Battle Dad

On Hades, roguelike games, and how to unbox a scimitar

Welcome to Culture Club, a weekly feature where David and I discuss what we’ve been reading, watching, or—in this case—playing, for paying subscribers. Enjoy this free preview, and please consider upgrading to a paid subscription! 

Promotional art for Hades, featuring Zagreus and one of his many foes (Supergiant Games)

Picture this: You’re the prince of hell, raised in luxurious environs so subterranean you’ve never seen the sun, and you’re handsome in a twinky kind of way; your blood is red, like that of mortals, you might be an incarnation of Dionysus according to some of the obscurer myths of the Orphic cult, and you want, more than anything to break out of the underworld. You must battle the wretches of Tartarus, the witches and fiends of Asphodel, and the deadly champions of Elysium to reach the surface and escape, once and for all, the aimless drudgery of your fate—and the secrets hidden from you all your immortal life long.

Welcome to Hades, the blockbuster indie game from Supergiant that’s won about a zillion awards and is due for a sequel sometime this year. It’s a magnificent roguelike—that category of games where you must battle through the same sequence of levels over and over, under slightly differing conditions and with different iterations of story playing out along the way. It’s kind of a sleeper hit—who would have thought that a story built around Prince Zagreus, a figure so obscure even the most rabid Greek-mythology fan might not know about him, would be such a hit?

The cast of characters includes an intricately-rendered green-haired Artemis, a cuddly yet ferocious rendering of Cerberus the guard dog of hell, and the various intricacies of underworld pomegranates—unlikely ingredients, perhaps, for such a large and loving fandom. Hades is often frustrating—before you get a handle on the complex battle mechanics, and as you fumble your way through learning to wield the various infernal weapons that are Prince Zagreus’ birthright, you die over and over, emerging from the blood-red River Styx with a sigh. Plus, in the game’s most Oedipal flourish, you have to cap each escape by murdering your dad. And did I mention the game is adorable?