PRESS [LT] TO PET CERBERUS

 

i started playing Hades (2020) knowing nothing about it, i impulsed bought it months ago on sale because i thought the art was really pretty. 

the game starts right away, doesn't explains much to you. it just throws you immediately into battle, then when you die, you appear in a room, and Zagreus (the character you're playing) calls it home. there's no monsters there, and the game let's you interact with a bunch of different object and characters, it's here where you get some context of what the game is about. 

you are the son of Hades, trying to escape from hell. obviously the underworld is built so nobody can leave, so you keep dying over and over again, getting back to the main room. every time you have to start over from the very first room, and fight you're way up to the furthest room your live span and ability allow you. 

every time you die, there's a bunch of things you get to do at home to better prepare yourself for your next try. you can unlock new weapons, new abilities, new skills, but most importantly, you get to pet and talk to Cerberus. 

Cerberus loves you so much, and they miss you to the point of destroying shit when you leave. they're so cute ! !!! ! a game designed to lose, and to die and start over for what it feels like forever, it's a difficult thing to create, you risk your players getting tired, bored, or even rage quitting. so to have such a cute and nice welcome every time you lose is definitely a genius idea. plus each time you get back home, you get new interactions with really cool characters, and you get to better your relationship with them thru gifts and interactions. said gifts you can only get if you go out to battle and die, making dying part of the game, they made losing feel rewarding ! !!

every new try to get passed the many chambers of the underworld, you get help from different gods and goddesses, they're all very hot ! the art is gorgeous ! !!! !! a great incentive to keep trying, since you very much want to meet all the character and see what they have to offer you. 

my two favorite characters so far are Hypnos and Charon (the boatman with a little store, selling supplies to better your chances at the next chamber, if you're lucky enough to find him), i've been giving them gifts and trying to max my friendship with both of them, a dynamic that reminds me a lot to a dating simulator, so i find it really funny in the middle of a battle video game. 

i've been only playing for a day, and i've only been able to reach chamber 15, so i'm sure i still have many new things to discover, but i can already tell this is a very good game, i am having lots of fun ! !!! ! i totally understand now why everyone was so obsessed with it when it came out. 

i also have to add, unlocking new skills really does make a difference, rooms that seemed impossible at first, end up becoming super easy, so even tho you keep dying over and over again, you still get a sense of progress. oh !! and ! with every try the rooms get a little different, as well as the possible recompenses, so the repetitiveness doesn't get boring. plus ! sometimes using a certain weapon or activating certain abilities ups your chances of getting a specific material you need to unlock something else, so sometimes you get out there not with the idea of winning, but with the idea of recollecting as much materials as possible before dying, which means sometimes your goal is to die ! !! again, i just think is really cool how they made it so losing could feel as rewarding as winning, even more in some instances. 

it's really cool when you reach a new chamber, you get really excited, but when you eventually die, it's also great news, you get to unlock new things, pet Cerberus and talk to your favorites characters.  

i don't think the game is about getting out of hell, it's more about the journey, learning something new every time you fail, and using it for your next try, never giving up, accepting help from your loved ones, and allies, and of course, about loving your dog. 

the dialogues are also very funny, smart and super interesting to read, or should i say hear ? because the voice acting in this game is insane ! !!!! it's so sos sosososoooooo good ! !!!! !! idk i am loving every single second of it. i would recommend trying it, if you haven't yet (i know i'm very late to the party). 

i am not well versed on greek mythology, i don't know much about the characters, their stories, nor their relationships to each other, but i can confirm it does not take away from the game at all. you can play with little to no knowledge and still have lots of fun.