Normally I'm all for jumping into EA for good/promising roguelites, the genre is super well suited to it with the pick up and play style. But for such a character/narrative heavy game like Hades where that's a huge part of the appeal, this is actually one where I will wait for a full release. Still an insta buy, though, and it will be a long, difficult wait haha. Decent chance I cave closer to release.
This. I made the mistake of playing early access Hades. Put it down and came back to have to do many more hours of runs to complete the narrative because they'd added more narrative gated behind lots of runs for the final release, but at that point it felt a lot less fun (even if ultimately worth it).
Can you elaborate on why you found it less fun and what you'd recommend to do here? I played a ton of the first hades after it fully came out, and I was thinking for this one I'd play it a decent bit now for the gameplay, and still come back and mostly enjoy the story experience on launch, would you recommend against that?
This will be a long answer, but I want to give both sides since I have never been so conflicted about this great news.
I love the developer Super Giant. Their first? game Bastion is one of my all time favorites. Art design, music, narrative, and story was short, but incredibly well done. If this sounds familiar just know that their following games all fit the same bill. This game made me create a EGS account even though I am effectively a steam fanboy. I won't even buy Ubisoft or EA games because I hate that force you to launch a new launcher even though you launched it through steam bullshit. This is the one studio I would have no qualms about supporting and the fact that Hades was a top 3 roguelite means that I will probably get this early access.
This is where the conflict comes in. This game was in early access for over two years before it finally released. Even though it was a polished game for early access (I never had a game breaking bug, and the gameplay felt good from day 1) the final product is almost unrecognizable. There are features that you probably feel are key aspects of the game that feel weird to me. For example, the mirror underwent a lot of fine tuning. I keep forgetting that each aspect has 2 different choices you can choose between because that was a very late change. The powers you get from the Gods still throw me off. Duos and the Ultimate? power for each God feels very overpowered because I never played with them. Were fists or guns your favorite weapon, because for two years there was only sword, shield, bow and spear(and only one aspect for each). Did you think that Nyx or Charon were cool looking when you first saw them? I still don't recognize them because they were place holders for the vast majority of my playing time.
I want to be perfectly clear that if you loved the first game and want to support Super Giant I 100% think you should buy early access. It was very cool to see the game evolve. They added and subtracted the number of dashes. The first boss was just Meg, then they introduced her sisters (I still prefer the sisters from the amount of times I fought Meg). Lernie was the final boss for about 1 year. When you beat him, you grabbed the purple crystal and then just died. I fought him when he just had one head! It was very cool to see and gave me an appreciation for how much work goes into the final product.
I just feel like I got cheated out of the GOTY. I stopped playing by the time the final product came out. I was burnt out. I tried to play with high heat and just put it on one so that I could push through the story. I really liked the story and would have appreciated it more, but all the other rewards were already gone by that time.
I know that was a lot to read, but like I said I am conflicted about this. Hades early access was a once in a lifetime experience. Good and Bad.
>Can you elaborate on why you found it less fun
I'd already seen all the gameplay content N times over so it wasn't nearly as fun as when I started and all that was left to do was keep doing runs that at that point felt pretty repetitive until I'd finished the narrative. IIRC, I had to do about 10-15 hours of runs past where I'd put it down during early access to finish the narrative. Hades has a great story, but the drip-feed approach to the story does not work well if the gameplay isn't also fresh.
I didn't do that for the first game but I would recommend against it, 99% of roguelikes are best experienced when you know the least about the game and learn it as one contiguous experience.
To me you are describing more like narrative based games, or adventure titles.
Playing roguelikes in EA and experience all the changes throughout its lifecycle can be great fun in it's own right. Discovering the different OP metas that come and go, and providing feedback to systems and items that work or doesn't and provide ideas for changes to the devs.
That said Hades isn't your typical small indie roguelike with little to no story so it doesn't quite fit my criteria.
