Roguelike ARPGHadesfrom indie studio Supergiant Games was one of the biggest success stories of 2020. After being released out of early access in September,Hadeswas met with universal critical acclaim and a massive following. Winning multiple awards at theGolden Joystick Awardsand the Game Awards 2020,Hadeshelped the roguelike genre attract mainstream attention with its unique emphasis on narrative.
Hadeshas become the new face of the roguelike genre, but its success didn’t happen overnight. The storytelling experiences that Supergiant Games learned from its previous games likeBastionandTransistorhelped transformHadesinto a distinctive roguelike that players haven’t seen before. By combining the more accessible elements of roguelikes together with a narrative focus,Hadeshas transformed the genre to be approachable for anyone.
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Supergiant Games and the Narrative Experience
Hadesmight be the biggest success fromstudio Supergiant Games, but it’s certainly not the first. Stretching back all the way to 2011, Supergiant Games originally released an ARPG by the name ofBastion. Featuring a dynamic narrator and a gorgeous, hand-painted artstyle,Bastion’sincredible narrative and sound designseparated it from its contemporaries.Bastionwould go on to win a number of awards and sell over three million copies. Three years later, Supergiant Games releasedTransistor,a sci-fi ARPG that featured a mysterious plot and a colorful world design. LikeBastion,Transistorreceived critical acclaim from both players and critics alike for its worldbuilding and narrative experience.
In 2017, Supergiant Games decided to experiment a little with its third title,Pyre.A party-based ARPG styled after sports games,Pyrekept the beautiful art style ofBastionandTransistorwhile changing up the style of gameplay. Though it didn’t turn out to be as popular asBastionorTransistor,it nonetheless garnered critical acclaim. Over the course of these three games,Supergiant Games has become synonymous with rich narrative experiencesand detailed worldbuilding. Regardless of whether the gameplay was hack-and-slash or a unique spin on basketball, Supergiant Games was able to weave it together with a compelling story and cast of characters in an engaging, atmospheric world.
Hadesis a testament to everything that Supergiant Games had learnedover the development of its other three games. Although borrowing the permadeath mechanics of roguelikes can potentially make games frustrating, Supergiant Games was able to encourage replays through the progression of the narrative. Even if a player dies, new story sections, upgrades, items, and areas continue to unlock meaning that players don’t have to be consistently successful to progress the game. Therefore, even if the roguelike elements can make the game difficult, the rich narrative and worldbuilding from Supergiant Games will always remain.
The Accessibility of Roguelikes and Rogue-Lites
Another key reason for the success ofHadesis that it’s more of a rogue-litethan a roguelike. Although the difference between the two genres have more or less blended together over the years, rogue-lites imply that there is some form of permanent progression while roguelikes often imply a brand new start upon permadeath. For many roguelike fans, the punishing difficulty of the genre is a good thing as it forces players to improve and deal with a learning curve over time. However, for a developer like Supergiant Games that has become known for its excellent narratives and worldbuilding, having a permadeath mechanic where progress is easily lost could alienate its fans new to the genre.
As a result,Hadesis much more of a rogue-lite as it borrows the roguelike elements of permadeath and randomized runs, but it never punishes the player for dying. Instead, each death inHadescontinues to push the story forward and unlike many other roguelikes, there is no necessity to win in order to experience progression. Supergiant Games managed to incorporate the most interesting aspects ofroguelikes without sacrificing accessibility inHades.
That said,Hadesis still a fairly difficult game. Like all roguelikes, the concept of permadeath takes some time for players to get used to, and they will experience their fair share of failed runs before finally beating the game. The biggest difference inHadesbeing a rogue-lite is that the most intriguing aspects of the narrative and characterizations are always available to the players regardless of their progression in the game. In most roguelike games, dying usually means that players will have to restart from scratch, losing everything they gained in that particular run. However,Hadesdoesn’t treat death as a punishmentfor failing a run, but simply as part of the process to an eventual win.
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Hades Transforming the Roguelike Genre
While someroguelikes such asChildren of MortaandTales of Maj’Eyalhave been driven by narrative and lore, none of them manage to effectively weave it together with the core gameplay loop as effectively asHades.The greatest success ofHadesis finding the perfect balance between the story elements, characterizations, and the roguelike gameplay. By ensuring that players are not locked out of content for dying, the game manages to give newcomers to the genre a compelling reason to become invested in the story, which in turn, incentivizes them to continue playing. Though the concept might seem obvious, many roguelikes beforeHadeshad never seamlessly connected the narrative experience directly with the gameplay mechanics.
With the success ofHades,it seems that the roguelike genre might undergo significant changes in the future. Although many developers had previously emphasized the importance of gameplay mechanics over the story, Supergiant Games was able to take utilize its experience in developing narrative driven games and connect it together with roguelike mechanics. Instead of leaving behind what madeBastion, Transistor,andPyreso exciting,Hadesdoubled down on what Supergiant Games excelled at despite occupying a genre that typically doesn’t focus on narrative.
On the surface,Hadesis a fantastic game that offers players insight into what makes the roguelike genre so great. However, it’s also a testament to howSupergiant Games has created a new standardfor the genre as well. The wayHadesmanages to effectively utilize roguelike mechanics while simultaneously remaining accessible for newcomers is an incredible feat and a big reason for its success. As more and more indie roguelike games pop up over the years, the success ofHadeswill likely inspire more developers to focus on the story aspect of the games as well.
Hadesis available now on PC and Switch.
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