I always commend stories, and the people behind said story, the feat of successfully transforming the convention of a genre. That metamorphosis can be an amalgamation of different things or innovating an element that’s familiar with past iterations by applying a different approach to it. It’s the creation of something unique. Hades is one of those notable examples.
For Those That May Not Know...
Hades is a rogue-like action RPG centered around the god Zagreus and his journey to escape the Underworld. Over the course of his journey to the surface are enemies placed in the ever-shifting chambers by his father, aka the God of the underworld Hades. You’ll fight with weapons of past ancestries, augmented powers offered by the Gods of Olympus, and all of the life you could manage until either you make it to the surface and defeat your father or die.
And start from the beginning.
(That's a death animation, to clarify)
In technical terms, that would be considered a “permadeath,” one of the key traits of the roguelike genre. Zagreus is taken back to the house of Hades, losing all abilities he acquired along the way of his escape attempt.
Like many recent roguelikes, this generates a large skill curve that could be a potential deal-breaker to continue progress to the very end. An impeccable trial-and-error through learning your enemies, equipment, and the rest of the system that Hades provides in its kit.
While retaining its popularity through the fun gameplay and ‘challenge’ of it all, the incentive becomes nothing more than that. I feel it’s best to think of it as one primary branch that sets back to zero upon reset, whether dying or succeeding.
A Second Branch of Progress
Supergiant Games, the developer behind Hades, wanted to create a level of storytelling that pushed players to complete more than one run of the game to fully experience what the developers desired. The roguelike genre was a perfect fit. It allowed for them to utilize the base concepts while providing a branching story of dialogue, one that is rewarded from death.
Bit by bit, layer by layer, you are eased more into this interpretation of the Greek Pantheon mythos. The game is fully voiced, providing fresh charm and personality that never becomes a dull encounter. And little by little, through dialogue, more is understood of not only Zagreus’ relationship with the inhabitants of the underworld, but the motivation that pushes him to defy his father and reach the surface realm.
With that brings two branches of progress. The primary branch that will reset to zero upon Zagreus dying, or succeeding, to be flung back to the House of Hades. Then, the secondary branch that continually climbs upward upon each death. Death in Hades rewards the player with more storytelling, advanced dialogues with NPCs, and so much to create a massively meaningful experience that when you reach the top, you are immersed enough to recognize Zagreus’ willingness to make it through to the very end numerous times.
Hades will stand as a game-changer. It recently won Best Action Game and Best Indie Game for this year, and its innovation of storytelling alone makes it an inspiration to the rest of the medium. It has achieved a harmony: constantly flicking/tapping buttons at a strategic yet adrenaline-fueled pace to optimize your power, and a story that allows you to take a step back to enjoy a theme of unity through family (something that isn’t very apparent in usual Greek mythology).
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