Ep. 002: Hades

Supergiant's Game of the Year That Never Lets You Quit

LFG Ep. 002: Hades

The headline position on Hades is simple: Alex and Luke both think it's exceptional, they both ran out of month before they ran out of game, and they are both almost certainly still playing it. But what the episode actually works through is something more interesting than a recommendation — it's a case study in how a small indie studio used early access, meticulous balancing, and Greek mythology to build one of the most compulsively playable games in recent memory. Luke has rolled the credits. Alex has escaped hell four times across roughly 45 hours and isn't close to done with it.

Hades is an action roguelite developed by Supergiant Games — the Austin-based indie studio previously behind Bastion, Transistor, and Pyre — and officially released on September 17, 2020 for Nintendo Switch, macOS, and Windows, following about a year in early access. It has since landed on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, and is currently available on Xbox Game Pass. You play as Zagreus, son of Hades, fighting your way out of the underworld one run at a time through a hand-drawn, mythologically rich dungeon that never looks the same twice. Metacritic has it at a 93 on Switch — a number that, in their telling, undersells it. HowLongToBeat clocks the main escape at around 23 hours, but both Alex and Luke had logged well north of that before the conversation even started, with Luke pushing 60 to 65. That gap is the game. Both played primarily on Switch; Alex also snagged the physical edition, which comes with a small character compendium and a digital soundtrack download.

What the episode digs into is how Hades earns those hours without feeling like it's stealing them. The roguelite loop — die, return to your home base, upgrade via the mirror, start fresh with a randomized loadout of boons from Greek Olympus — is explained in satisfying detail, with Enter the Gungeon serving as the clearest comparison point in the genre. The boons are where the conversation really opens up. Each of the Olympian gods offers different boons that can be layered and combined across every run: Zeus runs chain lightning, Poseidon knocks enemies back in waves, Athena deflects attacks, Demeter stacks frost slow. The duo boons — where two gods' powers interact — are treated as the game's ceiling, and both hosts have strong opinions about which builds actually hold up under pressure. Alex is a tank who lives in the fists (Malphon) and builds around dash-into-attack combos and deflects. Luke built his early wins around Demeter and Zeus stacked together and eventually beat the final boss — Hades himself, a.k.a. Dad — with the gun, which he had previously dismissed entirely. Both of them came around to weapons and gods they initially hated, and both agree this is the game's most impressive design trick: nothing is actually bad, and the early access crowd helped sand every edge down to make sure of it.

The character roster gets its own section of love. Zagreus is charming to a fault. Sisyphus is inexplicably jolly. Skelly is a punching bag with unsolved lore. Dionysus has unmistakable Aussie vibes. And Theseus — final boss area, paired with Asterius the minotaur — is, in Alex's words, the choke point that makes you burn 30 minutes and then start over feeling personally wronged.

Side Quests this episode: Luke logged time with MLB The Show and had strong feelings about the monetization direction of sports games generally. His non-sanctioned media pick was Yasuke on Netflix — worth it for the Flying Lotus score and Thundercat vocal alone. Alex mentioned the Castlevania Anniversary Collection, Enter the Gungeon on Switch, Risk of Rain 1 and 2, a Retro Pocket 2 emulator he imported from China, and Cowboy Bebop, which he arrived at extremely late and is extremely into.

This episode is unofficially brought to you in part by Miller Light — garage beer of choice, can design undefeated, and the only appropriate mid-run refreshment.

If you haven't escaped hell yet, now's the time. Hades is available on Switch, PC via Steam, and Xbox Game Pass, with cross-save support if you want to move between platforms. Find the full episode wherever you listen to podcasts, hang out with us in the Low Five Discord, and let us know how many runs it took you to beat Meg.

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• Rough Transcript

  Welcome, welcome to the low, five pod. This is Alex and my co-host Luke Today. We are talking about Hades, little indie game. Little indie joint that came out in 2019. Maybe 2020. 2019, early release early accesses and I'm telling me the facts dog. Don't listening, 201 access spent a year and early access and then 2020 was the official.

  You know, full game launch release. What I cannot remember off the top, my head, if it started on PC in the made, its way to switch, I believe it did. We was on PC first. I've seen some scuttle butt that PlayStations. Gonna get it soon, right, bitch. I was curious about that dude because it's it's it's done quite well, but it's been, you know, obviously a hit.

  There's been winning a bunch of game of the year awards but it's only on Nintendo and PC. Well, those are the two most obvious homes for indie games. Sure. Microsoft with being the PC they're there, but on the Xbox they're kind of good about that. The most the time they are some, I'm not sure if it's on there.

  I'd be, they should but PlayStation fumbled, the bag because I was actually trying to buy it from them first. So I could just jump from whatever like if I was playing MLB the show or Madden. I wanted to jump to Hades because of the gameplay style loop, we'll get into in a second.

  This is very pickup and play but they didn't have it. So I was like right Nintendo. Let's go right on which I'm glad because I like the hand so you do have a digitally. Yes I'm a crazy person and I bought it physically. He's a collector. He more ASMR there.

  Oh that is the box opening. The cool thing about this though as it does come with a little Hades compendium, as well as. So this is the physical version of Hades. It comes with a digital download for the soundtrack which kind of cool I will not be. That's what it's average farms.

  Petrich farms sponsorship of kids. These days just don't understand with Uncle. Alex is that we grew up with like really cool guidebooks. Yeah, and really cool little mementos that used to come with the physical copies of games and we'll all admit a digital games are dope but we don't get those cool little booklets.

  You don't get the sweet little gamer guides. Even though the internet is the internet. We're not gonna argue against the internet, but sure you're probably here through the internet but the little the little guides you miss the books. Right? So if you get the Hades hard copy, you get this really cool, right?

  This is a small little book at, it's got all the different characters and the artwork for that character. That's just it's just a fun little thing to have. It's, you know, it's gonna sit in my box on my shelf most the time but it's never once a while my busted open take a look.

  It's a little nerd. Booklet has a great nerd case around it, and it's a good time about Hades. This has been, we'll talk a lot about Hades but thoroughly new. Yeah. If you're looking out for some new stuff, you probably not gonna get it out of the fact that we love this game.

  I'm just gonna throw that out there. I think this game was a lot of fun for me to play over the past month. And I'm gonna I haven't beat it, right? I haven't rolled the credits, let our case you game, but I have taken down Hades four times. There we go.

  So I've got a few more to go, I assume and but you have heard the credits. Yeah, and first off killing dad, that's the way we liked. God beating, Dan is the funnest part. We'll get into that in a second. If you and play the game but yeah, rolled end credits.

  Slightly more obsessed with you in. This game is funny at one point in time, you were not playing the game. Very often you were like busy doing stuff and I was like, you're not allowed to get me addicted to crack cocaine and then be like sober and better than me.

  It might offense. I started two weeks prior to you. Yeah, you kind of drove your feet on picking this game. I did and I picked it up fast and I, you know, the game had so much about it on the internet blog spots podcasts and it was, I always knew I was gonna play it.

  And then for some reason, I was like, I'll get to it, I'll get to it. And then you're like, we're playing it and I was like, cool, awesome, meaning to buy it. And, yeah, sweet. And now that partially coincided with the fact that the physical copy had just dropped.

  So I, that's, I decided, that's how I wanted to buy mine. And I also have it on my Steam, like, wishlist, or whatever, because there was a point there where I was, because it has cross-saving ability, right? So I do have a buddy that has plated on both, but when the closer when it first came out, but he was suggesting I get it on switch just because it is the type of game per his words that you just want to lay on the couch and do a run-through.

  And I think there's a lot of, there's a lot to that. I would like to try it on the computer but I don't know if I need to anymore. That's a great game to watch play. As you passively watch or listen to something else. Sure. Like, you know, if you're significant other is watching some TV, watch that with you.

  Yeah. And he's all time or like sports, get ball. I've done that a little bit, but I'll be honest, I think it really has done a good job of pulling me in just by nature of how my life is right now. My wife is a nursing student, so she needs a lot of quiet to do her pretty intense studies.

  So I'll just bumping when you win you but, you know, I'll play this game and I'll throw it, I'll play. I didn't, I typically, I would say 95 94% of the time. I've played this handheld. I just think it like presents itself. Super well to handheld gaming for the switch for it's like a weird thing that maybe it's just me but there's something about the buttons on the joycon and I use a grip that I throw that out there actually.

  I think you hooked it up. Yeah, calling bra. But what I really like and I've noticed with these buttons, it's really easy. Like when I tried playing with a pro controller, the buttons are all the sudden spread out and I'm like, it's fucking up my playstyle. It's what you're getting is that you do a dash into attack and your finger basically slide rolling into a rolling thing.

  I was gonna, yeah, Now I feel that I hate playing games in the car. So I play most of this on the TV, but I do play a decent chunk handheld. And when you're playing in the car and like a road trip, like I have a three hour ride to visit some in-laws that we do and I don't usually end up actually playing the switch, like, you think you would?

