How do you follow up one of the best games of the past decade? That’s a question that Supergiant Games had to find the answer to with Hades 2, and I don’t envy the studio for having to do so.
The original Hades is one of my favorite games in recent memory. It was not only an immensely fun action roguelike that tested the player’s endurance and skill run after run, but it also found innovative ways to weave dynamic narrative moments into each run. I won’t forget characters like Zagreus, Meg, or Nyx anytime soon, while copycats like Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree will ensure its most innovative game design decisions live on.
As such, Hades 2 had a high bar to meet as it exited early access and launched on Nintendo Switch 2. I played that version of the game ahead of its release after only briefly doing a couple of runs around the time of its early access launch. I affirmed that Supergiant decided to follow up an amazing game by not reinventing the wheel, but rather doubling down on what works best. This game isn’t as innovative as its predecessor, but it didn’t need to be to become one of the best games of 2025.
Hades 2 continues to serve as a masterclass in roguelike narrative design
It may not innovate with its storytelling, but it’s still well written
Hades followed Zagreus, the son of the titular Greek god, as he attempted to escape the underworld and reunite with his mother. The family was ultimately happier and reunited by the end of the original, but Hades 2 takes place sometime much later, when things have gotten bad again. The Titan of Time, Chronos, has returned, taken over the underworld, and has Olympus under siege.
However, it turns out that Hades has another child, a daughter named Melinoë, who was raised in secret by the witch Titan, Hecate. Hades 2 follows her quest to usurp Chronos and his grasp over the underworld and Olympus. Like the original, the narrative isn’t choice-driven but evolves depending on the player’s actions during a run.
A boss might mention the weapon Melinoë is using, or someone at base camp might become impressed with and reward Melinoë for her action during the previous night’s run. The base camp is also full of memorable new characters — Nemesis is a new favorite of mine — all backed up with fantastic voice acting and character art that’s somehow even better than before.
This all weaves together to make my individual journey feel unique. While this isn’t necessarily a new compliment to offer this sequel, it proves Supergiant is a master at creating a roguelike narrative. If you enjoyed the world and characters of Hades, this sequel offers a new way to look at all of that from a different perspective.
Hades 2 forces you to play smarter, not harder
Offering a different approach to the same enthralling action
Like its predecessor, Hades 2 is an isometric action game. Its runs are split into several arena-like encounters across four biomes, all of which cap off with a boss fight. After clearing a room, players are either offered a boon from a Greek god that can help them through the rest of that run or currency to be spent on in-run and long-term upgrades.
While it would’ve been interesting to see what a sequel that abandoned some of those concepts would look like, Hades 2 doesn’t. Instead, it’s content with building on that foundation and exploring how those gameplay systems would function with a few key tweaks. Mainly, it emphasizes the use of magic and ranged attacks much more than its predecessor. While I rarely used ranged weapons or my cast attack in the original Hades, this game essentially forces players to use them to have a successful run.
I was worried about this shift at first, but I have ultimately come to love its approach to combat. In addition to Melinoë’s health, I had to keep an eye on her Magick bar during each encounter. While it resets with every room, it’s a limited resource that players can use to pull off Omega versions of their attack, special, and cast abilities. Whereas I could just turn my brain off and focus on hacking and slashing in Hades if I had some strong boons, Hades 2 forced me to think more about resource management, both room-by-room and through the whole run.
On top of that, there are the subtler ways in which the game twists the experience up. That includes Chronos unexpectedly teleporting Melinoë to a different area mid-run, the Arcana card system that increases the number of possible character builds, and the fact that there’s an entire second path for players to unlock. Melinoë can either fight toward the depths of the underworld or scale toward Mount Olympus in each run, essentially making this two roguelike games in one. It’s a lot more of good thing.
Hades 2 lives up to its predecessor, even if it doesn’t surpass it
It’s also a must-play for Nintendo Switch 2 owners
To create a follow-up to a near-perfect roguelike, Supergiant doubled down on what worked while finding even more ways to permutate the Hades formula in both expected and unexpected ways. The result is a roguelike that I’m not sure will have the same legacy as its predecessor, but one I will play for countless hours nonetheless.
Hades 2 is also the perfect game for my Nintendo Switch 2. It runs beautifully in docked or handheld mode, never missing a frame even when the screen becomes as busy as it would in a bullet hell game. It may be the best fit for Switch 2 of any of its console-exclusive games thus far. In that way, the game does have a leg up on its predecessor on Nintendo systems.
If you’ve been worried about whether to pick up Hades 2 because you weren’t sure how it’d stack up against the original, know that you’ll still have a great time hopping into the game now that it has exited early access. And if you own a Switch 2, prepare to spend countless hours taking this game everywhere with you so you can complete just one more run.
-
OpenCritic Reviews
-
Top Critic Avg:
91/100
Critics Rec:
95%
- Released
-
September 25, 2025
- ESRB
-
Teen / Alcohol Reference, Blood, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
-
Supergiant Games
- Publisher(s)
-
Supergiant Games
- Engine
-
Proprietary Engine
