When Hades 2 released into Early Access this year, 34 hours of my life vanished before I said, "OK, if I play any more I'm going to spoil myself rotten, and the full thing won't be out for ages yet. Time to stop".
I put down my controller. My hands began to itch, and I broke out into a feverish sweat. I felt the flames of Asphodel lick at my heels - the bloody waters of the Styx filled my mouth, and a deep, thunderous voice chastised me. "You didn't finish me, boy," it rumbled like a disappointed father. Flashes of hot, topless gods raked across my vision as I toppled into an abyss of my mind's own creation. I then immediately reinstalled Hades 1, picked up my controller, and played about 40 more hours of that.
The sheer hunger Hades 2 inspired in me had me so ravenous for more of developer Supergiant's quality work that I couldn't help but tuck in. Especially since I'd never quite finished the dang thing: I'd beaten papa Hades himself, but I'd never completed the roguelike enough times to see the end of its main story, nor had I dug properly into its postgame.
Hades, in its now-finished state, gave me a singular thought: this might be one of the smartest roguelikes - nay, one of the smartest games I'd ever played. Hades feels effortlessly good, but there's enough complex machinery under the hood to make Daedalus blush.
ROGUELITE REVOLUTION
Hades is a roguelike - or more accurately, it's a roguelite. In case you're completely green to the world of keyboards and thumbsticks, that means it's a game where death sends you back to the start, as per 1980's Rogue. However, 'lite' refers to the way its persistent set of upgrades - earned with resources snagged on your runs easier and more complex.
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Denne historien er fra November 2024-utgaven av PC Gamer.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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A New Dawn - The rise, fall and rise again of PC Gaming in Japan
The so-called 'Paso Kon' market (ie katakana's transliteration of 'Pasonaru Computa') in Japan was originally spearheaded in the 1980s by NEC's PC-8800 and, later, its PC-9800.
MARVEL: ULTIMATE ALLIANCE
Enter the multiverse of modness.
SLIDES RULE
Redeeming a hated puzzle mechanic with SLIDER
GODS AND MONSTERS
AGE OF MYTHOLOGY: RETOLD modernises a classic RTS with care
PHANTOM BLADE ZERO
Less Sekiro, more Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty
STARR-MAKING ROLE
Final Fantasy XVI's BEN STARR talks becoming a meme and dating summons
THIEF GOLD
Learning to forgive myself for knocking out every single guard.
HANDHELD GAMING PCs
In lieu of more powerful processors, handhelds are getting weirder
FAR FAR AWAY
STAR WARS OUTLAWS succeeds at the little things, but not much else shines
FINDING IMMORTALITY
Twenty-five years on, PLANESCAPE: TORMENT is still one of the most talked-about RPGs of all time. This is the story of how it was created as a ‘stay-busy’ project by a small team at Black Isle Studios