Hades Review
Supergiant fuses razor-sharp action with a roguelike that weaves narrative into every death. The genre's high point.
Roguelikes ask you to start over again and again, and most treat that loop as a mechanical necessity. Hades treats it as the story. Every time Zagreus dies and washes back up in the House of Hades, the narrative moves forward — and that single idea elevates the entire genre. Supergiant Games, the studio behind Bastion, Transistor and Pyre, spent nearly two years refining it in public through Early Access before its v1.0 launch in September 2020, and the polish shows in every room.
Combat you'll never tire of
Each run lets you mix weapons and god-granted boons into wildly different builds, so no two escapes from the underworld feel the same. The action is fast, readable and supremely satisfying, with just enough randomness to keep you experimenting.
The toolkit is compact but deep: a primary attack, a special, a ranged cast and a dash that grants a moment of intangibility. Olympians such as Zeus, Athena, Poseidon, Artemis and Dionysus offer boons that reshape those moves, layering new effects onto every attack and dash, and the fun lies in spotting combinations that snowball. Each escape attempt pushes through Tartarus, Asphodel and Elysium towards the Temple of Styx, with guardian bosses who remember you from last time. The isometric camera keeps even the busiest fights legible, which matters enormously when a room fills with projectiles.
A cast worth dying for
The hook that keeps you running is the people. Every character, from sardonic Hypnos to the gods themselves, has dialogue that evolves across dozens of runs. You keep going partly to get stronger and partly to hear what happens next.
Greg Kasavin's script is the secret weapon. The finished game features 30 fully voiced characters and, by Supergiant's count, thousands of unique story events, so conversations keep pace with what you've just been through. At its heart it is a family drama about a son who wants out and a father who won't let him go, told with wit rather than melodrama. The House of Hades between runs acts as a hub where you invest what you've gathered, including permanent upgrades at the Mirror of Night, so even a disastrous attempt leaves you a little stronger and a little closer to the truth.
Art and music from the underworld
Presentation is where Supergiant's reputation was built, and Hades may be its finest work. Jen Zee's art direction reimagines Greek myth with bold, painterly character portraits and vividly coloured biomes, from the fiery reds of Asphodel to the lush greens of Elysium. Darren Korb's score gives each region its own mood and each boss fight real swagger; the full original soundtrack runs to around two and a half hours. On modern hardware it is smooth and responsive, and it plays just as naturally in short handheld sessions on Switch as it does at a desk.
From Early Access to everywhere
Hades entered Early Access on the Epic Games Store in December 2018, arrived on Steam a year later, and launched as v1.0 on 17 September 2020 for PC and Nintendo Switch. That release added the true ending, new character events, new music and a hidden aspect for the Twin Fists, and Supergiant noted that more than 700,000 players had taken part during Early Access. PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S versions followed on 13 August 2021.
The accolades piled up: Best Action and Best Indie at The Game Awards 2020, Game of the Year at the D.I.C.E. Awards and the BAFTA Games Awards, and, uniquely, a Hugo Award in a special video games category introduced in 2021. Two years after launch, the studio marked the anniversary with its players:
On this day two years ago, we launched Hades v1.0, and we've been positively overwhelmed by the response from players all around the world ever since. From all of us at Supergiant, thank you!!💖 Your generous support means our team can stick together and keep making games.
— Supergiant Games (@SupergiantGames) September 17, 2022
The sequel, Hades II, reached its full release in September 2025, but the original remains a complete, self-contained story that needs no follow-up to land.
Who it's for
Newcomers to roguelikes are well served: permanent upgrades soften the early difficulty, and the optional God Mode makes Zagreus a little stronger after every failed run. Veterans, meanwhile, can crank up the challenge through the Pact of Punishment, stacking conditions that make every escape tougher long after the credits roll.
Official resources
- Hades on the Supergiant Games website
- Supergiant news: Hades v1.0 launch
- Hades on Steam
- Hades on the Nintendo eShop
- Hades on Wikipedia
The verdict
A little late-game grind aside, Hades is the most welcoming roguelike ever made and a near-perfect package. If you love tightly crafted indies, our Hollow Knight review is your next stop.
What we loved
- Combat that's fast, varied and endlessly replayable
- Story that advances through your deaths
- Gorgeous art and a stellar voice cast
- Generous systems that respect your time
What held it back
- Difficulty can spike with bad boon luck
- Late-game grind for true ending
- Menus get busy with build options
