Highlights

  • Hades 2 introduces a new protagonist, Melinoe, on a mission to stop the Titan Chronos in Greek mythology.
  • Hades references other mythologies through hidden weapon aspects, hinting at potential for future exploration.
  • A mythology shift similar to God of War could breathe new life into the Hades series, offering fresh experiences for players in future games through mythologies with entirely new pantheons.

One of the biggest surprises of 2020, the first Hades became an overnight sensation when it initially launched, and due to its staggered release structure, its popularity only continued to grow over the course of the next year. Now a few years on from its debut, Hades is widely considered to be one of the greatest Indie games ever made, and one of the most revolutionary roguelike titles, putting some major pressure on the upcoming sequel, Hades 2.

Focusing on a new protagonist this time around, Hades 2 will see players take control of Zagreus' half-sister Melinoe as she attempts to stop the Titan Chronos from taking his revenge on Mount Olympus and the gods that reside there. Based on the light plot descriptions given so far, it seems as though Hades 2 is delving even deeper into Greek mythology than its predecessor, but after it's done, the series might want to take a page out of God of War's playbook.

Melinoe with the logos for Hades and Hades 2
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The Next Hades Could Borrow God of War's Mythology-Hopping

Hades Has Already Established Other Mythologies

Though the entirety of Hades' story and characters revolve around Greek mythology, the first game does make a few intriguing references to a handful of other mythologies, all via the game's hidden weapon aspects. Unlocked through conversations with various NPCs and a handful of Titan Blood, each of Hades' six weapons has a hidden version based on a completely unique mythology, all of which drastically change the weapon's moveset.

The Eternal Spear, Varatha, for instance, has a hidden aspect that pays homage to Chinese mythology, referencing the great general Guan Yu and giving the weapon a new projectile attack that heals the player for every point of damage it incurs. Stygius is another great example, with its secret Aspect of Arthur transforming the sword into the Holy Excalibur, allowing for faster combos and a special that slowly oncoming enemy projectiles. The Hindu god Vishnu's avatar Rama, Gilgamesh, Lucifer, and Beowulf are all referenced in Hades as well, inferring that there are other mythologies out there in Hades' universe.

Hades 3 Could Benefit Greatly From a God of War-Like Mythology Shift

Greek mythology is incredibly vast, so naturally, there's more than enough content for a potential Hades 3 to draw inspiration from. But it might actually be more fun for the series to follow in God of War's footsteps. After seven installments, and almost a decade of development, the God of War franchise had explored just about every corner of Greek mythology that it could, and though the setting remained fun to explore for fans, it started to get a little tiresome and repetitive towards the end.

Rather than let the series continue to get increasingly stale, Santa Monica made the smart decision to take God of War back to the drawing board, only returning once it had something completely new to offer players. A pretty huge departure for the series, God of War 2018 took players to Norse mythology for the first time in the series, and it was the best decision Santa Monica could have made, allowing for completely new locations, characters, stories, enemies, and threats. Though it's a little early to guess where Hades 2's story is going, it would still be fun to see a God of War-like mythology shift in the series' future, letting players control a new character, wield different weapons, explore fresh settings, and face off against more enemies, all while retaining the same gameplay loop and being set in the same universe that fans adore.