Highlights

  • Hades 2 picks up where its predecessor left off, continuing and improving on gameplay mechanics for a fresh experience.
  • Melinoe plays differently than Zagreus, requiring constant movement to avoid danger, especially in boss fights like Charybdis.
  • The Charybdis fight in Hades 2 demands constant movement from players as they face a challenging boss in a limited arena space.

In a way, Supergiant Games' Hades 2 picks up where its predecessor left off, though not from a narrative standpoint. Everything that happens in Hades 2 does happen after the events of the first game, but the sequel picks up where its predecessor left off in terms of gameplay and mechanics. Specifically, what Hades started, Hades 2 both continues and improves upon, providing players with an authentic Hades experience while also adding brand-new elements to keep things feeling fresh and interesting for returning players. That being said, while fans of the first game will undoubtedly have the upper hand when playing the sequel, Hades 2's Melinoe plays differently than Zagreus, though Hades' core mechanics are still present and accounted for.

The original Hades certainly emphasized movement in its gameplay, as players were constantly encouraged to dash out of harm's way and lengthen their run in the process. However, Hades 2 arguably requires a bit more from players in terms of movement, especially given that Melinoe can sprint, whereas Zagreus cannot. Throughout their time in the Underworld and on the Surface in Hades 2, players will find themselves constantly moving around each arena to avoid danger, with some encounters requiring more movement than others. One boss fight, in particular, puts a lot of emphasis on movement, rarely allowing players even a second to stop and get their bearings.

Closeup of Chronos from Hades 2
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Hades 2's Charybdis Fight Requires a Lot of Movement From Players

Hades 2's Charybdis the Devouring Is a Surface Boss

Hades 2's main story sees players regularly descending into the Underworld to confront Chronos, the Titan of Time who has escaped imprisonment and enslaved Hades. During their time in the Underworld, players will encounter a wide variety of enemies and bosses, some of which can prove to be a bit more challenging than others, including Chronos. However, after unlocking it via the cauldron in the Crossroads, players can also travel to the Surface, where they will encounter what is arguably an even greater challenge with new enemies and bosses to defeat.

After making a bit of progress on the Surface in Hades 2, players will face Charybdis the Devouring, or the "Devourer of Ships," as Melinoe calls it. Charybdis is a large Kraken-like creature with eight tentacles and countless eyes surrounding its spherical head. Unlike most boss arenas in Hades 2, Charybdis' is mostly occupied by it and the water that he lives in, giving players only a narrow semicircle wooden platform to evade its attacks on. Unfortunately, this is where most of the emphasis on movement comes into play, as Charybdis will eventually occupy even more space using its tentacles during the fight.

Players Need to Keep Moving or Die While Fighting Charybdis

Most of Hades 2's boss fights require plenty of movement from players, especially the fight against Chronos, but the Charybdis boss fight could be considered to be on an entirely different level than most due to its ability to be in multiple places at once. The bulk of the fight against Charybdis takes place on the wooden platform players enter the arena on, as Charybdis pokes several of its tentacles through the holes in the floor and uses them to attack. However, rather than relying primarily on melee attacks, Charybdis' tentacles slam the ground and send out waves of energy in different directions that can damage the player.

Unfortunately, while Charybdis' tentacles begin the fight by sending out damaging waves at the same time, they eventually get out of sync with one another, so players are all but required to dash constantly while attacking the tentacles here and there. Thankfully, the fight gets easier as players destroy tentacles, but its first half is all about movement, proving Hades 2's commitment to showcasing Melinoe's capabilities.