Hades (2020)

So I couldn't wait any longer for Epic to give this one for free :P and grabbed it on Steam Summer Sale. It would be a great deal even if I didn't enjoy the game. Because if the game wasn't that good for my taste, then I would be "the cool guy who didn't like Hades". Turns out I'm not the cool guy :) Hades is really good. The gameplay is super smooth, art is gorgeous, especially the visual effects. I don't feel like playing the same game when starting over and over because of the new dialogue options in new escape attempts. I really suck at playing though. I may hear all dialogues before I even reach half of the game :)

One thing I don't like is the enemy design. Moving crystals? Vases that shoot mines? Are they supposed to be cute and funny? Anyway, they don't ruin the game or anything. And I'm not a fan of the music usage. The soundtrack is good, but sometimes I feel like beautiful loops slapped on top of the gameplay, instead of integrating them in a more elegant way. And finally, it's a bit hard to memorize all the different symbols in the game. A text overlay would be really helpful before entering new rooms.

I got this game from the Epic store for only $8 using a coupon from claiming a free game, and given how good this game is that felt like a steal. I decided to play on hell mode. I did not get far in the tutorial run and switched to the bow first chance I got. It took a little over 20 runs to finally beat Hades and get the 1st clear. It took some doing to learn how to beat each enemy, mini boss and major boss. I was particularly impressed by how much variety was present in the 1st 2 bosses, though it did occasionally give me a hard time. Pretty early on I switched to the aspect of chiron because the volley was nearly useless; making it home in on targets sounded great and I especially liked it for shooting those damn elysium archers around corners. I used Hermes's keepsake for extra speed and dodge. After the 1st clear I began alternating weapons and enjoyed learning the mechanics of each weapon. By Heat 7 I stopped using the fists because I hated them. I took every other weapon to 15 heat as I got the ending, the epilogue, built all run upgrades and completed a few sidequests. I focused the pact of punishment penalties on enemy hp, more enemies, extreme measures for the 1st 2 bosses, and gold costs. Near the end I put on special powers for armored enemies, and the speed buff is a terror on certain already fast enemies. I tried the increased trap and magma damage figuring they were easy enough to avoid, but that damage can really add up. The traps in Styx can be a 1 hit kill for 400 damage, and the jars when fighting Hades count as traps; that fight does not need to be any harder! I also tried the shield that negates your 1st hit on each enemy, but it was just enough to make it non viable to kill the exploding skulls in the Hades fight. And again, that fight does not need to be more difficult. I still have some sidequests to complete and relationships to max out. I romanced Megara and was stingy with everyone else until I looked up how to get the epilogue and started giving nectar and ambrosia out like candy. I did not unlock any of the hidden weapon aspects despite looking up how to do it.

I have my system in place. I use fiery presence for better damage vs full hp enemies but switch to improved backstab damage for sword and fists. I use healing from darkness because that grants far more healing than the little bit per room. It also gives excellent control over healing because you can choose rooms with darkness rewards, chests with darkness and even buy darkness for healing. I use the 3 death defiance because most of the game can be beaten without dying and they are easy enough to replace. You need all the help you can get for the final fight and the other option with 1 free death per encounter is just not good for that. I use the bonus dash in a row rather than the attack boost for proper timing because I use dashing more to avoid damage and don't want to deal with more timing.

