Highlights
- Hades 2 needs to maintain the charm of the original while offering fresh gameplay and story to succeed.
- Early access can benefit Hades 2, potentially reaching a wider audience through Game Pass.
- Getting feedback from a diverse player base could help improve development and make the sequel clearer.
Hades 2 will be the first-ever sequel from critical darling Supergiant Games, and while hopes are high for the successor to 2020’s smash-hit roguelike, its unprecedented nature means that it’s entering a bit of uncharted territory. The sequel will need to recapture the charm and spirit of the original Hades while further innovating and offering a fresh story, gameplay mechanics, and progression system. With the first Hades excelling in so many areas, topping it will be a tall order, and there’s one step Hades 2 could take to help secure its success.
Though most players were introduced to Hades when it released in 2020, this official launch was preceded by two years of early access, exclusive to PC. Like many other games that would go on to achieve widespread acclaim for their 1.0 release, Hades hammered out a lot of its technical issues and game design hiccups during this early access window, becoming all the better for it. It looks like Hades 2 is following a similar path, and one tweak could make its time in early access even more beneficial.
Hades 2’s Weapons Stand at a Fork in the Road
When it comes to weaponry, Hades 2 will have to iterate on the foundations laid by its predecessor while retaining the series’ gameplay identity.
Hades 2’s Early Access Should Be Available to Game Pass Subscribers
Xbox Game Pass has featured several early access titles, with many of them being made available for both PC and Xbox console users. Viral early access games like Palworld and Grounded have had their visibility increased greatly by Game Pass, with the service offering players an affordable, low-stakes way to check out a promising title. This helps build the communities of these games, which in turn provides more data for the developers during their early access which, hopefully, leads to a better final product.
Drawing More Players to Hades 2’s Early Access
Early access can be a tricky thing. While some players are more than willing to support a project that they know is unfinished, others are more hesitant to put money down for a pre-1.0 version of a game. Of course, the overwhelming success of the first Hades could move the needle on public sentiment regarding its sequel’s early access, but still, its customer base will likely be primarily comprised of major fans of the first game who want to support the sequel, or get their hands on it as quickly as possible.
This could cause some issues, as Supergiant may be getting feedback from biased sources: if someone already loves the first game and has already decided that the sequel will be as good or better, then they will see what they expect to see during early access, possibly turning a blind eye to certain issues. By combining the first game’s dedicated fanbase with the massive install base of Game Pass, Supergiant could cast a far wider net, get better, more diverse feedback, and ultimately make the ambitious development of Hades 2 a little bit clearer and more efficient. If the game’s early access version could launch on Xbox consoles as well as PC, then even better.
The first
Hades
was available on Game Pass for a little over a year, setting a precedent for Supergiant to return to the platform.
All of this is easier said than done, and there’s a possibility that Supergiant Games may not consider the benefit of Game Pass visibility to be worth the cost of missing out on traditional purchases. After all, the hype for Hades 2 means that it will probably sell well, even if it is in early access. Hades 2 spending some time in early access should be beneficial regardless of Game Pass involvement, but reaching a wider audience with Xbox’s help could wind up being the best move for both consumers and Supergiant.
Hades 2
Hades 2 is the continuation of the massively popular Hades franchise, which began with the flagship title, released by Supergiant games in 2020. Players will once again dive into the underworld, aided by Gods and Goddesses as they make their way through the enemies of the Underworld in this Roguelike indie smash hit.
- Franchise
- Hades
- Released
- 2024-00-00
