It looks like you’ll have more gifting options, perhaps by giving particular gifts to certain NPCs.

In addition, you can gift Nectar to non-playable characters (NPC) to rank up your relationship like you did in the original game, but giving them a gift pulls up a large inventory menu. One of the abilities you can unlock early on allows you to track resources for recipes at your caldron in the Crossroads, but I’m not sure how complex or varied these recipes will become. I’m not sure how all of these resources intersect yet. You’re only able to equip one tool at a time - alongside your weapon - limiting what resources you can collect each run. In addition to chamber rewards, you can craft tools allowing you to dig, mine, and pick resources throughout each run. Something you’ll immediately notice is that the game has a much more complex currency system. Going beyondĪlthough Hades 2 feels like its own unique game already, there are still new systems here. Demeter, for example, can conjure a cloud that inflicts the Frost status on enemies as you sprint, rather than shooting out a cloud each time you dash. You’ll encounter familiar faces like Zeus, Poseidon, and Aphrodite - along with a new cast of gods - but their boons are different. The most signficant remixing has to be the boons, though. You can add fountains to your runs that restore health, for example, as well as an upgrade that alerts you of nearby resources whenever you clear a room. Similarly, you can concoct upgrades for your runs in the hub area of the game, the Crossroads, which echoes of the House Contractor in Hades. I’m interested to see how this system scales up with the full release. There are only nine cards in the technical test, but promise of more, and you can upgrade how many you can have equipped. Unlocking a card opens up adjacent options, and each card has a cost, limiting how many you can have enabled in your initial runs. For instance, the mirror where you’d purchase permanent upgrades in Hades has been replaced with a tarot card system. The remix Supergiant GamesĪ lot of elements of the original are remixed here. There’s more in Hades 2, but it’s already beginning to carve out its own identity that can stand alongside the original. Bigger scope, more things, but the core of the game was the same. As much as I enjoyed that game, it felt like Breath of the Wild, but more. Playing through the technical test got me thinking about The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom last year. These powerful moves are kept in check by a limited pool of magic, which you can replenish either through fountains found during your run, or with various boons available from the gods you’ll encounter. In addition, Melinoë has access to new Omega abilities, which charge up by holding down the attack, cast, or special button. Your special ability, at least with the two weapons available in the technical test, is a ranged attack, rather than the empowered AoE available with most of Zagreus’ weapons. It’s now an area-of-effect (AoE) ability that can ensnare enemies at chokepoints. Your cast is no longer a powerful ranged ability that lodges into foes. Zagreus is a berserker, but Melinoë is a tactician. It’s not inherently better - it’s just different.ĭashing alone isn’t all that separates Melinoë. The fully 3D character model allows you to drift in and out of a dash, looping around opponents rather than circling them through straight lines. Controlling Zagreus in Hades, I was accustomed to carving up the battlefield with a series of aggressive diagonal dashes. Hades 2 forced me to think differently, and that started with the dash. About a week before writing this, I beat it once again on a PS5, and even after so much time in the game, I still search for excuses to squeeze another run in. I have 80 hours on Steam, but I also played early access on the Epic Games Store, completed the main quest on my Switch, and even dabbled in a few runs when the game was available on Game Pass. I’ve put well over 100 hours into the original, and that number isn’t just a cop-out. Different, not better Supergiant GamesĪs a self-proclaimed Hades veteran, I was shocked at first by Hades 2. Note: We’ll be discussing some elements of Hades 2 that you’ll find in the first area of the game, including new characters and systems. We finally know when Hades II will enter early accessīaldur’s Gate 3 and Hades have made me an early access believer Download Mobile Legends Bang Bang for AndroidĮverything announced at the Triple-i Initiative Showcase: Slay the Spire 2 and more.

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Hades game characters