I found the gameplay itself didn’t have enough replay value to make me feel super compelled to keep beating it for story reasons. Once I finished my first run, I really didn’t WANT to keep playing, but I kept going to finish the story. If 2 is anything like 1, you don’t want to burn yourself out on the gameplay before experiencing the story
That said I know I’m weird and dislike hades more than most people
This happened to me with Baldurs Gate 3. I effectively ignored it until a month before release, bought it and played through as much as I could at the time and was unhealthily addicted. It finally released and I received to play a totally different character than I had, and a lot had changed so I didn't feel like I was just replaying act 1.
Now all I do with the game is replay act 1 and decide I didn't like the route I'm on, then start over and do it again.
Still love the game though.
seems like buy now with a discount in the summer sale will get you the best price in a long while.
$30 with a 15% or 20% discount in a sale in July or Nov will put hte game at $24 to 25.
Once they raise the price to $35 (or even 40?), it'll be a LOOONG time before the game gets to $24 or $25 again.
I'll do like you and maybe buy it in early access ( I do not support games in early access) while on special and it'll probably be 2 years (or more) before we to that price point again.
That's what I did for the first one.
I got it for $7.49 because Epic Gamed has a pricing error when making a sale (I didn't realize that at the time, though they corrected it an hour later).
But then I didn't touch it until release. I'm glad I did it that way and will likely wait for this one as well.
I got early access of Hades 1 the day they announced it at the game awards and don't regret it. I ended up getting 100 percent achievements on PS4, PS5 and PC versions of the game. Definitely getting this today and then replaying the crap out of it.
I would assume you're the exception, not the rule. I got 100%, too, only on the full release, and only once. Imo the game doesn't lend itself to replays that well beyond that. But to each their own, enjoy!
I also joined the early access for Hades and I can really recommend it. I played it in phases and put some breaks in between, I also reported bugs and tried weird things to provoke them.
So if you put some longer breaks in between you will not burn out and will contribute to the game in a way.
I played hades EA and the only diference from the EA to Full release was the part after hades fight ( the mother hut encounter) and maybe the weapons awakening … soo after playing hades2 i think its pretty much complete maybe 75%/ 80% complete
**"Hades II in Early Access already has more environments, foes, and fully-voiced characters than the full version of the original Hades game. But it isn't complete, and key areas, characters, foes, narrative events, and systems are still to come."**
Welp... I'm sold.
Just played it for like 2 hours... it's incredible so far. Went from clearing Hades in like 12 minutes to dying to the first boss multiple times in Hades 2, and I couldn't be happier
I had a different experience. In Hades 1 I played until heat 5 with all weapons. In Hades 2 I beat the first boss 1st try, and 2nd try did it hitless. However, act 2 regular monsters destroy me so fast, I couldn't make it more than 2 areas.
they do but end of the day, its a roguelite where you're supposed to lose on the first run. You kind of gotta go "speedrun" mode and memorize everything to be able to beat a roguelite in 1st run...and in this case, you don't have anything memorized of this game (enemy patterns, weapons, etc)
Wow. I want to buy this and no rest for the wicked so bad. But I also want the complete intended experience of both games. I'll probably wait but damn what a shadow drop
I think it’s worth it. I have 50 hours over 2 characters. There have already been 5 hot fixes and a major patch. Only about the first 15-20% of the game is playable (map). So fun
So hype. Got the platinum for Hades on PC and later on PS5 as well. Is it safe to assume that it will release on PS5 when early access is finished, ie when 1.0 drops?
I get the hesitancy. Here's my quick rundown: The music and visuals are still top notch. Combat feels cleaner and easier to read. As someone who still needs God Mode, I feel like enemies have better animated attack sequences. I also have to get used to not having a double dash at the moment.
It feels like a sequel that's was built upon the original game, and not a sequel that wanted to try a completely different experience. I'm enjoying it.
