Summary
One ofHades 2’s Arcana Cards, The Wayward Son, has a heartbreaking reference to Zagreus that just makes his absence from the game even more painful.
Despite being in an Early Access state,Hades 2 has a ton of new content that sets it apart from the original game, including new weapons, characters, locations, gameplay mechanics, and even Gods. By far the biggest new thing about the sequel, though, is that you play as a brand-new protagonist - Zagreus' younger sister, Melinoe.
Melinoe is a very different character from Zagreus, both in terms of her personality and her unique Witch-y playstyle. She’s a great new addition to the sequel and someone that fans have already fallen in love with, but that hasn’t stopped us all from missing the polite king who started it alland is missing in action after being kidnapped by Chronos.
One Of Hades 2’s Arcana Cards Will Make You Miss Zagreus Even More
As you play through Hades 2 and get to work reuniting Melinoe with her family,there are a few hints about what happened to Zagreus in between the first and second game. That’s not all, though, as Hades 2 likes to really play with your heartstrings by referencing the beloved character in a few small ways, with one of those sad nods being found in the new Arcana Card system.
The Arcana Cards are Melinoe’s main way of levelling up her abilities in Hades 2, similar to how Zagreus used the mirror in his room to power up. Mel can equip a few of the Arcana Cards at once and each of them has a different ability, such as letting her defy death or giving her more chances to re-roll Boons. Each card also has a name and description that references a character in Hades.
One of the most helpful Arcana Cards in the game is called “The Wayward Son”, which restores your health whenever you leave a location. As you’re able to probably guess from that title, the Card is also a reference to Zagreus, who was trying to escape the Underworld in the original Hades. The card’s description makes that nod even clearer, as it reads, “Even the Underworld struggled to contain him, such was his lust for life”.
This isn’t the only time that Hades 2 references Zagreus,as several characters in the game such as Chaos and Skelly will talk about himand mention their memories of everyone’s favourite sassy prince.
The Wayward Son card having such a loving description of Zagreus and his passion for life makes it a heartbreaking little easter egg that only makes us miss him more. Here’s hoping that he eventually gets reunited with Melinoe in the sequel’s full release,even if we’re clearly being set up for a tough boss battle.
