Time spent playing/Platform:
23 hours/Steam
Short on time?
Hades II is great for you.
The Best Bits:
- Combat feels tactical and fast paced
- The sound design is nuts
- Brilliant attention to detail throughout
- The new systems make the game feel new
Is Hades II good if I’m short on time?
Short answer: Yes.
Long answer: Hades II has a fantastic gameplay loop that encourages you to try new builds, and treats you to new dialogue and tools after almost every run. Even if you only have 15 minutes to play in between household jobs and kids bedtimes, you’re bound to see something fresh on your next run towards the underworld.
Is Hades II good if I’m on a budget?
Hades II offers fantastic value for money, take a look:
Steam: £24.99 (As of October 2025)
Nintendo Store: £24.99 (As of October 2025)
Amazon: £37.95 (As of November 2025, physical copy released 20th November 2025)
While still around £25 for digital versions, you’ll put dozens of hours into the game and continue to find something new, and something to fight towards.
Visuals
The classic Supergiant visuals are back with avengeance, with Jen Zee’s signature style providing a host of Chthonic and Olympian gods to pine over.
Gods galore
Hades is well known for being a thirst trap, full of beautiful characters that no streamer can avoid gawping at. But the real beauty of both games is the attention to detail on each character.
Newcomer and physical manifestation of the moon, Selene, looks as angelic as you can imagine a celestial body to be, while the returning gods are decked up in glistening armour.
The beautiful artwork isn’t just limited to the characters, though. Each of the locations in the game, from the gloomy, yet full of life, crossroads, to the golden petals of the mourning fields look stunning. It’s a genuine joy to bask in the visuals of each area, and those visuals play a key part in deciding to sneak another run in.
Sound Design
Darren Korb is back in business, and brings some of the finest sound design since Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and Hades before that. The music hits hard from the off, with a bassline in Erebus that is absolutely transcendent.
Hitting a boss or a miniboss encounter is a whole new sensation, with powerful riffs that create excitement and anxiety in equal measures, and a fast and frantic tension throughout the fight.
As always, vocal performances elevate the already fantastic score, with new and old voices harmonising into tracks that will quickly become highlights on the Hades II soundtrack.
Gameplay
Gameplay is as tight as ever, bringing about that old Hades feel of frenetic combat, alongside the new pacing thrust upon you with new weapons like the Moonstone Axe or Umbral Flames.
Zagreus’ dash has now been replaced by Melinoë’s dash-sprint, which replaces well-placed (or instinctive in my case) dodging with a more deliberate placement around or away from enemies.
New boons complement the new dodging mechanic, with godly powers affecting enemies at both the end of the dash and as you sprint by them. It’s a great feeling running between a horde of enemies casting my favourite new boon, Hitch, on them, to come back round and cause massive damage to multiple enemies at once.
Upgrades, upgrades, upgrades
The classic rogue-like feature of head out, collect resources, upgrade, is back with a vengeance. Zagreus’ Mirror of Night is no more, now replaced with Melinoë’s Arcana, which is a little more complex, but allows for fantastic creativity in your build.
The Nocturnal Arms are Melinoë’s weapons of choice, and resources collected during your runs are vital for ensuring that aspects for each weapon are upgraded, allowing for combinations that melt bosses.
The cauldron replaces the trusty house contractor, with upgrades available to locations on your runs and within the crossroads.
Collecting resources for each upgrade can take some time, but recipe tracking is available, guiding you towards resources on your run.
Favourite Bits
As someone who’s terrible at build planning, there’s nothing quite like stumbling across a build that almost guarantees a completed run.
I’m also a sucker for any upgrades that make the next run easier (think Hades’ fountain chambers), there’s plenty to go at to make each run that little bit simpler.
Verdict
There’s so much new in this game, and I’ve barely scratched the surface. All in all, though, this game builds on Hades and creates something new and special that stands on its own.
As someone who has very little time on their hands, I couldn’t recommend this game more. It’s easy to drop into the exact chamber where you left off, and the only difficulty is figuring out where you were going with your build if it’s been a while. Even then, dying only creates opportunities for more dialogues and unlocks, so if you have to start from scratch, you’re not missing out.