You could have the most catastrophic run ever – dead in two chambers! – and come out of it feeling like you at least made some crumb of progress, or learned something cool about your favourite distant aunt or something. The dysfunctional sitcom that is Ancient Greek gods’ family life is a cornucopia of bizarre little stories and incidental anecdotes that makes every single second you’re putting into Hades feel like time well-invested. Gods, located on Mount Olympus, bestow blessings on you as you fight through the shambling denizens of Tartarus, Asphodel, Elysium and beyond, modifying your powers and guiding you into different ways of playing the game.Īre you going to side with Dionysus and sup of his booze, granting you the power of inflicting hangovers (read: poison) on your foes? Or would you rather hunt with Artemis, and up your chance for critical damage when you manage to get those big hits in? Rather than just picking up random perks and seeing how they interact, Hades encourages experimentation via narrative: you may have done a Poseidon-based blunt-force dash run last time, but you’ll pick up his boons again now because you want to hear how he interacts with, say, Zeus (who gave your bow some lovely lightning-flinging properties at the start of your new escape attempt).

It starts simple: you pick up your weapon of choice, and set about pillaging the lands of the undead in your somewhat directionless quest towards the surface. Using Zagreus – your charismatic, sensitive yet occasionally clueless prince of the Underworld – as a vessel for you to explore the lower reaches of Ancient Greek hell, Supergiant Games manages to make the world and its dysfunctional cast of characters just as important as the swaggering action that fuels it. The problem with many roguelites is the sense of disconnection in what you’re doing versus what the game world recognises you doing: endless attempts to bind Isaac or enter the Gungeon are all well and good, but the genre isn’t famously a story-heavy one.

READ MORE: Gorgeous, God-like and…bisexual? How ‘Hades’ developers made sexuality part of the power fantasy.

Weaving together considered, inspired storytelling with action that could go toe-to-toe even gaming’s most loved roguelite titans, Hades is both exceptional and essential, pitting you as one of the most complete, rounded protagonists you’ll ever meet, rebelling against something he doesn’t even comprehend.

It’s attractive, it’s compelling, it’s wrathful (when it wants to be) and it’s got such a gift at getting in your head that you can understand its cult-like reputation amongst gamers and non-gamers alike. Hades is god-like, in every sense of the word.

Osprey hades review