We love Greek mythology and games. That is also why we love Hades. The game had been in early access for quite some time when it was released two weeks ago. Because there’s much to tell you about this game, here’s a Stratigraph!
For those of you who are unknown with the game (you must’ve been living under a rock): it’s about Greek Mythology (surprise)! That’s cool, but what is even cooler about Hades is the fact that it’s a roguelike without an ending. Well there is an ending, but dying doesn’t mean that the game ends. Instead, dying means that the story changes. Isn’t that a cool mechanic?
We’ve been early fans of the game. Back in March (when we could still stream sitting next to each other), Dr. Random and Ymir played the game on stream when it was still in Early Access. The game had sold over 700.000 copies when it was in EA, since its release it has gained over 300.000 more sales (last week), so it’s now comfortably past 1M sales (Eurogamer)!
Aside from it’s awesome roguelike mechanics, Hades is also pretty good on its representation of Greek Mythology. Where other games (looking at you Total War Saga: Troy) take some very creative liberties with mythology, Hades‘s approach really does justice to the Greek pantheon. Not only because it portrays the god’s powers in a correct way, but also because it takes diversity to the next level. Instead of a all-white line up of gods, Hades‘s gods are as diverse as Ancient Greece was, and the modern day playerbase is. For POC, this diversity is very important, writes Ash Parrish of Kotaku. In a feature on Hades, Parrish explains why it is so refreshing to play a game where Athena is a POC woman. In the same piece, Parrish refers to Greg Kasavin, the Creative Director of devs Supergiant Games. Kasavin tells how the devs got an epiphany: ‘They’re called the Greek gods because they were worshiped in ancient Greece, not because they themselves are ethnically Greek.’
Besides this amazing take on diversity in the Greek pantheon, the game is just plain awesome as well. Our own Ymir is a big fan of the game: ‘It’s a cool game because it lets you experience the intricate details and gossips of the Ancient Greek Mythology in a refreshing, accessible way, maintaining what make mythologies fun, playful, and intriguing, yet awe-inspiring and spine-tingling.’ And Hades does not only tell the well known stories. It also focusses on the lesser known heroes and deities. Take protagonist Zagreus for example: since Hades is out and about, the Google searches for Zagreus have gone through the roof!
A cool thing about video games is how game devs dig up relatively obscure things from history and mythology and catapult them into public consciousness. This can often be tracked through Google Trends. Case in point #Hades @SupergiantGames' Zagreus https://t.co/BkoTiQoqLb
— Angus Mol (@theshoresoftime) September 28, 2020
All in all, Hades is an awesome game you should defintely play if you’re into Greek Mythology. You should also play it if you like dogs. Why you ask? Because you can defintely pet the dog in the game! And not any dog, the three-headed dog Cerberus. There’s an achievement for all players who’ve petted the dog more than ten times. Only 12,5% of players have this achievement, so you should all pet Cerberus some more!
According to the Steam achievements, only 12.1% of Hades players have pet Cerberus ten times or more. Please remember to show your animals the attention and affection they deserve. pic.twitter.com/oFQxPPhC7X
— Can You Pet the Dog? (@CanYouPetTheDog) September 25, 2020