Although this meant I missed out on the initial fervour surrounding its launch, I decided that instead of playing a tiny fragment of it there and then, I would wait patiently for the game's full launch before experiencing one second of it.
Hades II takes place some time after the first game. The house of Hades, replete with Zagreus and the rest of its misfits, has been conquered by Chronos, the Titan of Time.
Under Hecate's charge, Melinoë is raised to be a fighting force, trained in combat and witchcraft to one day take down Chronos and restore her family's rightful rule over the underworld – our story begins with her first foray into the darkness of Erebus.
Ever-present aides of Asphodel such as Nyx and Achilles are replaced by the likes of Nemesis and Odysseus and more. Names equally as legendary and characters equally as charming.
Sure, the enemies and bosses are different, but in terms of combat and story progression, things are effectively the same, save for a few tweaks or new additions.
Melinoë, it goes without saying, is fantastically written. On balance, I certainly prefer Zagreus's wittier and more abrasive personality, but Melinoë's more straightforward personality often helps other characters to shine more prominently.
Combat, while again, largely the same, does come with some tweaks that improve it significantly.
Unlike Hades, in which I felt more than one God bestowed rather poor Boons that I would look to avoid at all costs, each God in Hades II is far more balanced, though I of course still have my favourites.
Your Cast, too, has been replaced with a magic circle that inflicts various ailments on the enemies within depending on which Boons you've picked up on your journey.
The same cannot be said for its bosses, however, many of which are not only a tremendous challenge – Chronos is a far tougher fight than Hades ever was – but come with perhaps even more pomp and circumstance than their predecessors.
Scylla, in particular, is a nightmare to fight, even as many hours into the game as I am, but her presentation is so blood-pumping and fun, playing her own stellar boss theme as you fight, that I simply can't help but look forward to our encounters every time.
As you repeatedly fall on the path to Chronos, you repeatedly unlock various Incantations, requiring you to spend the resources you gather to cast spells that cause anything from summoning the Fates to building a hot spring.
It adds that same tangible sense of progression as the Mirror of Night in Hades I, for example, but has the added bonus of having real effects on the story as it plays out.
Through various Incantations, you unlock a new path, not down to Asphodel, but up to Olympus. But Melinoë, born of the underworld cannot survive on the surface, requiring further Incantations to allow her to progress.
This addition entirely switches up the way in which you approach the game – this is no longer a single-minded beeline to the finish, but a calculated weighing up of your options.
It is at this point that the game's story truly comes into its own. The various players, from Olympian to lowly shade, experience the most growth in these moments, as you increase your relationships with them bit-by-bit.
Much of your time will no doubt be spent with your loyal troupe at the Crossroads, learning the tragic backstories that led to their being in the afterlife, swapping tales over hard-won bottles of Nectar and Ambrosia.
This is the same magic that made the first game so enthralling – an almost infinite gameplay loop complimented by dialogue that evolves alongside you.
Upon playing Hades, I was confident in saying that Supergiant had brought the roguelite formula as close to perfection as it could come. To this day, no other studio has managed to use the genre as a storytelling tool so thoughtfully and effectively.
In the grand scheme of things, my time with Hades II has only just begun, and I expect that it will continue pulling me back into its world again and again in the heady pursuit of that one perfect run.
Hades II releases on 25th September for PC and Nintendo Switch consoles. We reviewed on PC.
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