Hades II is available to play now in early access on PC
Hades II, the sequel to the Bafta best game winner, is out now on Steam and the Epic Games Store in early access.
For £25, you can play the preview version of the game, which may lack some polish compared to the final product, till at least the end of the year. The first Hades was also released in early access, which developer Supergiant games says helps it to improve the game using player feedback.
Elsewhere, things are a bit different as far as the gameplay and story are concerned. Yes, you still have to hack and slash your way through a luminous, mythic world, but this time you’re vanquishing enemies from behind the cosh of a new protagonist.
In Hades II, players take on the game’s demonic minions as Melinoë, a witch on a quest to rescue her family from the clutches of Chronos, the Titan of Time. She also happens to be Princess of the Underworld, daughter of Hades, and younger sister of the first game's hero, Zagreus.
An expert sorceress, Melinoë can craft potions from a smouldering cauldron, enchant weapons with a replenishable resource dubbed Magick, and cast powerful spells, including a special ability that immobilises enemies.
Hades II and its predecessor are part of a genre known as roguelikes in which levels (or dungeons) are procedurally generated and dying means you have to start from the beginning. Of course, you can avoid permadeath by gaining new abilities that allow you to perform more lightning-fast attacks. Other notable roguelikes include fellow Bafta winner Vampire Survivors, The Binding of Isaac, and Dead Cells.
Those who fork out their hard-earned Obols for the early access version of Hades 2 can expect to be the first to play the game’s updates. Supergiant is promising three upcoming additions including a new region to explore later this year; an update to the game’s Crossroads hub that allows players to unlock various cosmetics; and one more main weapon, along with new Weapon Aspects.
If you want to catch up with the original first, you can grab it on virtually every platform including PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, Mac, and iPhone.
