Hades II

Written by Joseph Moorer on 10/5/2025 for SW2  

When The Amazing Giants performer Jennifer Mason (cheap plug) introduced me to the first Hades, I was immediately hooked, albeit late. Hades was officially release in 2020, but I didn't play it until 2022. I was wrecked immediately and frustrated. The bosses were giving me the business, and it didn't matter what divine intervention there was. In a die-and-start-over roguelike, there are no guarantees—only the River Styx. Over and over.

Enter Wolfen Films AKA Joseph William Greene (cheap plug), who walked me through. He got me the right weapons, with the right build, and the right boons from the Gods. And boom, I beat Hades for the first time. But this game was far from over, and in 2025. It wasn't until this year that I beat Hades. And if you're not familiar with the Supergiant Olympian spectacle, I don't know if I can do it justice. It's at a 93 on Metacritic. But I'm supposed to be talking about the sequel, and I've already failed this attempt to review Hades II. Buckle up. Return to shadow, now.

Attempt 2: Hades II is finally out of early access

The Olympian isometric top-down roguelike dungeon crawler sequel is now available for Steam, Epic Games Store, and Nintendo Switch 1 & 2. It takes place after the events of the prequel, and follows the princess of the underworld, Melinoe. Since her birth, the Titan of Time, Chronos, has pieced himself back together, and has returned to take his vengeance out on his own family and sons, Hades and Zeus. Hecate, Headmistress and the crossroads witch, has been tasked with Melinoe's upbringing. Within that upbringing, Melinoe has learned the ways of the witch, and vows to get back to the family she never knew, and to kill the titan that took her family away.

The game assumes that you've played Hades, and throws you right in to the randomly generated madness you've come to love. It immediately feels familiar. All the moves Zagreus had from the previous game are with Melinoe. The attack, special, and dash are still here. Melinoe does get an upgrade. She gets charge moves, or Omega moves. These moves are more powerful, but cost "Magick" (not a typo). She has a charge attack, and a charge special. She also gets a move called Cast, which is essentially an ensnaring spell to stop or slow enemy movement. The omega version of this causes more damage upon expiration. She also has the dash strike, and she gets a sprint if you just continue to hold the dash button. Dash is your friend, as it has invincibility on startup. Getting used to these new moves is second nature, if you played enough of the prequel. If not, you'll get the hang of it. 

I must stress that you should not play this game if you have not played Hades 1 to a capacity of mastering the movement of Zagreus, the previous protagonist. The controls are tight. Anything you want Melinoe to do, she will do, giving you endless possibilities for combos that deal out effective damage. I would dare say that she moves more fluid than her older brother, and the Switch 2 Pro Controller feels great pulling off all this movement. The Joy Con 2 feels just as good, so you have no real noticeable difference. I'm sure the PC users that have played the early access version have no problem adjusting with the controllers they are using. The game offers full cross save, so if you get the Nintendo Switch version, your save comes with you, once you log into Steam or Epic from the beginning screen. But we're not talking about Steam, or Epic. We're talking about the Nintendo Switch 2 version, so it looks like we've failed this attempt to talk about the Nintendo Switch 2 version of Hades 2. Return to shadow, now.

Attempt 3: Hades II is a game about vengeance

And vengeance will belong to the daughter of Hades with the right build, of course. Melinoe knows she can't do this alone, regardless of the obstacles along the way. She will require some assistance, and most of the assists will come from the Olympians. By way of Boons, the gods and goddesses will enhance Melinoe's move set. Once you accept the message on behalf of Olympus, you can choose one of three upgrades. These can enhance your attacks, special, cast, and dash. There are boons that will trigger automatically, such as effects after you get damaged, or even bonuses if you meet the requirements. For example, "Every time your attack hits, refill your life if it's below 40." Common boons are what the game starts with, and as you progress in the game, you can get rare, epic, all the way up to legendary and heroic. Deeper in the game will see the gods combining their powers for duo boons. These are all random, and there is a way to guarantee some show up when you want, but more on that later. Pick the best that suits your runs. There will be a lot of them, and you will turn some down. 