  But when you actually sit down and play a game in a moving car, it's like, you don't really want to invest. I, it Hades is not that on the handheld, you just warp speed and I'm there sure. Like three four runs right on them. There is sweet before we get too deep.

  What? It's so we've been talking about this game a little bit. What is Andy's? What is it? Anyway what is the rogue like versus rogue light as in spelled it like Miller Lite appreciated it. But what's a road? Like I've heard, I've heard it described as both, either a rogue light or a rogue-like which are obvious that.

  I don't know if it's obvious, but this is a genre of gaming. That is very specific to what it does. And that is basically a dungeon crawler. Each time you do a run, it's different, right? And you die a lot. So when you die, you start over generated, right, right.

  So, when you die you go start over again. And it will be different than the last time, because, as Luke just said, it's a procedurally generated to be different every time. So each time you enter a room, it's gonna have a different set of enemies. It's gonna look different, the game itself.

  It's worth mentioning that they're inherently indie. Mmm, the first triple A rogue like know of his return on the PlayStation 5. So conversation for another day when us lay both normal, people can get PlayStation, 5's. Maybe we can talk about return all, but that would be like the first big budget game.

  It's usually a construct for smaller budget, indie games, and the most famous, there's Rogue Legacy, which I think is given the name. I think they have a big thing to do. You've been playing a bunch so you can mention a bunch of different types, but the most famous one I am familiar with is enter the Gungeon.

  Mm-hmm. And once again you die it's like you go on a run. That's the best way to describe it. It's not like you're starting. It's like no, you go on a run, you're expected to die. And it's the first time I ever picked up the game and to the Gungeon, my first rogue like, it feels like an arcade experience.

  Like, oh, I'm gonna die like this game's brutally hard. No one ever is actually gonna win. But then you realize that each time you play the game, you usually get something that one, you get better at the game yourself. So you understand different strategies, different things, happening. Different enemies went to do against them, but also the game usually, it is definitely a rogue-like feature, where your character becomes, more powerful with each run.

  Mm-hmm. So the first time you play it, you're not supposed to be it. You're supposed to die. Sure. And then it's built into the gameplay and the difference between a rogue like and a rogue light and I could be wrong here. But my understanding is it is a rogue light is when you get to keep some of the things that you've earned through your progression of the game, right?

  So, instead of having a fresh restart, like in enter the gungeon, you brought up and this I'm actually not far enough to know that I guess there. I don't think he's carry anything in, but you unlock stuff on the overworld right run into on the actual runs, right? For is this game?

  There is a blend that kind of understand, we're going. Yeah, yeah. So into your next run, I think that's when you enter the rogue light section of this genre. But again, I'm not an expert. I just like to play these games but it's like a rogue. It's a rogue like game world, like game.

  Whatever you want to call it. Pick up the people. I gonna know you're gonna play right deeper into it. It's not so much like would you first do a run in this game? You're like that was a fun. 10 minutes and then by the end you're like that was a hearty 50 minute.

  Yeah. It's not a quick endeavoring and you brought up into the gungeon. I think that game probably is the best example that I have. If you're gonna put, you know, apples and bananas here in a sense That is probably the closest game that I've played to Hades, and the way that it's set up, I would say, and some other games in this genre would be, like, risk of rain, is another road like, but that's quite different because that is kind of a side scroller of sorts, but it's still procedurally generated.

  Yeah. The original one and then risk of marine. Two takes a lot of the same elements. What makes it a third person shooter which is kind of cool. The nuclear throne, which is a PS game. I haven't on the Vita, this is very similar to the Gungeon but what it's very interesting about Hades though is that it's not.

  I'm using it to compare to these other games but it's very different than they are and I kind of got into this. So supergiant is the name of the developer behind Hades and previous to hayes. Their big breakthrough, game was Bastion and that game, I got a hold of it during Nintendo's indie games sales.

  So I've put in maybe a half hour or whatever, just to see what it was all about. And then transistor is another supergiant game that I believe came out after Bastion to pretty good review. Like, people are excited about it, but it didn't have the same splash, but it has like a very caught following.

  Now, then Pyers and other one that they did that has been quite successful. But that is only on PlayStation I believe. So I haven't tried that one comp sudden supergiants kind of like a pre-canceled rhyme series entertainment or like you have like this very successful but not mainstreams. Like it is an indie developer.

  Not as huges of a budgets but they have quite a pristine reputation. As those games are all big hits and then Hades was huge. Yes. So it is similar to like, when that indie music scene, blows up to the point where they almost have a validity outside of the mainstream.

  So it's almost like, yeah, we're indie, but we're kind of like a powerhouse. So sure super giants. Got a name to definitely, I would definitely say that that your bastion gave him that name. I feel like Hades like elevated it. The big. They're a big dog now, but it's really interesting and shout out to gaming former.

  They had a pretty cool article in their magazine, a magazines like a podcast, but they write down. Yes. But it was all about super giant. It's really interesting. Just it's a very cool story. Like if you shout out to folks over at triple click but Jason Trier has a really great book and then these just dropped a new book as well that I'm looking forward to reading here soon.

  But in his blood sweat and pixels, he has some great storytelling around various different games and a lot of any developing or any developers seeing the folks, or the guy who made Stardew Valley. And so, like, the reason I bring this up is I just find these indie developing stories.

  Super interesting how you get a group of people. It's not like these big AAA teams where you have hundreds, or maybe even thousands of people working on a really cool game. But you have a very, like, a lean team, right working on a passion project, kind of making something come to life.

  And then when something like that happens and I bring it up because I I would quate those two stories. Similarly I guess a very different but the fact of this they're basically slinging, you know, below their weight, you know, it's and it's cool to see such a success for these people that are really obviously passionate about what they do and have some really great ideas and they're able to bring a title like Hades to the masses even though that maybe the, the odds were against them, definitely is the gaming.

  Landscape becomes more and more validized and just like a commercial success. Essentially, like you can make money off of this. You get those big, mega companies, your Ubisoft's, your Activisions, and all those things. And they kind of, they take up a lot of the air in the room, but now there's a lot more air in general and then you can kind of carve out these niche spaces.

  And then are, you know, when we talked about Prince of Persia that was like a big small game because that's just like there wasn't huge games when that game came out and sure was huge games, it was from like Nintendo, Sega was just beginning then, right? So like the PC is usually the birthplace of these like indie games because they can get their things on Steam or they can share it online and they don't have to go through the publishers, like, in the past, they wouldn't have had to like physically print on disks or make cartridges.

  So, like, it's just this nice. When when the ecosystem is healthy, enough is been trying to get to sure when the ecosystem you can cut out all the rambling, leading up to the point. At the gaming Isa ecosystem has become diverse and robust enough where you kind of have, like, almost like this middle class existence, right?

  Like sure have your true like super edgy? Well, first of all, we have the weird anime trash at the bottom of, like, here's your favorite game with jiggly boobs and it's creepy. We have that on steam, right? We can all acknowledge that those games are there and they're weird but like shouts, how to if you're buying them, I guess someone is and then you have like your super, super obscure indies.

  And now we're kind of getting into this middle class. And I'd say that this game is like a prominent example of like just something, wonderful, absolutely wonderful coming from that middle class. Instead of just like those top-of-the-line publishers, that come out with all your stuff and the duds that come with it and all that.

  But you got this really nice middle class. Sure. And just to throw it back to the whole supergiant thing in the Bastion and the transistor. I can't speak for Pyre, but just sampling. Those two. Little games is really interesting to see the elements that they brought on into Hades and then maybe that the things that they also changed, all these games are very different, but they do all fall into this rogue like genre, but they're not the same, they have a lot of different cool qualities to them, some of the things did carry on.

  If you're familiar with bastion, it's very narrative driven. So there is a there's a narrator that's a lot of fun to listen to that kind of as you do actions in that game will will narrate whatever's happening. It's it's pretty cheeky and it's, he's got a great voice, but you do see a little bit that in Haiti's too.

  It's not as much. It's not as overt, but there is a narrator that speaks to your character on certain things and actually, it's fond of things. You do right. Cool. So that kind of thing did carry over and I thought that was seeing this to play those two other games just to get little snippets of what they're like to see what super jump doing before Hades.

  But one that they did differently. And, you know, I shot it out to Game Informer and the in this article, they're talking about how a super giant prior on Hades did their first early access. Yes. Right. So they based in that, I think plays a good heavy part into why this game has been so successful.

  Yes, early access for those who don't know, aka you're probably a console gamer. It's something that all companies should be doing. Because if you haven't noticed with like new games coming out, CD project, reds cyberpunk being the most glaring. And embarrassing example, they're shipping us non-finished games. Mm-hmm. And then, as we play it and complain and figure out everything's wrong with it, they fix it.

  They apologize. And like, sometimes are these big releases. The best time to buy a game is like a year after it. It's releases. So on the PC it does allow especially because we're talking like all digital sales like the steam and just like the player base behind it you have early access which is like the developers are basically letting you in on the process and they're like this is most of the game we're just working on it and we want your feedback and it's actually really cool and it has led you'll hear us talk about this later but it has led to this game being insanely balanced.

