A Rogue-Like Dungeon Game “Crawls” to the Top

On September 17 of 2020, a game called ‘Hades’ came out on the platforms of Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Nintendo Switch. Supergiant, the publisher for ‘Hades’, says that it is “a rogue-like dungeon crawler in which you defy the god of the dead as you hack and slash your way out of the Underworld of Greek myth.” This game won multiple awards at ‘DICE’ awards, including game of the year. With a ten out of ten on Steam, and a four point nine out of five on GameStop, ‘Hades’ became a pretty popular game.  

‘Hades’ got its month or so of fame a few months after it was released. Like everything else nowadays the surge of popularity for the game was powerful, just not long lasting. It was for a good reason though. A mixture of hype for two years about the game, and then the game actually living up to expectations made it, in my opinion, one of the best games to come out in a while. 

A mixture of story and combat is what allured most people. Even for people like myself who don’t play combat games, ‘Hades’ is a great game. The art style is beautiful, and unique for each character. The game mechanics are pretty straightforward. The one slightly negative thing about ‘Hades’ though, is that it is very hard. Even on the easiest setting it is difficult. There are no save points, and at least thirteen rooms to go through before the boss room. That is just for the first section too. 

I will be honest and say I have not made it past around the fifth room in the second section yet. The game was made that way though. The game creators were planning on people not being able to beat it in one run. That is where the story comes in. After so many attempts it unlocks more and more background. Not only for the characters but for the storyline for the game. 

I personally think ‘Hades’ earned the high ratings it got. It is an amazing game, even if it’s infuriating at times. It is worth the twenty-five to thirty dollars it costs.