As Beautiful as Aphrodite, as Swift as Hermes
There can’t be many more pointless things than a review of Hades II in 2026. There have been at least three moments to assess it or re-assess it: the Game of the Year nomination in 2025 (and associated End of Year lists), the full release three months earlier, and the Early Access release in 2024. It must be one of the most written-about games of last year, yet here we are adding another sheet of paper to the Herculean pile.
The excuse, of course, is that Hades II is only now releasing on Xbox, and Game Pass to boot. We’ve been made to wait, pressing our faces against the window while Supergiant’s title has been gathering up the plaudits. It’s been agony.
Xbox, Mate, You’re Late to the Party
My plan for the review, as a Hades enjoyer but Hades II noob, was to approach it slightly differently. I was going to list out the things that surprised me about the game. It was going to be a kind of ‘Notes from a Newcomer’, as I brought along my wrong or right assumptions. But having played it for many, many hours now, that doesn’t feel right either. Because nothing really surprised me about Hades II.
More precisely, Hades II is everything I expected it to be. It is, emphatically, the shape of the first game. Sure, there’s a new system here and a structural difference there, but in its zoomed-out entirety it is the same proposition. You are a godly being living among other godly beings, and the moment-to-moment experience is to hop from the ever-progressing hub into roguelike combat, which includes branching doors and boons from Poseidon, Zeus and more.
But while Hades II is the same shape as its predecessor, everything – across every conceivable axis – is both ‘more’ and ‘better’. It feels like a game that has been worked on and polished for a couple of centuries.
Somehow More Vibrant and Good-Natured Than the Original
The art is sensational. I’d probably pick the VFX as the standout. I could watch the swirling Cauldron in the Crossroads for hours, and the various attacks, both from enemies and players, are somehow clear (important when you’re leaning on the cues) and ludicrous. Animation would be a close second place. Melinoë, the main character, glides between combat-states with impossible fluidity, and animation frames can be cancelled near-immediately with a touch of the button.
I want to slip in some love for the character designs, too. Supergiant playfully subvert expectations when it comes to the presentation of favourite gods and mythological characters. There’s a welcome emphasis on female characters, a diversity of age and ethnicity, and a shockingly large number of cosplayable and fanciable characters.
And yes, Hades II sounds stunning. It’s my vote for best voice-acting of last year, with Judy Alice Lee’s Melinoë being a fantastic anchor for everyone else. Everything surges, pops and blasts as well as any game I have ever played.
While I was waiting for Hades II to find its way onto Xbox, I began playing some alternatives. I’ve got a couple of dozen hours in Sworn, for example. But playing Hades II now, it’s clear how distant they all are. Combat in Hades II is peak. The addition of Ω Moves, activated with a hold of each action button, means that I am constantly managing the space around me. How much time do I have? Can I afford to unleash a sweeping attack? And will I have charged my Moon attacks for a barrage afterwards? Whatever I choose, I can be sure that it will look OTT, even if I end up dying at the end of it.
Constant Peaks and Very Few Troughs
Hades II pulls off this trick. I will often think that I am on a downward trend of enjoyment. I will have faced – and been killed by – a new boss four or five times. The prospect of dying again is less than appealing. But a combination of things happen. I will become incrementally more powerful thanks to a new unlock. I’ll have learned a cue from the boss, or found an exploit. And a new story moment will be waiting for me, and its associated character – whether it’s Chaos or Moros or Hades or Artemis – will have a gift that invites a new way to play, or even a new way to skip the play.
The downward trend is now upward. And this doesn’t happen just once – it happens dozens of times. It’s like I have a personal assistant, hovering next to me. Whenever things err towards tedious or repeated, Hades II offers yet another trinket to keep me playing.
Are there things I would improve? Sure. I would have loved more agency and variety in the pathing. There are moments, particularly in the early game, when Hades II can feel a little too roguelike: you can repeat the same levels, enemies and bosses, slightly more onerously than you would like. I wondered what Hades II would be like if there were a greater number of starting points, or a more modular level system. But there would have been counter-weights to that: it would be all too easy to lose the knowledge I had gained if I was constantly switching to new environments and enemies.
A Roguelike That I’ll Return to Over and Over Again
No, I think I would change very little about Hades II. It’s a game that’s so easy to love that I can’t imagine someone disliking it. People who are allergic to roguelikes, perhaps? That’s understandable. But I find it so slick, well-constructed, beautiful and rewarding that I cannot fathom another criticism. To me, it’s as perilously close to perfect as video gaming can get.
Now, excuse me while I stack another hour on top of all the other hours. I have Olympus to rebuild, and a ‘True’ ending to unlock. A million other players have reached the summit before me (damn you, Xbox), but I won’t let that stop me.
Important Links
Hades II Lands Day One On Game Pass – The Biggest Roguelike Drop Of The Year? – https://www.thexboxhub.com/hades-ii-lands-day-one-on-game-pass/
Best New Xbox And Game Pass Games For April 2026 – https://www.thexboxhub.com/best-new-xbox-and-game-pass-games-for-april-2026/
Download from the Xbox Store, via Game Pass if you like – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/hades-ii/9pcr3z2msm4t
