The characteristics of rougelike games has evolved throughout the years, incorporating elements of other genres that were not present in its eponymous incarnation. Hades has become a breakthrough in the genre since its official 2020 release, introducing fans to a style of game that was largely partial to more niche spaces. Historically, rougelikes have always taken after the cornerstone game Rogue, which built upon dungeon-crawlers by introducing procedurally rendered dungeons, a permanent death mechanic that made each decision vital, and turn-based combat. Hades veers into the actionable hack-n' slash genre, subsuming the idea of permanent death with mythological justifications and eschewing the ground-up RPG elements in favor of telling a particular character story.

Hades tells the story of Zagreus, son of Hades, whose goal is to escape the underworld for Mount Olympus in defiance of his overbearing father and, eventually, in search of his mother. With a gripping narrative and lush dungeon designs, Hades aims to tell its story slowly over the course of its very expansive run. While still retaining most of the hallmarks of a traditional rougelike, Hades favors design and modernity over tradition, making it an outlier in the rougelike world. With its artful intricacies, creative gameplay choices, and immersive and recurrent narrative, Hades breaks the rules of rougelikes and, in so doing, establishes a new genre standard in the same vein of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Elder Scrolls 4: Skyrim.

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Hades Has a Groundbreaking Visual Style

The titular God working away at paperwork as he scowls at the viewer.

One of the emergent factors of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's success is a heavily stylized art direction that differs from its predecessors. While Zelda games have always jumped around stylistically, the bright, watercolor-inspired vistas and homespun character designs of Zelda: Breath of the Wild make it stand out. Hades' individualization is simitar, with a distinctive approach to art through its own lens, one that prominently features motifs associated with the game's setting -the underworld - with a modern and caricatured design. Hades' character models, being depictions of various figures within Greek epics and mythology, are drawn with striking personalities and differences in thematic scheming, rendering them distinct and yet cohesive to the overall vision.

On the merits of its art, Hades stands tall due to the pedigree of its studio Supergiant, which also produced the well received Pyre, Bastion, and Transistor. The art of Hades is reminiscent of its predecessors but distinguishes itself by focusing, as it did with Transistor, on the elements of its thematic genre as well as the already established Greek canon. By taking creative liberties with its approach to gameplay and level design, Hades succeeds in making its procedurally generated levels interesting for the detail of the art.

While focused on the combat, it's easy for players to miss the intricacies of each instance, such as the bubbling lava of Asphodel or the ghostly hands reaching from Tartarus. These small set pieces make the randomly generated levels feel organically built. The dialogue as well, for all the random-generations of dungeons, has very little repetition in the early game, leading to fresh experiences and interactions within each run.

Hades Created a Template For Industry Standards

Zagreus holding his sword behind his head in Hades

Other roguelikes such as Spelunky and Dead Cells have standardized and explored the genre since the adoption of the "Berlin Interpretation" in 2008. Hades further challenges these mainstays by introducing its own chimeric approach to gameplay. Lauded by critics and audiences alike, Hades is similar to Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Skyrim in that it creates a new set of standards for a previously well-known and pre-established genre through mainstream success.

The "Berlin Interpretation" defines eight high-value factors for all rougelikes, but these have since been upended by recent games, resulting in the subsequent emergence of "rougelites" and "hybrid rougelikes." These games incorporate elements of traditional rougelikes but don't adhere to as astringent a set of higher standards, which include being turn-based and non-modal.

Hades' focus on narrative and style buck the trend, as it lacks the turn-based combat system and features various items that become available the further a player progresses, locking players behind progression walls until certain criteria are met. The game also incorporates elements often disparate from the rougelike genre such as relationship management and base building. Hades encourages players to have fun, and the "death" in the game is never entirely dire.

This renders the concept of permadeath in-game irrevocably altered, as death is merely a passing, so Zagreus' encounters in the underworld are never without levity or an understanding that the encounter will occur again. Framing permadeath in this way allows players to view death as an inconvenience rather than a failure without robbing them of the satisfaction of incremental progression.

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Hades Allows For a Customizable Narrative Experience

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The open world nature of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Skyrim gives players a chance to experience the map on their own terms, but it also allows the player to customize their place within the narrative. Hades, while having the through-line of Zagreus' escape, beckons players to journey with other mythic characters in their various entanglements. Whether they're romantic in nature, such as Achilles and Patroclus or Eurydice and Orpheus, or more subtle asks, such as Hypnos' humble request for an autograph from the storied Elysium hero, Asterius, Hades offers a diversity of tasks. As Zagreus goes through his subsequent runs he forms a rapport with these characters, unlocking new potential interactions and benefits such as Keepsakes.

Alongside character interactions, there are unlockable items that can be used to customize the House of Hades. These range from hanging new colors of drapes to putting towels beside the river Styx for all those emerging from it. There are also areas of the House that can be accessed by paying the House Contractor to provide access to these spaces, which further unlock pieces of lore and often tie into character arcs.

Orpheus' lyre--an object that can be purchased and moved into Zagreus' room, one that he plucks on occasion and which he can actually learn to play--also serves as a method through which players can grow Zagreus' bond with the re-instated Court Musician of the underworld. By offering these varying and often emergent gameplay experiences, players can look just as forward to deaths as they do runs. Each death returns them to the comfort of their home and offers new opportunities to progress outside of combat.

Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Skyrim provided fans with a revelatory experience at release, creating graphically impressive open-world areas for players to explore at their leisure. Hades takes the concepts of various other gaming genres and presents them to the rougelike genre in an organic way. Hades 2 will likely build upon these successes, with small snippets of gameplay revealing a nearly identical style distinguished by new characters and boons. It has a great chance to bring other creative elements to the table, pushing the envelope of a what a roguelike can be.

Hades 2 is currently in development.

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