I played one of the most-anticipated sequels early but it wasn’t the experience I was expecting

HADES blew people away when it launched in 2018, winning numerous awards, including a Hugo Award.

Personally, I sank more than 100 hours into it, running through the gauntlet numerous times and seeing it all the way through to full completion.

I’m definitely not the only one who did this, as countless players couldn’t get enough of Hades’ underworld.

Hades 2 is a sequel, and fans will likely fall into one of two categories.

Either they loved the original and just want more of that, or they feel that they’ve seen enough of Hades and want something fresh.

There are a number of new ideas, starting with the new protagonist Melinoë who has a completely different style of combat.

In addition to her new array of weapons, she has magic that can be spent to charge her normal attacks.

Melinoë also creates casts that trap people inside and can also deal damage or add debuffs to those inside.

In the hub world, Melinoë can also interact with several new systems, such as Tarot cards, which offer passive buffs, and tools to mine more resources during runs.

There are a lot more resources here to find and spend in the hub world, and I found managing them all a bit cumbersome.

While there are a lot of new ideas, it still feels strikingly similar to the original, with the same style of dungeons, and fluidity in battle.

That being said, if you spent a lot of time with the original game, you will likely blast through the playtest which ends at the first boss.

There wasn’t enough in the technical test to see just how Hades 2 will separate itself from the original, but fans will definitely get more of what they love.

If you want to try out the game for yourself, then check out how to enter the Hades 2 technical test.