Though most of the gods and goddesses from the first game are here with new boons, there are some new gods as well. Hestia and Apollo, for starters, both make their debut for this game, and bring the light and fire enhancements, respectively. Some of the gods will only appear with more runs through the game, and some of them are locked behind more frequent runs of the game. You will also get the chance to acquire a super special move called a Hex. Hexes fill up like a super move meter from a fighting game. Once it's filled, you can unleash a powerful attack, like shooting a beam of light, or raising a slain enemy to fight by your side. All of these boons and hexes can be leveled up as well, with Daedalus hammers sprinkled throughout the runs. If you want the good stuff, you're going to have to proceed further into the game. When I say proceed, I mean die. A lot. You will get smacked, no matter how good you were at Hades 1. No matter how much you accept from the gods themselves. There's no way around it. And once you die, every power up you gained is gone. The things you collect are taken back to the encampment with you. Fortunately, like my attempts at writing this review, you can return to shadow and start over at any time, which is the only way to lose your progress.

Look how long that above paragraph is. The editor is not going to like that. I have to start over. Return to shadow, now!

Attempt 4: Special thanks to John Yan for coding an autosave into the admin website to autosave my progress

Hades II also has an autosave. Every time the screen goes black and goes into another scene, the game automatically saves. This also happens when you return to the encampment, which is where you go every time you fail in your attempt to defeat the mad titan. In your encampment, you'll meet characters to aid you in your constant outings. This is where you ended up after the head mistress took you in. This is also where she trained you. Everything you need before you set out to battle is here. I don't want to spoil anything here, but again, just as the prequel, your permanent upgrades will come from here. The first, and most important, are incantations. Incantations are spells that you will learn on your outings, or by talking to characters in the game. These will also help you with upgrades, and will give you items to exchange for more powerful enhancements. Some of them take time to brew in the caldron. Anything you collect during your runs can be brought back to the encampment to exchange for more permanent upgrades. There are more ways to upgrade Melinoe's move set. 

The second of the permanent upgrades is the arcana. The arcana consists of cards that can help you on your runs. The more you use, the better your chances for survival. The arcana cards have numbers on them, so you can only activate the ones that add up to the total of your grasp. You can extend your grasp to equip more cards, again as you progress, and you unlock more cards with the items you find out in the wild. Yet another reason to keep playing. As you're getting good at the game, you can make Melinoe have a better chance to make you feel like you're not wasting your time. There's a card that gives you a death defiance, which automatically resurrects you when your life is depleted. This is the way. Don't be a hero. As soon as you unlock this, equip it. 

The storyline in this game is absolutely filled with dialogue from these characters. All voice acted, and all different, with every single interaction. I have put 60+ hours into this game, and I've never heard the same thing twice from anyone as far as the story goes. Talk to everyone, all the time. You can skip the voice acting and just read the text on the screen—if you're a sicko and you hate good things. The characters sometimes scoff if you skip them right away, which just goes to show the personal touch the developers put into the game.

All that to say, there are tips hidden within the conversations. Some will tell you outright what you're doing wrong. Listen to everyone. During the runs, you will also run into characters that will enhance your runs, like making you bigger so your attacks are more powerful or even giving you armor. My favorite one is "enemies take damage as they spawn in." Don't be afraid to give characters gifts. They will give you a keepsake in return to help you on your mission. How did I get here without telling you how to get here? I think I messed this up again. Return to shadow, now!

Attempt 5: Hades II levels are randomly generated

You will start off with a boon every time from a god or goddess, which is also randomly generated. Each encounter will have your fair share of enemies. Once you defeat all the enemies, the encounter ends, and your reward is revealed for the next encounter. These rewards can consist of boons, encampment currency, and some will increase your life, and magick limit (not a typo). You'll sometimes have a choice between the rewards. Some rewards are marked with a skull, indicating a mini boss battle, or a more difficult battle. Some rewards will not be given unless you slay every enemy, though later in the game, some rewards are just handed to you, once you perform the right incantations. One that is always constant is the boatman Charon. He will sell you various items in exchange for gold. It's also a free path, so even if you don't have money, it's good to rest in the shop. 

