It took me this long to finally pick up Hades, and it is a great game.
The combat is responsive, the art and music are excellent, the characters are memorable, and the progression kept me engaged through roughly 35 escape attempts before I finally defeated Hades.
Then I beat him again on the very next run.
But...
SPOILERS: POST-FIRST-CLEAR ENDING STRUCTURE
[spoiler]That should have felt like finishing the game. Instead, after defeating the final boss and meeting Persephone, I learned that the credits are locked behind several more successful clears.
I understand that repeated runs are the entire appeal for many roguelike fans, but for a casual player who mainly plays games to finish them, this structure is frustrating. The first clear already delivers the mechanical climax: you escape, defeat the final boss, and reach Persephone. That was the natural point to roll the credits.
The remaining family storyline could easily have continued afterward as post-game content or “unfinished business” for players who wanted more. Instead, the game withholds the normal satisfaction of completion and turns the final boss into something you are expected to repeatedly farm for story progress.
After two clears, I lost my third attempt and realized I had no desire to repeat the same regions and bosses several more times just to earn the credits. I had already beaten Hades twice. At that point, continuing felt less like overcoming a challenge and more like spending additional chunks of time to satisfy an arbitrary story requirement.
Excellent game, but a poor ending structure for players who do not enjoy repetition for its own sake.[/spoiler]
That said, yes, I would still recommend Hades. [spoiler]The journey to the first clear was absolutely worth playing, even if the way the game handles its ending ultimately frustrated me.[/spoiler]
Zagreus, I do not owe you [spoiler]eight more[/spoiler] trips to Greece. Please just take Uber Hell.
(The giant spoiler block looks a little dramatic, but, well… so is the House of Hades.)
