I 100%ed Hades II (Supergiant Games) today. I don’t know how to feel about it because, well, I’ll get into it as I give my offiycial review of the game.
I want to start by saying this is a terrific game. I have to make that exceedingly clear because I’ve been down on it in other posts for various reasons. It may seem like I did not enjoy this game or thought it was a bad game, but neither of these things are true. I enjoyed it very much, especially when I turned on God Mode.
By the way, I read a post I had written about the first game, and I had said I was glad I resisted the urge to turn on God Mode. Now, I will say that if I had not turned on God Mode, I would have quit well before I even reached the final boss on the upward path. This game is exponentionally harder for me, and I don’t think it’s solely because my abilities have atrophied quite a bit in five years (though that doesn’t help, obviously). I know without a doubt that I could not have beaten the fourth and final boss of the upward path if I had not turned on God Mode.
I am amused because I was steeling myself for the last few achievements. Somewhere around me getting the achievement that meant I had seven or eight to go made me start thinking about one-hundred percenting it. This was roughly the same time I starting thinking the same thing for the last game. Here’s the post in which I talked about going for the not-plat for the original game. I read a few more posts I wrote about that game, and I realized that something I thought was a completely new addition to this game had been in the first game as well, albeit in a slightly different form. Oh, warning. Spoilers from this point onwards. Nothing big, but still.
*SPOILERS*
It’s the animal friend system. In this game, they’re called famaliars, and you find them out in the combat areas. Huh. I read up on it, and you have to do a specific bunch of things before receiving an incantation you can use at your cauldron. Then, you will find the familiars out on the battlefield. You have to give them a treat, and they’ll be back at The Crossroads the next time you’re there. From then on, you can take them out on a run with you. You can also upgrade them with (different) treats that you have to brew up in your cauldron.
I had totally forgotten that you had companions in the first game! You got them by maxing out your relationship with certain NPCs, and then they would give you their animal friend for you to call upon in battle. You could upgrade them, too. And, when you used them in battle, their human friend came to give a battle cry before disappearing. I really liked them for the most part; I can’t believe I forgot they existed.
I appreciate the familiars in this game, too. I mean, let’s face it–I need all the help I can get. I like that your familiar is there for the whole fight. But, I will admit once I got a win per each familiar (which I did as part of the hundo chievo run), I went back to my favorite, Toula. Why? Because she’s a cat and she gives me an extra Death Defiance. I even got used to the fact that I had to wake her up every ten claws she made because she would nap after fighting. It fit thematically with her being a cat, so I didn’t mind.
By the way, I have included Bewitching Eyes as the video above, and I really dug the Scylla and the Sirens storyline. They were the second boss of the downward path, and their songs were bangers. This is by far my favorite, and I have it on repeat (the wordless version) back at The Crossroads. I think the way Supergiant did the storyline around this boss fight was fantastic–unlike the second boss counterpart of the upperward path. Sigh.
Every time I went in to fight Scylla and the Sirens (Jetty and Roxy), we would have a dialogue that continued from the last time I fought them. And their music is great! One time , the whole scene was set up like a music video, and I just wanted to listen to their set. I had a hard time with this boss fight at first because there are three of them with very different attacks. They are relentless, and I did not see many opportunities to attack.
I would buy an album of just their music, honestly. And I would love to see them do a music video. Would I buy the t-shirt? Yes, I would. I will admit that I found Scylla annoying at first, but she really grew on me. I did not love that Charybdis (a mini-boss on the second floor of the upward path) is added in the Vow of Rivals fight for Scylla and the Sirens, but I did love Scylla’s hair changing to black and her KISS-like makeup during that fight.
It’s funny. I was Googling something related to the game, specificcally a much-hated boss fight (by me). I came across a thread from someone wondering if they were the only one who did not like the story in this game as much as the story in the first game.
There were dozens of people agreeing, and they were especially salty about the ending. I mentioned it briefly in a previous post, but the true ending was so poorly done, I was surprised. The epilogue did nothing to alleviate the sour taste in my mouth, and the nicest thing I can say about it is that it was a hot mess.
I think part of the problem is that Supergiant essentially crammed two games into one. It feels like they boxed themselves into a corner with the ending of the game, and then sort of waved their hands in the air to magically fix it.
I’ll be real with you. The story in this game was never as captivating as it was in the last game. Initially, I liked Melinoé quite a bit, but as the game went on, I felt less enamored with her. She was a bit too doe-eyed for me–and for a trained assassin. Not that she needed to be hardened, but she was almost naive in a way that wasn’t believable. And a bit of a butt-kisser.
I will just say it. I don’t think most of the female characters in this game are well-written. I have already mentioned that I loathe Nemesis and Eris, and I avoid them as much as possible. I will actually sigh audibly now whenever Nemesis shows up for one of her challenges. If I don’t have to accept it, I don’t. If I can’t demur, I try to get through the challenge as quickly as possible.
As for Eris, I cuss at her every time I fight her. I hate her boss fight, and I hate her sneering tone. She is the exact same as she was when I first started the game, and she’s beyond tedious. Actually, I could say that about Melinoé, too. Not that she’s enraging or irritating, but that she’s tedious. There’s not much depth to her, and while I don’t need her to be like her brother, I wish there was more to her than just her earnestness.
That’s all for now; I will return to this tomorrow.