Hades XBOX One / Xbox Series X|S / Windows 10

Hades for PC is a roguelike game – or perhaps the better term is ‘roguelite’ because in this game you are actually meant to die over and over, returning to the start a little older, wiser and with plenty of improvements and power-ups in your back pocket. It also has many elements of a role-playing game, and boasts isometric view and a fantastic soundtrack that enhances the game play experience, especially the combat scenes.

What’s the Story?

The game has a simple premise – you are the son of Hades (Zagreus) and you are making a break from the bowels of hell to the pinnacle of Mount Olympus, in the hopes of finding out some more about your mom. Olympus is, of course, where all your aunties and uncles hang out and some of them will aid you on your mission, but even this godly help this won’t stop you dying often!

Non-god characters deserving of a special mention are Sisyphus – he of the endless boulder, Patroclus, Hercules’s buddy, and Eurydice, late wife of Orpheus who oh-so-nearly made it out of Hades and back into her tragically cut short life.

You have a range of weapons and powers: dash, light or weapon attack (primary weapon), special attack (an enhancement of your primary weapon and attack), and some magic (called a ‘cast’ and being a spell that is basically a long distance weapon). You can combine power-ups, for example, combining dash with attack gives you a whirling melee attack called a ‘dash-strike’.