Sooo, about romance.

[Fortytudo]

I was surprised to see the ability to romance(kinda?) characters in a roguelike game. That was the first time Ive seen something like that. Usualy its just raw gameplay and maybe some lore. So I wanna ask the devs: what inspired you to add actual relationships between characters?
And another question about Dusa... yeah, dont throw rocks at me yet. Im just curious, why would you add a romace option for a character that is, well, you know...
Honestly speaking, I was a bit sad with the anticlimactic ending to said relationship, it just felt too real and hit my old wound.
So what do you think, do games of this genre needs romancing options or is it unnecessary?
Im sorry if those are dumb questions. It was just completely new to me, and I played alot of roguelikes, so now I have mixed feelings about this. You see, after I played for about 20 hours, the game became a bit boring for me gameplay wise, but I wanted to see all interactions between characters, so I had to play and farm more, which wasnt that pleasant.

[C4RNIVOR3]

At a surface level it seems like an odd thing to add into a game like this, but at the same time, being that this IS Supergiant Games, who are known for their story-driven games, it makes sense. Hades is absolutely story-driven and a hefty chunk of the game isn't just the gameplay itself, but the varying interactions and relations between characters.

Adding romance in for the sake of romance is not a good choice for this genre, no. But for a game that relies heavily on its narrative aspect as it is, I don't see anything wrong with it.

[Fortytudo]

Originally posted by C4RNIVOR3:

At a surface level it seems like an odd thing to add into a game like this, but at the same time, being that this IS Supergiant Games, who are known for their story-driven games, it makes sense. Hades is absolutely story-driven and a hefty chunk of the game isn't just the gameplay itself, but the varying interactions and relations between characters.

Adding romance in for the sake of romance is not a good choice for this genre, no. But for a game that relies heavily on its narrative aspect as it is, I don't see anything wrong with it.

I guess theres nothing wrong with the romance itself, but the way its implemented seems off to me. Like, you need to grind ALOT and pour a ton of hours into the game just to be dissapointed in the end by a couple of sentences. Maybe its just a personal preference, but I dont like the way it connects with the gameplay. The introduction part, where you naturally learn more about the characters while simply playing the game, is good. But the fact that it becomes a grindfest just to get a continuation of a character arc is what I dont like, especialy if you force people into playing more by introducing a romance system(kind of). In other words, I want to see how it ends, but I dont want to spend another 30 hours trying to get 9000 ambrosias. At first its all going smooth, but then transforms into slugfest just because you have to do it.

[八云式]

Maybe adjust your mindset a little bit? You really shouldn't focus on a single plot line when there are dozens worth pursuing, and gameplay as well. The plot and the game go hand-in-hand, but the core game loop still revolves around the gameplay. If you don't find dungeon crawl itself appealing enough to keep grinding, then this game doesn't suit you, at least currently.

[Zymeth]

I think it is crucial for almost any good game. And by "it" I mean depth and variety, which are usually necessary for a masterpiece. Certainly this is personal, and I can name a few gems that are simple, but usually I expect the best from the dev.

In Hades, it seem to be implemented just right - to move forward in basicly any aspect of the game, you need to keep playing main, rouge-like element.
It is just optional, something that you could ignore if you happen to not like it. To me, it fits the narrative character of this game, which made me feel like I play RPG for around 40 first hours. I suppose, that for devs it would be ideal to make it feel like a coherent story for the whole game. And thats why I find Hades exceptionally good as a game. If there were no juicy dialogues with mighty voices of gods, I'd not buy it, really.

[Fortytudo]

Originally posted by 八云式:

Maybe adjust your mindset a little bit? You really shouldn't focus on a single plot line when there are dozens worth pursuing, and gameplay as well. The plot and the game go hand-in-hand, but the core game loop still revolves around the gameplay. If you don't find dungeon crawl itself appealing enough to keep grinding, then this game doesn't suit you, at least currently.

I lost interest in the gameplay after beating the game with every weapon and trying out several "Hardmode" modifications. Its only natural to get bored after seeing everything the game has to offer. But even after beating the game multiple times, I still had a ton of "loose ends" left regarding character subplots so, obviously, I wanted to complete them. Its just my opinion, but I think the progression is a bit too slow for the character arcs, to the point that it feels like forcefully stretching the gameplay itself. And the romance, as a part of that, felt unnatural for me, like another tool to make you grind even more.

[Lord Nightcrest]

Originally posted by Fortytudo:

And another question about Dusa... yeah, dont throw rocks at me yet. Im just curious, why would you add a romace option for a character that is, well, you know...

