Excitement Abound

Saw an article pop up for this game this afternoon and decided to pick it up. Loved Bastion since way back when it first came with the Humble Bundle. Transistor and Pyre were thematically cool with a great art style, but the gameplay mechanics didn't quite nail the simple pleasure of skewering Gasbags with the Brusher's Pike.

After a couple of hours with the game and a little over ten runs, I can already see that Hades captures that magic again, and has the potential to go so much further. Solid choice of theme and great character writing were a surprising bonus to the classic rogue-like formula of steady interwoven buffs to feel yourself grow stronger, intricate levels kept fresh by procedural generation, and constant trade-offs that keep you wondering if you're good enough to take the risk. The game feels electric. I still haven't made it past the first "real" boss (not sure on the spoiler policy around here), but I'm already excited to bash my ahead against the wall again.

That isn't to say I don't have a few small gripes with the game. The dodge feels clunky, particularly when trying to chain it with the bow or the secondary swipe on the spear. Certain enemies like the louts spawning into their attack animations feels particularly brutal. Controller support and practice may iron out my issues with time, but the game feels particularly punishing right now.
Yet for what few complaints I have, what I really see is potential. I love the spikes and pressure-plate traps in the opening levels, both for the challenge to navigate them and the raw danger they pose to enemies. I love the variety of god and goddess boons, and how some can change your mold your playstyle, particularly how certain boons "solve" certain enemy types (highly recommend taking the Athena 'Reflect' on LMB into the first miniboss). I sincerely hope that as I progress through the game (and as Supergiant continues to patch) that I'll encounter more varied environments, and more neat ways that the game encourages me to tackle them.

Particularly, I want to congratulate Supergiant on what's already very apparently some clever core game design. Choosing variety in your boons comes with both a carrot and a stick. The first few runs, mashing primary attack with the occasional defensive dodge seemed the most fun and effective way to clear a room, and I was accordingly always selecting boons that would buff my primary attack. Not only are you encouraged to take certain "rare" and the occasional "epic" boon that applies to your special or your dash, but it seems continually choosing the primary attack buff gradually removes it from the pool, forcing you to vary your power-ups. I found myself choosing the Aphrodite ammo attack buff on a lark and it was so good that I started shaping my whole playstyle around it. Major Binding of Isaac and Enter the Gungeon vibes off of my experience so far, which I say as the highest praise. Can't wait to try to escape again.

Submitted December 11, 2018 at 07:11AM by DoesThatEvenMatter https://ift.tt/2Eg2czo