It's rare that an indie release like Hades achieves prolonged success. Most games that capture players' attention come from the AAA space, but outliers like Stardew Valley, Rocket League, and Hollow Knight have achieved mainstream popularity that linger long after their release years. Supergiant's latest release belongs in this category, as its simple gameplay and strong progression loop makes it perfect for sporadic, intense bursts of attention. It was a great fit for Xbox' subscription service, giving the indie gem an audience that it can truly take advantage of it.
Hades arrived on Game Pass in August 2021, bringing it in front of new audiences off the back of overwhelming critical acclaim and a smattering of Game of the Year accolades. While the San Francisco-based outfit only has a handful of games in its catalog, each has been met with sky-high review scores. Despite Bastion and Transistor becoming cult classics and Pyre remaining a sleeper hit, Hades is by far the company's most universally acknowledged title to date. It's leaving Game Pass at the end of the summer, meaning subscribers only have a short while to give it a chance.
Hades is a Visual and Technical Marvel
Hades approaches the often unwelcoming roguelike genre in a way that makes it accessible to newcomers. The lore of Hades is sublime, taking the fundamentals of Greek mythology and twisting them to suit a strong, unfolding narrative. Its artistic license is evident while managing to stay faithful to the legends that inspired it. Hades is visually abstract, yet beautiful with distinctive character models that serve to make each personality feel unique - be it Zeus' stoic maturity or Aphrodite's enticing and flirtatious aura.
Where Hades shines brightest is in its gameplay. Similar to other roguelikes, weapons are diverse and equally effective, but provoke different play styles. Its enemy variety makes each randomly generated room feel like a genuine threat to surmount, and the abundance of boons like Athena's Divine Dash and Ares' Curse of Pain mean players have to adapt and thrive in any condition. Xbox Game Pass has countless titles that are deserving of its subscribers' attention even without Hades, but it's undoubtedly a major blow to see it departing so soon.
Hades' is Widely Available to All
Being from a larger, more well-known indie developer, Hades was brought to some consoles and systems upon release, but quickly found a home on other popular hardware when the accolades had stopped flooding in. Support for PlayStation and Xbox consoles came some time after PC and Switch. Game Pass has surely brought it to new players, and there is sufficient time to give it a chance on that platform to gauge if it's worth a purchase elsewhere.
Hades is not a game that requires dozens of hours to discover its quality. It throws players into its gameplay loop almost immediately, and wonderfully written dialogue with Dusa, Hypnos, Nyx, or Hades himself makes the narrative feel as important to the experience as the mechanics. Within the first two hours players will likely find (and lose to) the first boss, Megaera, encounter one of the wayfaring strangers in Tartarus or Asphodel, and be scorned by Zagreus' overbearing father, which are elements that stick for hours to come.
Playing Hades on Game Pass before it leaves on August 31 would be a perfect way to whet players' appetite and see if it's worth their time. For most, it absolutely will be, so while Hades is playable on other devices and platforms, losing one way to access it will be a shame.
Hades is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
