I have mixed feelings about Hades 2, and it all comes down to the current internet drama problems with the game. Let me get the part that matters out of the way first before my personal thoughts on the controversy though. The first part is going to be simple and gets the whole point covered right away, the second part is way more in depth and may not be of note to anyone just worried about game play. If this is the case for you, the game is good and I think you should buy it.

So, for the most important part of any video game, the minute to minute in Hades 2 is fantastic as expected. The weapons all feel really good to use with fights being fast paced and fun. Story and run progress is slow, but each run is very rewarding. The way the game over time introduces new characters and mechanics is just like the original Hades. The new mechanics feel very solid. The upgrade tree being tied to in dungeon items makes each run feel like a treasure hunt where I need to bring a specific tool to get the items I want in my run. The Companion system is interesting and I have high hopes for it being more fleshed out. I think the 2 area system they've set up has potential to be very fun with the underworld and over world being available to explore as the game goes on. It's fun, has a lot of content even now with the Early Access status, and will clearly get more added down the line leading into a full launch.

--

On the subject that people are going nuts over, some of the character designs do rub me the wrong way. This isn't a problem that ruins the game as a whole, but it is a big mark of shame against it in my book. It doesn't stop me from recommending Hades 2, but it is enough to be worth bringing up. I can already hear the racism cries coming, but I'm a full grown adult, your words don't hurt me, this isn't a playground. We have adult conversations here. Go try and bully somebody else. Anyways, Hestia and Hephaestus specifically are my main point of concern with the game when talking about character designs. I think Aphrodite is at least in line with her Hades 1 depiction so I'm not too concerned there and wont be covering that discussion here.

Hestia's design definitely was a DEI influenced choice. I have no issues with the way characters were designed in Hades 1. I generally am not thrilled with race swapping characters, but Hades 1 did it tastefully at least. There is a fine line to walk when doing something like this, you need to be respectful to the material you're changing in as many ways as possible or you draw criticism and get labeled as woke for making unnecessary if not disrespectful changes. In the worst of cases, you may even be blacklisted from selling your product in the country that you've just offended (Cleopatra, I am looking right at you for that one). Some characters in Hades 1 look distinctly Greek. Theseus being probably the most so. Not everyone did, nor needed to, look objectively Greek or even be 100% in line with their myth descriptions. In Hades 1, if a character was race swapped from being distinctly Greek in appearance, at a minimum they stuck to the idea of being like a drawn version of a statue. Immaculate with almost other worldly perfection.

One character that Hades 1 did well with this sort of race swapping was Ares being black while every other aspect of his design was within expectations of a depiction of the God of War. All the characters from Hades 1 stayed at least generally faithful to the way the pantheon is expected to look. To reference a character from Greek myths, Adonis. They are LITERALLY depicted in all stories and art from the time as having the ideal body. The males were shown as being muscular while females were shown slim with hair often very done up comparatively. Simply put, exactly the way a deity would be expect to be depicted. Hades 1 stayed true to that concept and everyone was drawn generally in line with this idea. Hades 2 somewhat does this, but Hestia and Hephaestus are obvious deviations.

I have major concerns with Hestia, her design speaks in my eyes towards them being more lax with quality control. They went all in on the hearth aspect of the myths, iron stoker, fire hat, reds and whites in the clothing. The decision to make the eldest Olympian literally elderly is a bit of a dumb choice as is the decision to entirely forgo the traditional depiction of Hestia by the greeks. She's morbidly obese in this game, as is Hephaestus. On the subject of him, he's a black smith. The wheelchair and lack of a leg are also clear DEI influenced choices. This is not in line with any stories about him. At a minimum, at least he's just as unattractive in Hades 2 as he is described to be in the myths. That said though, he's unattractive because he's 400+ pounds of wheelchair bound lard and not because his face looks like he headbutts brick walls for fun.

To sum that all up: Hades 1 handled character designs with tact while from what I can tell, Hades 2 didn't try to do this. Was this DEI influenced? Possibly. Is it a deal breaker? To some people it will be. As a big fan of the franchise and being that I enjoy ancient world cultures and the Greek myths most of all, I am not thrilled with these changes and they are without a doubt not done with the same amount of thought as Hades 1 had. If a developer from SuperGiant happens to read this I have just one thing to say for you: If you're going to do anything, at least do it with consistency. If you didn't want to be called out for this, then you should have at least stuck with the statuesque appearances from Hades 1. These changes are out of place and definitely don't fit in with the rest of the characters.

--

So, while I find the game play and story enjoyable, two of the new characters have deliberately unflattering and extreme deviations from the first game's art style that, given game journalist reviews and articles gush over these choices, I can only assume are intentionally added for DEI reasons at the expense of maintaining a myth and stylistic consistency. I still highly recommend playing the game though. My dislike for the designs is rooted in a love for ancient world cultures and myths/religions. I only bring it up because it is a major disappointment to see such blatant kneeling being done for no real benefit outside of wanting media bias towards your game in reviews and articles. Hades 2 is fun, but I just can't be happy with these choices having been made, and clearly, many other people are too.

At the end of the day, I still think Hades 2 is a good game and it is worth buying and playing. I don't like the way the handled some of the new characters, but that's not the meat and potatoes of the game itself and I can overlook it. Not everyone CAN do that, but I suggest doing so. You can skip dialogue and not have to really interact with Hestia or Hephaestus outside of taking their Boon. (I do think Hestia and Hephaestus have really good Boons so they are worth interacting with at least.)

