Choose Hades II if you want deeper Hades-style roguelite combat, huge build variety, polished art, and rewarding progression. Skip it if repetition, resource tracking, or a less intimate story than the original will bother you.
Best for Hades fans and action-roguelite players who want deep build crafting, constant unlocks, polished presentation, and many hours of repeatable runs.
Not for players who dislike roguelike repetition, resource juggling, fast reflex combat, or sequels that closely preserve the first game’s structure.
Hades II is presented by reviewers as a bigger, deeper, and more polished evolution of Supergiant’s roguelite formula. Its best-supported strengths are tactical combat, constant progression, two-route content variety, striking art, excellent voice work, and a standout soundtrack. The explicit tradeoff is that the sequel’s size and systems add resource clutter, repetition, and a story some reviewers found less intimate or less satisfying than the first game. Even with those caveats, the review evidence points to a confident sequel whose mechanical depth, presentation, and replay pull outweigh its familiar structure for most players.
Products reviewers directly compared with this model, grouped into quick takeaways.
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oral experience is as important as the visual one
deliver unique, memorable, and sublime audio
slaying certain enemies affects the music
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Running at 120 FPS at 1080p
stable 120 FPS and above
Handheld is locked at 60 frames pers
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I did not experience any bugs or crashes
No crashes, frame rate diffs
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I did not experience any bugs or crashes
No crashes, frame rate diffs
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you can hang out in a bar
You can tend to a garden
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full save cross progression, so you can bring your
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a place I like to go to hang out with my witchy friends
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Not even the archetypical Olympians are one-dimensional
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general art direction that also applies to every interface and menu button
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the visuals are simply stunning
polish and visual flare that you've come to expect
it looks amazing, sounds exceptional, and it plays great
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the voice acting is top-notch for everyone
The voice actors behind these characters really bring them to life
excellent voice performances, exuding
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each new god or titan introduced blowing me away with their striking, modern designs
beautiful art direction, with a wide range of color usage
The art is sensational
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where I noticed no performance issues
looks absolutely amazing and runs brilliantly
run flawlessly on both PC and my Steam Deck
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sharp dialogue to a degree that somehow surpasses
the characters, dialogue, and line delivery are fantastic
dialogue be unique for every single encounter
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hard to take the grin off my face
this game is fantastic
fast, fun, endlessly varied, and tactical
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hasn't been one as varied and fullbodied as this
I would even call it a step up from the first Hades musically
My goodness, does it sound good
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writing remains best in class
Supergiant's writing remains best-in-class
story, the characters, the art, the music; it's all absolutely excellent
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extensive content, and advanced progression systems
Even 40 runs in, I discovered elements that make the game feel entirely new
two distinct paths have their own bosses
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Environmental design, animation work, effects, character
packed into every single second of the Hades 2 experience
immense amount of detail poured into each space
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controls are very responsive and tight
animation frames can be cancelled near-immediately
controls become second nature
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expert world-building, combat design, and sharp dialogue
history, mythology, lore, and technical expertise woven
as much a reinterpretation and retelling of Greek myth as it is an homage
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Everything about Hades II has a witchy vibe
characters, atmosphere, polish, and presentation
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giving us a full 120fps mode
controller support, cloud saves, all that usual stuff
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scope for upgrades and improvements is quite staggering
charging either button for a much more powerful version
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more to do whilst also letting you take a breather
two massive paths that feel quite different
effectively doubling the size of the action-packed part of the game
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on-the-fly decision-making is more important than ever
so many levers to pull and knobs to turn
Melaninoi skills are much deeper than Zagrias
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a cut above in its animations, art, effects
glides between combat-states with impossible fluidity
subtle touches of animation that bring the characters to life
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more than worth the price of admission
price point of $29.99 is easily justifiable
It's 29 bucks, at least on Steam
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To make combat even more complex, each attack also has an omega form
Melaninoi is much more considered and cerebral
the flow of combat
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shares a lot of DNA with its predecessor
none of these upgrades compromise Hades's legacy
Hades so good and basically doubles all of it
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Hades II is a polished experience across all systems
slick, well-constructed, beautiful and rewarding
mirror polish these new and returning ones
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one dynamic, musical boss fight that's particularly impressive
Every single boss in the game has an excellent move set
truly memorable and challenging boss battles
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methods of progression get added at a generous but not overwhelming pace
consistent introduction of unlockables, including weapons, boons, arcana cards
I feel more rewarded by the runs that are cut short
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More challenges are introduced, new mechanics
combat toolkit, the postgame content
specific endgame challenges it adds after you complete your first run
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There is a wealth of replayability here
I can't put this game down
dozens of hours of enjoyment
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built on the original makes it feel like we have gotten two sequels
mechanical richness is staggering