I did not realize you could spend keys to open up new mirror of night buffs until reading up for this write up. So I beat the game, over 100 runs up to 15 heat at a big handicap. These new buffs make a huge difference and offer new mechanics to keep track of. I use bonus damage to enemies with cast crystals stuck in them. I enjoy the added mechanic of debuffing tough enemies for easier killing. I use bonus number of cast crystals so I can front load cast damage or debuff multiple targets. Crystal regen sounds good too for more frequent but spread out casts, but I think burst is better. Golden touch for gold interest after beating each boss is the way to go. I usually hoard gold to only spend when I need it, so this will most likely net more overall gold than the fixed 100. My 1st run using this I made about 500 extra gold. Bonus max hp all the way, nevermind the damage option. I use bonus damage for each different god. Since I always get Athena, Demeter and Hermes, that is +15% damage. I usually get a few more for around 25 to 30% total bonus. That just seems superior to the 40% that only applies to enemies that have 2 status effects, which seems situational and not guaranteed to be viable. I spent my darkness on improved chance for rare boons because that is a solid boost to damage. But after checking what the bonus chance for gold laurel rewards means, I am going to switch to that. The basic rewards suck and I get annoyed getting a lot of those early on when I really want something to help with combat. I use bonus chance for legendary and duo boons. All about that stubborn roots! And lastly the one for altering boons and shops. I can see changing a shop if there is no healing or death defiance when really needed. My main use of this will be changing hammer boons to get the good ones, Hermes to get hyper sprint and Athena to get divine dash. Maybe even use it to try for stubborn roots if everything else is good.

I start with Athena's keepsake and always go for divine dash. It is such an amazing ability and I find it so much harder to avoid damage without it. Tartarus is mostly about taking what I can get and trying to get a good damage boon for my weapon's best move. The Fury sisters are usually an intense fight but I rarely lose a life there; using fists and sword is far more difficult and Tisiphone is the worst sister. Extreme measures does not make the fight that much harder. For Asphodel I switch to Demeter's keepsake because the duo boon from her and Athena is the single best thing in the game; stubborn roots hp regen when out of death defiance. Oh yeah. I don't always get it, and rarely need it to win, but it is nice to have that extra safety net. The extreme measures Hydra is so much more difficult because there are no more pillars to use for cover and the main head can go everywhere. The only real safe spots are on the 2 docks, but even that is not 100%. It is almost impossible to not take significant damage during the 2nd add spawn because the entire room is dangerous. With a good ranged weapon and deflection, I can stay on the docks and snipe. I save any call for this point and use a summon to burn down the heads as fast as possible. I used to use Megara's but during my most recent runs I tried out Thanatos's. I think his is better because it does more damage while the area is not that much smaller. At Elysium I switch to Orpheus's keepsake for bonus long range damage, unless I am using sword or fists; then I usually go for Skelly's extra death defiance. If I have a good build and condition I will use Persephone's for a few power ups and switch to Skelly for Styx. The traps and enemies here are much more challenging, especially the reviving soldiers and how I have to alter tactics a bit to prevent them coming back. I particularly hate the archers because their projectiles are so fast that you cannot dodge by reacting; you must preemptively avoid the shots. It is just so difficult to avoid taking damage when archers are around. The minotaur is my worst enemy in the entire game. He has a larger moveset than everyone except Hades, which makes him much less predictable. His sweeping attacks, jumps, charges and especially those damn energy blasts that seem specifically designed to go for players dodging away from him and especially how they have enough range to hit from off screen. It is very tough to defeat him without taking significant damage such that my preferred builds are designed specifically for him. Whether I fight him solo or with Theseus I drop a summon on him when he goes to phase 2 and starts with those energy blasts. He is especially difficult to fight with fists and sword. Theseus is not difficult by himself, but keeping track of him while dealing with the minotaur is rough. I focus on the minotaur first and any damage done to Theseus before that is incidental; my best builds often end up wrecking Theseus first though. Upon reaching Styx I check out the available purchases and room rewards to plan out what I want to get. If I have an excellent build and condition I will fight Hades as soon as I can. If things are looking shaky I will keep doing rooms in hopes of finding a good boon, death defiance, healing or buff item. Styx has some very difficult enemies and rooms. The high prevalence of traps and tight quarters don't help. The worst of them are the giant rats because of the poison they spread on the floor; you really need ranged attacks and knockback to deal with them. The satyrs are also annoying with their poison darts. Poison damage can add up quickly, and result in more damage from traps and enemies while trying to get the cure. The Satyr boss is difficult to defeat without being poisoned due to his rapid fire. You need excellent deflection to avoid it, like divine attack on fists or gun, otherwise I often drop a summon bomb here. The tiny vermin, purple crystal and giant rat mini bosses are tough for sword and fists and thus more candidates for summon bombs. The final fight with Hades is difficult due to how long the fight goes. Each ability is not hard to deal with individually, but the longer the fight goes the more likely RNG will create a situation where you take massive damage. I hurt him by baiting him into melee attacks and striking during his recovery, or keeping distance and sniping. I prioritize killing the skull bombs, and if I can't get 1, I move as far away as I can and prepare a dash or invulnerability call. The only add I do not want to see are the damn archers; everything else is just a nuisance. Phase 2 ramps up the randomness and I drop a summon bomb at some point. I do my best to be in cover to avoid his beam attack, try not to get hit by jars, get him hit by his own jars and still manage the skulls.

