I’ve beaten Chronostwice inHades 2, but he keeps on coming back. The Titan of Time isn’t shackled by the chains of immortality, and upon his defeat can simply manipulate time, thus reversing his death and emerging to fight another day. to actually beat him for good, I need to carry out an incantation that removes his powers of resurrection.
Who knows when I’ll do that, or if I even want to, since it will potentially add an endgame to a game I would happily run through again and again for months.Supergiant’s sequel will be in early access until the end of the yearat least, with major updates set to add new realms and story and characters and weapons and hopefully more flirting.Just give everyone a smooch.
Hades 2 Isn’t Just About Killing Time, But Bringing It Back To Life
But despite Chronos being labelled as the ‘final boss’ of Hades 2, much like the original, this game doesn’t end once their health bar reaches zero. It feels like the end of one act and the start of another, and right now, there is no way of knowing exactly how it will end, or if there’s a last minute twist waiting at the end of the tunnel that will completely subvert everything we have come to know. What I love most about Hades 2 is how it has been imbued with writing that actively acknowledges its existence as an unfinished game.
When Melinoe is first whisked back to The Crossroads after beating Chronos, she can share the news with Hecate, Nemesis, Odysseus, and even Eris. But there is a reservation in each exchange, that finally reaching her goal and defeating the Titan is just the beginning.
Now it’s about exploiting his weaknesses, wearing him down, and trying to figure out how to perfect a run so when you reach and defeat Chronos, he will be gone for good. I especially love that at least some of this dialogue is only going to exist in the early access build, or at the very least is reactive to the lack of every single world being present in the game right now or characters yet to reach certain milestones in their respective arcs.
This is especially true of the surface, which will be adding Olympus in a later update after the boss fight with Eris. But right now, dare to venture beyond that and a unique narration comes out which is pretty much an in-game excuse for Hades 2 not being finished yet. Melinoe will be killed for some unknown reason and then reflect on that demise with her allies when she gets back home, hinting at an unknown voice and force stopping her from progressing. The player knows the reasoning for this, but the characters don’t, so Supergiant put in the effort to make it work within the framework of its evolving narrative.
This is a theory for another article, but I definitely stumbled upon two conversations about Nemesis and Artemis hinting that theymightbe a little more than friends. Either that, or they’re fooling around for funsies when they should be defending the pantheon.
I’ll admit that I have reached a point where dialogue for certain characters like Dusa or Nemesis have plateaued unless I meet certain conditions like using specific weapons or going on a run in a desired way. I’ve given them too many gifts and had enough conversations that I now need to wait for the next update, but it hasn’t stopped me from wanting to keep going.
Hades 2 is filled with marvellous surprises, such as when I randomly talked to Aphrodite on a run and she gave me the recipeto craft Nectar myself. No longer did I have to purchase it off a Shade Merchant or find it on my runs, now I suddenly had that power. Encounters with Nemesis, Artemis, and Icarus on runs also open up new dialogue and narrative arcs I’m desperate to see more from, even if right now all I can do is conjure up head canons.
There will be a time in Hades 2 where I will hit credits, but I’m already assured this won’t be the end. Supergiant thinks about every single permutation so thoroughly that this roguelite action game is more reminiscent of an RPG at times, one where your every decision and interaction can be accounted for and will help to progress the story, even if most players still end up with the same final destination. With 30 hours on the clock and goodness knows how many to come, I feel safe saying that Hades 2 will be a part of my gaming repertoire for a long time to come. Much like Melinoe, my journey is only just beginning.
Hades 2
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Hades 2 is the sequel to Supergiant Games' smash-hit roguelike dungeon crawler. This time you’ll play as Melinoë, Princess of the Underworld and Zagreus' sister, as she takes on the forces of the Titan of Time.
