8/3/2023 0 Comments Hades review xbox oneHe could easily have been the worst flavor of videogame protagonist, an angry buff princeling smoldering with generic rage. That's half of what keeps me coming back to Hades, and the other half is the unfolding story of Zagreus. It's the most I've been engaged with a roguelike's upgrade tree since Rogue Legacy. There's a parity between its rewards and my own skills, both pushing me further. Shortly after I got used to working cast attacks into my dash-reliant tactics, I bought an upgrade for more damage to anyone I've used my cast on. It may sound like a bit much, but it's handed out at an even pace, and the steady improvements feel balanced to my own improvement as I play. I haven't even mentioned the diamonds, titan blood, and other currencies later in the game. (Image credit: Supergiant Games) Titan quest Gems buy renovations for the hub but also for the underworld, adding rooms with healing pools or urns that can be smashed for obols. I should talk about the upgrades, yeah? Gold coins, obols from the eyes of the dead, can be spent at Charon's shop when it pops up in a chamber for temporary buffs and heals, while shards of darkness can be spent in the House of Hades for permanent upgrades, like backstab damage or the ability to defy death and come back at half-health when you'd otherwise fall. Bastion's combat was seen as its weak spot, but my hot take about a game from 2011 is that the fighting ruled actually, and Hades feels like an evolution of it-only invoking gods in Hades gives blessings instead of curses and upgrades can be bought mid-run as well as back at your hub. What Hades' combat reminds me of is Bastion's dream challenges, especially when played with oddball late-game weapon combinations. If a game can distract me from Darren Korb rocking out then it's doing everything right. Getting into a rhythm, launching a combo then zooming around the battlefield like I've got wings on my sandals, puts me in such a focused flow-state I don't notice the soundtrack accentuating the action. Mobility's essential, not just to avoid attacks but to set up wall slams for bonus damage, trigger traps then dash out of the blast zone, and knock down support columns to bring down chunks of masonry. Whoever's responsible for the timing and animation should pat themselves on the back, because dashing feels great, whether used to backstab a skeleton, or to warp through a column just as the minotaur charges so he slams his cowlick into a big lump of marble instead of me. The real star in your arsenal is a dash that can take you through enemies and objects, and combines with attacks for a dash-strike. I often forget about the call because that gauge doesn't stand out beneath the attention-grabbing red health bar, though sometimes a text pop-up will remind me (probably because the game knows I rarely use the thing). In addition you've got a ranged attack called a cast and can unlock a call, an ultimate granted by whichever god you've got favor with that's earned by filling up a god gauge. Then there's the Adamant Rail, which is literally a gun, complete with grenade launcher attachment. The spear can also be thrown and recalled, but only comes back when commanded, letting you reposition first and line up new shades to skewer, while its hold-down attack is an area-of-effect spin. Its special lets you bounce it off enemies then catch it like Hellenic Captain America. Hold down attack with the shield and you'll block, then bull-rush forward. (Image credit: Supergiant Games) Attack and dethrone godĮvery weapon's agreeably unique.
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