Following a technical test a few weeks ago, the much-anticipated sequel to 2020's universally acclaimed rogue-like dungeon crawler Hades is here! Hades II is now available on Steam in Early Access.

According to the developers, Hades II already includes more environments, foes, and fully-voiced characters than the original game even though it is in early access. The game has also shipped with "Deck Verified" support which means it should run great on Valve's Steam Deck.

Hades II focuses on the immortal Princess of the Underworld, Melinoe, taking on the sinister Titan of Time. Everything is once again rooted in Greek mythology and we can expect a new endlessly replayable experience with "deep connections to the dawn of witchcraft".

Quote From Hades

Why Early Access?

“We designed the original Hades for Early Access from the ground up, and the same is true for Hades II, our first-ever sequel. We believe everything about this game benefits from ongoing feedback, from the balancing to the storytelling.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We expect Hades II to be in Early Access development at least through the end of 2024. Given the nature of Early Access development, we don't have a specific end date planned at this time.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“We expect the full version of Hades II to include a more-complete, more-polished set of features and content in comparison to the Early Access version, along with Steam Achievements and the true ending to the story.

During Early Access, our plan is to release a Major Update every few months containing new features and content, followed soon after by patches to shore up any issues. We are looking to release the first of these Major Updates later this year.

An in-game Development Roadmap provides more context on where we're at in development and our current priorities.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“Hades II in Early Access already has more environments, foes, and fully-voiced characters than the full version of the original Hades game. But it isn't complete, and key areas, characters, foes, narrative events, and systems are still to come.

We have been actively working on the game for more than three years already. For our Early Access launch, we wanted Hades II to be far enough along that as many players as possible could have a good experience right away, yet not far enough along that it's too late in development for us to act on the feedback we receive.

You may reach certain points in the game where it becomes clear that you've reached the end of the current content. Furthermore, various interface screens, HUD icons, and character art are still temporary or work-in-progress, along with various other aspects of the presentation.”

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“Depending on the duration of Early Access and the scope of additional content we add to Hades II over time, we may raise the retail price at a later point.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“Much like with the Early Access development of the original game, we will be actively monitoring feedback from our player community as we continue building and improving every aspect of Hades II.

Our official Discord server, linked from the game client, offers a place to leave feedback, and we will also be checking feedback here in our Steam discussion forums, and wherever else we can find public discussion about the game. We expect to make many changes and improvements inspired by our player community, and reflect these in our patch notes.

Furthermore, players may improve this game simply by playing, as anonymous gameplay data can optionally be transmitted to us, which we plan to take into account while making improvements. The combination of our impressions as a development team, feedback we're hearing from our player community, and gameplay data we're collecting from players all should help us form a more-complete picture of how we can make Hades II the best it can be.”