Hades is all the rage right now, and deservedly so. The amazing Roguelite underworld-crawler by Supergiant Games (makers of Pyre, Bastion, and Transistor) has really taken the gaming industry by storm. It actually just won the Grand Prize in the Indie Live Expo Awards too, and it really is a testament to how far this title has come.
The game was first released into early access back in December 2018. Since then, it’s had an insane amount of patches, updates, and reworks that culminated in the 1.0 release. But the game wasn’t always this “complete,” so let’s take a look at some of the bigger changes.
10 It Was Supergiant’s First Early Access Game, And Also The First Title On The Epic Store
First and foremost, Hades was originally locked to just one platform, PC. And, not even Steam, it was part of the Epic Games Stores lineup back in December 2018, which was a big reason it had such a consistent but moderate following in those early days. But, about a year later, the title finally released onto Steam, still in its early access state. Time passed and then, fans were blown away by the surprise reveal during a Nintendo Direct Mini back in September of this year. This reveal, was of course, that Hades was finally launching its 1.0 version out of early access and that it was now available on Switch, where it really blew up in popularity.
9 Design Changes, Design Implementations, And Design Overhauls
Honestly, back when Hades first released, it was a pretty well put together title, at least compared to some of the other Early Access games out there. It worked well, had two entire zones, and a deep well of unique dialog. But, what it was severely lacking was a lot of the incredible designs it’s so well known for now. Many of the NPCs in the game were visually represented with “placeholder” models and portraits. Prime examples include Sisyphus, Orpheus, Patroclus, and even Charon! All of these characters just looked like the same random nobody hidden beneath a robe. And, some other characters actually went through some heavy redesigns too, such as Hypnos and Area.
8 A Shortage Of Weapons
In the beginning, Hades only had 4 weapons, the Shield, Bow, Spear, and Sword. and while they may not seem like a big deal compared to the six it now has on release, it also didn’t have any of the Aspects. To elaborate, characters can choose between one of four unlockable “Aspects” for each weapon, and this meant there were now 24 pretty unique ways to play compared to four on release. So yes, the Infernal Arms in Hades have gone through a bunch of fine-tuning and re-development, only adding to its staggering amount of replayability.
7 Heat Actually Has Rewards Now
Back in the early days, Hades ended at the Bone Hydra. Players would get to feel good that they made it to the “end” of the current version of the game, completely unaware that there were two entire zones left in development. And once they beat Lernie for the first time, they unlocked the Pacts of Punishment.
But, back then, there was no reward for turning up the Heat like there is now, it was only for players who had nothing left to do in the current build but wanted an excuse to keep playing it anyway. Obviously, the Heat system is way better than it used to be, but fans do sort of miss the time when these different pact options didn’t have a “Max” amount.
6 There’s An Ending Now, Multiple Even
Obviously, if the game ended at the Bone Hydra, it’s clear that Early Access Hades didn’t have an ending. And, technically, Version 1.0 Hades doesn’t either, simply because the game doesn’t really “end.” That said, the “ending” the release version gives players is eons above what they had back then. Basically, once they left the Lernie arena, they would encounter one of the varieties of many hilariously written ways Zagreus would mysteriously die off-screen and be forced back to the House of Hades.
5 Bonds Weren’t Finished And Neither Were Legendary Keepsakes
The Bond system in Hades that allows Zagreus to use all kinds of amazing Keepsakes was very different in the beginning. Players had a “cap” that they could get NPCs up to, and once they hit that cap…nothing happened. But in the current version, there’s a threshold where Zag has to do a “favor” for each NPC before their Bond can go any higher, then a whole other tier of Bonds to level up. And in those days, Zag certainly wouldn’t receive those amazing Legendary Keepsakes from specific NPCs such as Dusa, Skelly, Achilles, Thanatos, or Sisyphus once he maxed them out.
4 Gradual But Noticeable Graphical Improvements
Don’t get people started on the graphical fidelity of Hades; it’s insane. Supergiant Games has always been an icon in regards to their dedication to unique and visually stunning games, and Hades is no exception. The colors, designs, and style are always top-class, but the 3-D modeling can’t be understated. Seriously, those NPC models don’t need to be nearly as detailed as they are considering how far back the camera is at all times. And, throughout the many patches and updates Hades has gone through, the game has steadily improved its graphical fidelity to a whole other level. The game is more beautiful, optimized, and bug-free than it has ever been.
3 No House Contractor Or Ranks To Indulge In
The House Contractor is another place for players to dump off all their hard-earned resources (mostly those precious Gemstones), much like the Mirror of Night, the Wretched Broker, or the Ranking system players unlock super late in the game. But unlike all these other systems, the House Contractor is mostly a cosmetic thing, adding new rugs to the House of Hades or a Towel Rack next to the Pool of Blood or even a disco ball shaped like a skull.
It’s also where players break contracts for certain NPC’s, unlock new bonuses for certain biomes on runs, and more. But, for a long time in its development, the House Contractor wasn’t in the game, and players sort of just built up a giant pile of Darkness.
2 No Extreme Measures
Fans of Hades know just how many runs of this game it takes to really see everything, especially when there are so many different dialog interactions and boss variations. The Bone Hydra, for example, has many different “forms” it can take that range from it spawning eggs to summoning enemies. But more than that, all four of the main bosses actually have different forms, thanks to the Extreme Measures part of the Pact of Punishments. Megara can fight with her sisters, Lernie gets a new Arena, Theseus and Asterius get some new toys, and the final boss gets much harder. But, when the title first came out (and actually a good length into its development as well) these boss variations didn’t exist.
1 New Gods That Weren’t There Before
There were a lot fewer Boons in the Earliest versions of Hades simply because these characters weren’t designed yet. There was no relying on Chaos, no Demeter to chill enemies out, no Hermes to speed an escape up, and not even Dionysus to get foes hungover. The precious Legendary Boons were basically non-existent in those times as well. All of these Gods were added in through the “big updates” Hades would try and release relatively often. Hermes was part of The High-Speed Update, Demeter was the flagship addition to The Long Winter update, and Dionysus was the new challenger in The Good Times update.
NEXT: Hades Duo Boons List - All The Combined Boons From The Gods