Priority for room rewards:

1. Daedalus hammer. Each weapon has a few great upgrades that significantly increase combat effectiveness and are the highest priority. Unfortunately most upgrades are not great.

2. Hermes. He offeres a few key boons that offer great mobility, making it so much easier to avoid damage.

3. Athena and Demeter. It is all about that stubborn roots. If I already have that I will still choose them for their great boons. Demeter is better for offense while Athena for defense, so if I have to choose between both I only choose Athena if I need death defiance.

4. Trial of the gods. 2 boons for the price of 1. More often than not Athena is here, and I always snub her because occasionally invulnerable enemies are easier to deal with than the damage from other gods.

5. God boons. More boons are always good even if all ability slots are full. I generally prefer Poseidon and Artemis, followed by Aphrodite, then Zeus, with Ares and Dionysus at the bottom.

6. Special npcs. Tartarus is like a double gold since I don't normally need health that early. Asphodel is a nice power boost; I take the rarity upgrade if my main damage ability could use it and especially if I have a small number of boons. Otherwise I take the level upgrade. I take the future boon one if I don't have a boon on my main ability yet. Elysium is good for solid healing and absolutely amazing for restoring all death defiance. If I need 2 or 3 death defiance restores then this guy takes very high priority.

7. Erebus. I assume these don't count as a room and thus allow an extra reward. There are 3 rewards offered for the next room and it is possible to fail, so these are a gamble. I generally only use them if the room rewards are not great.

8. Chaos. These boons can be fairly powerful but the penalties can sometimes be a pain and even result in deaths to the point of costing the entire run. I only take them in the early rooms of each region if my health is good.

9. Hearts, gold and poms. Low priority common rewards. I prefer hearts when my health is low, when I already have stubborn roots and it is very high priority with cursed slash on the sword. I prefer gold if I need death defiance and can't afford to buy it, or when I want something from Charon at the end. I prefer poms when I have a small number of boons, one of which is my main damage ability, to power it up.

10. Darkness. Healing and a small boost to max hp. Comes in handy for keeping my hp topped up and might even be enough to prevent a death.

11. Charon. Rather not spend gold if I don't have to, so I only go here occasionally. If I really need healing I will give this a bit higher priority. Also if I don't yet have a boon for my main damage ability and can afford to buy it.

12. Nectar. I don't need more of this but it does act like a random pom. Decent if I don't have many boons, but it is very unlikely to only have a single good boon to 100% upgrade. Has about the priority of hearts with Dionysus's max hp boost.

13. Keys and gems. Garbage, even with the bit of gold from gems and the key's ability to change rewards which I most often use on these to hope for darkness or nectar.

I always go for gold chests, and never bother with gem chests because they do nothing to help the run. I only get health and darkness chests if I need enough healing to make the risk worthwhile. At the little shops I buy death defiance and healing. I ignore the little temporary boons except if a boss is coming up, especially at the end for Hades. Damage and speed are good. I never sell my boons but could see it possibly worthwhile at the end to afford something good. I only gamble on the Daedalus anvil if my hammer boons suck.