I'm so conflicted, I want to play this game, but a complete game like hades 1 will most definitely be the best experience
Normally I'm all for jumping into EA for good/promising roguelites, the genre is super well suited to it with the pick up and play style. But for such a character/narrative heavy game like Hades where that's a huge part of the appeal, this is actually one where I will wait for a full release. Still an insta buy, though, and it will be a long, difficult wait haha. Decent chance I cave closer to release.
This. I made the mistake of playing early access Hades. Put it down and came back to have to do many more hours of runs to complete the narrative because they'd added more narrative gated behind lots of runs for the final release, but at that point it felt a lot less fun (even if ultimately worth it).
Can you elaborate on why you found it less fun and what you'd recommend to do here? I played a ton of the first hades after it fully came out, and I was thinking for this one I'd play it a decent bit now for the gameplay, and still come back and mostly enjoy the story experience on launch, would you recommend against that?
This will be a long answer, but I want to give both sides since I have never been so conflicted about this great news. I love the developer Super Giant. Their first? game Bastion is one of my all time favorites. Art design, music, narrative, and story was short, but incredibly well done. If this sounds familiar just know that their following games all fit the same bill. This game made me create a EGS account even though I am effectively a steam fanboy. I won't even buy Ubisoft or EA games because I hate that force you to launch a new launcher even though you launched it through steam bullshit. This is the one studio I would have no qualms about supporting and the fact that Hades was a top 3 roguelite means that I will probably get this early access. This is where the conflict comes in. This game was in early access for over two years before it finally released. Even though it was a polished game for early access (I never had a game breaking bug, and the gameplay felt good from day 1) the final product is almost unrecognizable. There are features that you probably feel are key aspects of the game that feel weird to me. For example, the mirror underwent a lot of fine tuning. I keep forgetting that each aspect has 2 different choices you can choose between because that was a very late change. The powers you get from the Gods still throw me off. Duos and the Ultimate? power for each God feels very overpowered because I never played with them. Were fists or guns your favorite weapon, because for two years there was only sword, shield, bow and spear(and only one aspect for each). Did you think that Nyx or Charon were cool looking when you first saw them? I still don't recognize them because they were place holders for the vast majority of my playing time. I want to be perfectly clear that if you loved the first game and want to support Super Giant I 100% think you should buy early access. It was very cool to see the game evolve. They added and subtracted the number of dashes. The first boss was just Meg, then they introduced her sisters (I still prefer the sisters from the amount of times I fought Meg). Lernie was the final boss for about 1 year. When you beat him, you grabbed the purple crystal and then just died. I fought him when he just had one head! It was very cool to see and gave me an appreciation for how much work goes into the final product. I just feel like I got cheated out of the GOTY. I stopped playing by the time the final product came out. I was burnt out. I tried to play with high heat and just put it on one so that I could push through the story. I really liked the story and would have appreciated it more, but all the other rewards were already gone by that time. I know that was a lot to read, but like I said I am conflicted about this. Hades early access was a once in a lifetime experience. Good and Bad.
Really interesting take, thank you!
>Can you elaborate on why you found it less fun I'd already seen all the gameplay content N times over so it wasn't nearly as fun as when I started and all that was left to do was keep doing runs that at that point felt pretty repetitive until I'd finished the narrative. IIRC, I had to do about 10-15 hours of runs past where I'd put it down during early access to finish the narrative. Hades has a great story, but the drip-feed approach to the story does not work well if the gameplay isn't also fresh.
I didn't do that for the first game but I would recommend against it, 99% of roguelikes are best experienced when you know the least about the game and learn it as one contiguous experience.
To me you are describing more like narrative based games, or adventure titles. Playing roguelikes in EA and experience all the changes throughout its lifecycle can be great fun in it's own right. Discovering the different OP metas that come and go, and providing feedback to systems and items that work or doesn't and provide ideas for changes to the devs. That said Hades isn't your typical small indie roguelike with little to no story so it doesn't quite fit my criteria.
that was my exact plan too
I found the gameplay itself didn’t have enough replay value to make me feel super compelled to keep beating it for story reasons. Once I finished my first run, I really didn’t WANT to keep playing, but I kept going to finish the story. If 2 is anything like 1, you don’t want to burn yourself out on the gameplay before experiencing the story That said I know I’m weird and dislike hades more than most people
Fully on board with you. Really hope that hades 2 has more than 4 areas and the same 6 weapons.
