Hades - by Supergiant Games (Bastion, Transistor, Pyre)

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Its got beautiful art and good narration like you'd expect from from one of their games but for me the gameplay is better than any since Bastion. Its a room-to-room hack and slash game. The dungeon on your escape from Hades is a randomly generated series of rooms. It's got some Binding of Isaac DNA in it, with the game changing powerups along the way. You're meant to die many times and try again.

A meta game of unlocking more powerups can help you be more powerful through your many attempts.

So far I'm really enjoying it. Its in Early Access and currently exclusive to the Epic Store

Loved Bastion, but thought the gameplay in Transistor was mediocre, and in Pyre I actively disliked it. Gameplay looks better here though.
Always loved their art and their music. Definitely want to play this... as soon as it is not early access.

It's super hard by the way, and to me it doesn't feel Early Access. The early game is well polished, the only bug I've seen is a depth sorting issue in one little spot (I was standing in front of a thing but it was drawn on top of me)

They're doing Early Access right. You're sending data about how hard it is every time those f*cking bomber skeletons blow you up or fatty demons body slam you, about what powerups you're buying and not buying. The main menu tells you how long it will be before the next major update, which is super cool.

Shadout wrote:

Loved Bastion, but thought the gameplay in Transistor was mediocre, and in Pyre I actively disliked it.

Oh you grinch!
I loved Transistor even more than Bastion, the mixing and matching of programs kept things interesting gameplay wise, such a smart move.
I’ve barely started playing Pyre, but I already know it’s going on my GOTY list.

Looking forward to Hades. Eventually.

Hades: it's good! Combat feels good, art's the best yet from Supergiant. Game is $10 during the current Epic Games Store sale and then it's going up to $25 MRSP so I'd grab it now if you want a low price even if you're going to wait until it's more done.

Ooooh, thanks for the heads up! I’m definitely waiting for it to be “done”, but I’ll grab it when the getting’s good.

I got this for the 6.99 price and so far it seems pretty good. Roguelikes tend to not be my thing so we will see if it sticks.

I picked it up for $10. Well worth it if you like these kind of games.

The game is now on Steam, going for 20% discount and a free copy of Pyre to boot.
I bought SO many games in the past month or so but I kinda want this one too.

I'd preordered it on Epic, which was kinda dumb, because I never play before a game is "finished". So now I'm considering double dipping on Steam. On a game I haven't played yet. That's how much I love Supergiant Games.

Eleima wrote:

I'd preordered it on Epic, which was kinda dumb, because I never play before a game is "finished". So now I'm considering double dipping on Steam. On a game I haven't played yet. That's how much I love Supergiant Games. :D

Been super week lately when it comes to game purchases. Bought it myself.

So is this worth getting yet or are they going to wipe all progress at some point? Thanks.

Huh, so Hades isn't going 1.0 but coming to EA on Steam? Guess Supergiant didn't get the response they needed on Epic since one of the reasons they said they were going there was to do the EA with a smaller group then full launch on Steam. That seemed a bit iffy to me at the time, though obv it's a minor thing.

What a game developer says a year ago has no bearing on today. Epic backed the money truck up then. Now they're still not quite ready but their exclusivity deal is up.

I randomly started playing this recently. I find it fairly difficult to avoid damage, and you don't start with a lot of health! The art and gameplay are interesting, and I like the branching choice of level-up/path design (though it is kinda frustrating sometimes to not realize how close you are to a boss room, and then make a bad choice leading up to it).

For those of us that are less skilled than some of our gaming peers, I did find a method by which to... ahem... increase the starting life value for our hero. The game is far more fun with 500 starting life!

Please do share how to enable this gift from the gods to increase starting life.

Not sure what method Tyrian is referring to, but you can turn on God Mode in the game settings. It affects nothing other than adding damage resistance that increases each time you die. Perfect for learning the game mechanics.

Stealthpizza wrote:

So is this worth getting yet or are they going to wipe all progress at some point? Thanks.

I don't know if they'll wipe progress, but it's absolutely worth getting. I picked it up earlier this year and I've done 186 runs so far. It's a blast!

chooka1 wrote:

Please do share how to enable this gift from the gods to increase starting life.

I'll send ya a PM. It's not particularly involved.

I am enjoying the game but man Binding of Isaac has spoiled me when it some to number if pick ups, bosses, enemies, etc.