I used the phrase "encampment currency" because I didn't know what else to call the abundance of items that you get in the wild. Most of these you will use only to exchange them for incantations, or powerups to the arcana. Eventually a broker in the encampment appears and you can buy items from him. Some upgrades or incantations will only be available with a combination of items. Remember, incantations are your best way to progress in the game. This is the way to unlock upgradable weapons, and even ask pets, or familiars, to accompany you in battle. I'm doing it again, because I think I'm just holding the reader's hand and writing an unofficial guide. So, before I start over: talk to everyone, try out different boons, use the incantations, and extend your grasp in the arcana as soon as possible. Ok. Return to shadow, now.

Attempt 6: I don't want to talk about this game anymore without talking about the music

The music in this game, in my opinion, is concert worthy. This is not a joke. Darren Korb is the mastermind behind this 52-track masterpiece. The music during every encounter, and every location is simply phenomenal. The different songs depending on what you're doing in the game are just perfectly placed. Mini boss music is intense. The last level just takes you on this musical journey and follows you through every battle. From face-melting guitar riffs to epic horns and timpani, Darren really immerses you into the game with this soundtrack. And then, (spoilers) I entered the second level in the first campaign. The boss of the level is luring you to them, with music, and then...then...the boss Sings directly to Melinoe while trying to defeat her! The boss music is an actual reprise of the stage music.  If this trope is in any other game, please notify me immediately. This is so good—and is so good every run. There is a way you can even sing a duet with one of the gods, and I listened to this three-minute song, Moonlight Guide Us, for 30 minutes. I was totally mesmerized. The music with the harmonies, is soothing, and hypnotic. I'm listening to it now. 

After listening to the entire soundtrack on Spotify on numerous drives, I did some research. Yes, he is the composer behind the original Hades, as well as Bastion, Transistor, and Pyre. What I didn't know is that he used to write songs for Rock Band, and he is a Rock Band 2 national champion. I didn't even know they had championships in Rock Band. I would be remiss if I didn't give a similar shout out to Ashley Barrett, Judy Alice Lee, Erin Yvette, Colin Ryan, and Louis Cole. I love when music to a video game makes the experience that much cooler, and that's what Hades II has done here. Especially for the price point. I'm buying the soundtrack. With money. 

Hades II looks convoluted when you read about it. Even if you watch it, you're probably trying to figure out what's going on. You may hate to watch someone else play it, and that's ok. I implore you to play it yourself. If you want a challenge, play this game. If you want to learn about how witchcraft was an integral part of Greek Mythology, play this game. If you're looking for endless boss battles, great music, and a game where you literally have to find the right build on the right run, play this game. You can even make the game harder for yourself, and you get even more rewards. You will never play this game for nothing. You will never receive nothing in return. Give gifts to the gods, witches, and any other characters you meet. I was a late adopter on the first one, and I didn't play this one in early access. Thank the gods no one ruined it for me. Everything about Hades II is amazing, and the reason this review took so long is because I didn't want to put it down. Not withstanding, this runs fantastic on the Switch 2. No slowdown, and 1080p at 120fps in TV mode. It feels good in handheld, too: still 1080, at 60fps. 

I'm still playing it. Long after the credits, because there is no DLC. Everything is here. Post-game content is here. And there is a lot of post-game content. Characters from the smallest arachnid to the largest monsters are here. With all the music, and dialogue between the characters, it's kind of amazing they accomplished this in four-and-a-half years. At first, it can be a little overwhelming. The game will eventually point you in the right direction and sometimes shame you into making the right decision. Try everything. Do everything. Talk to everyone. You've got nothing but "time." Death to Chronos.