  Like sure, you get power-ups in the game. No, powerup. Feels too much overpowered compared to the other and you just don't get that in a game unless people have put hundreds of hours into it, helping develop it almost. So it's like it's like opening the door, the fans by it, usually at a lower price.

  Mm-hmm. And then you kind of get in on this experience. And then you can kind of watch the game, grow, they respond to your feedback and then the game launches as a whole complete product, after all of that. Sure. It's like what it would have been a QA team of X amount of folks is now thousands and thousands of people that have access to it via early access.

  And therefore it's can be a very powerful way to to really polish your game, you know. Yeah, absolutely. Polish. Probably the best way to put it. Like you're just kind of those finishing stages where you're sanding everything down in the fans know exactly what the fans want. Sure. Right, so they'll help you up and so I will say thank you to everyone the dinner really excess because I got to play a very polished, awesome game.

  And the experience was phenomenal. This is been a lot of fun to play and there's a lot of illness to go into that. And I think that a big part of that is well, it's, it's, there's a bunch of pieces of the puzzle, right? It's the artwork is beautiful.

  The music is super fun and awesome. Yeah, but then the storytelling is great as well, right? And it really plays into this, the way that it works. You couldn't do in a TV show, or a, or even, like a regular, like, start to finish video game. Like, it works really well with this.

  Rogue-like rogue light format that we were kind of talking about earlier. Yeah, and it's really cool, and it's like something you realize, as you're watching, it happen. And it's like, very, very fun. But you're just like it's built around the gameplay loop. So, most games tell the story and it's through cutscenes, or it's through your actions and you're just kind of like, okay?

  Like and this is the point where I'm going to sit down the controller and they're gonna give me a hideokojima 20 minute. Cutscene sure it's a movie kind of broken up with like game. Whereas, this is very much built around the gameplay loop. So, very basic spoilers, easy to get out of the way.

  You are son of Hades Zagreus. Mmm. And you are trying to escape from the underworld. I think we cannot mention why that much you can figure out because it's kind of fun in the beginning hours. Like, we went into this talking about what we did and didn't want to spoil and like unraveling different things in this game was like the most gratifying part.

  Sure. So even before you quote, unquote, beat the game, which is escaping from hell, like there's progression, there's always progression. And like, there's little bits and pieces of storylines, as to why you want to escape, and what your escaping for and like your characters even finding that out, right?

  I think it's rolled out over a decent chunk of time. Like, I don't think I was, I think it was probably 10, 10, 12 hours, in before I was starting to get into some meaty parts of the story, but it didn't feel that way. It did not give me some paste.

  It is beautifully paced and it's it's fun to do it. Now I have not rolled the credits. I have not beat the game. I will say this. That there are a series of different bosses that you fight in each of those runs. And I died the first of which is megara, who was one of the fails?

  Is that right? Yeah. I mean, serious face fear furious? Yeah. And she, I died. Like probably seven, not probably took me seven six or seven runs before I was able to beat her and now I'm you know, now I beat her pretty simply or pretty easily almost every time that defines one.

  Yeah. Yeah. Every once in a while, the death of science is part of the game. So like when you first start, you only get one death and when you dye you're done, right? And as you unlock things over time, death of appliances are one of them and the death defiance makes it so that you regain half of your health after a death, right?

  Worth mentioning that you're in. Like one we die. You're like back at the beginning and are greeted and hell in the dude was hypnosis just constantly making fun of you. Yes. And always referencing what it was that killed you. So like when it is mag that killed you, he has something to say about it or if it's just like a pretty easy enemy he'll be like wow, you must have fallen asleep there and you're that's a pretty solid hypno.

  Yeah. He's pretty sassy but yeah, continuous sorry. Oh no. I mean basically you know what? I just wanted the to speak to was these choke points, right? And as you as you progress, and get better at the game and start to unlock certain things like the playthroughs become easier.

  Like it's not, I wouldn't say it's easy to escape hell, but it becomes easier becoming powered over time. Totally yeah, through things like boons which are basically gifts from the gods that empower your character in certain different ways and all of the gods that you encounter offer different boons each.

  One of those runs you'll get a things different things. Offered to you keeps a load out. Yeah so you should pause for a second there to clarify. It's like a load out. So every time you start, you start fresh, you pick your weapon, you unlock different weapons, you're always unlocking something in this perfectly.

  Explain all of that, but like you're always unlocking, you're always leveling up. It's very cool. It's very gratifying. And even when your run sucks but you still can chip away at something else on the homeworldness so to speak. So the bones, are you start off on your run and you're basically a blank slate and then think of it's like adding to your loadout but it's always randomized.

  So you drop in and you're like okay who's the first God? I'm gonna run into the first boon and like let's say it's um let's say it is Poseidon sure. And then you'll get to choose between three of the side and spoons and it can be like okay every time you attack you hit a little wave and it knocks your enemies back like with the water beside in the series or like Zeus.

  It's like a really cool chain lightning attack so you never eventually, you get to a point pretty early on. We're like you could choose between two to three doors and it's like, okay, you're gonna get a Poseidon boot in that room. You can get a the hammer Do you remember?

  The hammer is called sho, but you have these balloons, think of them as like a loadout, they give you some sort of buff or empowerment or power up, however, your gamer swag allows and then you eventually you clear a room full of baddies. Obviously, each level has a mini boss and its main boss and then often after a while you're usually choice, you've given the choice between two doors and it's like, hey, here's 25 plus health on your total health or maybe it's a hundred coin or, you know, it's one of your jewels.

  Yeah. Are some jewels hated gathering those or it's just like, the different gods. So the different Greek gods in the pantheon on, Olympus didn't mention this in the story. You are trying to escape hell. And the whole idea is that NYX creator of the night lives in the house of Hades blah blah.

  You'll get all that but essentially she has reached out to them and they are trying to assist you and because it's not their domain, there's no way for them to assist you. So they're able to send you and communicate with you in these brief little snippets of time. So that's kind of the gameplay and how it melds in with a story.

  So over time, the game doesn't awesome job of like mixing and matching the abilities. You could try to build one, God's power-ups, like, Zeus's pretty obvious and stuff is mainly around like them bolts. Sure. It's his vibe. So like, you know, towards later in the game like you can get this stuff where it's like, okay, well Poseidon and you most of your moves make waves because it's got see.

  And then there's even these duo power-ups where it's like the waves, knock away your enemy, and then a lightning bolt comes in. It's right down. And like that's where the game gets fun because you're mixing and matching and that's also an element of rogue like and likes. We should have mentioned is it's like you're always giving these power-ups but you're not, you're given some choice, but there is an a random element to it.

  So enter the gungeon you have these chests and you can get just the most god-awful gun. That's a joke, right? You can get super powered. So Hades is more balanced and better in the way or you're always getting these bonuses. And they play into each other and like, a little bit of it is off.

  Your hands are off the wheel. Like, you kind of, just got to take what you get totally. And that actually, that is so probably half. So I put about 40ish hours in and it would probably took me a solid 20 hours to be like, you know what? Like I actually am just gonna roll with this instead of avoiding like like aphrodite, for whatever reason I was like I wasn't into her boons at first, didn't think they held me that much.

  But them on my first time my first like complete run through my first escape beating dad aphrodite. You played a big part of my build because I just embrace some of the you know some of the bones that she was offering. So I had this bill that was a lot different than what I had been typically seeking out prior to and I think that really speaks to your point of this game being super balanced, because you can actually escape or do a complete run through, no matter, which boons are given to you, right?

  So you might have preferences, you might have favorites, I have favorites. But you can use just about any of the, the loadouts, you know, that they're giving you to to win this game and be successful with this game. I'll get into some of my favorites later but I do have to say a similar story real quick bouncing off a year is where I hated Artemis and I thought she was a joke.

  As far as she's a cool guy. I like her story and all that right at all and then as the more I got in the game and the different strategies, he's actually one of my favorites. He's pretty good, build your stuff around the cast, I got us of the hunt, right?

  Yeah. If you build your stuff around the cast like she has ones were when they get dislodged from the enemy, they take damage on the way out and then you can find those with all these different fun things. It's a good point. This is a good part to mention that you have.

  One, two, three, four, five basic five basic like button uses or whatever you have a regular attack, a super like a special special attack. So regular attack special attack a cast, which is like a magic attack basically a projectile. Yeah. Yeah. It's like it looks like a little gem.

  You throw at people and then the different gods will change what that looks like for right. But yeah, in general, the base one is like a little projectile that you shoot out, sure, fourth, fourth being a dash which is kind of like to use the end of the Gungeon example.

  Again, it's like a role, your Dodge roll, you're momentarily. Impervious? Because it's not a bullet. Hell, like some other games, where you have all the lights coming at you. Sure bullets. But there are there is a lot of that. A lot of chaos on the subject of balloons and gods.

  I used to not like Hermes either but Hermes is really dope as well. Yeah, because you can sometimes you yeah, exactly. Like late game. Go like the totally him. God's Emily like when you're ready for the niche ones but yeah. No yeah. So it's like so you have that then the, the last like major button.

