Hades II

⭐ 9.5/10

It seems insane not to give this game a perfect 10/10 given the time and mental energy that I have devoted to it over the past couple months, but that's what happens when you are the game that comes after Silksong. This roguelike is exactly like the first, which was great, but with tons of different boons, enhancements, upgrade systems, and importantly 2 different paths you can take. It takes the foundation of the first game and improves on basically everything, a lot like Silksong! As someone who often shies away from creativity in gameplay this game encourages and rewards it, and nothing feels better than salvaging a run that feels lost through some new boon combinations you would have never tried otherwise.

It really is a masterpiece in that way, seemingly endless build combinations that force you to change your play style and get better as a player. Not many games have me thinking about percentages and combos and how I want to tackle my next run, which makes it super addictive. Every run felt better than the previous one for a majority of my play through, and that's pretty special.

I do think the wall of text storyline holds this back, but I am not sure there is a better way around that. I know lots of people online love these arcs ripped from Greek mythology, and I do too, but I feel like I only understand them broadly as I spam through the text it throws at me. I feel bad, since I am simultaneously amazed at the amount of dialog that needed to be recorded here.

I've been watching a documentary series on the making of the first game, and it is really mind blowing. I am so jealous of these developers on these small teams making something so cool and exciting, and that's before they knew it would be a hit. The amount of creativity all these people have is just so beyond me, and I love seeing how the director collaborates with the musician collaborates with the artists collaborates with the coders. Watching things like this, that I would consider art, come together is just complete magic to me. Seeing them huddle around a screen watching someone play it on Twitch for the first time and enjoy it brought a tear to my eye, but I loved seeing how it also motivated them, seeing tons of small things they wanted to improve. It's like watching people fulfill their purpose, making something they love that will have lasting impact. More to come on that in a future review.

Great game with endless replayability and charm. I'll play whatever this studio makes!