I have mixed feelings about Hades 2, and it all comes down to the current internet drama problems with the game. Let me get the part that matters out of the way first before my personal thoughts on the controversy though. The first part is going to be simple and gets the whole point covered right away, the second part is way more in depth and may not be of note to anyone just worried about game play. If this is the case for you, the game is good and I think you should buy it. So, for the most important part of any video game, the minute to minute in Hades 2 is fantastic as expected. The weapons all feel really good to use with fights being fast paced and fun. Story and run progress is slow, but each run is very rewarding. The way the game over time introduces new characters and mechanics is just like the original Hades. The new mechanics feel very solid. The upgrade tree being tied to in dungeon items makes each run feel like a treasure hunt where I need to bring a specific tool to get the items I want in my run. The Companion system is interesting and I have high hopes for it being more fleshed out. I think the 2 area system they've set up has potential to be very fun with the underworld and over world being available to explore as the game goes on. It's fun, has a lot of content even now with the Early Access status, and will clearly get more added down the line leading into a full launch. -- On the subject that people are going nuts over, some of the character designs do rub me the wrong way. This isn't a problem that ruins the game as a whole, but it is a big mark of shame against it in my book. It doesn't stop me from recommending Hades 2, but it is enough to be worth bringing up. I can already hear the racism cries coming, but I'm a full grown adult, your words don't hurt me, this isn't a playground. We have adult conversations here. Go try and bully somebody else. Anyways, Hestia and Hephaestus specifically are my main point of concern with the game when talking about character designs. I think Aphrodite is at least in line with her Hades 1 depiction so I'm not too concerned there and wont be covering that discussion here. Hestia's design definitely was a DEI influenced choice. I have no issues with the way characters were designed in Hades 1. I generally am not thrilled with race swapping characters, but Hades 1 did it tastefully at least. There is a fine line to walk when doing something like this, you need to be respectful to the material you're changing in as many ways as possible or you draw criticism and get labeled as woke for making unnecessary if not disrespectful changes. In the worst of cases, you may even be blacklisted from selling your product in the country that you've just offended (Cleopatra, I am looking right at you for that one). Some characters in Hades 1 look distinctly Greek. Theseus being probably the most so. Not everyone did, nor needed to, look objectively Greek or even be 100% in line with their myth descriptions. In Hades 1, if a character was race swapped from being distinctly Greek in appearance, at a minimum they stuck to the idea of being like a drawn version of a statue. Immaculate with almost other worldly perfection. One character that Hades 1 did well with this sort of race swapping was Ares being black while every other aspect of his design was within expectations of a depiction of the God of War. All the characters from Hades 1 stayed at least generally faithful to the way the pantheon is expected to look. To reference a character from Greek myths, Adonis. They are LITERALLY depicted in all stories and art from the time as having the ideal body. The males were shown as being muscular while females were shown slim with hair often very done up comparatively. Simply put, exactly the way a deity would be expect to be depicted. Hades 1 stayed true to that concept and everyone was drawn generally in line with this idea. Hades 2 somewhat does this, but Hestia and Hephaestus are obvious deviations. I have major concerns with Hestia, her design speaks in my eyes towards them being more lax with quality control. They went all in on the hearth aspect of the myths, iron stoker, fire hat, reds and whites in the clothing. The decision to make the eldest Olympian literally elderly is a bit of a dumb choice as is the decision to entirely forgo the traditional depiction of Hestia by the greeks. She's morbidly obese in this game, as is Hephaestus. On the subject of him, he's a black smith. The wheelchair and lack of a leg are also clear DEI influenced choices. This is not in line with any stories about him. At a minimum, at least he's just as unattractive in Hades 2 as he is described to be in the myths. That said though, he's unattractive because he's 400+ pounds of wheelchair bound lard and not because his face looks like he headbutts brick walls for fun. To sum that all up: Hades 1 handled character designs with tact while from what I can tell, Hades 2 didn't try to do this. Was this DEI influenced? Possibly. Is it a deal breaker? To some people it will be. As a big fan of the franchise and being that I enjoy ancient world cultures and the Greek myths most of all, I am not thrilled with these changes and they are without a doubt not done with the same amount of thought as Hades 1 had. If a developer from SuperGiant happens to read this I have just one thing to say for you: If you're going to do anything, at least do it with consistency. If you didn't want to be called out for this, then you should have at least stuck with the statuesque appearances from Hades 1. These changes are out of place and definitely don't fit in with the rest of the characters. -- So, while I find the game play and story enjoyable, two of the new characters have deliberately unflattering and extreme deviations from the first game's art style that, given game journalist reviews and articles gush over these choices, I can only assume are intentionally added for DEI reasons at the expense of maintaining a myth and stylistic consistency. I still highly recommend playing the game though. My dislike for the designs is rooted in a love for ancient world cultures and myths/religions. I only bring it up because it is a major disappointment to see such blatant kneeling being done for no real benefit outside of wanting media bias towards your game in reviews and articles. Hades 2 is fun, but I just can't be happy with these choices having been made, and clearly, many other people are too. At the end of the day, I still think Hades 2 is a good game and it is worth buying and playing. I don't like the way the handled some of the new characters, but that's not the meat and potatoes of the game itself and I can overlook it. Not everyone CAN do that, but I suggest doing so. You can skip dialogue and not have to really interact with Hestia or Hephaestus outside of taking their Boon. (I do think Hestia and Hephaestus have really good Boons so they are worth interacting with at least.)