  Well I think the R button will open doors or grab an item or whatever unlock a box or whatever and then the other one would be R2 or whatever we call that on switch. ZZR whatever they do whatever they trying to be stop. Oh yeah. But that one will do if you unlock it via a boom from a god.

  It basically is a special, right? So our two, like it's your, it's your call. Yeah. Oh yeah. So you call on the god's powers, whatever that may be if you have taken that one like once again Zeus there's Latinibles right everywhere that type of thing and they and they're all different and super fun, I don't know.

  I think it's worth stating that all these characters are drawn beautifully. They have awesome personalities and the voice acting that went into. This is, I think it's super awesome. Like another polished gem gem conversation around, it has like that hand drawn. Indie art to it, which you will see in Bastion in transistor and probably pirate, which I haven't played, but so it has that super giant vibe and they brought into this game and it's just, it just works so well.

  Maybe, yeah, and that little booklet, we were kind of talking about that came with the physical copy on the switch. Like, you would want to show off those character models. They look really cool, right? So then even one of my favorite things to do on the early game is when I got two different levels.

  So you have, you know, your different levels of health. And when you stand by the ledge, it'll overlook to the little hand drawn with a little bit of motion to it. Yeah, it's super cool landscapes. I just gorgeous. So like all those little fine details and then the voice acting, I am anytime a video game podcast has ever talked about mocap or voice action.

  I've just here, but this game when Zagris the main character, son of Hades who was trying to escape from hell, when he is interacting with people he is so charming. Sure. Totally. You want him to date your daughter? I swear. He's just the nicest man. No, he has like just the calm, his voice.

  He's like overly sweet to people like even when he's being, he can be a little angsty. She sometimes as well cheeky as well, but it's almost in that little nice. Nice, little cheeky wink with it, too. Like I know I'm doing this but like, he's a great protagonist. Yeah, it's super fun to play us.

  Like you very much vibe with his character because I don't know about you, but whenever they give you choices in games as to, where are you gonna be a dick? Are you gonna save the person? I'm always like, God, I got it. I gotta save the person and, like, get the person at the bottom of the well, and then like listen to their stories, say the princess, say the princess, and then the good and the games, when they give you the option, just be ruthless to the person.

  I always am like, so hesitant sure when you don't have the choice, it's a higher character asks, but they if they access pleasant sure as aggress and the voice acting is just super cool like doing throughout every single character. Has a very like you get an attachment totally. Because I kind of forgot to mention it with the gameplay loop, every time you come back, everybody has a new thing to talk.

  It keeps you moving? Because they add little bits and you're also, I think you meet, who is it? Achilles is in hell, right? He gives you a book or something, some sort of weird book that you are essentially. It's like the Pokedex. Yeah, basically basically that's a nice way to describe it, but he gives you that and they're supposed to be like, he is supposed to have written all this stuff in this book already.

  But you kind of unlock that information, right? And as you continue throughout the game, like if you take just to use achilles again for an example, every time you talk to him, it might be the third time or the second time or the fifth time, but it might add another line to his his pokedex.

  Yeah. No. Absolutely. And it's really cool and you find stuff in the underworlds or mm-hmm. Hell raised by Catholics. But like think of like a Greek underworld is not everything's hell. Like there's a hell. Hell portion of hell just like yeah this game is like the the opposite of Dante's Inferno.

  You're working up instead of down right? Watch that recently wild. But yeah, you just keep discovering little bits and pieces. They give you tips. There's a mirror back in your room that Nicks gives you that that gives you powerups those death defines as we talked about earlier, you can save up enough of the resources you find on your escape runs and then we'll just gonna call it the run zone.

  Yeah. The homeworlds, when you're back at your home base, you can add to these things. So you can get up to, like, three death defines super help. That's, yeah, that's built into the game. Like, at first, I felt guilty, like, should I have these and like, no, they yes, 100%.

  Yeah. Yeah, I want more. Yeah. As many a second, they are helpful and but I would also just say like again with his voice acting it makes you and the storytelling. It's all very connected, but like you end up caring about everybody's story and they all bring a different aspect an element into this overarching story and they all have different things going on.

  And it's like this very like I'm hesitant to call surface level because it's not a service level game but when you first approach this game, you might feel that it's somewhat surface level, right? But then as you keep just kind of making your runs and learning more about it.

  These characters you start caring about them like Achilles and Patrick please, you end up finding that they're lovers and there have been disconnected and you're trying to like figure out their story and how you can connect them again. It's like actually I think I might have just burn that one for you but Orpheus it's so tired of his deal but recently you know, fixed that one.

  So, yeah, you have you have this big goal right in the medical is basically learning about everybody, right? You have this big goal of escaping, hell though, and then you just have like that micro level, you have all the little things. So, the game does such a good job of like, they're always keeping you plan for some reason other.

  This is the gameplay loop itself, but then there's like, I want to go on one more run. Sure. Because I want to unlock this thing, or I want to go on one more run because I want to see what this character has to say, right? So they're always pulling you in and it's this little snippets but it's like juicy enough where you're like, I am willing to burn another.

  Actually, I do more that runs in about 30 to 40 minutes but still, that's a chunk of time now they're getting they get beefier as mentioned before at first, it's just pick up and you're like this, just fun ten little minute John and then it gets the point where you're you, unlike return.

  All you can pause the game. Oh sure. Heard about save and return to it. So like in every pause and then you also have the option of quitting. So like if you quit it saves at whatever room you're in you can go you have to have cleared the room but you can go back which is nice feature like a save scum situation, right, right.

  You it's very fair honorable, there are so many cool characters in this game. And as we're saying the arts, beautiful, their voice works beautiful the storytelling's great who are some of your favorites right off the bat. Sisyphus always just love. He's just so jolly to see you. He's pushing up a boulder for all of eternity and he's like I wasn't a good guy in my life but it's always like he's just so happy Skelly.

  I'm a big Skelly fan. Have you unlocked the like Skelly's? Final endgame thing. No, you can kill him or something, but he calls you boil and that's always just kind of funny and then Zagris is Sure exagger is so charming. So cool to cop out, but like everybody with Santos and even Thanos a little bit Thanatos.

  Yeah, he's just so edgy all the time. So angriest leaving us. Sure. And he's just so, I've been brothers, they're like some weird brother connection, right? Yes some yes. How about you? Oh man, I like them all. Like that's like an easy an easy answer, right? But they all right.

  Yeah, sure. But I will say that I agree with you. That Skelly is like, kind of funny is like this dumb little punching bag thing that helps you like, figure out what things your web is gonna do before you start a run, but he over time, becomes a more interesting and he just has some good jokes.

  I would have to say Dionysus like his, the voice actor. But iodizes, he's just like this chummy. Like he's the god Australian or something. Yeah. Partying. And then really is gonna be a good, right? And they nailed it. Does the things he says, like, what is he always calls?

  A, he always calls. Aggress like I don't mates Florida, like he has a he has Aussie Bites to him, right? You have for some reason, but he's fun. He's like, I don't know. I really like I don't and I actually do like his balloons as well. So like so that's a plus, You get to pet the dog?

  Yes. Cerberus, the dogs. I mean, like it's cool. The three-headed dogs was and it's fun because like, hey, like Hades treats him. Like I treat my dog, You know? Like it's, it's his actual dog. Like, if he loves the thing, he's not wanting to Hades is like the dad.

  You want the approval of but can't God. He's such a dick and then Achilles is like the paternal father. You do? Sure get. Yeah, he's like very calm and like mentored zagris and zaggers clearly looks up to him in such a positive way and he helps you out. So I like that too.

  I would set to say for some other characters. I think Meg was a strong like, first boss to meet. I think that her like, there's this crazy like sexual tension, doing her and Zagrias, right away that I picked up on. You said he didn't for a while, but he said it's there.

  The internet screamed at me first. Yeah, yeah. For sure. But it's interesting, you know, and I think like so there's it's because you don't get too much and then there's these layers and it's over time you end up carrying more about these characters. But there's a boss. So, like, even the relationship of like, how you're fighting them is really funny, which I'll bring up, {asterisk} the bull the Minotaur.

  Yeah, I was gonna say him too. I always calls you little on. Yeah. It's almost like a I like him. I'm interested to see because, you know, I haven't rode the credits yet and even once you do that I know that there's still more to to like I'm pretty sure you can keep digging into these characters like arcs and everything and but a stereus is, this bull is a minotaur, right?

  And for whatever reason like over the course of the game, like I'm like, is he gonna be like best butts? He has a lot of respect issues. Funny cuz right fights with DCS. Greek king. Don't have long story, but such a stoner. Yeah, such a boner such a like an 80s jock boner of a boss and then so it's just really nice played off where he's was like, oh this idiot has entered the arena to fight us and then mysterious is just like he is an honorable foe.

  Please stop taking him so lightly and you can fight him as a mini boss prior to that fight to all the time and it's, you know, it doesn't always happen. No it doesn't. But you do it a bunch, it does have. Actually there's one time where he's like this is so much fun and it's aggress is like is this this is fun to you.

