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Hades, Revisited
Oct. 20th, 2020 08:38 amI think I was right about this game being a flashy alternative to Animal Crossing. Like Animal Crossing, Hades is about customizing your space and checking in with its inhabitants every day, and there's a lot of grinding.
In fact, I'm going to say that Hades isn't so much a Rougelike as it is a vehicle for grinding, and the Rougelike elements keep it... Well, "interesting" isn't the most appropriate word, but they keep it going.
So again, Hades isn't a game that anyone should come to for storytelling, character development, worldbuilding, exploration, puzzle-solving, clever gameplay mechanics, deep battle mechanics, creative visual and sound design, or even compelling voice acting. And that's okay.
Hades is all about its core gameplay loop of grind, come back, get a little stronger, go a little farther, and grind some more. The randomness is more than a little frustrating, as is having to start over from the very beginning every single time, but that's why you only do it a little every day. I think, like Animal Crossing, Hades expects you to spend dozens (if not hundreds) of hours futzing around and gathering ore (or whatever), and you just have to decide whether that's something you want to commit to. For me personally, it's a nice way to keep myself from going insane while sitting through an endless series of Zoom meetings, and I appreciate that.
In fact, I'm going to say that Hades isn't so much a Rougelike as it is a vehicle for grinding, and the Rougelike elements keep it... Well, "interesting" isn't the most appropriate word, but they keep it going.
So again, Hades isn't a game that anyone should come to for storytelling, character development, worldbuilding, exploration, puzzle-solving, clever gameplay mechanics, deep battle mechanics, creative visual and sound design, or even compelling voice acting. And that's okay.
Hades is all about its core gameplay loop of grind, come back, get a little stronger, go a little farther, and grind some more. The randomness is more than a little frustrating, as is having to start over from the very beginning every single time, but that's why you only do it a little every day. I think, like Animal Crossing, Hades expects you to spend dozens (if not hundreds) of hours futzing around and gathering ore (or whatever), and you just have to decide whether that's something you want to commit to. For me personally, it's a nice way to keep myself from going insane while sitting through an endless series of Zoom meetings, and I appreciate that.
