For roguelike and indie game fans, the biggest announcement of The Game Awards 2022 was Hades 2, the sequel to an already successful and well-loved roguelike. Despite only having one trailer at the moment, Hades 2 can already be considered one of the most anticipated games of 2023, especially if the reception to the first game is anything to go by. With that in mind, here’s everything you need to know about Hades 2, including its release window, story, and where you can play it.
When Is Hades 2 Coming Out?
A set release date for Hades 2 hasn’t been announced as of yet, though Supergiant Games have confirmed that Hades 2 will receive an early access launch on Steam and the Epic Games Store in 2023. This is the same as the first game, which went through an early access period before its V1.0 release on PC. Hades also launched on the Nintendo Switch the same day as the final version launched on PC, while the PlayStation and Xbox versions came later.
What Is Hades 2 About?
Hades 2 is a direct sequel set sometime after the events of the original game, but instead of following Hades’ son Zagreus, you’ll instead be playing as his daughter Melinoë. The Princess of the Underworld itself, Melinoë has to deal with an escaped Titan in the form of Chronos. The evil father of Hades and all his brothers, Chronos is now waging war against the gods of Olympus, and it’s up to Melinoë to stop him, but how can you fight against time itself?
Central to the plot and themes of Hades 2 is witchcraft, as Melinoë herself is a powerful sorceress, as well as being deadly with various shadowy weapons. Melinoë isn’t alone in her quest, as she’s being trained by Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft and the crossroads. Hecate plays a significant role in the grand tapestry that is Greek mythology, and like Zagreus, Melinoë is also a figure who is mentioned with Greek texts as related to Hades, but Supergiant Games felt like there was enough room to explore their own story within that.
Along with Melinoë, Hecate and Chronos, Hades 2 will feature a variety of new characters that have been drawn from mythology, with Moros, the god of Doom, Apollo, the god of Light, and Nemesis, the goddess of Retribution. It’s also possible that one of the shades shown in the reveal trailer, Dora, is actually Pandora, the first ever human woman created by Hephaestus and the one who opened Pandora’s Box, unleashing all of the evils upon the world. This is on brand for the Hades series, as Medusa was featured in the first game as the House of Hades’ maid Dusa.
What Platforms Is Hades 2 On?
So far, Hades 2 has only been announced for PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, as they’ll be releasing the game into early access at some point in 2023. Supergiant Games have stated that they’re hoping to bring Hades 2 to PC and consoles in the near future, though what consoles it’ll appear on remains to be seen. The first game appeared on the Nintendo Switch first, before being ported to PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X & S just under a year later. Hopefully, we’ll see Hades 2 across all platforms the day it leaves early access, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
Who Is Developing Hades 2?
Hades 2 is being developed by Supergiant Games, an acclaimed indie game developer based in San Francisco, California. This relatively small studio has been working on games since 2009, making their debut with the excellent Bastion back in 2011. Since then, they’ve also released Transistor in 2014, Pyre in 2017 and Hades in 2020. As they’re a small studio, Supergiaint Games only works on one main project at a time, with Hades 2 being their current focus.
What’s interesting about the development of Hades 2 is that it’s actually Supergiant’s first sequel. While Bastion, Transistor and Hades all share some similarities in the sense that they’re experienced from an isometric perspective, Supergiant’s first three games were set in completely separate worlds with brand new stories and characters. The fact that Supergiant is making a proper follow-up instead of something new is interesting.
In a blog post on their official website, Supergiant stated the reasons why they made a straight-up sequel, mentioning that Hades was their most beloved game, both by the fans and by the development team, and that they always imagined the possibility of new stories in the same world. The team at Supergiant love to take on new challenges with each project, and with this sequel, their challenge to themselves was “to try and make a sequel that could somehow re-capture the sense of wonder and delight of its predecessor”. Whether or not they’ll succeed remains to be seen.
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