  Is there nothing better to do that? I might have something to do it and then you just start fighting love the characters. That's like kind of the fun part of the game of you're always. They don't give you too much at once. I feel like a lot of games, they empower you with all the freedoms at once.

  Now, sure exact opposite would be like breath of the wild. There's like right right. Whereas like that's an amazing game obviously, but like, this is cool because they just dole out, little bits of little bits of stimuli for you. Get your little get your little serotonin drop in a different way.

  Each every time. So there's always like I have, you know, capital G gamer on this one. I got the end credits already and it's cool. I'm gonna keep playing like cuz there's little things I still want to figure out and unlock about the world. So there's so much. So yeah.

  So this game, it's interesting, right? So like you have all these characters who were talking about. You also have a set of different weapons, you unlock over time. I think there's one, two, five, five buttons and they're all very different and you do get a pretty quick. Yeah. And they're all but you can super different which is been really fun and actually the game does a really good job of getting you to at first, to be honest.

  I like I figured out that I liked Baratha which is the eternal spear or whatever. So there's a spirit, I would like played pretty well and a lent itself to my play style. So I really enjoyed that. But then I started to realize for whatever reason. I didn't realize that first just running too fast, whatever but you can, what is the stuff that it basically?

  You get a bonus? If you choose the weapon that they're encouraging you to choose to let? There's yes. When you're looking at your gallery of weapons to choose, you have the five there and there's like a glowing and there's a bloodthirst sun. The easiest way to describe it is just the in-game currency.

  As far as how you upgrade stuff, you get 20% more of that and it's just one of the ways. This game gently pushes you to try the different playstyles and not just get stuck on one so that's a huge one and then the different unlockables you get for feeding each boss at each stage of the game, you get those per weapon.

  Yep. So like if you're only playing as the spear you're not getting the different remarkables, like the diamonds and the Titans Blood. And so the game doesn't are pushing them. So I actually also loved the spear first, but I stayed super true to the bloodthirst. I always really tried to which I moved to that strategy as well.

  I always trying to keep it. There Interesting, and I think La soul is run through the weapons. Quick. We have Stigias which is the sword. Then we have Barato, which we start with beer. Yes, start with the sword. So it's like your weapon or whatever. Right. And then you have ages which is a shield that you can throw and you can also actually use it as a scrape names.

  Yes, sort of comes up in the game, you're just doing the most. Yeah, you core knocked which is a bow and arrow and then you have marathon which is basically like a set of like boxing gloves slash claws like chains on. Yeah. Depending on the building. I'm going with it which I think is also interesting.

  So like the the look of all these guns changes as you like the chamber. Sorry. Yeah. And yeah. So the last one we'll just get to that is actually graph. Which is a adamant rail which is basically a gun. Which I first I was very triggered by I know.

  I remember I was like like the last weapon whack, I have locked it before you and I was like just wait till you get this thing cuz it's pretty powerful. Yeah, and then you're like, what is this? And I was like, just my first dub, was it your first win was with that.

  Oh right on with the the spear. So it's my first. It was the the weapon that I enjoyed playing with the most but then I I went in that same strategy of doing the bloodthirst whatever the game was kind of nudging me to use but then I started to get really good with the the gloves of mouth on or whatever they're called the the Claudius that we're talking about and that's actually like those subject themselves perfectly to my playstyle.

  Like I go in there as a crazy tank like I like close combat going around dashing super fast and those gloves are perfect. I thought I was gonna get my first one with the gloves. Did you like the shield? Ah, I'm like the real person. Like, hey, so it's interesting because as time goes on you, like, as you start to play with these weapons more, you start to figure out what you can do with them.

  And it's like really interesting because I was just saying that my playstyle is like a super tank playstyle, but if you are using the shield that you can do some of your attacks in the same manner, as the as the gloves where you're like, really close combat and etc, but you can also have the ability to throw your shield pretty far, right?

  So that like Captain America, right? Right, then you can start playing around with like, well, maybe I'll stay on this side of a river and like the enemy can't get me out. Hit him with my shield that type of thing. It's just really interesting and then you have like, I'm terrible with the boner but like if I had the patience for it, maybe I'd be okay with it.

  But like if I was good at like, just posting up and trying to hit people from afar, but this is not how I play the bow. I remembered announced the day to listen, hammer gives you like a modification to your weapon. So the bow, if you just hold the tack instead of having to draw it back when you just get the steady, the steady fire never have to reload just.

  That's kind of nice that makes it way different. That just makes it the same as the, the X graph, the gun, right? Except for you don't have to reload. That's not as you can. And then with the you unlock different stuff about the weapons over, I'm just kind of think of it as like variance shipping upgrade.

  It's general ability. Like it's based but you unlock different variants. So, like the way you throw, your shield might work different right on and, like the way the gun fires might work different. So there's just so I would have to look it up, but I have two wins with the fists.

  One win with the spear and I can't remember. We're not. So do you have a to this day or you just pretty balanced, or do you have a clear favorite? All right, those fists, for sure. There are, I've done it with a few different build-outs for the fist, but there is one in particular that pulls the enemy in towards you.

  Which and then and then, as I do my run, like I just make, I use the deadliest hammers, a couple other things, more liberally than I would with other weapons to just make zag super strong and that has worked out to my benefit especially when I start using booms like week, there's also boons that allow you to deflect.

  So like if I can get my character to a point where he's deflecting attacks, also making people weaker then I can just tear things up. I so with everything and that goes back to the balance, but with everything I always had, such a sure way that I thought you should definitely play when I so I used to build everything around the dash.

  Hmm. Because I was always moving. I was like in a game like these and a road like I've ever played, it's just like move, which is kind of how I played. Yeah. Right. But I understand that, I don't, I shouldn't all the time. There's that. But it's also like, I was building around the dash so much and like, you a lot of the attacks are a lot of the dashes.

  When you empower them, there's an attack element to it. So sure, you have the deflect one, but also like every time you dash a lightning, bolt strikes, right? Every time you dash, she does leaves pool of drunkenness, for that one's so dope. I love that was cool. It's got graphics.

  So, I used to be super obsessive with that and the razor that you get from. Yeah, guys are actually probably but yeah, the more you play the game and the way that it encourages you weapons and also encourages you to do different builds. Sure. Like for example, the sword, one of the upgrades to swords, you know, when you lodge a cast in somebody, you can knock it out.

  So I'll build my whole build around the idea of like trying to find ways to make those casts, is powerful as possible and then the knockout process and gathering them is easy as possible. And I'll build my entire playstyle around the different boons. I'm getting very strong on that strategy.

  So like, at first, just like I hated Artemis and Hermes. At first, I hated different types of weapons, or I preferred the spear and I preferred. The shield still don't like to fuck with the bow, but I do it with the bow good for you. That's yeah. No, it's harder.

  There's the variance. Make it cool. Sure. Yeah. You unblock different stuff with a Titans blood, it'll make it way more. I've heard it's the best from some though that's just well, I think if it's if you're with if you're the type of person that is has the patience and enjoys like because I think that's just like, I like I've already said like I play like a tank, right?

  Like and I'm well aware of that and I know that that like I mean that's very similar to how I play a lot of games, you know, that's just my playstyle usually, you know, got time for patience. Yeah, pretty much so. But if you just have a person that really enjoys like picking people off from a distance if you're like into shooters and stuff then you might really like using the bow for a for a build out that I'm because as you're as we've been talking about these different builds, you know, I guess super stoked when I start to get a build that one will upgrade my special because I'm kind of a dash special kind of guy.

  I like to hit dash special, then hit regular attack throwing some casts like attack. Exactly. So if I can get, if I can, if I can upgrade my my special, that's great. If I get an opportunity, where your attack will increase your HP. That also has done some really great things for for my runs.

  There's another one, like your special kills. If you kill someone with your special, you get some HP. So, any of the boons that allow you to get some HP from from defeating or attacking enemies health is not an easy resource, right? So like I love those ones glass cannon.

  I also like we were talking a little bit about them with the booms that are do some sort of attack element as you dash the drunken pool deal. That leaves that like a hazy thing. They'll give people hangover is what they call it, but I think it makes them slower and maybe I think they lose some health that type of thing of the razors that you get from Aries.

  But then you can dash around and kind of leave this path of chaos behind you which is really helpful. Especially if you're like, we're talking about that minotaur the Astrius earlier like he's a bull so he bull rushes you sometimes you so yeah. If you, if anybody's chasing, if you're in a room where you're getting enemies that are chasing, you like that's a great strategy to use.

  Those are my favorite boom builds, but then you also have to add. I think I mentioned this earlier, too. But any boon, that will give you a deflect is also really nice. So on my first win, I can't remember. I think it's maybe checks Greek mythology notes at the one of the most.

  Yeah, I was gonna say it's, you know, rough. Yeah. Those are usually around Athena's. Yep. So she has a really cool one, she has a couple different variants of it. One shows up as you dash, and it will hurt an enemy unalter deflect, which is really tight. And then if you couple that with a couple of Hermes deals, so Hermie has a thing.

