Summary
Hades 2once again proves thatsequels are worth itand can be better versions of the original game with all the things it builds on. You also have new gods and goddesses from Olympus, a new protagonist that dabbles in magick and witchcraft under Hecate, and lots of expanded systems that will blow you away all over again like its predecessor.
Hades 2, even with just Early Access impressions, is likely to go down as one of the best video game sequels ever to be made. That’s a very tough act to follow, but there are many games that touch upon its various themes, including some that too have Greek mythology infused into the story. Here are all the worthwhile ones you might want to check out next!
Diablo 4 is another excellent dungeon-crawling sequel that’s perfect to follow up Hades 2. It’s similarly got a stellar voice cast,especially Ralph Ineson’s character Lorath, and, naturally, the themes of Hell and the Underworld are pretty much the game’s entire premise. Since it’s an ARPG, you’ll build your own character here and can select from a variety of classes and designs.
The Magick and Omega casting system in Hades 2 pairs well with the Sorcerer class in Diablo 4, since the combat design is very similar. While Melinoe is trying to stop Chronos, the Titan of Time, your character in Diablo 4 is going up against Lilith, a demon Queen of Succubi and daughter of Mephisto, whose forces threaten Sanctuary.
Before Melinoe’s witchcraft-filled journey to defeat Time, there was her brother Zagreus, the protagonist of the original Hades game.A lot has changed between the siblings' stories, and Hades 2 makes improvements beyond your wildest dreams to various systems and gameplay elements. But if you’re curious, you should check out the game that started it all.
Hades is viewed as one of the best roguelikes of all time for a reason, in addition to being a marvel of a Greek mythology game. The key contrast is that Zagreus' story is more about leaving the Underworld to get to his mom, Persephone, on the surface, while Melinoe’s is about descending further and further to confront Chronos. The first Hades also has a different roster of gods and goddesses and offers many different enemies and weapons.
9South Park: Snow Day!
Roguelike Card-Based Action And Strategy Served Up South Park Style
The hacking and slashing roguelike fun and comedy of Hades 2 can be found in another 2024 roguelike game, and that would be South Park: Snow Day!, the next entry in the ever-growing list of South Park games. Albeit, the humor here is much less innuendo and clever nods to Greek mythology, but instead, more of the crude adult foul-mouthed humor and satire classic of South Park.
You’ll find that the weapon choices, combat design, and abilities are similar to what Hades 2 offers, just with the fantasy Stick of Truth and gross-out humor twist. There are lots of detailed systems at play, like Powers, Bullsh*t Cards, and Upgrade Cards from Jimmy (which are like Boons),and there’s plenty of difficult enemy variety. The plot also revolves around magic, and you even unlock a flame wand and wizard staff, but expect this one to be a much shorter experience.
8Harmony: The Fall Of Reverie
Another Stunning New Narrative Endeavor From The Team Behind Life Is Strange
Developer Don’t Nod hasbranched out into many different genres and styles of gamessince Life is Strange, whether it’s the more Soulslike feel of Vampyr or Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, or something completely different like Harmony: The Fall of Reverie, a 2D visual novel game. Whichever genre Don’t Nod tackles, phenomenal story and writing are always front and center.
This game features many of the similar art styles and narrative design features of Hades 2, along with its story, which is about a fantasy dimension known as Reverie, home to the Aspirations of Humanity like Power, Chaos, Bond, Truth, Glory, and Bliss. In Reverie, you also go from a mortal named Polly to a goddess known as Harmony, ultimately having to decide which Aspiration should lead this world.
What Lies Of P Is To Bloodborne, This Game Is To Hades
Probably the closest game in roguelike aesthetics and story direction you’ll get to Hades is Curse of the Dead Gods, yet another ‘godlike’ dungeon crawler featuring some similar environments and mechanics you’d expect from Supergiant’s masterpiece. Truly, the graphics, art style, combat, and isometric view make it feel like a Hades clone.
The added twist to the roguelike design is that you can try out new curses on each consecutive run, which is also something the Boons in Hades 2 have in store for enemies. The gods you’re faced with here are also inspired by Mesoamerican mythology, and the main protagonist is an explorer within their temple.
Prince of Persia has, at last, corrected its course and is once again headed in the right direction with The Lost Crown, one of the best entries the series has seen in a while. While aimed more as an action-adventure platforming game with boss battles than the roguelike design of the Hades series in mind, it equally hits on the mythological aspects and story, not to mention all the amazing art.
Instead of being the Princess of the Underworld, you are Sargon of the warrior clan calling themselves the Immortals, tasked with the safe retrieval of Persia’s Prince Ghassan, who’s been kidnapped by your lifelong ally and mentor, Anahita, and taken to Qaf. Your quest will have you usingall sorts of excellent Time Powersthat add fun dynamics to the game, along with your dual blades Qays and Layla, in battle.
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrificetells another strong female-driven storyof mythology set in the Underworld. In fact, it’s like a Celtic reimagining of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. The heroine Senua will take a trip to the realm of Hellheim to save the soul of her fallen lover while being gripped by relentless psychosis in what is one of the best depictions of mental health in games to date.
The game’s focus on story, graphics, and audio design, particularly on the effects of psychosis, has brought it tons of deserving BAFTA and Game Award wins. The voices of the Furies that bombard Senua throughout her journey create such an immersive and haunting atmosphere. The sequel, Senua’s Saga, only boasts an even more compelling narrative with better graphics and visuals.
The brilliant art direction and game design of Hades 2 can only be outmatched by one other game in the genre of fantasy and Greek mythology, and that’s Immortals Fenyx Rising, perhaps alsoone of the best Ubisoft games ever made. What makes it especially stand out is its narrative design, with the story being told to the player as a conversation between the gods Zeus and Prometheus.
In Immortals Fenyx Rising, you are tasked with stopping someone even more frightening than Chronos. Typhon serves as the main villain, and he is a giant humanoid serpent monstrosity born from Gaia and Tartarus, who with his wife Echidna created Cerberus, Chimera, and Hydra in Greek mythology. Those are quite the stakes in this open-world and puzzle-filled adventure!
The music and soundtrack are among the biggest highlights of Hades 2,especially in the Scylla and the Sirens boss battle, and, luckily, there’s another fantastic indie game that fuses Greek mythology and song. Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical is a mystery game where your favorite characters from Greek mythology can sing and also come uniquely designed.
You’ll be playing Grace, a mortal college dropout who is falsely accused of murdering the Pantheon’s Last Muse, Calliope, while being bestowed with her musical set of powers. Grace is given a week to prove her innocence before the Chorus, a body of Greek gods and goddesses like Apollo, Aphrodite, Persephone, and their leader, Athena.The voice cast is likewise stacked with Hollywood stars and industry veterans, including some of the main cast from The Last of Us.
While Hades 2 sprinkles in so much lore of Odysseus and his tales in Homer’s The Odyssey in its characters and narrative direction, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey uses it as a titular grab. Nonetheless, this Assassin’s Creed game is the best to come from the reimagined trilogy, and it’s all about ancient Greek society, mythology, and historical figures like Leonidas, Socrates, playwright Euripides, Alkibiades, and Hippocrates.
You’ll probably be geeking out as much about the characters you meet in AC Odyssey as you did in Hades 2, if not more. The map is one of the series' largest and comes with so many gorgeous and scenic environments. The combat is equally challenging, almost bordering on Soulslike territory,and you have excellent skills and abilitiesthat will feel like siblings Alexios and Kassandra’s personalized AC Boons. There are even boss fights featuring mythological beasts like Cyclopes, a Minotaur, and Medusa.
