Hades II: The Olympic First Major Content Update

Hades has to be my favorite roguelike—SuperGiant Games has to be the premier roguelike developer at this point. While the previous game was more fast-paced and sort of spammy, Hades II, which is in early access right now, slows things down and gives you a character who specializes in ranged weapons.

Her name’s Melinoë, and she’s the younger sister of Zagreus. Even though Zagreus is hard to top in terms of aura and vibes, I still love Melinoë and the unique approach to the combat of Hades II. You can read all about it in my Hades II review.

Hades II, the most impressive roguelike released recently, just got its first content, The Olympic update, and it is massive. Here’s everything new that has been added to the game.

Major Changes in Hades II: The Olympic

Previously, the game would just stop you in your tracks once you beat Kronos or Charybdis or venture into a path that hadn’t been completed yet, but now we’ve got a brand-new region to explore and conquer—Olympus, the mountain of gods. You’ve got a new weapon, The Cassin, to mess around with as well.

Along with that, there are two new characters, including Athena, who will offer you Boons, Keepsakes, and quirky dialogues. You’ve got new Hexes and Path of Stars, too. There are two new animal familiars to bond with as well and a bunch of new decorations to customize the Crossroads.

Nocturnal Arms and Abilities Reworked

The Nocturnal Arms introduced in Hades II showed a lot of promise, but it was clear some of them needed some changes in order to be competitive. The Witch’s Staff and Moonstone Axe have been revamped with specials that come out a little bit faster than before. Dashes have been enhanced as well.

New Aspects

Every Nocturnal Arm now comes with new upgradable Aspects that tweak their power scaling and bonuses. The Umbral Flames’ Moros, for example, now balances out its blast damage better. The Cassin also has three new Aspects to experiment with.

Well of Charon

The Well of Charon now allows for stronger attacks when you aren’t empowered by boons, as well as new hymns and stronger abilities tied to sacrificial offerings.

Crossroads Call & Other Features

SuperGiant Games also gave some love to the Crossroads. You can now find new monuments, sigils, and troves that spice up exploration, along with the ability to recycle unused resources at the broker for prestige. There’s even a new music system that lets you customize the soundtrack.

Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

The Daedalus Hammer now offers a whole set of new upgrades for the Black Coat, replacing a few that were cut but adding new options for even more diverse playstyles. One example is the Reaper Knives upgrade, which enhances your specials' area of effect and power.

Enemies Reworked

Kronos and Charybdis have reduced phases to help with the pacing of fights.

Music and SFX

You cannot have a Hades title without its flawless metal soundtrack. We get some new music tracks in the Olympus region, and you can even play most of the instrumental tracks at The Crossroads.

More Voice Lines and Story

This is arguably one of the most important additions for me, and I cannot get enough of the excellent voice acting and dialogue among the characters in Hades. To satiate some of that, we’re getting 2500 new voice lines and more subplots, and you can even try to wake up Hypnos.

That about covers everything new in the Olympic update of Hades II. It’s playable right now.

The last thing I didn’t mention, but perhaps it should’ve been the first thing I should’ve mentioned, is that you can “relax” with Dionysus now. Hades has always catered to both the male and female gaze, and it was pretty clear how you can hang out with the characters in the game and the saucy art that comes with it. Perhaps this is a reason to boot the game a tad more urgently.

Also, if you've just started playing the game, check out the Hades II: All Weapons Build Guide for Beginners and several Hades II guides on our site.