  I think it's called, I don't know if it's steady or basically, it makes it. So, you run faster. And then there's a moments afterwards where you your character basically they just can't be hit, right? So if you're just dashing all around, like they can't be hit by. If you're like, dashing all over the place, it's super hard for an enemy to hit you.

  So like I like to build all those things up and kind of just go around and create massive chaos. Yeah. And that's, you know, we joked around when you're talking about, how you like the button layout, it's almost like like one, right? The other. There are times. I found myself.

  Like I'm straight rollers. There's a, there's definitely like it. Dash hit dash, hit it. Probably looks like your button hacking. I know, it's crazy. Yeah, but yeah, no, you're you're, it is chaos. It is fast-paced. You got a room, you know, essentially Asian counter was just a room full of bad guys, that you got to clear and there's different variances.

  But Poseidon, is one that I hated for a long time. But actually, like, we start to combine a lot of his things together. Sure. And that's, that's true with everybody. Like, so the Athena you can deflect. And then also, it's like a deflected attack. Also exposes a foe. Mm-hmm.

  And that leads to this. So, like the game one encourages you to mix them up and read because it's not gonna like tell you that. So like it gives you notes. If they give you a little notes, if you start reading those notes, you're gonna get a lot better at this game and then sometimes two gods show up.

  So you'll see a boon for Zeus and then there'll be two dialogues because Poseidon will come in. And that's when you get those cool, I find those just to be fun because there's a luck element to it. Sure. Because you get the same type of general choices to choose from but they range in rarity.

  So if you get the really rare one, even if you don't want that ability, you're like oh that's that's just makes it so much strong. I know. I usually go with the most powerful, boom. Like a lot of times between two but there's there are certain elements where it's like I'll go with one.

  That's just a regular one. Yeah, I don't want it but it's like it depends on where you're at with like you. I have found myself starting to make choices on like where I'm at my run and like how much money I have. And like all this other thing because then I might I know that if I choose like there's everything opportunity to go into a room that is gonna have two gods to get two booms for my ticket because that's gonna be that's gonna upgrade my person two different deals, not on level three.

  What do you mean? It's not ministerous. That's one of the Rings but the third level before you get out, the final stage before you get out like when I start to run into those pick a god and then you have to fight the one. You don't choose like right a little minion and they're hard, they can be hard, which is why if I'm later in the game and I'm like preserving health, I'm sure.

  I'm just gonna go for the lame door over here. Yeah, take this lame normal. Live, another day. I probably done both but I generally, it does depend on what my health bar. Looks good. I know that's just don't want to burn a death totally and it's such a gamble because you can get those refilled by Patrick Lee's or whatever or you can buy them for like 200 coin or something like that.

  If they show up the worst is when you roll in they're like you can buy this death finds but it's really you'll be like short, 20 coin and you really could use it but it's funny. You like open up the dial and then like Zeger should be like, well, really could have used that money now.

  Yeah, there's this time I was like sweet death to find. So then I ran towards the door and I saw I was about to get the free replenishes. I was like, I hate everything. Yeah, check the door first. But yeah, I mean, even if you have your favorites once again, unlike un Gungeon, you're never gonna have like an unlucky or a bad sure.

  You're always gonna be equipped with something that makes you slowly powerful. I love uritus. I love how she gives the things that either upgrade. The rarity of your bones and over all of your bones, I think those are really fun choices to make and like depend build and yeah, I guess before we're done talking about favorite god.

  Builds Demeter needs to be mentioned. She's like this goddess of the season. She gives you the frost stuff. Yes, she actually was a big help in one of my first wins and yeah, one of her cast deals. You can like, drop these laser shooters. I used to love it.

  I did. I do, I have moved away from it because there's other things, I like more, but that was really helpful for me. That actually is the the boon that made encouraged me to start using my cast more, how funny because I used to not fuck with the cast at all because I was like, oh but then I realized it would be really helpful.

  And then like with hers then I realized she she does frost which slows down your enemies and like, to almost being frozen and there's a lot of buildup. Like if you layer this much frost, there's a frost explosion that it's the area. So a combination of her and Zeus are literally how I probably won my first three right on.

  And my first win was with the gun and I didn't feel good have to complaining about the gun. I was like I can't believe I got a homie that only plays with the gun. He loves it. Yeah. Well if you can stand away from Hades, I mean and he's got you gotta stay away from dad.

  So if you can get some separation, sure the guns and I'm not at a point this game but like my buddy, Tyler, who plays? He had me do a run, a quick little run through at his house when I was over there and he's I hadn't even unlocked the gun yet.

  So I was kind of fun to like, try it on his, but he's progressed so far in the game that because you can go in and you can tweak all your weapons before you start around two. So like, basically, it was like unlimited ammo. I was able to write off the bat, shoot three of the, it's like, grenade things.

  So like it was, it's when it's powered up, it's powered up, that's with all the weapons. But like, it's pretty gnarly. The only thing we didn't talk, we've been talking a lot about the bones, just weapons, little baby. There are game that I horrify that. If you haven't played the game, you're like, so they're talking about what the heck.

  There's weapons that do these five aches which there keepsakes what I wanted to say. Yeah. What's like a comparison and a game where it's it's a power-up based on like it's like in a game if you wear a pair of earrings you get this much and you get to get get one pin.

  It's like a pin. Sure. So if you're thinking a hollow night fans out there, how you can only select one pin or a certain pin slots like in this, you choose one for run. I'm trying to think of another game but can that's time. That's kind of like how you it's the only part of your loadout, you can control, right?

  Is the best way to put it. And I think early on is super helpful, too, because one of them you get from, and you get these from the different characters. By giving them gifts, man, this game is so deep, so there's so many elements. I'm like, dang, we've been talking so much Charlie?

  Yeah, and that's yeah, but I will say the two that were most beneficial to me and I mess with them all because I'm a weirdo. I want to upgrade them all. Yeah, that's another piece you slowly upgrade them by clearing. Yes, they call it encount, so, it makes it keepsake stronger over time.

  Yeah, always pushing you to keep totally. So delightfully addicting game totally, but one really strong one is from Skelly. It's a tensive like a tooth, maybe even Skelly's tooth probably Skelly's tubes. But anyways, that gives you an extra death of Pines doesn't I think it's only 25% of a reload on your health when you use it, but nonetheless, it's nice.

  Cerberus gives you another one. I think it's his his leash or collar or whatever. Yeah, that one gives you an extra 50 health, that was a game changer for me at the beat. When I was first starting to play this game, that extra 50. I was like, oh yeah, his was early on.

  I used it all the time because in that mirror I briefly mentioned in the 50 million things we've mentioned, you could do on your little home area on the mirror. You can you can increase your base loadout. Mmm. So like you can start with way more health. So when you first start, I want to say, you start with like 50 health.

  Yeah, it's low. And yes, you get wrecked and then do so. When you can break the pots to get little health, So that's yeah. Real real quick with Scully or yeah, Skelly Scully. There's a lot of mystery around his character. Like, he won't tell you who sent him, right?

  You're he's there to train you and your weapons. So when you switch between your weapons, you can see what you're new abilities are. And he's just a training dummy like in any game but there's so much mystery and he's always playing koi with you about who sent you, right?

  And you ask other characters about him and they always act like bro. What are you? Are you insane? What and this is pointing is really emo and he's basically wants you to kill him. Yeah. But did you catch it? Hermes caught you wear in the tooth. He's like, he's like, bro.

  I know that. But how do you right have that, right? That might be my the last mystery. I need to figure out here, right? Saving Scully, putting them out. But anyway. Yep, cool. I mean, like so there's much you favorite. If you say they do a lot of, there's the ones that do a bunch of different stuff.

  I do find and you'll do at the opportunity to switch up here keepsake, at the beginning of each level. Yeah, which is nice to because which back. That's right. So that's it's tricky. And it's it makes it adds to the strategy of your plate in your run-through, your build.

  So what I found myself doing is I will I like pick one because I'm trying to upgrade it and use it and learn it. And then when I get to the last level, I'll switch now to the typically, I'll switch to the collar services collar so I can have that extra 50 hit points because I've found that.

  I used to go between that and Skelly's death opines but the death of Pines only I want to say gives you like 25. It's just not enough hit points. So it actually gives, you know, isn't it? It is a percentage built up your health over time and I usually trying to get at least going into the end.

  So like whenever your calc us. Yeah, so I would didn't go with the hit points and I'll switch it up there. So there's another little pro tip for anybody. That's like he finds a choke point at the last level, and if my dad, you know, switch, it switches that we got it.

  We got to mention choke points first, yeah, yeah. This game all of the compliments that just keep going in balance, patience, pacing. All those things about this game in the varying playstyles. It's like this game is also can be described as a series of choke points and that's what in my opinion makes a difference in some of the Rogue legs I've played, or you do get better in rogue legs, but there's just other things out of your control in the most part.

