Hades 2 is the highly anticipated sequel to IGN’s 2020 Game of the Year. Supergiant Games set a new standard for roguelikes with stylish design, dynamic combat, and reactive writing that embraced the looping nature of the genre and propelled a compelling escape-from-hell plot.
With its Early Access release now months away, we’ve put together this breakdown of everything you need to know about Hades 2.
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Hades 2 Release Date
Hades 2 will first be released in Early Access during Q2 2024 (between April 1 and June 30). This section will be updated as soon as Supergiant Games announces a specific Early Access release date.
A release date for the 1.0 version of Hades 2 is “still to be determined,” according to Supergiant.
Hades 2 Platforms and Price
Hades 2 will launch in Early Access exclusively on PC (Steam and Epic Games Store).
The 1.0 release is expected to come to consoles as well, though specific platforms have yet to be named. For reference, the first Hades is available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
Hades 2 Early Access Details
According to Supergiant, Hades 2 “will have at least as much content from day one in Early Access as the original did back when it launched in Early Access on Steam.” Players can expect updates throughout its time in Early Access, including content additions, expansions to the story, and gameplay/systems refinements.
Early Access players will have access to the 1.0 version upon its release. Supergiant added it is “committed to making sure your save data works all through development, including once we launch v1.0.”
Supergiant has not given a timetable for how long Hades 2 will be in Early Access. “Our experience developing in Early Access has taught us (among many things) to expect the unexpected,” it wrote. The original spent one year and nine months in Early Access.
Hades 2 Story
Hades 2 is a direct sequel to the original “set in and around the Underworld of Greek myth.” You play as Melinoë, the Princess of the Underworld and sister of Hades protagonist Zagreus. She’s described as “an immortal witch and sorceress with powerful magical abilities, deadly skill with a variety of shadowy weapons, and a score to settle.”
In the sequel, Hades is imprisoned, and his father, Chronos, the Titan of Time, serves as the main villain. After escaping his own imprisonment, the deity wages war on Olympus. Supergiant posits, “Can Time itself be stopped?”
Hades 2 once again explores the rich world of Greek mythology, though for the sequel Supergiant is incorporating the myth’s “deep connections to the dawn of witchcraft.” At the heart of this is Hecate, “the secretive goddess of witchcraft and the crossroads,” who’s shown training Melinoë in the game’s reveal trailer.
Beyond these early details, Supergiant says Hades 2 contains “a sweeping story that continually unfolds through your every setback and accomplishment.”
Hades 2 Gameplay
Hades 2, like its predecessor, is a single-player-only, roguelike dungeon crawler. Based on its reveal trailer, it, too, will feature action-heavy combat played from an isometric perspective.
Supergiant has yet to reveal much about the sequel’s updates to gameplay, though it has promised “new locations, challenges, upgrade systems, and surprises.” The following blurb from Supergiant’s announcement hints at some of these new systems, though none of which is elaborated on: “Reveal the mysteries of the Arcana Altar, tame witchy familiars, and gather reagents using Tools of the Unseen to get closer to your goal.”
Boons — the good-for-one-run skills and buffs granted to the playable character by the Olympian Gods — return in the sequel. We got a peek at three Boons in the Hades 2 reveal trailer offered to Melinoë by Apollo, God of Light:
- Nova Strike: Your Attacks deal more damage in a larger area.
- Blinding Sprint: Your Sprint is faster and inflicts Daze on nearby foes.
- Clarifying Light: While standing in your Casts, gradually restore Magick.
Also returning in the sequel is God Mode, according to the Hades 2 Steam page. As it worked in the first game, enabling God Mode results in taking 20 percent less damage from enemy attacks, with 2 percent resistance added after each death, capped at 80 percent.
Hades 2 Development
Hades 2 is being developed by Supergiant Games, the studio behind the original, using improved versions of the same proprietary development tools the company has leveraged since the development of its first game, 2011’s Bastion. The development team has added “a few more” employees for the sequel, though the team is still comprised of fewer than 30 people.
The sequel was announced at the 2022 Game Awards, though Supergiant began development “in earnest at the start of 2021.”
Hades 2 is the developer’s first-ever sequel; Supergiant’s previous four games — Bastion, Transistor, Pyre, and Hades— were all original IPs. All four games received a review score of 9 or higher from IGN.
Should You Play Hades Before Hades 2?
While Supergiant says you don’t need to play the original before Hades 2, we recommend you do so. The developer calls Hades 2 a direct sequel and says those who play the first will “find plenty of connections.” Based on the quallity of writing in the original, it will likely be rewarding to understand these connections — and if nothing else, Hades is an extraordinary game worth playing.
Hades is available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC for $25. It will also be released on iOS (iPhone and iPad) in 2024, exclusively through Netflix Games, which requires a Netflix subscription.
IGN’s Hades review called it “a one-of-a-kind rogue-lite that does a brilliant job of marrying its fast-paced action with its persistent, progressing story through a vividly reimagined Greek mythological underworld.”
Jordan covers games, shows, and movies as a freelance writer for IGN.