Right, this will be my final post in here until the full release (or until someone else here partakes in Early Access), promise
After completing my 200th run last night (according to my Steam profile, I've been playing for over 150 hours), I can reliably claim that
Hades II is even better than the original game even at this early stage already.
My spoiler-free reasoning:
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even better combat: The magic system adds a second layer to your playstyle that opens up entirely new ways to deal damage (and protect yourself) plus a plethora of new way to combine the powers of different gods. This is so satisfying that I can hardly imagine going back to the first game anymore.
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more content: Even with the game currently unfinished, there's just so much more to do! On top of the "regular" four-zones-run-to-the-final-boss, you have
two additional run "modes" to explore. While these are still unfinished, one of them is bound to be at least as big as the regular run upon full release.
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more urgency: without spoiling the plot, there's simply more at stake here, and this sense of urgency permeates the entire gameplay.
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more engagement: Even in between runs you now have more options to permanently make yourself stronger (=meta progression). There are a lot more resources you now need to farm on your runs (think witch pot potions). I actually enjoy grinding in games, ibut rest assured that this part of Hades II still feels as casually accessible as the rest of the game, i.e. you don't have to go out of your way during your runs to get what you need.
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better boss fights: With a few exceptions that might still be ironed out for the full release, the boss fights here are a lot more fun!
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new weapons and new gods: There are five weapons currently (all new), with a sixth still to come, and all of them have multiple aspects again that change the way you use them. Coming from the first game, these take some getting used to but once it clicks, it's just tons of fun! The new gods are also a welcome addition, especially once you figure out whose boons go best with which weapon.
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everything good is still there: the boon system, the hammers, the weapon aspects, the meta progression, the way you can target certain builds, the way bosses melt if you achieve them everything that made the first game addicting works just as well now. Same for the music and the voice acting, which are superb again.
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room for improvement: Not everything is perfect yet. But the fact that Supergiant has released two patches so far which were both heavily based on user feedback bodes very well for the
full release, which is expected sometime in 2025.