  Whereas in this game, you feel more empowered. So like when we first ran into Meg, Meg was just wrecking our stuff. Yes. Even the mini boss on the level one. I want to say, I died to them. Yeah. Mini boxes are tough and they still can't be tough. Depending on what you're load is in the game.

  The game hits you with so many variants. You're word and be like you thought you fought that many boss and then when you beat the game, there's this whole mode that they add to. It will not soft beats when you first escape you roll those credits you rolled no no no.

  Oh, you talk about the first. When you first, you know, when you first beat dad, when you come back, it's like you have these different factors that make it harder but you get different words, select the games. Once again, giving me things with the choke points. There's definitely a very strong one for me.

  Anyways, was Meg, it's basically all the main bosses, like the biggest one for you, cuz I know who mine was. I know who pissed me off the most honestly, probably, it might have been Theseus. Oh, you see just cuz like he's such a dick about it, it's because it's like, that's he yeah.

  Talking about it and once you get that right, you've already probably put 25 to 35 minutes into your run. So when you lose to him and ask yourself this like oh man, really I got to do that again and it's the two of them. You're right and you don't and it's every single time.

  Who do you? Usually try and take down first. Oh, you heck cuz you know no spoiler there but mysterious For those you there's a there's a good reason that you should take down the bull first so just do that. I typically do that out of all my runs that I've encountered those two.

  I always to there's only been one run where I took down Theseus first, and I did it on purpose because I just wanted to see if the story would change. Oh, we're no, but it's almost always beneficial to be. Yeah, that's there. So totally totally. But yeah. I mean as we wrap up our thoughts, we had a brief conversation before this.

  Where I opened up saying that? Like this game has been more meaningful and rewarding in 60 hours to 65. And then I've seen the generally, I creep on other people's playthrough stuff like sure both on Steam and Nintendo. I love that feature. I do the same. I don't think I've seen anybody who plays this game, that's under 60 to 80 hours.

  I think it I think. Okay. Like, like, you know, we'll see. We'll see with you. We'll see with you if we can get you to 60, but I bet we do about 45, and I've only got four. I've only had four escapes here. So on a run because you've cleared.

  So, just like this game, Red Redemption 2. I think I like this one more interesting as far as I expected as much out of Red Dead 2. Whereas like this just hits you from. So just great class, right? And we picked up this game after the hype. I would, I would say you we knew we're going in and I both of us are also have it listeners to triple click podcast.

  Shout out to future for having readers a kataku and polygon. Yes, well, and as many gamer sites as I canceled, my my ish was infantry with Hades. Yeah. So I had been, I have been consuming most of my Hades content from the triple, click folks, and they are head over heels about this game.

  And with good reason, I think. So shout out to you guys for recommending this game and for not spoiling it too hard and I hope we didn't spoil it too hard for our listeners but I feel like there's a lot in there to take in engineer but yes so like I look at these games I've played and I'm always playing on some sort of game and different games have different ways that hit.

  So like cities skyline is become a huge piece of my gamer life but like that doesn't have the same gr location. It's sure ballpark, right? So this game is like, if Animal Crossing wasn't what it was last year like it's just not fair. Like it came it released on like the date of the pandemic and like was right.

  Brought people together. Everyone is screaming, you have to stay indoors and not Animal Crossing was the game. Like I can help you, hang out with my friends. I'm here. That's about hours of that again. Yeah. No, like when I, you know, if we have children and they what was the parent, dynamic, 20 like my head's just gonna, Oh, So again, they're not even close sure.

  Any other year, for none. If you're purely objective reasons, this would have been it is just which is awesome because it's super giants in Indy develop? Yeah, it's like an indie film went in the Oscar and then, right everyone and everyone being happy about it as opposed to like, watch this film.

  I haven't like, I can't wait for this game to get on unleashed on Xbox and PlayStation. Assuming that happens someday, it'll have another resurgence. I'm pretty sure like, there's no way so good and it feels so fresh and it feels so new. Even if it's like we're talking, we're comparing it to other games that it's definitely built up off of.

  Yeah, totally. But it just feels like such it's out. It was a watershed moment. Yeah of gaming. It kind of feels like that especially for like the indie scene, very validizing moments. So that's my soapbox. I really like this game. It's cool. I had to make a list you I kind of cracked joke at you, you're like it's probably one of my top 10 games of all time.

  Alex is top seven game. Last. It's probably 42 games. Pretty much every game remind you, but we can, if we can be fair to ourselves and we can capsulize different eras of gaming, and then there's some games that transcend errors and that's like Ocarina of time. Sure. Right. Or like, even breath of the wild, like not to be too Zelda specific, but that's just my list, right?

  But this game, at least, I'll say at the least within the era of when I'm looking at this stage of my life. If I were look at games that were the most fun, the most influential the most gratifying, it's it's up there. Yeah, I would have 100% recommend this to anyone who enjoys like I have.

  It might be ending it, it's annoying. I don't, I try not do that with games, but I've been like upping people's business, You should play this game as well. The training, the tricky thing is a lot of the, you know, the market is just that there's a lot of folks that have PlayStation and Xbox console gamers.

  Oh yeah. They don't have a PC, or or that's what I've run into is, I've told a lot of folks about it, but they don't have like, maybe they don't have a switch or they don't have a PC, but, no, I would actually absolutely recommend this game. I think it might be a step above, like, the casual gamers game, but if you're someone who enjoys video games and just enjoys like, Greek mythology, like, there's nothing not to like about this game.

  It's like the Witcher 3, Alex. You can only play one. Now, what do you go play, dog? That's really amazing. Alex is real baby child. Is that you play this game is? I've got back into the winter. Yeah. Like cool which is dope. Dude, if you made me choose between the two, I probably go which are three does of like the Witcher 3 and choose this but I feel you.

  No, that's cool. I 100% feel what you're saying? Yeah, I mean, if you force me to choose, I have probably. So that's a good witch of three, but it's tough. Man. I do think this game is, it's, it's definitely, a recent favorite of mine, and I am excited to see what happens over the years.

  Like, will I really will? I return to it, like so we don't have the context of time yet, right? But in the immediacy bias of everything, right? It's probably the coolest game I've played in the last. Sure. It's not done a huge, it's knocked on a huge barrier to a whole genre.

  I know we did a terrible job explaining the road likes, but it's kind of hard though, right? When describing this game and like, talk, the talk around return. Well, I've noticed her and you're not talking to some nerdy niche, gamers. You're like so roguelike and then you're describing the word, you're using to describe the games.

  You're like, well, then there's randomly procedurally generated. Like subscribe that now. Yeah. It's like, but it has opened the door for me. Like there are so many games that I've been playing congruently all with this game, not nearly as much time, but it's, it's been a lot of fun to dabble in some, some other games that are in that genre and it's it's quickly becoming a, a very fun genre.

  Like I think that you know, it's it's just like I will look at someone's releasing world. Like, I'll be very tempted to play it now. Yeah, so the combine, our last two points, I think it's pretty easy. Yes. Well, you can playing, I am a little bit ahead of you but I still pitched and it's just so easy to pick up.

  Sure the day not maybe on your bra, not that investment to get into the game. Mm-hmm. And then. Oh yeah.

  Wow. So, public commercial, I think open We are recording that. So this week's assist, nobody asked for this sponsor of the week Is Miller, Lite. Dad beer of choice. This is what you do. When you go to liquor store, you get your shit beer and you get your good beer, I ain't rich enough to do all good beer, you gotta mix him with the shit beer, I guess, garage beer of choice.

  It tastes like slightly better than the other ones. I mean like like the can Miller Lite. I like the can be original the original light. They spell light different to be edgy room. I mean, come on. So you get here you get your 12 pack of your fancy stuff you know your dad beer extraordinary you know your hoppy stuff that you eat drink and then you you know you get your garage beer, you need you need a side a garage beer at all times.

  That's all I can't hate too much because if I was truly gonna pick a dirty beer, it'd probably be next Maddie life. No, no be all smoothies. Bush lights. Yeah. But, like, over Miller, If you're really about the garage cabinety style, Kevin beer, right? But that's like a visitor to the cabin if you live at the cabinets.

  Miller land, I'm a brand guy. I have a allegiance for if we're not Anheuser, but it's gonna have to be hams. Yeah, hams over Miller all day for emotional purposes, then I'm that I'm going to grain belt but like, scrambell doesn't. Yeah, yep. Anyway, that was shout out to other beer company.

  If you want to sponsor this, that'd be great life does do a bunch for podcasting. So if you, if you would have just start off like heck, yeah. What a great garage beer, brother? We could have been sponsored. But here we are begging for money, though.

  What else do you plan on the side? Well, my plan on the side. You go. First. He's gonna clear out for old man, ran. Yeah, right. Yeah. But I'm gonna be the show. We have a fun history of em. I'll be the show together because we're PlayStation. We were a PlayStation family.

  We'll see about the five, but up until that point, we've been a PlayStation family, since the two and MLB the show is always been an exclusive. And like there's a time that you came back from Spain. I was a senior in high school. So you lived at home for a little spell and we had our created character.

