Anybody who has payed attention to popular games in 2020 will have heard of Supergiant Games' Hades by now. This narrative-focused roguelike is inspired by Greek mythology, following the character of Zagreus as he repeatedly attempts to escape from the Underworld. The game is the developer's fourth, and many reviews call Hades Supergiant's best game to date. Other titles include Bastion, the studio's first game in 2011, Transistor, and Pyre.
When Hades was released in fall 2020, the game had a complete narrative with both an initial "ending," plus the opportunity to reach a "true ending." There is an incredible amount of dialogue in Hades, and plenty of story content for players to experience. Players have loved the worldbuilding, the characters, the gameplay, and all that Hades had offer. However, Supergiant Games should consider breaking a pattern with its games now that Hades is so well-received.
Hades Should Get DLC
As of yet, Supergiant Games is not really known for adding DLC content to any of their games. The studio had only ever released a small free DLC for Bastion, called Stranger's Dream. This was back in 2011, and since then Pyre, Transistor, and Hades have not been given any DLC or expansions. Due to the incredible reception that Supergiant's recent roguelike has received, it only makes sense for the studio to capitalize on it. Hades reached over a million sales last September, and has no doubt sold plenty more as it has collected numerous awards and been named 2020's Game of the Year by several publications.
In Game Rant's own interview with the creative director for Hades, Greg Kasavin, he commented on the possibility of any DLC content. At the time, the team at Supergiant put everything they had into the official release of Hades. The plan was to monitor the game for any post-release issues, but then the team would take a break to "recharge" before planning anything new. As Supergiant Games looks over the hard work that went into Hades' development, and sees how much players are loving its game, it should think about ways to keep players coming back.
Even though Supergiant Games doesn't really do DLC or expansion content, Hades is the perfect game to get it. The base game already set up a deeply rich world, and there are so many more ideas that could be pulled from Greek mythology. Hades is already a game with high replay value, so it wouldn't be too hard to convince players to return for new content. Plus, the true ending of the game, which is only reached after beating the game over 10 times, leaves some narrative threads up in the air. The story does come to a natural conclusion with all of the gods in Hades, but there are additional opportunities that could be explored.
Hades DLC Possibilities
While there are multiple possibilities for DLC content in Hades, one that immediately comes to mind directly stems from the goals of the base game. Zagreus is trying to escape from the Underworld to reunite with his Olympian family, and because of the events of the game, now has the opportunity to do that. It may be worthwhile to have DLC based on Zagreus exploring Mount Olympus, even if it is mainly narrative-focused. There are also several gods that didn't show up in Hades that could be met in this DLC story, like Apollo or Hephaestus. This could help expand the characters that players mainly know from afar, as well at showcase a whole new zone with a new artistic design.
Another idea for DLC could revolve around Zagreus being tasked with a mission from one of his godly relatives, like Zeus, Artemis, or Dionysus. This sort of DLC could be a self-contained arc, and could draw from the plethora of myths around whatever god is assigning the task. Alternatively, Hades was originally going to focus on the mythological hero Theseus as he tried to escape the Labyrinth of King Minos in Crete. Supergiant Games obviously didn't go along with this idea, but could make for interesting inspiration for a DLC pack.
DLC may never be in the cards for Hades, but Supergiant Games would be wise to at least consider it. So many players love the world the studio created and would love to return to it. Whatever Supergiant decides to do, players will be eagerly awaiting any new announcements from the developer. Players will have high expectations for anything Supergiant Games creates next.
Hades is available now on PC and Nintendo Switch.