Weapons

The gun is my preferred weapon because of the grenade launcher and how many very powerful hammer boons are available. The fire and forget nature of the grenades allows frequent moving around to avoid damage, but requires significant leading for faster enemies. The attack only has moderate range and low damage, so it is not the primary source of damage; it is best used in between grenades for a bit of extra damage or in a support role. I used the aspect of Zagreus because none of the aspects seem good. Definitely don't want to boost damage from getting hit by the grenade; ideally I will be shooting those far away. I recently switched to Hestia but have not tried it yet; maybe a damage and range boost for an attack after reloading will come in handy over more base ammo. Have not unlocked Lucifer. The best hammer boon combo is hazard bomb + targeting system. The hazard bomb does massive damage over a huge area and can hit enemies off screen. It is by far one of the most effective moves in the entire game, making it largely trivial to wipe out entire rooms from safe distance and even from behind cover. It wrecks all bosses too and the friendly fire is insignificant. The targeting system gives even more damage and slows enemies that are in the circle, making them easier to hit. Triple bomb and rocket bomb are both very powerful as well, combining well with both each other and targeting system. Any of these boons make for an excellent run. Cluster bomb is not worth using because it locks out hazard bomb, and I find it more difficult to hit what I want. The attack boons are all less than optimal but can be useful. Seeking shot is good for doing a bit of damage between grenades, 3 round burst removes reloading to give one less thing to worry about but does not improve damage, explosive shot does area damage and a bit of slow that could make it easier to hit with grenades, shotgun fixes the biggest weakness of the gun (dps) by making it function more like a melee weapon; great for burning down soldier souls before they respawn, and other weak enemies. Flurry also increases dps with accuracy and speed and is a decent choice. Ricochet and piercing are the weakest options. After the hammer boons the most important thing for the gun is to get a good boon for the grenade and power it up as much as possible. Demeter, Artemis, Aphrodite and Ares are all great picks. Chill makes enemies easier to hit while the delay between shots is enough for Doom to go off. Poseidon, Athena and Aphrodite make great choices for support on the attack while Zeus is the best for damage due to the fast attack rate. Divine dash as always but the cast and call don't matter.

The bow is my 2nd favourite weapon and has been used the most. I use the aspect of Chiron because the volley attack sucks without it. I enjoy the style of distance shooting and letting off homing volleys in between dashing and around corners. I don't worry about performing power attacks, preferring to loose shots as soon as the range is good. Either the attack or special can be the primary damage dealer, with the other being relegated to support. It depends on which hammer boons I get. The best attack combo is flurry shot + sniper shot, for a fully automatic attack that eliminates the biggest weakness of the bow; the time to charge up shots. The best special combo is concentrated volley + relentless volley, which allows the volley to do insane damage. The likelyhood of getting either of these optimal builds is not good and the rest of the boons are mediocre at best, potentially making a run seriously harder. Perfect shot and explosive shot lock out flurry so they are big no nos. They are not too bad to take as the 2nd boon when you know you won't get flurry anyway. Explosive makes the charge up for attacks take longer, but I had a good run using that and focusing on the special. Triple and chain shot are decent for hitting multiple targets but do not give the big boss damage of sniper. Point blank shot locks out sniper and you shouldn't be using a bow that close to enemies anyway. Twin shot reduces range and locks out sniper, ruining the best advantage of the bow, but I have not even tried it. Charged volley is another that looks terrible on paper and that I have not tried. It locks out relentless volley, reduces range and takes time to charge up; way to amplify the bow's weakness while nerfing its best advantage. Piercing volley is ok to help deal with Theseus, shield soldiers and armored foes but don't help against the other bosses, so meh. Artemis, Poseidon and Demeter all make good damage boons. Zeus can work well too, especially with flurry shot. Aphrodite works great on the support ability. Ares and Dionysus do not work well. The best call is Athena to allow the bow to put out heavy dps without worrying about keeping distance while the best cast is Dionysus for its indirect fire and stun.

