Summary
If there’s one thing players learned during theHades 2technical test, it’s that it didn’t steer too far from the first game.Hades 2has a lot of returning features, such as the combat mechanics and the Greek God family drama, while also highlighting Melinoe’s unique abilities and new characters. Things might still change once Early Access begins, butHades 2looks promising so far.
Many fans will agree that the firstHadesgame has high replayability because of its story, especially the post-credit content, and challenges, which will most likely be present inHades 2as well. At the same time, there are high hopes for the sequel to introduce new challenges – something similar toHollow Knight’s Colosseum of Fools.
How Hades 2 Can Follow in Hollow Knight’s Footsteps
Hollow Knightfollows the Knight, as they explore Hallownest’s ancient cities and deadly caverns to uncover the secrets of the fallen kingdom. One popular area is theColosseum of Fools, located at the top of Kingdom’s Edge, which has an arena where the Knight can participate in three Trials: Trial of the Warrior, Trial of the Conqueror, and Trial of the Fool.
In each Colosseum of Fools Trial, the Knight has to battle waves of enemies, which become more difficult asHollow Knightplayers go through all three stages. Once they accomplish the Trials, the Knight is rewarded with items and Geo. Once they finish the Trials, players are free to come back to the Colosseum tofarm Geos, or use the Trials as an opportunity to warm up.
Asurvival game modesimilar toHollow Knight’s Colosseum of Fools can certainly fit right in withHades 2. The first game already did this with Survival Encounters, where Zagreus has to fight and survive for 45 seconds in order to exit a room.Hades 2has a great opportunity to expand on this with its own arena, where players can attempt to battle endless waves of enemies anytime they want.
A game mode like this could greatly increaseHades 2’s replayability as it could allow players to choose Boons after each wave, giving them the opportunity to experiment with combinations. Plus, players would get a chance to set and beat personal records every time they go into the arena, and it could serve as a warm-up before continuingMelinoe’s journey.
Customizing Hades 2’s Arena Experience
What makesHadesso interesting to play is the Pact of Punishment, which lets players increase the difficulty of Zagreus' escape attempts. While it can get extremely difficult as the Heat gets higher, it is quite satisfying to be able to overcome such challenges from start to finish. For instance, oneHadesspeedrunner successfully completed an impossible Hell Mode run, and was celebrated by the gaming community.
IfHades 2adds an arena mode, it should give players the chance to customize enemy waves and overall experience to keep the game mode interesting. ThePact of Punishmentsystem is a great way to play around with challenges, such as having higher volumes of enemies, giving enemies sturdier armor, and receiving double damage when hit. Applying this to a wave-based arena mode could make for an excellent experience.
Hades 2is still in development, so there might be enough time to complete an arena mode before the full game releases. Supergiant Games could even add this game mode in a future DLC, giving players a reason to come back long after they have finished the story.