Rumor has it that she gives good snakehead.

[Karundo]

Originally posted by Lord Nightcrest:

Originally posted by Fortytudo:

And another question about Dusa... yeah, dont throw rocks at me yet. Im just curious, why would you add a romace option for a character that is, well, you know...

Rumor has it that she gives good snakehead.

She can make you stone hard

[八云式]

Originally posted by Fortytudo:

Originally posted by 八云式:

Maybe adjust your mindset a little bit? You really shouldn't focus on a single plot line when there are dozens worth pursuing, and gameplay as well. The plot and the game go hand-in-hand, but the core game loop still revolves around the gameplay. If you don't find dungeon crawl itself appealing enough to keep grinding, then this game doesn't suit you, at least currently.

I lost interest in the gameplay after beating the game with every weapon and trying out several "Hardmode" modifications. Its only natural to get bored after seeing everything the game has to offer. But even after beating the game multiple times, I still had a ton of "loose ends" left regarding character subplots so, obviously, I wanted to complete them. Its just my opinion, but I think the progression is a bit too slow for the character arcs, to the point that it feels like forcefully stretching the gameplay itself. And the romance, as a part of that, felt unnatural for me, like another tool to make you grind even more.

The game really cannot satisfy everyone. In fact I'm now hoping for more plots, so that when I start the 200th run I still trigger new dialogues and storylines. Our interests therefore conflict and we can only accept the game as is now.

[Karundo]

Originally posted by 八云式:

The game really cannot satisfy everyone. In fact I'm now hoping for more plots, so that when I start the 200th run I still trigger new dialogues and storylines. Our interests therefore conflict and we can only accept the game as is now.

Im in the same boat. Having done around 130 runs now, building the relationships is one of the few things left to look forward to (I would still play regardless tho, because I love the gameplay). The only thing that bums me out is once you achieve 'Relationship forged', its back to generic conversations. Nothing really changes after that, which is a bummer.

[Lord Nightcrest]

Originally posted by Karundo:

Originally posted by Lord Nightcrest:

Rumor has it that she gives good snakehead.

She can make you stone hard

Dead...! (X_x)

[Lorska]

This kinda genre isn't really about playing for 20h and then being done with it. So if you stop enjoying the core gameplay it's not really worth it...

I'd suggest to come back once there is more interesting stuff for you to try out gameplay wise. After a while you'll drown in Nectar and Ambrosia.

Just a question, are you playing with extreme measures enabled? Because without it the real game hasn't even started yet...

[Fortytudo]

Originally posted by Lorska:

Just a question, are you playing with extreme measures enabled? Because without it the real game hasn't even started yet...

Yes I tried them out and it was fun at first, but thats the only "new" thing from the pact, or am I missing something? Everything else is just tampering with numbers like +20% attack or enemies spawn, that doesnt make the game much different or more interesting for me.
And yes, as soon as I finish a single player game and try everything it has to offer, Im losing interest in it. Thats just how it works and thats why roguelikes are made insanely hard so people wont just beat it and lose interest. Beating the game and then manually making it harder with increased numbers just to beat again? Not that appealing honestly because in this case you are forced to use only viable builds, the "meta" ones, and that makes the game even more boring. But thats just my opinion.
Also no, I dont want to back off from the game and come back later because I dont want to leave character arcs unfinished. If I leave now, then Il forget what it was about by the time I come back.

[C4RNIVOR3]

I mean, if you want to be technical, you have no choice but to leave character arcs unfinished because there is still content that hasn't been added yet. None of the characters are "finished" yet in terms of story, and the next update won't be until June. There's no point in pushing yourself to finish content that isn't even finished if you're not enjoying the core gameplay, you may as well just come back later.

[PsychoDino]

Originally posted by Fortytudo:

I was surprised to see the ability to romance(kinda?) characters in a roguelike game. That was the first time Ive seen something like that. Usualy its just raw gameplay and maybe some lore. So I wanna ask the devs: what inspired you to add actual relationships between characters?
And another question about Dusa... yeah, dont throw rocks at me yet. Im just curious, why would you add a romace option for a character that is, well, you know...
Honestly speaking, I was a bit sad with the anticlimactic ending to said relationship, it just felt too real and hit my old wound.
So what do you think, do games of this genre needs romancing options or is it unnecessary?
Im sorry if those are dumb questions. It was just completely new to me, and I played alot of roguelikes, so now I have mixed feelings about this. You see, after I played for about 20 hours, the game became a bit boring for me gameplay wise, but I wanted to see all interactions between characters, so I had to play and farm more, which wasnt that pleasant.

might as well