Thankfully, though, Zagreus’ got other relatives who are more than happy to lend him bits of their power to make his journey to the surface a little easier, and this is where the roguelite elements come into play. Naturally, his father and his minions aren’t too happy about this, and they’ll stop at nothing to kill Zagreus and send him flying back to the game’s starting point. He’s tired of living under his father’s oppressive rule, and he seeks to escape the Underworld to reach the surface and see what else awaits him out there. You play as Zagreus, the wry prince of the Underworld, son of Hades. Just in case the name didn’t already give it away, Hades’ world is steeped in Greek mythology.

And turns out if you mix the studio’s narrative talent with a genre that doesn’t always lend itself well to compelling storytelling, you get Hades: a game that’s somehow surpassed all expectations of what a roguelite could be, and pushes the genre forward in a meaningful manner. Hades is a new action roguelite game from Supergiant Games, a studio with a penchant for storytelling and compelling characters and narratives. Sometimes you get permanent unlocks that carry over to your next run, most times you just start over with nothing. Roguelite games are often just a cycle of life and death, repeating dungeon runs with different weapons and abilities as you try to get to the end of the game, and having to start all the way from the beginning each time you die. The roguelite genre isn’t particularly known for deep storytelling or a strong focus on narrative.

Hades switch review