When Hades finally left early access and released its 1.0 update for both PC and Switch, a whole new audience of players were drawn to the game. Between its interactive narrative style, enjoyable gameplay, and loads of replayability, the title managed to attract even players that don't often consider themselves fans of the roguelite genre. When The Game Awards 2020 revealed its nominees, many may have been shocked to see Hades landing so many nominations. These nominations are just as impressive as the game itself, and given how much attention to detail there is in this title, it's nice to see some recognition for it.
Hades has been praised for doing so many things right. It isn't a game that nailed just the gameplay mechanics, creating a fun experience, or one that has an amazing story paired with somewhat repetitive and uninspiring gameplay; instead, it does everything. Likewise, its art direction, sound design, and narrative style all compliment one another so well that few would decry its nomination. What makes this so surprising is that it landed its spot despite all the other top tier games that released this year, placing itself among the greats like Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Ghost of Tsushima.
Hades Nominations at The Game Awards 2020
All total, Hades received eight nominations at The Game Awards this year, including the Game of the Year nomination. Aside from that, the game was also nominated to receive the awards for best game direction, best narrative, best art direction, best score and music, best performance, best indie, and best action. For fans that are playing through Hades, all of these nominations make a lot of sense, as they highlight areas where the game excels. Whether or not it will win any of these awards remains to be seen, but passionate fans can head over to the Game Award's website to vote now.
Alongside Hades, big triple-A games like The Last of Us 2, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Ghost of Tsushima, Doom Eternal, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons all got nominations for Game of the Year. Fans of the game acknowledge Hades' greatness, but to see The Game Awards place it next to titles of such scope and renown is incredible. Supergiant Games is known for turning out incredible games, but it still is classified as an indie studio. It's not often that indie games like Hades can run with the big names like Final Fantasy.
Hades - Best Narrative
Of all the awards, perhaps the one that Hades has the best shot of winning is the Best Narrative award. Though Hades plays with the somewhat cliche backdrop of Greek mythology, it does so with incredible tact. Each character feels fleshed out and real, and the multiple branching dialogue options all help Zagreus and the player get to know the people (and gods) around them. Some players even found their actions could affect the dialogue in unexpected ways. For example, Megaera will scold Zagreus for using the Mirror of Night to give himself the power to beat her, but if the player purges their mirror benefits, Megaera will comment on that as well. This is a great example of Hades' writing philosophy.
Along a similar vein, it was later reported that Hades has more words than the Odyssey and Iliad combined, a testament to just how massive the dialogue options are. In most cases, this would probably be a case where quantity took preference over quality, but Hades manages to walk the line and provide a ton of really great dialogue. All of this serves to create a narrative that draws the player in and makes them feel like part of it, and the experience is really unlike anything else.
Hades - Best Score and Music
Another category that Hades has a real shot at is the Best Score and Music award. Supergiant Games has always placed a heavy emphasis on its games' music, as this has a major impact on how the title is perceived as a whole. Looking back on its previous games like Transistor, there's also a theme of creating music that exists within the game world as well. This type of music is called diegetic music because the characters in the game can hear and manipulate the music.
Diegetic music isn't used frequently in games, but when it's implemented properly, it can have a powerful effect. Great examples of this would be the songs sang by Eivor's crew in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, or Ellie and Joel's rendition of Future Days by Pearl Jam. In Hades, this category of music includes Good Riddance, the song sung by Eurydice, as well as other songs that she and Orpheus write together like In the Blood. These tracks not only set the mood for the game, but also provide more depth to the characters and the world around them.
Hades - Game of the Year
At this point, it's difficult to say whether or not Hades will win the Game of the Year award, but its very nomination is noteworthy. Whether or not Hades gets Game of the Year, the nomination is just as impressive as the game itself. Beyond that, it does seem fairly likely that it will nab at least one or two of the other categories for which it was nominated, so this is a huge success for Supergiant Games no matter how one looks at it.
Hades is available now on PC and Switch.