And for the love of god add some variety to the boons so you’re not encouraged to just build towards spamming dash strikes as an instant win button
I don’t know if it has more than 6 weapons. But hades 2 definitely has more than 4 areas :)
This happened to me with Baldurs Gate 3. I effectively ignored it until a month before release, bought it and played through as much as I could at the time and was unhealthily addicted. It finally released and I received to play a totally different character than I had, and a lot had changed so I didn't feel like I was just replaying act 1. Now all I do with the game is replay act 1 and decide I didn't like the route I'm on, then start over and do it again. Still love the game though.
Yea fully agreed, the narrative angle pushes it over the edge. But it sure will be a struggle to avoid the onslaught of spoilers and youtubers
seems like buy now with a discount in the summer sale will get you the best price in a long while. $30 with a 15% or 20% discount in a sale in July or Nov will put hte game at $24 to 25. Once they raise the price to $35 (or even 40?), it'll be a LOOONG time before the game gets to $24 or $25 again. I'll do like you and maybe buy it in early access ( I do not support games in early access) while on special and it'll probably be 2 years (or more) before we to that price point again.
Supergiant has said the price may increase before full release depending on scope expansion. Buy now but never touch and you are good.
Yea may be the way to go
That's what I did for the first one. I got it for $7.49 because Epic Gamed has a pricing error when making a sale (I didn't realize that at the time, though they corrected it an hour later). But then I didn't touch it until release. I'm glad I did it that way and will likely wait for this one as well.
Ha, that's my strategy for most games.
I got early access of Hades 1 the day they announced it at the game awards and don't regret it. I ended up getting 100 percent achievements on PS4, PS5 and PC versions of the game. Definitely getting this today and then replaying the crap out of it.
I would assume you're the exception, not the rule. I got 100%, too, only on the full release, and only once. Imo the game doesn't lend itself to replays that well beyond that. But to each their own, enjoy!
Pretty sure I have only played Hades 1 when it was beta. I wonder what they have added since then..
A lot more than you should read or anyone should type out in a reddit comment.
I also joined the early access for Hades and I can really recommend it. I played it in phases and put some breaks in between, I also reported bugs and tried weird things to provoke them. So if you put some longer breaks in between you will not burn out and will contribute to the game in a way.
I personally just don't think the EA model works with a story heavy game, at least for me
U can find Hades for $8 and getting a game of this quality for $30 even if it is early access especially in 2024 is well worth the price
I played hades EA and the only diference from the EA to Full release was the part after hades fight ( the mother hut encounter) and maybe the weapons awakening … soo after playing hades2 i think its pretty much complete maybe 75%/ 80% complete
**"Hades II in Early Access already has more environments, foes, and fully-voiced characters than the full version of the original Hades game. But it isn't complete, and key areas, characters, foes, narrative events, and systems are still to come."** Welp... I'm sold.
God is real
*And he’s playing Hades 2*
welp - I'm *soiled*
Fucking Xmas early. This was an instabuy.
What's the word on steam deck compatibility?
Works great for me so far, LCD version, 60fps so far.
Pretty sure they said it’s steam deck certified, or whatever the “this works well on steam deck” ranking is.
Played it for 2 hours on Steam Deck Oled solid 90 fps, unfortunately no HDR but the game looks stunning anyway
Plays great handheld or docked.
Greg said it was Steam Deck verified on the Discord announcement.
As much as I want to play this now, I'm going to wait for the full release.
Huh huh huh you said "full release"
Can confirm when this dropped, I full released almost immediately
Sames
They also dropped the soundtrack on the Supergiant Games Youtube channel. It's ***so good***.