  That was your guy, but I had a pitcher and your guy was a hitter. So I was like, let's just both play and then we were like perfect and we played for hours and it was so goofy. Is hidden danger, just hitting bangers, feeling bases. And it was just funny because I'd get home and you'd be like, back from work or vice versa as to whoever got home.

  Firstly, all right, would you do when you'd be like, alright, four games about two home runs and like it was just as fun back because type of sports gaming can feel a little bit solidary. The sense that solitary that you're just not on your own and you're he got with.

  So That's the Jolly part. So I bought the new one and like, I've just come to the realization. This is topic for another day, but like, video games aren't starting. I'm the target demographic is no longer me. Let's get no, bro, I'm gonna be 29 soon. I now have the disposable income for the target demographics.

  Between me, just wait. Until I fully fully bring you into retro game, right? Right. Maybe that's why you collect these games because there's an old man from the mountaintop being, right? I don't know. These kids are into, but look at my library. Understand my complaint here is generally that like the things that I've gotten really annoyed with in sports games, they're doubling down.

  Hmm. And they're just doing more and more, so it's like that ultimate. Is it monetization? Or is it clearly? So there's like an intense. Clear amountization tied into the gameplay so it's like your ultimate team. So you like unpack packs of players that you can earn technically, but you'll be like, I have Albert Pujols at first base, I have Willie Mays and center field.

  And I have Derek Jeter at shortstop sure. But some whales somewhere spent a bunch of money. So no matter how hard you play, someone's always better. And now it's kind of tied in so you can upgrade your characters overall. But now that you can bring your main character into those online modes, we can okay, that changes the way you can upgrade your character because they don't want you to have super overpowered characters and this is happening and this started in 2K because 2k has such a lively basketball like scene with these ultimate teams and with these like different modes, where people like to play as their players on these modes but that made it we're in 2K.

  Like, okay, now you have to pick a player archetype. So you have to play like one tie a style of play, which is kind of cool for those modes, but in my career mode, I want to be an overpowered mic trout. Sure God, right. Like I want to throw the ball a hundred miles per hour and have filthy break on my breaking pitches.

  I don't want to choose between the two so they cap you out. It's coming as they cap you at certain abilities and you have to pick in like increasingly frustrated with the direction. They're going. But I'm still buying it. So like great protest to me. Yeah, great protest on day of release.

  What is tough because I mean the, I mean, they, they may be incremental, but like the graphic updates, are they make? And like the quality of life updates, I assume and some gameplay sick, right for all these games and like, I'm just Amanda problem, right? So it's like you know like back when I was playing a lot of Madden PlayStation like early on you know you play it and then the next year they drop a new one and you're like well I guess I'll buy it because you get the new roster which is ridiculous but you know, in a five-year gap there's major changes and that makes sense.

  But right. But then now that gamers want so much different game modes. Get attention over other game modes. So Madden just recently due to fan outcry, has finally started to re-update the mode. I care most about which is franchise mode. They've been putting everything into the ultimate team stuff.

  So once again, I'm just an old man from the mountaintop bark and Mario was all about building up a team and managing your sailor recap and just a nerdy stuff. I like in those games the games are clearly not being built for me and they're giving less and less time into the sections of the game.

  I like so it's just kind of this interesting moment where like gaming has grown so much and I sure I've grown up alongside all alongside somebody. These things that you are the things that you like about the games, maybe becoming more niche and like you're casual, or not even casual, but you're like Avid player of.

  Yeah. And like, you know, teenage kids, probably love that type of stuff and like, my buddy Kev loves ultimate team and he says, I'm just grumpy old man. I don't like change and then I should try it out. And I was like, no. See. But for me, like, if I haven't played a Madden or a show, MLB the show or even 2K for two cases, I played more recently than the meals other ones, but I purely go into those games for dynasty mode, basically, where you are, you know, that's like that.

  That's what I enjoy. So, you'd be out, right? So that's me, MLB, the show in Hades and I'll continue playing Hades and kind of with with waffling between two cool. I will pretend like I played Final Fantasy 7 I said on the last pod and oh yeah again it didn't save this battle, I did and I was like I'm not doing that again.

  So I just deleted it. Okay, I had enough. Sure, hate. That one of my playing man, I play in per usual, like a kind of jumping all over the place. I've been putting the most time into Hades. Obviously, outside of that. I've had, I've been getting slightly better and having longer bursts and getting further into the gun, super similar to Hades.

  I tried to get you on. I tried to put you on a few years ago. I don't this newfangled gameplay style, right, so I mean, that was part. I think, actually I downloaded it on Game Pass on a PC and that was I know you had been singing as praises for a long time and it was as their.

  So I was like, I'm gonna try this, I liked it so much. That was like, I need to get this on my switch, I just switch game. Yeah, so it's been great on the, on the switch. So I've been playing that Probably the most outside of Hades, but they're both very similar.

  So, it's interesting like it's like, do I want? Don't want Haiti. Don't. All right, so I go back and forth between those two. I've also been enjoying risk of rain one. Chris arrange 2 is title because I about that physical as well. So that when you pop that into the switch both of them pop up.

  So like I'll dabble in both but I prefer I'm a little better at one. So like I prefer it we should link up the two sometimes. Yeah, I've got a motivation to play right on. Yeah. Outside of that, the Castlevania anniversary collection. So I have never played through a full Castlevania game, but I dabble dabbled in a lot of them.

  So, like I've been firing that up and playing some of the different Castlevanians season 4 dropped on the 3. Oh, yeah, that's right. I know I watch episode Netflix right on. Cool, sick. That has been a cool series. I'm looking forward. Rewatch from the beginning though. I'm not. So that's a YouTube sword, bro.

  You got this. Look a little synopsis, or whatever. Right outside of that. I picked up a restaurant pocket two, which is a Chinese emulator device that I had imported from from China. It is cool, man. It's interesting. Like, I mean, I know that there's a lot of stuff around, Ross and stuff.

  I do play with them. I play with them for older games. I think it's I also collect for other games so specifically, like Game Boy and stuff. Be fair. He owns these games to have the legal right to run but it's it's a lot of fun. So this retro pocket two is really cool.

  I've been having a lot of fun kind of tweaking. It's called retroarch. Some people call it retro art. But you know, tomato tomato, whatever. Thanks for that ASMR moment. Yeah. So it's cool because you can like not only there's different versions of this retro pocket too. That you can buy and they all like are meant to invoke a different style and play era.

  So like mine is it looks like has the same buttons colors and color of the old Game. Boy. The original DMG Gameboy, right? So invokes this nostalgic like yeah, yeah, so it invokes that bit of nostalgia that you don't typically get from a lot of these other emulators devices.

  So I think that's really cool and then so the there's different emulator programs and retroarch has a bunch of things. They're called shaders, they basically set it up so that you can tweak the visual display to make it look like you have scan lines, or to make it look like a.

  If you're playing a Game Boy game, you can switch it up. So that the screen looks like an old Gameboy screen. You can also switch it up to the game. Looks like an old Game Boy, pocket screen. So that's like these weird like little nerdy things that like just really for me.

  Like, even though I have a pretty massive Game Boy collection, like I do find myself, like, kind of just poking around on, on the different ROMs that I have for Game Boy, as well on there. And that's been a lot of fun. And it's also like like trying to decide if I should get another gameplay, which is a problem that I have, I can give it a little test run on the ones that I don't have.

  I get a little test run to see if it's a game that I will actually enjoy, playing sure. So, yeah, no, it's been cool. That's kind of the things I've been playing amongst other things. You brought up the Castlevania anime, so I just have to give a shout out to Cowboy Bebop as well, not a game.

  But that's another thing that I've been on this past month. I'm probably on episode eight or nine way late to the party on that one. But I'm actually a super fun. I have a little list so you know, my last season assist, nobody asked this sponsorship. The non-sanctioned sponsor of the week would be Yasuke on on the Netflix right on, not amazing, but like great to good.

  Yeah. Black samurai Japan based on a real historical figure but also taken in some very non-real mythic mystic ways. But I think what you would like the most is that I'm flying. Lotus is the producer. That's cool. And the theme song has flying lotus. Produces the music or is also producer of the show composition so all the music, okay?

  Just the score of the show. That's cool. And then Thundercat oh really feature on the so produced by Flying Lotus beat made all that and then singing by undercut. That's super dope. Yeah. It's like the coolest theme opening of. So there's the check that out. There's your last non sanctioned sponsor.

  So there you go. Miller Lite. Netflix, Who else did we shout out today? Some other people sent us that money. I'll rep your stuff so hard. We're gonna get an email, take down your podcast. Like I like how the one guy was real appreciative of our garage beer vibe, but the other guy acting like he's above.

  Us is the problem and I'd be like, ah, no, you should see the neighborhood. He lives in Alex basically has a twisty mustache out here with windbreakers on all the time. I don't know what's going. Yeah and with that this go out get some Hades in your life. It's super fun.

  Follow us on the social medias at low. