I’m often disappointed by game stories. With a few exceptions — Half-life, Shadow of the Colossusgames that knew when to close themselves off—I found them tiresome, forgettable, and frustratingly mimicking movie and TV storylines.
You can’t blame bad writing. There are plenty of knowledgeable, well-constructed stories in video games that are undermined by having to stretch them out over dozens of hours or be clumsily acted out by awesome digital avatars. It’s a Sisyphean task, I think, trying to balance satisfying gameplay with the needs of storytelling.
And then there is Hadesa game that masterfully combines story and gameplay. Four years after its official release, the roguelike action game is still the best example we have of video game storytelling adapting to its medium.
Hades It does this through repetition. The game’s structure teaches players the rules of combat and character depth, throwing Zagreus, surrogate son of the underworld, into obstacles over and over again as he fights to escape Hell. With each run, Zagreus destroys the underworld’s inhabitants, meets recent ones, undermines the hardened exteriors of family and former lovers, and rebuilds his home in a way that expresses admiration and appreciation for his allies.
Developer Supergiant Games delivers this progression with extreme efficiency. Dialogue between characters is tightly written and delivered with a crisp, rapid rhythm—every time I play, I happily sit through the atmospheric instructional wisdom from Zagreus’ adoptive mother, Nyx, and make sure to check in on the charming Dusa. Hadesthe repetition benefits the player greatly; while in other video games dialogues are repeated two or three times to better understand the character’s motivations or mission objectives, Hades can reinforce its ideas and narrative, run by run, run by run. Any repeated or reinforced dialogue comes in miniature bursts. You never have to wait for action, even as character arcs unfold, nor are you led narratively by the hand.
Hades writes around the randomness that is inherent to roguelikes. Take Zagreus’ relationship with Megaera, a boss fight that is somewhat random—sometimes you’re fighting one (or more) of her Fury companions. Through Meg’s appearances and absences, we learn more about her character, her grudge against Zagreus, and her relationship with her sisters. Characters appear and disappear in the game’s central world, the House of Hades, where Zagreus is reborn after death. When characters like Achilles, Thanatos, and Daddy Hades himself are present, we can push their story forward. When they’re gone, we miss their presence and wonder what they’re doing. We learn to appreciate their reappearances, relishing the chance to talk to them.
Supergiant encourages you to invest in these relationships by tying a portion of their progress to the hard-earned nectar of in-game resources. We choose which relationships we want to put effort into, showing love to the people we grow attached to over dozens of rounds. Fortunately, this is a game full of relationships worth investing in. Our repeated encounters with friends, family, and exes/future lovers grow to like them over time.
Even the most controversial relationship in the game, between Zagreus and Hades, is supported by a roguelike structure. Hades is never NO furious at his son, but as his defeats pile up, he begins to respect Zagreus. The two find peace and harmony, but only after many, many fierce fights to the death.
Hades‘ endgame, when Zagreus finally escapes Hell and finally meets his mother, reinforces how well Supergiant weaves its story into the game’s fabric. Zagreus must bounce back from his mother, savoring their brief encounters and piece by piece extracting recent details about the relationship between Persephone and Hades. Despite all the repetition and feelings of frustration as Zagreus desperately seeks closure, the game’s ending is satisfying. True to Supergiant’s commitment to weaving story and gameplay together, however, it doesn’t close the book on the game’s replayability.
Hades‘the very structure allows for these kinds of blossoming, evolving, and sophisticated relationships. Through repetition and reward, through interwoven stories told in miniature bursts, we learn everything we need to know—and very little we don’t—about Zagreus and his extended family.
WITH Hades 2 there are thrilling things on the horizon that Supergiant Games will repeat once again.
