Boons play a vital role inHades 2’s gameplay. Just like in its predecessor,Hades 2’s Boonsoffer powerful upgrades inspired by individual Greek gods that each have a significant impact on gameplay, such as the ability to eliminate projectiles by sprinting into them or the ability to freeze enemies with casts and strikes.
ButHades 2’s godly Boons don’t just play a role in gameplay. Boons are also used as a more subtle way forHades 2to continue developing its character relationships throughout the game, with dialogue from the god coming after the player has accepted their blessing. Thanks to last year’s “Olympic” update,Hades 2now has Boons from just about every major Olympian, but there’s one incredibly important Greek god who still needs to join the roster in a full capacity.
Releasing Hades Should Give Players A Wealth of New Abilities in Hades 2’s Post-Game
In its current early access state, players can find the eponymousGreek God of the Dead and King of the Underworlddeep in the bowels of Tartarus, where he’s been restrained by his Titan father, Chronos. Though Hades tries to dissuade his daughter (player-character Melinoe) from attempting to fight Chronos, he offers a handful of Boons to assist her. With Chronos being the final confrontation inHades 2’s underworld path, Hades' Boons essentially last for just one encounter, and his Boons don’t appear anywhere else in the game.
In the1.0 release ofHades 2, it would be great to see Hades get his own set of unique Boons. These could be unlocked after players defeat Chronos for the first time, thus freeing Hades from his underworld prison and allowing him to provide Boons throughout Melinoe’s journey to the surface and Mount Olympus.
Being the God of the Dead, there are plenty of unique abilities that Hades' Boons could have. For instance, players could be given the ability to summon the spirits of deceased warriors to temporarily aid them in battle, adding a new defensive strategy toHades 2’s combat.
The next majorHades 2update is set to launch in “early 2025,” and will add new Boons, new enemies, and one more region to the game’s Surface route.
Hades and Melinoe’s Relationship Could Be Explored Via Boons
Another major benefit of giving Hades his own fully-fledged set of Boons would be the new opportunities it gives developer Supergiant to explore Hades and Melinoe’s relationship as father and daughter, something that’s only briefly touched on inHades 2’s current early access build. This relationship could be slowly built upon through the little exchanges made when Melinoe accepts Hades' Boons.
These exchanges would also giveHades 2an easy way to address Zagreus' whereabouts, if that’s something that isn’t already planned to be explored in futureHades 2updates. Though much ofHades 2’s storyalready feels fleshed out, the relationship between Melinoe and her family is something that certainly feels a little lacking right now. And ifHades 2fully launched without exploring these dynamics in more detail, it would probably feel a bit incomplete.
