What you need to know
- Hades 2 is currently available in early access on Windows PC.
- Hades 2 is expected to remain in early access through at least the end of 2024, receiving content updates and patches.
- The first big patch for Hades 2 is here, fixing a number of bugs and improving some gameplay elements.
Developer Supergiant's early access game is getting even better.
The first big patch for Hades 2 early access is here, bringing with it a bevy of bug fixes and tweaks to the overall gameplay experience. At a high level, players can expect resource collection to be a fair bit easier, while dashing and sprinting has been tweaked to go faster and feel more responsive.
You can find the full list of patch notes shared by Supergiant below, but do be aware that there are some mild character and location spoilers included.
General gameplay
- Your Sprint is innately faster and turning is more responsive; re-scaled abilities that boost this
- You now can Dash out of many attack recovery animations more reliably
- You now can gather from resource point once you have unlocked the corresponding Gathering Tool ; you now can Prioritize any available Tool in the Training Grounds to make its resources appear as often as before, while resources for Tools you do not Prioritize will appear far less often
Altar of Ashes
- The Swift Runner: now also makes your Dash immediate (note the faster speed means you are invulnerable for very slightly less time); re-scaled Sprint speed bonus since Sprint is innately faster now
Level Design and Environments
- It is easier to Dash across chasms in Oceanus
- Driftwood resources are more common in the Rift of Thessaly
Menus and UI
- Using a Well of Charon displays your current Gold without the need to check your Boon Info
- The Grasp Upgrade Tutorial in the Altar of Ashes will repeat if ignored
- Added Patch Notes option to the Main Menu (where you can read this!)
Miscellaneous
- Early encounters with Eris are less likely to occur; she also drops something of value...
- Related, if this already occurred, look for a one-time bonus in the Crossroads while Eris is present
- Entries in the Book of Shadows are generally easier to reveal
- You can gift Echo without having to wait around as long after conversing
- Adjusted Animal Familiar upgrades invalidated by the Gathering Tool changes above
- In the Hades Flashback, a hint will eventually play for players who don't realize they are in control
- Improved mouse selection in various cases
- Improved support for some additional controllers
- Abilities that boost Sprint speed display more-accurate numbers (generally lower than before)
- Updates and fixes to translations in some languages
Bug Fixes
- Fixed several issues with Dark Side (Selene)
- Fixed Sun Worshiper (Apollo) sometimes preventing new foes from spawning
- Fixed Fire Extinguisher (Hestia) not dealing damage as expected
- Fixed Sister Blades Omega Attack not hitting Chronos reliably from certain angles
- Fixed Satyr Hoplites retaining the ability to block while afflicted with Twilight Curse (Selene)
- Fixed various cases of foes sometimes spawning out of bounds
- Fixed camera zoom-in getting stuck vs. Polythemus in certain situations
- Fixed cases where you could Dash out of bounds in the Crossroads
- Fixed Fishing Pier events in the Crossroads not passing Whiles like other similar events
- Fixed autolock not clearing as expected while using mouse controls
- Fixed keyboard inputs sometimes getting stuck unexpectedly
- Fixed several input issues switching from gamepad to mouse-and-keyboard controls
- Fixed several issues playing in ultrawide resolutions
- Fixed some visual effects vs. Chronos lingering between phases or after the fight
- Fixed a Melinoë voice line repeating unexpectedly around the City of Ephyra Bat Cages
- Fixed various rare crashes
- Fixed several text errors
- Other minor fixes
Analysis: A promising start for an excellent game
I've already put over 20 hours into Hades 2 early access, and while I've definitely run into a couple of bugs and found some things to nitpick, it's an excellent experience so far that feels more polished than many games are at full launch. The developers weren't exaggerating when they said it was bigger than Hades, and there's more to come in the future, with a promising roadmap that should see at least one massive update with a new weapon and a new location.
This is a solid first update, and it was definitely frustrating to have to pick which resource you'd grab in a run while ignoring the others. There's more than needs to be addressed, but already it seems that future runs should feel less aggravating for collecting things needed for weapon upgrades and cauldron recipes.