The spear comes next and has an excellent combination of range and dps that makes it incredibly versatile. The special throw has even longer range than the bow and does not have to charge up, though it can be a little awkward that every 2nd shot is recalling it in a reverse trajectory. The special is my preferred damage move to focus on, though the attack is pretty good; it has decent range and quick attacks that stagger enemies while giving reasonably high dps. I use the aspect of Zagreus to take better advantage of the throw. The charge up spin attack is useless though. I have never found any reason to use it over normal and dash attacks. The best hammer boon is exploding launcher, which is like the gun's rocket launcher only with instant projectiles and minimal cooldown. It is so powerful that it feels like cheating, and rivals the hazard bomb and shield's shot as the most powerful hammer boon. The spear does not have good synergy with the throw boons, with viscous skewer and chain skewer locking out the exploding. Both are good though and they can be combined for a sweet build. Viscous is a great damage boost while chain is like the room clearing BFG. Never tried charging skewer since it defeats the advantage of instant attacks. Breaching skewer is the best match for the exploding. The attack boons are not bad, but not as good as the long range of the throw. Extending jab gives about the same range as the bow with instant melee style attacks, combined with flurry jab to get very similar to the bow with flurry shot; worth using as the main ability. Triple jab is not that useful though I can see it being decent for hitting around corners a bit. Serrated edge gives great dps for dash strikes but lowering dash range is bad. And since the spin attacks sucks, all the boons that modify it are pretty much dead weight. Massive spin is the least useful of them but does let you spin from further away. Quick spin lessons the charge up, but it is still not instant, while flare spin does do a bit of instant damage. I have not seriously used the spin for anything though. The god boons to use follow the same pattern as the bow.

The shield is next and has the best overall hammer ability while being more of a hybrid between melee and ranged. The attack is melee and comes with a sweet knockback that can seriously improve its dps. Hold attack to block anything from the front, including minotaur charge and everything Hades does; even exploding skull heads. Blocking the shot skull heads even automatically destroys them. Releasing the charge does the rush attack, which functions like a ranged attack and is the best move of the weapon for dealing with dangerous enemies, bosses and groups, given how you seem to be immune to damage while charging. The special throws a shield that bounces to a few enemies for low damage, but disables attacks and blocking until it comes back. It is an ok backup ability for dealing damage from a safe range, especially against those poison rats in Styx, but does not do enough damage to be a viable main move. I use the aspect of Zagreus for the boost to the attack. The aspect of Zeus seems to improve the special but I have not bothered to try it. Charged shot is the single best hammer boon in the game. It turns the shield into the bow with invulnerability from frontal attacks while charging up the shot, and the shot is piercing and unblockable. While it does not have the crazy damage of hazard bomb and exploding launcher, the defensive boost pushes it to the top. It pairs best with sudden rush for faster shots. Minotaur rush is good too, giving it a power shot just like the bow. Ferocious guard is also decent to boost damage after blocking. The odds of getting the shot are low though, so any combination of the other 3 boons is decent. Pulverizing blow gives a double attack, which is pretty powerful but it is risky to fight in melee and give up that sweet knockback. Same for dashing wallop and its boost to dash attack. The boons that enhance the special are garbage. The attack best uses the same god boons as the bow, but the delay between shots can make Ares viable if you don't have sudden rush. Athena would be good too if relying more on the attack than rush. Divine dash as always. Best special is Aphrodite to inflict weak, or Poseidon for knockback. Demeter's cast to help with range and any call.

