Hades is the first "roguelite" I've attempted so I don't have anything to compare it to, but I was surprised and impressed by how many hours it kept me engaged with relatively lean core content.

Completing my first run took about 20 attempts, which clocked in at around 15 hours. After this point progression comes from a combination of RNG and repetition, but continues being supported by great writing and voice acting. There's a good amount of story and unique dialogue to unlock, and amenities to purchase at home for those who enjoy that sort of thing. The fast-paced gameplay continued being fun for quite a while longer, with many weapon and boon combinations to experiment with.

Around the 45 hour mark is where I think the player should be tying up loose ends and reaching the conclusion of the game, but progression slows down to a trickle. The side quests and epilogue require you to have over a dozen interactions per character with each run yielding just one precious piece of conversation each (if they're even present). The game is also not very clear about the importance of increasing closeness and I squandered many opportunities to progress early on by either choosing to hold on to my nectar or exchange it for other resources that seemed more important at the time.

Hades impresses with its beautiful art, witty dialogue, great voice talent, and fun fast-paced action. It requires too much time and repetition to access the full story and easily becomes a completionist trap, but otherwise I strongly recommend giving it a try.

Hades is the first "roguelite" I've attempted so I don't have anything to compare it to, but I was surprised and impressed by how many hours it kept me engaged with relatively lean core content. Completing my first run took about 20 attempts, which clocked in at around 15 hours. After this point progression comes from a combination of RNG and repetition, but continues being supported by great writing and voice acting. There's a good amount of story and unique dialogue to unlock, and amenities to purchase at home for those who enjoy that sort of thing. The fast-paced gameplay continued being fun for quite a while longer, with many weapon and boon combinations to experiment with. Around the 45 hour mark is where I think the player should be tying up loose ends and reaching the conclusion of the game, but progression slows down to a trickle. The side quests and epilogue require you to have over a dozen interactions per character with each run yielding just one precious piece of conversation each (if they're even present). The game is also not very clear about the importance of increasing closeness and I squandered many opportunities to progress early on by either choosing to hold on to my nectar or exchange it for other resources that seemed more important at the time. Hades impresses with its beautiful art, witty dialogue, great voice talent, and fun fast-paced action. It requires too much time and repetition to access the full story and easily becomes a completionist trap, but otherwise I strongly recommend giving it a try.