As with all Early Access games, Hades 2 comes with a dilemma: do you play now, knowing it’s not quite finished yet, or do you wait for the release of 1.0, whenever that may be? Fortunately, the decision for Hades 2 is easier to defend than most. You should absolutely play it now, and not just because of FOMO or impatience. Instead, you should experience how the Early Access journey is woven into the story.
You may have heard that Hades 2 is absolutely packed with stuff. There already is more than Hades 1 managed to fit in even when it was fully released. And yes, there’s plenty that makes it worth playing in its current state. Now that I’m almost 30 hours in, I’m still surprised by new discoveries, I still have recipes I’m saving for, and I still have some relationships that need improving.
Myth in the making
But there’s more to it than that. You should play Hades 2 in Early Access for the same reason you played Hades 1: because it makes thematic sense. The game’s repeated catchphrase, Time cannot be stopped, is currently true. I won’t reveal anything here, but I don’t have to. All you need to know is that the game isn’t finished yet. You can’t kick Chronos out of the House of Hades and save the day. You must experience the same purgatory as Melinoe, cursed to try again and again and never succeed.
Divine DNA
Hades 2 review: “The roguelike DNA at the heart of this sequel remains as tight and killer as its predecessor”
When the game is eventually fully released, it will theoretically be possible to knock out Chronos in the very first run. It’s not exactly likely, given how Melinoe unlocks new abilities and grows stronger through her repeated forays into the underworld, but it should be possible.
However, that is not the case at the moment. And Melinoe getting up every night and trying anyway is a part of the story that won’t always exist. For Zagreus in the first game, this contributed to his personal tenacity. He had a Sisyphean job (ironic, considering that character’s appearance in the game), but everything about him was grit and ambition. Even when he couldn’t escape Hell, he made Hell better for those around him.
For Melinoe, things are subtly different. She is clearly persistent, but she is not without doubts. She spends her life learning how to defeat Chronos, but the reality is very different and she still struggles. But on the other hand, her journey is already more communal. She is surrounded by people who want to see her succeed, but who don’t rush her. In particular, her mentor Hecate warns patience when Melinoe has doubts. It’s a beautiful moment made even more meaningful by the fact that it has a very literal basis at this point. Melinoe must be patient, just like us.
And while Hades 2 feels more concrete than its predecessor at first thanks to how much of it there is, the myth of Melinoe weaving Supergiant isn’t set in stone yet. This is again a nice resonance of the source material they are working with, which is fragmented and often contradictory, with stories lying on top of stories. As this version of Melinoe changes, it will be able to build its own mythology in a similar way – one that is almost uniquely available through Early Access video games.
In most cases, I’m one of those people who likes to wait for the full release of a game before trying it out. But when friends tell me they’re doing this with Hades 2, I disagree. In this case, Early Access isn’t just a way to test the game. It’s part of what makes Hades 2 work, and it’s the best way to experience it: layered as myth and full of failure.
Here is the Hades 2 road map outlining what to expect in the future.