Is a poison build viable? It is always fun but I have yet to beat the game so I know I am missing some late game options.

That's because Binding of Isaac is the BEST game Cant wait for the 'final' expansion! (final is in quotes because the last one was also the final expansion)

Well I escaped. Oddly I feel done with the game. I have not had thus feeling with this style of game before. I am used to wanting to do another run.

I've been playing this recently and greatly enjoying it.
I played this before just when it arrived to Early Access, and I have to say the polish was always really good, but this improved on same aspects that bothered me before. They greatly reduced the feeling of "grinding for darkness", improved how dodge and combat feels, and added a lot more content.

Some issues that I hope are improved on

I do think that there are several issues that I hope get better before they launch.
As they contribute to the "Not sure I wanna do another run" feeling that is stronger in this title compared to Enter the Gungeon, Dead Cells or Binding of Isaac.
Some of them are pretty in the core so I'm not too optimistic, but I can still be hopeful!

Gameplay between runs is not varied enough.

It's really easy to do several runs in a row for the same weapon that use the same abilities with a close enough same boons.
Compare this to Enter the Gungeon or Binding of Isaac, your gameplay style can change drastically between runs making each run fresh, even with different "classes".
My suggestion would be more Daedalus Hammers with more variation of abilities. Maybe even removing some weapons' starting abilities to unlock during a run.

Story in Roguelites is rough.

Supergiant games are really good at making interesting unique stories with memorable characters.
Being stuck in a "loop" makes sense story wise here, but I still miss their previous games more linear story that can be completed.
They do something unique with interactions with side characters and allowing you to chat up and enjoy the other characters between and even during runs.
But that makes most of the story content a side chat rather than an in game direct event.

Time to get back to the action.

If I fail/finish a run, the time until I can start the next one is way too long. It can take a long time just to run to the place where you start another run, even if ignoring all the side activities unlocked between runs.
The game actually incentivises you to not rush back in with dialog and story only being unlocked in tidbits.
This actually makes me pay less attention to those side chats as I want to get back to action.
I have no idea how this can be balanced with their approach to storytelling in this game. But I hope they at least are aware that this might be an issue.

Phew finally got a win but it took me 30+ tries. It’s a testament to how good the game is that I kept trying until I got it. I used the shield with the aspect of zeus.

This game real good now.
On a 5 streak, the excalibur aspect for the sword is busted good.
Also shield is easy mode.

Kind of close to wrapping things up with this one until the final update. I don't think I'm going to hold out to grind through getting all the underworld upgrades, or fulfilling every prophecy, but I've got one last contract to alter

Spoiler:

Sisyphus, who, after reading up a bit on Sisyphus, I've got some mixed feelings about.

,
and probably after I do that and max out some of the remaining bonds, I'll put things on ice until the 1.0 release.

I finally managed to beat it (the bow with Power Shot on the special was amazing).

Probably holding off until the full release at this point. Debating whether or not to just start over completely as well. Curious to see how much the progression helps versus knowing what I do know and skills I've hopefully developed.

1.0 just released, which adds the true ending, some new weapon aspects, and a keepsake I have yet to find.

This game is excellent. You do a 20-30 minute run, then take a few minute break for some story and a little permanent progression, and then repeat. The weapons all have distinct playstyles, and there's a decent amount of variety in the boons you find to force some adaption. Endless carrots to chase, too.

The two most critical tips for starting out are:
1. If you have the option to take a gate with a large warhammer over it, take that one.
2. The most universally useful boon in the game comes from Athena, who has the golden shield icon surrounded by 4 dots. Her "Divine Dash" makes you invulnerable while dashing, which makes combat extremely forgiving while you're learning enemy patterns.

Because I felt like I wanted to see how things were now that 1.0 released, started a new save.

Was actually glad to see that I reached in a handful of runs, even without all the bonuses I'd built up previously.

What I particularly appreciate is that the runs resulted in some combinations I'd never tried before, but loved (exploding spear throwing was great fun while it lasted, and want to try it again).

I do love how vastly different the weapons can feel when you find the right combination with Daedalus Hammers.

All I want to know is where the heck is the PS4 version.

Athena, Demeter and Dionysis have the best boons for my taste, in that order.
Others are all good, there are no bad boons really but its nice to have some kind of slow/deflect to lean on.
Up to skull level (I dunno the real name) 12.

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