Before I continue with my feelings about the story and characters of Hades II (Supergiant Games), I have to note that Supergiant Games released a patch today that apparently explains the context for the ending. It doesn’t change the ending, but it gives background to why the ending is the way it is. You have to go back to before the true ending and replay a bit to get the added context. Once you finish that, you get all your stuff back. And, of course, you’re encouraged to make a save in case anything gets fucked up.
Think about that. They got so much pushback, they added this extra content to explain the true ending that apparently everyone hated. That’s an exaggeration, of course, but I have seen a lot of complaints about it in the forums. Plus, I have been complaining about it for several posts.
I don’t think I’m going to play it yet because I don’t want to fuck up my save if it’s not possible to undo it/go back to where I was/etc. In other words, I’m going to make sure the bugs are all worked out before I do it. Plus, this is the first day in which I did not play the game at all. I don’t want to jump back into it. I don’t know how much or how little there is to the part that was patched in, so I don’t know how much time I would have to devote to it.
Instead, I will continue to rant about the story and the characters of the game. Here is my post from yesterday in which I tackled the one true ending. I ended with a shout-out to Logan Cunningham who is brilliant in this as wella as in the last game. He’s been the narrator for every Supergiant Games game, and he’s a gem. From now on, there will be spoilers.
*SPOILERS*
I have to rave about another character in the game. Yes! Let’s start with something very positive. It’s Icarus, whom I took to calling Icky. It was my pet name for him, and I promise that it was endearing. Related, there’s an Artefact called the Daedalus Hammer. You get to choose from three perks, and they’re all pretty good. I usually pick one that gives more attack power or lets me attack further each time. They were in the last game as well.
I did not remember that Daedalus was Icarus’s father in Greek mythology until Icarus brought it up. Then, it came flooding back (I did remember that he flew too close to the sun), and this is one NPC story that was really strong. In this telling, Daedalus has unofficially retired without telling anyone. Read: he disappeared. Icarus took over the family business without telling anyone that his father was gone.
One little touch that I really liked was that once an a while when I chose a Daedalus Hammer perk, I would thank Icarus for it. I find out later that he is always trying to live up to his father’s expectations, and that he never did it when he was his father’s apprentice. One time, he made a mistake (as apprentices do), and his fother exploded at him. Icarus accepted it a just chastisement for his mistake, but I was appalled.
I had one hand that was replaced with some kind of, ah, I’m not really sure. I think it’s a magical glove of some sort? At any rate, it happened because Icky and I tried to get intimate–and it went spectacularly wrong. After a lot of investigation, I found an incantation that might make him corporeal for one night. I had to wait until I got the ingredients, but once I did, I was more than ready to get it on with him.
If I remember correctly, he was hesitant because he did not want to hurt me again. I told him it was my choice to make, and I would deal with the consequences. He agreed, and it was magical. They did not show the sex, which was fine. I’m just happy to know it happened. Initially, Icky was going to spend half the time with me and half the time flying, but he spent most of the time with me. He did manage to get some flying in after, though.
I adored this NPC questline and his whole, well, everything. Icky shows up for one wave of enemies in the upward path, on level two or three. He flies overhead and bombs the enemies while shouting encouragement at me. After we clear the wave, he alights, and we have a chat. Then he gives me a perk.
I love seeing him on a run; it makes my day, er night.
He and Moros are my favorite romance options/NPCs by a wide margin. Moros used to be first, but at some point, Icarus passed him. Probably because I maxed out my relationship with Moros first. But also, he’s a bit too earnest whereas Icky has some sass to him. On the other hand, Moros has a six pack that is very impressive. And horns/antlers.
That’s the good. Now, the bad. I was going to talk more about my hatred for Nemesis and Eris, but I need to talk about Hecate, so let’s talk about that first. The basic story is that Hecate was working for Hades and rescued Melinoë and Hypnos when Chronos came to kidnap the family. Hecate raised Melinoë as a trained assassin with the sole goal of killing Chronos. Death to Chronos is the tagline, and it’s repeated often throughout the game.
Hecate takes Melinoë to The Crossroads, which is a place for all The Unseen. She is the first boss on the downward path, and she’s basically the test boss to see if you’re good enough to take on Chronos. She is adamant that she’s not my mother and gets cross if I intimate at all that she is.
After the true ending, we have a talk. I think it was after I beat her as the first boss because we can’t talk at The Crossroads, but I’m not sure. (My memory isn’t what it used to be.) Oh, it’s because The Fates told me that she knew more than she was telling me, so of course, I had to ask Hecate about it.
Here’s the story, and I’m not sure I got it right. Hecate tells me that she tried to kill Chronos waaaaaaaay long time ago and that she could not manage it. She takes off the mask she’s always wearing, and her eyes are like mine. I don’t remember why she did it–but when she failed, she integrated herself into the House of Hades and became invaluable to Hades.
After she tells me that, it hits me. She’s me? From an earlier time? It’s never laid out in plain words, but that’s the basic gist of the conversation. She raised me (her) to be a killing machine so I (she) could kill Chronos. I was confused by this, and when I looked it up, it seemed to be the consensus as to what happened.
I’m not against it in theory, but it didn’t really work in this game. Or rather, I didn’t think it was sold well. There should have been more hints earlier on to make it fit. I’m not against time shenanigans, but theye have to be earned.
I think I can sum it up by saying that while some of the individual parts of the story were fine, the sum was less than the combination of the parts. I’m done for today.