One of the most-hyped games of the year just dropped out of the blue into Early Access today on Steam and the Epic Game Store.
Hades II is one of Steam’s most wishlisted games thanks to the popularity of the original, which won all number of awards and enjoyed both critical and gamer acclaim.
Now, you can jump right into the sequel ($29.99) though it isn’t the full game yet. The full release won’t happen this year, as Supergiant Games intends to keep Hades II in Early Access through the rest of 2024.
The game is already larger than the original even in Early Access form, however, with more enemies, environments and fully-voiced NPCs than Hades. According to the Steam page:
Hades II in Early Access already has more environments, foes, and fully-voiced characters than the full version of the original Hades game. But it isn’t complete, and key areas, characters, foes, narrative events, and systems are still to come.
We have been actively working on the game for more than three years already. For our Early Access launch, we wanted Hades II to be far enough along that as many players as possible could have a good experience right away, yet not far enough along that it’s too late in development for us to act on the feedback we receive.
You may reach certain points in the game where it becomes clear that you’ve reached the end of the current content. Furthermore, various interface screens, HUD icons, and character art are still temporary or work-in-progress, along with various other aspects of the presentation.
Supergiant says the final product may be priced higher than the Early Access version as well, so you could be getting a bargain by going in early.
You’ll also be able to offer up your feedback to the developers to help shape the game’s progress prior to full release, which can be both a perk and a frustration given that what you do play isn’t the full package. So far, user reviews for the Early Access version are “Very Positive” with just two negative reviews as of this writing:
This is Supergiant’s first sequel. This time around you play as the Princess of the Underworld, exploring vaster dungeons as you seek to defeat the Titan, Chronus.
It looks terrific and I can’t wait to dive in, though my goodness the gaming table is getting full with titles like No Rest For The Wicked, Stellar Blade and many more keeping me plenty busy these days. Can’t complain when you’re this spoiled for choice!