The sword is my 2nd worst weapon because it lacks range and is tricky to use without taking damage. However is it the only weapon that I completed a successful run with on the 1st try, and the 2nd time was also a win. The attack is good for killing regular enemies, especially with every 3rd hit giving knockback. But it is inferior to the shield attack. The special gives a nice area attack with half decent range and is the better damage move if you can get the hammer boons to support it. I use the aspect of Zagreus but the stats on Arthur look awesome. The sword lacks the amazing hammer boons of the other weapons but does have a fair variety of decent builds. The best combo is dash nova + double nova and is the build that I lucked upon on my very 1st sword run. Dash nova pretty much makes it unnecessary to attack or dash because you can just spam the special to get into and out of range. Double nova does excellent damage. Super nova is another option but it does far less damage than double. Combining double and massive is another good build with even higher damage, but the lack of mobility makes it less effective. Builds for the attack are less optimal. Cursed slash can be great if you can get your max hp around 100. The healing granted by each strike is moot if you get hit so hard or frequently that you lose a life. It combines best with flurry slash for more healing. Piercing wave is the only ranged ability and just does a fixed 30 damage regardless of boons. It also makes you move forward, making kiting more difficult. It can be useful but is not a great ability. I have never used it with flurry slash but that sounds like a decent combo. The other attack boons force close range combat and are thus risky. The big attack from world splitter combines well with shadow strike for massive backstabs. Double edge can put out impressive dps and help avoid damage by dashing all the time while cruel thrust can also do excellent damage if you can afford to do the entire 3 hit combo. The other boons are passable. The best god boon for the special is Poseidon because it does excellent damage and counteracts the loss of knockback from double nova. Artemis, Demeter, Aphrodite, Athena and even Zeus work well too. Generally you will want to focus on either the special or attack depending on which hammer boons you get as using both is not really useful. All gods work well for the attack, even Ares and Dionysus can facilitate a hit and run style that avoids being in melee for too long. Divine dash as always. Demeter's cast is the best long range supplement for a melee weapon while any call is good. The dashes that leave damage behind you (Ares and Dionysus) can come in handy as a ghetto ranged attack, but I would not choose them over divine dash.

The fists are my worst weapon because they lack the relatively cheap and safe moves of other weapons, have the worst range and no knockback to make up for being forced into risky melee combat. This weapon is by far the most difficult to use without taking significant damage and only has 2 good hammer boons. I often find that I take so much damage over the course of a run that getting past Styx and Hades is never guaranteed, unless I can luck into the good hammer boons. I use the aspect of Zagreus to help avoid damage. Kinetic launcher is the best boon because it turns the fists into the bow, eliminating the great weakness of range. It combines best with draining cutter, which gives healing on kill, for a very effective build. Colossal knuckle is a secondary choice but sturdy is not anywhere near as good as healing. One time I spent over 30 min on the final Hades fight alone just farming skull heads with draining cutter. The other boons that affect the special lock out the ranged boon, so they should only be taken as the 2nd boon when you know you won't get the ranged. Explosive upper can be decent for hit and run, flying cutter kind of makes the special like the shield's bull rush only not as good, rush kick makes the special like the sword's dash nova and can be a decent way to avoid damage, while quake cutter is only passable. If relying on the attack for the main damage move you will want long knuckle to make it more like the spear to help avoid damage. Rolling knuckle adds the dash strike into the pause between each series of attacks, giving a constant damage output, and deflection with divine attack, which is essential for using the attack. Concentrated knuckle improves damage and is a reasonable choice if you can't get both range and rolling. So is colossus. Heavy knuckle is bad, especially if you have divine attack as it ruins the deflection. It could be useful for a hit and run Ares or Dionysus build. The best god boons are Athena all the way as you will want as much deflection as possible. Deflection is essential for attack and dash, and special if using it as the main move without kinetic launcher or rush kick. With kinetic launcher I would want the same great damage boons as the bow. Knockback is good to have as well. Demeter's cast for a reliable ranged attack and any call.

Gods

Hermes: Hyper sprint is my top choice because it gives such great mobility for controlling the battlefield. Haste and extra dash come 2nd, and having all 3 would make for an excellent run. Bonus damage from movement speed combines well with haste and hyper, but I go for survival over offense. Dodge chance is decent, especially with fists and the dodge on the aspect of Zag. Ability speed for your main move is decent, but I generally avoid his other boons.

Athena: Best dash in the game and deflection on attack and special can be very useful, if not the most damaging option. The cast is a decent long range shot while the call is probably the best overall due to allowing you to dps while invulnerable. Brilliant riposte is her best passive and can absolutely wreck ranged enemies while also being required for her legendary; the sweet regenerating damage shield. The ones the restore death defiance are great if needed but the rest of the passives I avoid unless there is nothing better. The only duo boon I like is stubborn roots with Demeter. Poseidon's boss damage reduction and immunity to stun is good but I don't go for it. The rest I don't care about.

