing as does he. In most of those games, you can change it whenever you want, which is also a good tihng.
The bottom line is that games are supposed to be fun. And, in a single-player game, it doesn’t really matter how someone else plays a game.
Side note: I have never understood the ire some people have when there is something in a game that makes it easier. I don’t mind them saying, “You’re not having the same experience” because that’s true, but when they say in a snotty voice, ” You’re not getting the real experience” or that the player is cheating themselves, that’s when I want to kick them in the shins.
I’ve used this example several times before, but it’s stuck in my mind ever since I saw it. Ian Higton and Aoife Wilson of Eurogamer (he’s still there; she is not) were playing Elden Ring (FromSoft) when it first released. Aoife reviewed it for Elden Ring, and then she helped Ian in his game.
Ian (other Ian as I call him) is an anomaly as he hated FromSoft games for many years, and then finally got into them. That’s not the anomaly part–this is. He will cheerfully say that he summons humans without an ounce of shame. I’m not saying he should feel ashamed; I’m saying that I have never heard a games journalist say that summoning humans is fine, let alone say they did it.
When he said this in the stream with Aoife, she said that it’s better to attempt a boss first alone to…she didn’t say get the full experience, but she skirted awfully close to it. She’s always careful to say there’s nothing wrong with summoning, but I don’t think she really thought that. At least she gave it lip service, though, in a way.
Anyway, she said he should try a boss on his own first so he’ll feel good about it. Ian said very cheerfully, “Oh, I feel just fine about it!” I could see Aoife’s shoulders drop, When she spoke again, she had a defeated tone in her voice. I don’t remember what she said, but I just smirked because Ian so thoroughly breezed by the standard that almost all hardcore From fans have, even if they don’t say it. Even if they don’t realize it. It’s that you’re supposed to beat the bosses solo. Or at least without human summons. Aoife readily said that she used spirit summons in Elden Ring.
Side note to the side note: It’s always amusing to me where people draw a line. Most people believe that they are always on the right side of the line and that other people are unreasonable. I mean, that makes sense because we’re all our own standard of normal, but it’s astonishing to me how unaware of tihs so many people are. And even people I consider aware of issues, which Aoife most definitely is.
How does this apply to this game? Because when I was looking up God Mode on Google just to see what it really was so I could muse on it (I can wax poetic on things I know nothing about, sure, but usually, I like to have some facts in my back pocket), I did not see how it would help me with my specific issues.
Then, I tried it, and I realized that I was probably negating the amount of bullshit damage I take because of my issues with God Mode. I didn’t have to be as worried about each hit I took because I could absorb an x percentage of damage and not be penalized for it. And, unlike FromSoft games, the more you suck at this game, the more Supergiant Games will help you.
I ran across this article by Jade King at The Gamer singing the praises of God Mode. She played it in Early Access, and this is when she wrote this article. She mentioned that she was into the game more for the story, the lore, and everything else. I am so there with her on this. In fact, I find the gameplay loop to be a bit tedious, even with all the different weapons. As I mentioned in my last post, the way to level up the weapons in this game is harder to do than it was in the first game because of needing different materials. I mean, I guess it’s not really that different given that you needed to do the Pact of Punishment in the first game to get some of the material you need to upgrade the different aspects, but it feels more tedious in this game. Maybe just because there is so much more content, and it took me so much longer to beat the ‘final’ boss for the first time.
Even with God Mode, I’m not sure I’m going to go for the true ending. I’m tired. I’ll admit it. The thought of having to beat the game nine more times (five up and five down) does not fill me with joy. That’s just to get the true ending, and I’m sure there is more to the game after that. Why am I sure? Because it was that way in the first game, and Supergiant seems to be following the same blueprint here, albeit with twists.
In the first game, there was only one path (up from Hades), but you had to beat the final boss ten times. In this one, there are two baths (up and down), and you have to beat the final boss of both paths five times each. Even with God Mode, I have not beating the final boss in the downward path another time. I really lucked out with the boons I got in the magic run, and I’m not sure I can do it again.
More to the point, I’m not sure I want to do it again. And again. And again. I’m not really enjoying the runs; I just want to advance the story. I am glad I’ve maxed out ten of the relationships (got an achievement for that), and I did shed a tear or two at the conclusion of some of them. I’m sad that I won’t get much more from my favorite characters except for story-related dialogue, but that’s on me for being so eager to get close to my favorite characters.
Don’t get me wrong. This is an excellent game and a very good sequel. It’s just maybe not for me any longer, which is not a bad thing. I got many hours of it, and I enjoyed what I’ve played so far. And I got it for less than thirty bucks. I can’t ask for much more than that.