Summary
- Hades 2 has the potential to improve upon its predecessor by adding new features and expanding on what already works, making it a highly anticipated sequel.
- The sequel will feature Melinoe, Zagreus's sister, as the main character and will have a greater focus on witchcraft, introducing new possibilities and themes into the game.
- While Hades had a quality selection of boss battles, Hades 2 could benefit from offering an expanded roster of bosses to enhance replayability and provide a fresh experience for long-time players.
Supergiant's upcoming Hades 2 has a lot of potential. It's the studio's first-ever sequel and serves as a follow-up to 2020's critically acclaimed, dense roguelike. Although the first game was a landmark title for the genre, it's possible that Hades 2 can improve upon the foundations it set by adding new features and expanding upon what already works.
While plenty of information still needs to be revealed about the game, it seems like Hades 2 will be at least somewhat connected to its predecessor. Players will assume the role of Melinoe, Zagreus's sister, as she faces off against Chronos. Naturally, famous icons and creatures from Greek mythology will be making a return, but Supergiant has stated that the sequel will have a greater focus on witchcraft, which opens the door to a number of different possibilities. While there are some limitations that come with Hades 2's new premise, the game has the chance to improve upon certain elements from the first game, such as the cast of bosses.
Hades 2 Should Have More Boss Battles
The structure of a Hades run is relatively straightforward: players fight their way through a number of different rooms, gather upgrades and abilities, and finally fight a boss which serves as the culmination of the region. This process is then repeated a few times until the player reaches Hades, the final boss. The pattern makes for an engaging gameplay loop, but long-time players might wind up feeling like the collection of unique bosses is somewhat lean.
There aren't too many boss battles in Hades. All told, there are seven boss encounters in the game, with one being a secret fight with Charon and three being fights with one of the Furies, which can feel similar to one another. The game bolsters this selection of boss fights through the Extreme Measures Pact of Punishment, which allows for bosses to be strengthened with new phases or abilities. In many ways, this quality-over-quantity approach works in the game's favor, as each boss battle is well-crafted and enjoyable, especially with the new additions brought about by Extreme Measures.
Still, the sequel could offer a massive leap forward by offering an expanded roster of bosses. Hades is incredibly replayable, but fighting the same handful of bosses time and time again can get a little stale, even if Extreme Measures keeps things feeling fresh a bit longer. Hades is meant to be played for dozens of hours, so this is less than ideal.
That's not to say that Hades 2 needs to have a dizzying number of boss battles, though. The game can still be more contained, but it should aim to offer at least a bit more than its predecessor. This would help with the issue of variability, but it would also help the game stand out against what came before it, giving players a similar experience, but one that is stepped up a couple of notches. With Hades characters being based on Greek mythology, there is a wealth of potential for inventive, mechanically interesting battles, and Hades 2 should capitalize on that by adding more boss encounters, and potentially a few more secret or optional ones as well.
The studio's other games, while critically acclaimed, have been one-off titles, so it will certainly be interesting to see what the company does with a follow-up game. Hades 2 has some god-like shoes to fill, as the first game set the bar sky-high. There are a number of ways this sequel can stand out, and bolstering the collection of bosses on offer is just one of them.
Hades 2 is in development.