Demeter: Chill is a great effect and the attack and special boons offer great damage. The cast is among my favorites for its ability to shoot from range and be picked up immediately after without worrying about enemies carrying it. Her dash is among the least useful and the call is only decent. I love killing freeze, which puts significant damage over time on every enemy as long as they are all chilled. It is amazing for bosses because I can focus on staying away and avoiding damage. I especially love it for dealing with Theseus and the minotaur. Arctic blast does extra area damage when chill stacks max out, which is great for bonus damage while fighting but can make killing freeze harder to keep up. I like ravenous will for the passive damage and defense boost but find it a little annoying to feel the need to get rid of my cast to fight optimally; especially when I accidentally pick it back up. These 3 lead to the legendary, which is a solid 10% hp reduction on all enemies. It ends up being a LOT of damage for the bosses, especially Hades. Nourished soul is good for immediate healing but the other passives are not worth getting unless there are no other options.

Poseidon: His boons are great for damage and knockback is wonderful to have. The only exception being the grenade launcher on the gun, which makes it more difficult to hit with triple shot. The dash is the 2nd best and a good way to deal damage while disrupting enemy attacks. The call is the 2nd best too, with solid invincibility and damage. Cast is pretty good but only used it a few times. There are multiple great passive damage boons that can make knockback boons incredibly powerful; bonus wall slam damage, rupture damage over time, area blasts from hitting walls, and bonus damage to bosses. The slam and area damage lead to the legendary, which does multiple knocks and absolutely devastates non bosses. The only other interesting boons are sunken treasure for healing, and oceans bounty for possible extra healing from darkness. The only duo that is interesting is Zeus, for even more damage on water moves.

Artemis: I love her boons for the main damage move of a weapon due to the huge damage it can do, especially when stacking with hammer boons that increase damage. Her cast is decent, call is very good for burst damage, and dash can be useful with hammer boons that also improve dash strikes. Still rather have divine dash though. I am not a huge fan of her passives though. Support fire is good, especially with a fast weapon like bow with flurry shot. The boons that allow all damage to crit and improve crit damage are great if your main damage ability is with her, but much less useful otherwise. I don't care for the marked effect and do not like her legendary at all; not much of a caster in this game. Most of her duo boons are fairly good but nothing essential.

Aphrodite: Her attack and special boons work very well as both a primary source of damage, and as a support role just to keep weak up. Her call is among the better ones, dealing great damage when fully charged. The charm can be useful to make enemies hurt each other but is more useful for preventing an enemy from attacking you. The best use is to stop the minotaur mid charge. Her cast is one of the worst because it has poor range, so I avoid it whenever possible, and the dash is at least a little better than Demeter's. She has a number of good passives that enhance weak; duration increase, more damage reduction and bonus damage. Dying lament is one of my favorites because the area damage from dying enemies can chain react to do a lot of damage; not useful for bosses though. I have never used her legendary but giving weak a chance to charm sounds powerful. Her duo boons are not special but auto call charge with Zeus is interesting. I used it once with her call for frequent charms, and it worked very well vs the minotaur. It sucked having to give up the damage from the full charge though.

Zeus: Rather than improve the physical damage of weapons, the attack and special boons add a fixed amount of lightning damage. The attack bonus damage bounces between multiple targets and works best with fast attacks, like the gun, bow with flurry shot and fists. The special does fixed area damage, but I would rather use boons that increase physical damage; this is not a bad choice just not a great one. Cast is pretty good for extra ranged damage and the dash is another mediocre damage causer that does not help survival. The call is the worst because it does repeated damage around you, requiring you to be close to enemies for the full duration to make the best use of it. His passives boost the effectiveness of lightning and are good if you do have his boon on your main ability; same with the legendary. Lightning reflexes is useful for the minotaur, dealing damage while avoiding charge, but Zeus does not really have much to offer and I almost always go for other gods, especially if I already have another god on my main ability. Some duos are decent but nothing great.

