Hades 2 Has One Of The Best Battles In A Roguelike

Summary

Hades 2 starts out feeling a little too similar to the first game, but comes into its own during the second world.
Oceanus is home to Scylla and the Sirens, a rock band version of the Greek legends that has some banging music.
The tough boss battle is an early highlight for Hades 2 and is just the start of showing how unique it is.

is one of my favourite games of the past decade, and one of a very select few that I consider masterpieces alongside and . Even with that hellishly high praise, I was wary goi🧜ng into Hades 2, as the bar was set astronomically high and seemed almost impossible for Supergiant to clear.

That scepticism persistedꦓ for the first few hours. Melinoe’s skillset was notably different from Zagreus’ and there did seem to be a lot of new and expanded mechanics to get used to, but there was also an overwhelming sense of familiarity as I chased down every Centaur Heart I could find and planned my route just like I did in 2020.

Athena in front of the Hades 2 title screen.

I Missed Out On Hades' Early Access, I Won't Make The Same Mistake With Hades 2

I’m getting in on the ground floor with Hades 2

Posts 168澳洲幸运5开奖网: ꦿ

Considering my love of the original, that feeling of returning home wasn’t such a bad thing. But, as someone who had been looking forward to a sequel for quite some time, 🐟neither was it the leap forward I was hoping for. That all changed when I reached the end of the game’s second world, Oceanus.

Oceanus Is Hades 2 At Its Finest

From the moment you beat Hecate in a friendly fight and take one step closer to hell by sinking beneath the sea, Hades 2 starts feeling more unique. Oceanus is ve🅠ry different to anything we’ve seen before, with more original enemies, traps, and characters to encounter. As you make your way further down the depths and curse out the tiny swordfish enemies for ruining your run, you’ll likely also start to hear a song faintly playing in the background.

A💛t first, I thought this was just a nice bit of background noise to make Oceanus stand out, or perhaps a hint that Eurydice was returning in some form. Eventually, though, my Greek mythology brain kicked in and I realised that it was likely a siren’s song. Even with that knowledge in mind, I wasn’t prepared in the slightest for what I was about to witness.

Once you finally get past all the annoying shielded crabs and jets of steam, you find yourself face to face with the area’s boss - Scylla and her siren sisters, a rock band just as interested in creating their next big hit as they are luring sailors to their demi🦩se.

Mercifully, Scylla and the Sirens all share one health bar, which makes this much less painful than Theseus 💯and Asterius.

Coral Crown Is An Absolute Bop

I&rsqu𝔍o;ve always loved the uniq🐼ue twists on Greek gods and creatures in Hades, but turning♈ Scylla and the Sir🌺ens into a rock band is its most creative yet. In my time so far, Scylla is the only one who has had much to say, but she’s one of the most memorable characters in the game thanks to her gossipy attitude towards Melinoe.

At first, I thought the glam rock aesthetic that the Sirens had taken on was just going to be 🍷a disguise as part of their infamous trick to lure people in, but Hades 2 goes above and beyond by having the band play an while they take on Melinoe.

Not only is the track a legitimate banger that 🌱has turned into my shower song for the foreseeable future, but it’s also weaved perfectly into the boss battle itself. Instead of just taking on Scylla with the other two sirens being little more than background fodder, you’re up against all three musicians at once the second you reach the bottom of Oceanus.

Scylla And The Sirens Show Off How Much Is New In Hades 2

Each of the sisters plays a different instrument that has its own moves to watch o🐬ut for, such as the drum creating circles on the floor that can damage you, and the guitar knocking you back with blasts before knee-sliding into you with a bodacious riff. Better yet, every time you take down one of the bﷺosses, the instrument they’re playing disappears from the song, which is the sort of attention to detail that has become synonymous with Hades.

Coral Crown isn’t the only song thatꦗ Scylla and the Sirens can play, .

As you dash around the battlefield and contend with three completely different movesets that are equally dangerous, it’s hard not to get distracted by just how great the music is. Hades already has a great OST, but Coral Crown is easily its peak. It makes a tough battle even tougher to focus on, which led to me dying a lot, but it’s presented in such a unique way that, unlike most of Hades’ boss ܫbattles, I didn’t mind having to do it over and over again.

There are plenty of creative boss battles across Hades and its sequel, but there’s never been one that handles both its character interactions and gameplay elements as uniquely as this. It’s easily my favourite gaming moment of 2024 so far, and helped 🥂me to see how Hades 2 is ite༺rating on a beloved formula and taking it to the next level. Things only get better after Oceanus, but it’s still a 🌠hell of a performance.