Hades is one of those roguelite games that allow players to enjoy the thrill of a new experience with every run thanks to its fast-paced and muscle memory-reliant levels, and even though player choice matters more than anything, the game can be quite unforgiving. In a bold and unexpected move, Destiny 2's Season of the Deep has implemented roguelite components reminiscent of Hades with the all-new Deep Dive missions, which cement the idea that the genre can have a big impact on the industry - even for wildly different games.
Season of The Deep brings in a number of new elements to the game, including fishing, new Destiny 2 Salvage missions, and the usual swathe of weapons and armor. The introduction of Deep Dives points to a new direction for Destiny 2's gameplay, though, as a roguelite element comes into play - this time, deep in the watery deaths of Titan rather than the firey planes of Hades' Hell.
How Destiny 2 Compares to Hades' Roguelite Gameplay Loop
Destiny 2’s Deep Dives put the player with up to two other Guardians on a mission to explore the watery abyss of the methane oceans of Titan, fighting their way to the final encounter. Three levels must be completed before coming up against the boss, with each level granting a buff to carry on through to the end, very similar to the boons in Hades. The levels are randomized in each playthrough, furthering the similarities between Destiny 2’s Deep Dives and the ever-changing realms of Hell.
Like Hades, Deep Dives have three levels before the final boss fight: Twilight, Midnight, and Abyss, each posing a more significant threat with different enemies, similar to the Hades boss fight with the god of the dead himself. These levels have been added over the season, finishing up with the Abyss level and the removal of the previous bosses in lieu of the final one. This new layout could be the first of many roguelite-style missions in Destiny 2 as it expands on the game type and implements it in new seasons.
While in Hades players are brought back empty-handed to the start after an unsuccessful run, Destiny 2's approach varies by making death or failed objectives something that can be fixed. There are a few ways to fail the levels in Destiny 2's seasonal missions as progression is made, such as running out of time or simply drowning, but this doesn’t mean that no Deep Dive rewards are received. For each level completed, players are awarded more loot under the typical roguelite promise of greater loot waiting at the end of the next tier, tempting further completion.
The roguelite elements at play in Deep Dives are a new mechanic in the game that hints at Bungie's ideas as to implementing them further into the world of Destiny 2. Bungie could eventually add a whole season, or at least a group of missions, all running with the same roguelite elements seen in Season of The Deep. The genre switch-up would be a first for the first-person shooter franchise, but the seven-year-long IP always comes up with new ideas and expansions in Destiny 2 to keep players returning.
Hades was a wildly popular IP from the team at Supergiant Games, which brought the genre to a vast audience and won multiple awards. For Destiny and the Bungie team to take from this and implement it in the game would only bring more players into the fold and entice many more back under the promise of more roguelite content. There is a very particular attractiveness to the rinse-and-repeat gameplay style of Hades and some of the best roguelite video games, whether it be the slow but satisfying progression or the feeling of self-improvement.
Destiny 2 has been a long-running and very successful IP that has made Bungie millions. However, it will need to keep innovating if it plans to keep players hooked until the inevitable end of the Destiny 2 Light and Darkness saga. With The Final Shape looming, Bungie will have to pull out all the stops to net the biggest audience it can for the eventual finale of their game, and the addition of a roguelite loop would be just the thing to keep players returning.
Destiny 2 is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