Ares: I am not a fan of doom because of the time delay before the damage happens, which makes continuous attacking less than optimal. It is good for hit and run combat with any weapon, especially the sword and fists. It works well with the gun special due to the innate delay, though would be less than optimal with triple bomb. The dash can be useful as a kind of ranged attack for sword and fists but is not worth using over divine dash. The cast is decent but a little more difficult to use with its slow speed, and the call is probably 3rd best. Urge to kill and battle rage are great damage boost passives for any build. Black metal and engulfing vortex lead to the legendary and all 3 improve the dash, cast and call, while 2 other passives improve doom. All are good if you are using those abilities. The duos are decent but nothing must have.

Dionysus: I am not a fan of hangover I don't like his attack, special, call and dash. It is a lot like the problem with doom, only hangover does damage even more slowly. I have beaten runs using hangover on attack or special, and the damage over time can be good for hit and run, but still my least preferred boons. The dash is just like Ares, being a potential ranged like attack, while the call is like Zeus, forcing you to be close to enemies over time to make use of it. I prefer to use the little calls instead of fully charging the god gauge because it does not require me to stay close to enemies as long. His cast is probably the overall best; an indirect area effect grenade launcher like explosion that bypasses shields and leaves a cloud that staggers and stuns. Awesome for extra damage and setting up enemies to be killed more easily. He has 2 wonderful passives that immensely boost survival; strong drink gives a much needed nearly full heal after each boss (and random fountains), and a sweet stacking damage buff. Getting this boon early on is huge. Premium vintage gives a nice boost to max hp on the spot, and the potential for much more if you go for nectar rewards. His other passives are not that great. Improving hangover is good if you are using it, but defense and damage boosts for being in the small cast area is severely restrictive. Nice enough bonus for when mobility is limited, but I would rather have the freedom to move around the entire battlefield rather than be encouraged to stay in a small area.

Chaos: I go for health and damage boosts, especially for attack and special. The worst curse hides room rewards. The max hp reduction has caused deaths, but everything else is manageable.

This is one of the best games I have ever played. The combat is thrilling, and the randomness makes each run unique. I was very impressed with the sheer depth to the amount of things you can do, unlock and upgrade. The story and dialogue are amazing; even with over 100 runs I can still find new lines not spoken before. The only real flaws are how long it can take to unlock everything, the core repetitive gameplay and how the randomness can screw you over. But the flaws work in concert with the great aspects to make the game better than if it did not have those flaws. I mean imagine how quickly the game would get boring if you could pick your optimal build every time. I love how the game encourages you to experiment and learn how to use each weapon, boon and combination. This is the type of game to come back to every week, month or so to do another run. I would not want to sit down and grind every weapon to the highest possible difficulty, but the content is there. I do at least want to unlock and try the hidden weapon aspects.

I streamed many of my runs on Twitch. Check my profile for the link.

9.5/10

I might have to buy this again:

Hades launches August 13 on PS4 and PS5

We also take advantage of the DualSense controller’s immersive haptic feedback in certain cases, such as when you go to pet the notorious hound of hell, Cerberus. It’s a fine way of cheering yourself up a bit between escape attempts, and you’ll practically feel his breath as you pet him (especially if you keep the trigger held!). Also, later in the game, you’ll gain the ability to summon aid from certain companions, and the quick, high-intensity pulses on the Left Trigger will reassure you help is immediately on the way.

and

I also wanted to mention that, in addition to the digital versions slated for August 13, physical editions published by Private Division will be available at launch. These new boxed versions of Hades include a complimentary download code for the Hades Original Soundtrack, featuring two and a half hours of blood-pumping music by Darren Korb, and a 32-page full-color character compendium booklet with artwork from the game by Jen Zee. The first pressing of these versions also features a unique foil cover!