Hades (Switch)

[Alucard1191]

So I was gifted this action RPG from my friends this last month, and am I glad.

This game is absolutely A or A+ material. It's the absolute best game I've played in a long time. I'm highly addicted to it. The story line keeps unfolding and getting better and better. You get a lover, develop friendships, and start reuniting the old Greek pantheon. Highly recommended.

[DrLitch]

Absolutely agreed one of the best games this gen and definite A grade material.

[DrLitch]

Pretty much one year on and crickets chirping. Anyone else like this? Anyone curious about playing it?

I was going to start a new Now Playing thread but Alucard opened this one up a year ago so at least I know one person here on the forum likes it as much as I do .

To put it mildly, this game goes beyond merely being great, it is unquestionably one of the greatest games ever made. I played it over a year ago but it always stuck in the back of my mind. Decided to play again and start from scratch.

If you are familiar with Dead Cells, this is cut from the same cloth albeit with a better story, interactions and graphics. As with Dead Cells, you start off as a weakling with absolutely no chance of progressing past the Hydra in Asphodel (the second area of the game). But slowly and surely, you get to level up your character's skillsets, the drops become more useful, and you, with your character build, can inch by inch your way through to completion.

Better than Dead Cells? Debatable but I do think the level generator on Dead Cells is not as refined as Hades. Dead Cells is also the easier of the two with Hades giving you a lot of mileage for the thirty or so dollars it will cost to pick up a hard copy.

With nothing good on the horizon this year (Bayonetta 3, Starfield and Xenoblades 3 as exceptions), this might be a good opportunity to give this one a go.

I highly recommend the Critic gets his paws on both Dead Cells and Hades on the Switch.

[Buttermancan]

Hades is on my list to play at some point. Because it's from a genre that I'm not that familiar with and isn't a favourite, it's always pushed to the back in my mind. I played a fair bit of Dead Cells. I thought that it was quite fun but gave up on it as I found the combat and random level design too repetitive. How long did it take to complete Hades?

[Alucard1191]

Oh look, my thread popped back up!

This game is absolutely awesome still. I actually started a new file and played through it again about 5 months ago. Really enjoyable.

Hades is on my list to play at some point. Because it's from a genre that I'm not that familiar with and isn't a favourite, it's always pushed to the back in my mind. I played a fair bit of Dead Cells. I thought that it was quite fun but gave up on it as I found the combat and random level design too repetitive. How long did it take to complete Hades?

It's an action/adventure game. I wouldn't call it a true RPG as the game doesn't follow any standard RPG formula. Anyway, about how long to finish?

That's really tricky. The game has the potential to last forever. After you've beaten the game you can keep playing with added difficulty parameters (Called Pact of Punishment) that can keep making the game tougher and tougher, and give you rewards to max out every weapon, etc. During this time you'll keep encountering more story, but you've most likely beaten the actual game and have seen the ending by this point.

To beat the primary game itself, which I count as 'after getting the family back together' should probably take ... mid 20 hours or so? The game easily has 40+ hours of content though, with all the relationships to form, you can have a threesome with Death and an Eyrines. (The first time that happened I was like, "WHOA!") Anyway, seriously, highly recommend the game. It's one of the best original games in a long long time in my opinion. It's seriously great, really really glad I have it on my switch.

[DrLitch]

How long did it take to complete Hades?

As Alucard suggested, could be infinite. Realistically, if you want to call beating it once as completion, possibly 10 or so hours. You have to beat it 10 times to get your first proper ending and that could run 15 or so hours. You will get your moneys worth out of it - as dull as it sounds to beat the game several times, the levels are not as repetitive as one may think. The challenge is always solid enough that you will be absorbed in living in that moment.

[Retro STrife]

Excellent game as everyone else mentioned, and I highly recommend it as well. Easily an A or A+ game. I'm playing this on Xbox Series X right now.

I had heard so many people call this "one of the best games ever" that I finally had to try it. I was looking for something more action-oriented, and this really fits the bill. The story is very solid too, and keeps you wanting to converse with all the characters and build relationships. I've played about 45 runs, with 11 wins, so I've played far enough to see the credits, but that's only the start with this game. I feel like I could play this game forever; it's so addicting. But I'm also trying to decide when to cut bait. With so many games to play, I eventually might force myself to move on.

By the way, this is a great game for those of us with retro sensibilities. The concepts of "runs" to "beat the game", with each run being about 40 minutes or less, gives it a sort of arcade-style feel. Plus, it has a "one more try" aspect about it, that keeps you endlessly coming back, especially if you fail a run. But it's also incredibly deep and well designed, which gives it a modern feel too.

[VideoGameCritic]

Retro - maybe you'd want to contribute a guest review???

[DrLitch]

An absolute masterpiece like this deserves a review on this site. One of the best games of the past 10 years and certainly a top 50 all time for me.

[VideoGameCritic]

I may pick this up. Can I play offline?