Hades II vs Hades: Which Supergiant Roguelike Should You Play?

If you have never played either, start with the original Hades. It is tighter, more focused, tells one clean story about escaping the underworld, and it is the cheaper, more finished package. If you already loved Hades and want more of everything, Hades II is the bigger, deeper follow-up, and it is the one to buy the moment you finish the first. Neither choice is wrong. You will almost certainly end up playing both.

Hades II is not a remix, it is an expansion in every direction. You play as Melinoe, Princess of the Underworld, rather than Zagreus, and the combat is rebuilt around a Magick meter and charged Omega moves that give it a slower, more deliberate rhythm than the original's pure aggression. There is roughly double the content: more gods, more weapons, more Boons, and a hub that keeps unfurling new systems long after you expect it to stop. The new Fear system scales difficulty up smoothly as your skill grows, and Darren Korb's darker, witchier score matches the tone. It is more game, and more ambitious game, than a sequel to something as beloved as Hades had any obligation to be.

The first Hades has the advantage of being finished and focused. Its four-biome run to the surface is a tighter loop, and the very repetition that keeps it a fraction short of a perfect score also means the game never sprawls. The story of Zagreus and his family lands with a clean emotional arc that a bigger game inevitably dilutes. If you value a game that respects your time and knows exactly when it is done, the original is the more disciplined experience, and it runs beautifully on nearly everything, including Switch.

Hades is about speed and aggression, dashing through rooms and stacking Boons into a build that deletes enemies. Hades II asks you to think one beat longer: to charge an Omega attack, to spend Magick, to weave casting into your dodging. Neither is better, but they feel different in the hand, and players who loved the original's momentum sometimes need a few hours to click with the sequel's more measured pace. Give it those hours. It is worth it.

For a newcomer on a budget, buy Hades first: it is complete, cheaper, and the best possible introduction to what makes this studio special. For a returning fan, Hades II is the easy recommendation and arguably the more impressive achievement. And if you have the room, own both, because they are two of the finest examples of the genre and they complement rather than replace each other. We gave each a 9.2 for a reason: this is a studio operating at the very top of its craft, twice.