TL;DR:

Pros

• Seamlessly blends old and new
• Visual and sonic heavy-hitter, even on less powerful PCs
• Compelling characters with phenomenal voice acting
• Gameplay that returns to form without getting boring
• Story-driven with clever, funny writing
• Very well-priced on PC

Cons

• Requires playing the prequel for a satisfying experience

Score: 6/7 — A perfect example of a compelling sequel

Reviewed on PC (Windows); available on Windows, macOS, Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. $10.49 (Steam)

With any Game of the Year comes the inevitable ‘snubs’ debate. This year, while Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 ran away with the crown, I was happy that my personal GOTY, Hades II, at least took home the title of ‘Best Action Game’ at the Game Awards 2025. Perhaps the next awards should include a ‘Best Sequel’ award as well: I think it would have cleaned up.

Having launched out of Early Access in September, Version 1.0 of the long-awaited Hades follow-up by Supergiant Games is another visually maximalist, story-driven roguelite masterpiece, bringing both punchy gameplay and compelling storytelling to the table. But it’s not just a rehash of its Hugo, BAFTA and multiple Game Award-winning predecessor — in many ways it’s even better.

Living up to the hype

The basic structure of the Greek mythology-based game is the same as the first one. You, a Greek god, hack and slash your way through powerful bosses, boosted by powerups from your family of powerful Olympians. While you’re busy dying (and you will die a lot), you can collect resources to make yourself permanently stronger for your next try. Simple, effective and familiar.

But from the outset it is clear that you are telling a different story from Hades, which is a relief. The key challenge of a game sequel is that the hype surrounding the first game can make for an overall underwhelming follow-through. Hades II, however, never leans on the nostalgia factor heavily enough to detract from its own story.

The game’s premise in a nutshell is this: the Titan of Time, Chronos, has overtaken the Underworld and his forces are sieging Olympus. This means that the player may choose to travel down to the Underworld or up to Olympus to deal with either threat: two games for your game.

The game sets the stakes higher than its predecessor immediately, without losing what makes it fundamentally a Hades story. It pays homage to the setting, characters and themes of the first game, without trying too hard to be the first game. Yet it’s still familiar: it honours the core themes of connection, family, perseverance, and of course, beating your enemies to death.

Aesthetic delight

It bears at least brief mention that this game is absolutely gorgeous, with luminescence and subtle movement pervading every piece of scenery. As with Hades, the stylised environment, beautifully-rendered character stills and fluidity of movement are extremely easy on the eyes.

Players can tweak the resolution to prevent lag, but I’ve not yet had an issue running the game, surprisingly for my mid-range PC and its integrated graphics card. (Though you may want a cooling pad, as the game runs hot for me after a while.)

The sound design and score also pulls its weight: tracks are multi-layered and seamlessly transition from gentle, ‘Greek’ instrumentals and soaring vocals into fun, crashy metal and synth.

Gameplay magic

Hades set the bar high with its arsenal of weapons, powerups and abilities, and it would have been easy to throw some extra ones on top and call it a day. But Hades II refuses to do things by halves, and so even the returning gods come bearing almost entirely new upgrades. Add several new gods, new weapons and new mechanics, and there are no grounds to accuse the studio of laziness in upgrading their gameplay design.

The new mechanic most worthy of mention is one that adds an entirely new dimension to gameplay: Magick, which you can channel into your attacks to transform them into powerful alternative moves. While this mechanic admittedly took me a while to get used to using, it was highly satisfying to master.

The central role of magick also captures the essence of your new character, which I really appreciate. The sheer witchiness of the protagonist Melinoë is impossible to ignore, suffusing the gameplay and immersing the player in the new character and setting. You even get to bring animal familiars with you into battle for added thematic fun.

But as satisfying as it is to blast your enemies to death with an overpowered build, winning the game isn’t the point of Hades II. The point is in fact to keep dying, so that you can keep living in the world and interacting with the characters.

Characters full of character

Every character in Hades II — from the re-imaginings of well-known characters in mythology to faceless Shades of mortals — is packed full of personality. Even the villains are a treat to exchange barbs with before you start trying to kill each other viciously.

Greek mythos lovers like me will appreciate that the sequel honours many prominent figures of lore that never got to see the limelight during the first game, whether as allies or antagonists. All their dialogue is written personality-first, and delivered by a shining cast of old and new voice actors including Darren Korb, Logan Cunningham, Judy Alice Lee, and even Asa Butterfield of Sex Education fame. The real charm of the game lies in interacting with these characters, and the rewards of bonding with them. There’s even romance on the cards for those who choose it.

Fair warning: the bonding takes a lot of time. I still haven’t fully forged bonds with most characters. But rushing the process defeats the point. The player is invited to revel in the world, slowly building relationships with the people around them just by living in the game with them. It even makes one look forward to dying: I’ve certainly played fast and loose on purpose before, so I can return to the overworld and talk to my favourite characters.

Brilliant sequel — but not a standalone

There is very little to nitpick about Hades II as a sequel, even from a biased perspective. For interested newcomers, however, I will warn that many character-driven moments will hold far less weight, and key elements of the plot lose their appeal if you haven’t got a reason to care about the characters already. The game is chiefly designed for returners, so playing the duology in order is highly recommended — not an unreasonable ask.

As a longtime fan, the only thing I was disappointed by was the resolution of a side plot to do with a fan-favourite returning character, which was a bit of a letdown for character interactions. Additionally, as with the first game, I wanted to spend more time enjoying the beautiful post-victory scenery after the main plotline was complete. But it bodes well that my only points of critique relate to wanting to spend more time in the world of the game.

Clever writing

All the great gameplay and storytelling chops aside, there is something to be said for a game that has fully-voiced dialogue lines for just about anything, and some really witty stuff at that.

From Melinoë bantering with the narrator, to being told off for pausing the game while fighting the final boss, to simple tongue-in-cheek humour peppered throughout the massive script, the game is always getting a laugh out of me.

The overall verdict: play it, but don’t rush. The point of Hades II, as with its predecessor, is to keep playing, and in doing so, to keep living in the world and falling in love with it. In this regard, it’s fantastic at making you stick around for ‘just one more run’, especially for the chance of running into your favourite characters. It took me days to finish this review because I couldn’t stop playing, and what’s a better endorsement than that?

Version 1.0 of Hades II is currently $10.49 on Steam — a steal for longtime fans. For newcomers interested in diving in, the bundle of both games and their soundtracks is available for a discounted $26.96.