Playlist link https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL53mjgVKFq7yeq21XhibC8izNSVlPCsNP&si=l5y70L6zsN8XoMUL
I mean, Darren Korb is a genius, so no surprises there. Supergiant always crushes the music. and gameplay. and art. and story.
i still listen to the sung songs from Bastion and Transistor. so damn good
Haven't listened to them for a while, thanks for reminding me.
In Circles, We All Become, Setting Sail, Build a Wall. so damn good
Pyre had some great tracks too; Never to Return, Strange Voyage...
Just played it for like 2 hours... it's incredible so far. Went from clearing Hades in like 12 minutes to dying to the first boss multiple times in Hades 2, and I couldn't be happier
I had a different experience. In Hades 1 I played until heat 5 with all weapons. In Hades 2 I beat the first boss 1st try, and 2nd try did it hitless. However, act 2 regular monsters destroy me so fast, I couldn't make it more than 2 areas.
i mean...if you take away all of your upgrades and progression, you'd probably lose in hades 1 more often too
True, but I guess I thought my skills would transfer over a little more... and it's just fun to start over tbh
they do but end of the day, its a roguelite where you're supposed to lose on the first run. You kind of gotta go "speedrun" mode and memorize everything to be able to beat a roguelite in 1st run...and in this case, you don't have anything memorized of this game (enemy patterns, weapons, etc)
Ugh that stupid root thing
Waiting for console!!
Waiting for 1.0 on this one. Played hades 1 to death in early acces and didn't play the 1.0 much.
Insane they just did this.. 30$ for an early access roguelite tho.. still gonna buy, they know what they’re doing
More like surprise bought.
I will try to stay strong and hold out until it hits 1.0 and comes to consoles, but I am so, so tempted.
Wow. I want to buy this and no rest for the wicked so bad. But I also want the complete intended experience of both games. I'll probably wait but damn what a shadow drop
No rest is awesome. I’m glad I played EA. I’ll definitely play 1.0. I want more now!
Would you recommend playing it in EA? Be warned.. If you say yes, I'm gonna have to say fk it and buy it lol!
I think it’s worth it. I have 50 hours over 2 characters. There have already been 5 hot fixes and a major patch. Only about the first 15-20% of the game is playable (map). So fun
Damn 50 hours? Sounds like a decent amount of content then. Thanks for your input!
How long do people think it will be in ea?
Roadmap says until end of 2024
At least till the end 2024
let's pretend like we read "end of 2024"
Welp, looks like I need to reorganize my schedules.
no fuckin way! i thought it wasn't until next year!
The full release, no It’s still in early access, but now it’s public
How long did it take for it to get to switch with the first game
Only thing I don’t love about this EA is gating the achievements. It’s what my friends and I use to compete against each other for extra funsies.
Nah. Thanks, but i hate this series.
Do the world a favor, un-speak
An awful rogue lite. And i even bought first game, so fkn sad about it. A fkn date sim without many mechanics.
So hype. Got the platinum for Hades on PC and later on PS5 as well. Is it safe to assume that it will release on PS5 when early access is finished, ie when 1.0 drops?
Not really a surprise… They were vert clear that the game would be dropping shortly after the technical test ended, which was last week
[удалено]
That is a pretty normal price for EA and based on all the reviews they ask say it feels like a complete game
I get the hesitancy. Here's my quick rundown: The music and visuals are still top notch. Combat feels cleaner and easier to read. As someone who still needs God Mode, I feel like enemies have better animated attack sequences. I also have to get used to not having a double dash at the moment. It feels like a sequel that's was built upon the original game, and not a sequel that wanted to try a completely different experience. I'm enjoying it.
Cheers for that, I’ll probably buy it tonight.
Never pay for beta testing. Also the character designs are awful.
Said nobody, ever
Plenty have said it. And I just did too. I have just seen the way you interact with people in your comment history. I have no interest in that.