small, sometimes experimentative changes that have profound effect
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introduced at a steady but measured pace
Veteran Hades players will feel right at home
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a dense and expansive story and lore to dig into
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Whenever things err towards tedious or repeated
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any progress that you've gained over on PC isn't lost
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entirely new roster of enemies to contend with
incredible variety of enemies
with new enemies and bosses
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a vast number of different gods, goddesses, and other mythological figures
even more helpful Gods than in the original game
The characters are captivating
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turning losses into immediate gratification and fueling you to do another run
The roguelike loop is masterfully crafted
Hades II makes each run feel meaningful
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I still find myself floored by the ambition
resonate with me, I think, emotionally
a hauntingly uplifting harmony that brings tears to my eyes
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six distinct weapons to use
The build variety is fantastic
Each weapon feels like its own thing
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removing screen shake and adjusting the subtitles
options like God Mode and Aim Assist
addition of god mode or the carrying forth of god mode
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Each of them aids you in battle
Each has combat advantages and resource-gathering perks
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an even better protagonist than the first game
Melinoe herself is quite the charmer
Melinoe herself is an extremely likable protagonist
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will not disappoint you across Steam Deck, Switch
Sneaking in a run (or part of one) on the train
play in that portable fashion
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the real draw is the alchemy system
every loose flower, mystery seed, or special grain of sand can serve a purpose
fishes, find interesting stones, harvests herbs
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make each run as tricky as we want
Use your cast to slow enemies
turns the challenge to eleven
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a reward to help you power up
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the narrative feels completely seamless and linear regardless of your actions
story that is gripping to watch unfold between runs
Hades 2 is a more complicated story
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same speed and grace as her brother
a bit slower and more methodical than the original
Melinoe doesn’t feel quite as slick as Zagreus did
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I’d probably pick the VFX as the standout
so many effects filling the screen at once
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loved more agency and variety in the pathing
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almost exactly like the original, yet all the parts are new
ultimately a pretty safe sequel
it’s a very safe sequel
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I struggled with my early Hades 2 runs
It can feel a bit overwhelming at first
can almost feel a bit overwhelming
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I became increasingly connected to the characters
There isn’t a character flaw in sight
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allowing you to hunt down what’s most important to you
can feel like busy work
too much to keep track of
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the longer load times
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The timing on this took me a long time to master
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Hades 2's zoomed-out perspective
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it can be tough to pick out
hard to parse what is going on on screen
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how long it took me to find the sub-menus
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does not break the mold or reinvent the wheel
just another game that follows that form
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repeat the same levels, enemies and bosses
incredibly tedious to go grind that stuff
every run feels more or less the same
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Compared with other Video Games, this product is above average in bug frequency, save system reliability, user interface design.
| Attribute | This product | Category average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| bug frequency | 5.0 | 3.5 | +1.5 |
| save system reliability | 4.8 | 3.3 | +1.5 |
| user interface design | 5.0 | 3.5 | +1.5 |
| crash stability | 5.0 | 3.5 | +1.5 |
| dialogue quality | 5.0 | 3.8 | +1.2 |
| side character depth | 5.0 | 3.7 | +1.3 |
| writing quality | 4.9 | 3.7 | +1.2 |
| skill tree depth | 4.9 | 3.8 | +1.1 |
Yes. Reviewers repeatedly describe it as more Hades with deeper systems, more content, stronger progression, and the same core roguelite appeal.
Yes, mainly through Melinoe’s magic, casts, omega attacks, mana management, and more deliberate combat. Some reviewers still call it a safe sequel rather than a reinvention.
Reviewers describe the combat as challenging, fast, and tactical. God Mode, progression upgrades, and adjustable challenge systems help soften the difficulty.
The review consensus says yes. The two major routes, extra biomes, many weapons, Arcana, familiars, resources, and postgame goals give it a much larger scope.
The story is generally praised for reactive dialogue and mythic world-building, but some reviewers found it less heartfelt or less satisfying than the original’s family arc.
Performance evidence is strong on Switch 2, Steam Deck, and other handheld play, though a few reviews mention portable readability or Switch 1 load-time caveats.
The most repeated concerns are repetition, resource clutter, occasional visual readability issues, and mixed opinions on whether the bigger story has the same emotional punch.
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Choose Saros. It scores 4.9 vs 3.8 for load times, with a 4.3 overall score.
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Good if you want deeper Hades-style roguelite combat, huge build variety, polished art, and rewarding progression. Skip it if repetition, resource tracking, or a less intimate story than the original...
Pros: world interactivity, side character depth
Cons: grind level
Best for inventive turn-based combat, a powerful story, and standout presentation. Skip it if you dislike parry-heavy encounters or want cleaner navigation and UI.
Pros: combat system, boss design
Cons: platforming precision, puzzle design
Choose if you want Horizon’s best-looking open world and freer exploration. Skip if twitchy handling and a city that can still feel sparse are dealbreakers.
Pros: exploration quality, open-world design
Cons: world interactivity, learning curve
Good if you want elite bullet-hell shooting with smoother roguelite progression. Skip it if abstract storytelling, repetition, or lighter buildcrafting will frustrate you.
Pros: load times, visual effects quality
Cons: side character depth, map and navigation design