Hades Review

The first time I beat the final boss in Hades, I felt an enormous sense of relief. I'd been fighting to see this ending for hours (months, technically, if you count my time in early access), and in roguelikes, it feels better than usual to see an ending. But while I was definitely a little too proud of putting together a set of abilities and perks that shredded the boss after they wrecked me just a few tries ago, that wasn't why I felt tears welling up. I'd gotten so caught up in the story of my character, Zagreus, and the heroes, villains, and gods that had helped him get here that I was elated to have finally gotten him to the end of his journey. What sets Hades apart isn't just that it's a great roguelike with the kind of repeatable depth that makes it engrossing to play for hours, but also how it uses its structure to tell an ongoing story about family, secrets, and resolution.

That Hades' narrative is so entwined with its combat is nothing new for the developers at Supergiant Games, who've established themselves as masters of putting your actions in sync with the stories they tell. In a roguelike such as Hades, it means playing as Zagreus, a god of rebirth. Tired of living under his father Hades' thumb and seeking answers about where he comes from, he sets out to escape to the world of the living, battling various undead monsters, living creatures, and mythological figures on his way out.

Your godliness justifies the endless runs through the depths of the underworld, since dying and coming back to life is par for the course in Greek myth. One of the best parts of Hades, in fact, is returning to the House of Hades time and again after you die. It's not just a pit stop on the way to the next run--it's the centerpiece Hades hinges on. There, figures such as Achilles, Hypnos, and Nyx console you after your deaths, praise you for making progress, and confide in you about one another. You chat with them, undertake side quests, and exchange gifts to deepen your relationships. Eventually, they become vital allies on your quest, even if they're not in the thick of combat with you.

These interactions, as much as the precise combat, are the reason I kept coming back to Hades; while I was skeptical about how the roguelike structure would meld with Supergiant Games' focus on characters and stories, they've written and voiced reams of dialogue and lore, and almost all of it is delivered with vigor and is intriguing enough to pore over between your treks through hell.

When you finally decide to take another stab at escaping, runs are broken up into a few different worlds, each made up of several randomly ordered chambers. Hades' combat builds on Bastion's tight, isometric fights and infuses them with the endlessly repeatable appeal of random buffs, modifiers, random enemy layouts, currencies, and progression that slowly turn the seemingly impossible task of reaching the surface into something manageable.

Combat is quick and reactive, letting you chain attacks into dashes, dashes into special moves, and so on as you learn how to whittle enemy shields, avoid traps, and work over bosses. Each of the six weapons you can equip pushes you to play differently, and weapon-specific modifiers nudge you towards using different parts of your toolset; you might be comfortable poking enemies from afar with the Varatha spear, for example, but with a boon from Daedalus that triples the damage of your dash attack, you're going to want to close the distance and juke constantly. That, and how buffs interact in myriad surprising and effective ways, means I'm still not tired of making these runs, dozens of hours later. In more crowded fights, the Switch's smaller screen makes text and combat readability an issue, as these chambers are large enough to lose details (and runs). Other than that, though, combat is an outstanding mix of random variables and consistent action.

ELDEN RING REVIEW

Elden Ring is a masterpiece, having mastered the art of showing without telling. As a result, it is very different from other open-world games I have played such as Skyrim and Far Cry which are story and questline driven. From the get-go, Elden Ring doesn't impose any particular playstyle or route on you. You are completely free to do what you want to from the very start of the game. You can finish the main storyline and beat the final boss or you can explore the entire map without ever seeing the main bosses, it truly is up to you with no outside influence. It is truly refreshing to feel this sense of freedom in choice and exploration in any open world game.

Elden Ring has also mastered the art of sublety. For example, for a game like Skyrim, there are various elements such as the character dialogues, leveling system, various landmarks that I could clearly point to in contributing to the game's success. However, this is not the same with Elden Ring. It's hard to place my finger on one specific thing that makes the game so enjoyable. Many times I've gone in to play this game for half an hour, only to become immersed, losing track of time and playing for hours on end. I belive that it's each of the game's features: its combat system, transportation, landscape, lore, storytelling, etc. that complement each other in a way that none of them are overbearing and at the same time, come together in such a fluid manner that I as the player can't notice it and am drawn into a level of immersion that I haven't felt from any game before.

Other, more objective factors of Elden Ring are equally as impressive--it's hard to believe this is a $60 game. The map is massive, far bigger than I could've ever imagined, with more content packed into it than any other world game I've played before. I have not had a single moment where I've felt the map felt desolate or empty, there was always something to see and explore. The combat system is rich, balanced, and rewards each playstyle. The difficulty of the game is refreshing and I feel that I'm being challenged to improve and innovate as I play the game instead of relying on old hacks. The subtle details, such as changes in behavior over time of day or cross-NPC interactions add a layer of immersion that makes the world feel alive. It is also a very polished product: while games today are released with game-breaking bugs and issues, I haven't encountered a single bug in Elden Ring even given its massive map aside from minor visual glitches. It is truly astounding how much that adds to the immersion of the game.

Overall, I feel that Elden Ring is an amazing game. While it isn't perfect by any means, in fact, the imperfections of the game give me something to look forward to for what will be the sequel to this, it will be hard to find a game from the last decade that is as immersive as this. I am truly impressed by From Software's work and I look forward to their next game. Elden Ring will inspire the next generation's set of games and I hope to see what comes from this. I've thoroughly enjoyed playing Elden Ring and I hope to see you too enjoy it.