Austin (already) strongly recommends: Hades II (Early Access Review)

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Hades II isn't even done yet and already it's one of the best things to release this year.

Review code provided by Supergiant

Video written, voiced and edited by Austin B.

#Review #HadesII #EarlyAccess
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[mikeb]

austin always getting the best games to review is my favourite recurring joke

[Aziraphale]

It cannot be overstated just how incredible Jen Zee is. She has been the art director on all of Supergiant's games, and I don't think Supergiant would be where they are today without her signature art style.

[umarthdc]

Fellas, it is not that Austin gets the good games, it is that Shillup gets to review the AAAs

[sevendaysin]

Already playing this in early access and can confirm: the game feels damn near complete and I'm so excited to see what else they polish before it hits 1.0.

[IhsanNurhidayat]

"Will only get better with time" is a genius closing line...

[BucklingSwashes]

I think the change that has struck me the most - and something you touched upon - is the heavier tone of the overarching plot. Both games have that often silly, fun dialogue that brings levity to the story and situations, but here that feels especially important. Zagreus' journey of escape in the original title was always something very personal, and ultimately functioned as a means of connecting him better to his family. I was always invested in the characters and their relationships, with the "main" story feeling more secondary to that. In comparison, Melinoe's task feels far more important and significant in the grand scheme of things, even while her own reasons for getting involved are very personal. You see the dire impact of Chronos' rule all throughout the locations you visit, and learn more about it through your interactions with the various characters. It's honestly made it even harder for me to put down compared to the first game simply because I'm so much more compelled to see things through to the end. Like, I REALLY want to bring death to Chronos. That's rad, and with characters and relationships just as strong as those in the first game, it really feels like Supergiant has managed to push the genre forward narratively (for a second time).

[pileofcheese]

Holding on for full release is getting harder and harder with all these glowing reviews coming out constantly.

[tangrunhua]

It's also important to mention that there are literally early-access-exclusive content in the game.
Characters and narrators have dialogues referencing the fact that the game is unfinished, and you can only experience these dialogues during EA.
To me, this makes playing the game right now totally worth it.

[davidphelps]

So excited to see where Supergiant goes. Definitely one of the best studios around today.

[mcmiscellaneous]

Austin: “The binding circle is critical…”

Me, who always forgets about it and doesn’t really understand how to properly use it: “Ah, yes, of course. The ol’ binding circle.”

[Oakley]

This early access game is worth buying for the Scylla fight/music combo alone.

[chimichangle]

Dang youre letting austin cover all the bangers, how generous

[cfoyt]

Really like the initial 3 minute review at the beginning of the 20 minute review. It's a nice tone setter and if I'm too busy to watch the whole thing I still get an idea of the vibe of the game.

[jaygordon]

The worst thing about Hades 1 is that the best romance option is a disembodied medusa head who ultimately friend zones Zagreus.

[clashcrafter]

unless i missed it they're not adding a 3rd overworld. just their first major patch will add a 3rd biome to the surface along with some other stuff. presumably they'll add a 4th to it at some later point in the early access when it goes live but i don't believe they've said they're planning a whole 3rd area.

[patriciasalmon]

Just (finally!) finished the main campaign storyline for Hades and playing through for the “dating”/sidequest/epilogue part. Really appreciate you not going into too much detail because I’ve been doing my best to avoid major spoilers for Hades 2 until 1.0 release. Looks so good!!

[EepsayYukay]

I'm still astounded by how far the Early Access has gone since the first game. Hades 2 is still in Early Access and already has much more content than the finished version of its predecessor, which makes me look forward to seeing just how much content they could add before they finally release the game proper. New characters, weapons, zones, enemies... I can't wait to see what Supergiant's got cooking.

[DPtdryste]

Yeah I’m like 70-80 hrs in gameplay timewise, please support small studios doing good work! Hades is my fav game ever, I love this sequel, can’t wait to buy it again on a Switch 2 and probably my PS5 lol. With focus on Greek mythology, combat and drip-feeding me a fully-voiced, compelling (but also novelly “normal” & social “focused on getting to know all the personalities”) narrative where you get learn a little about everything in the game world, I can see Hades becoming my favorite series of all time. The only thing I would fix is resource economy, but hey lets be honest all of us who are big fans are going be playing dozens and dozens of runs anyhow 😉 again, please support small teams doing AAAA work, focusing on fun and story, not graphics and money.

[Cypeq]

Supergiant does it again, no blemish on their record. Video game designer superleague

[Hikariinu]

i have over 45 hours into the EA version of the game, its marvelous and deep and incredibly fun. I already knew I loved hades 1 so this was a no-brainer for me to pick up at the ground floor. I love that its not "easy" even on the pre-Fear runs. you can REALLY get your teeth kicked in by the final bosses even if you know what to expect.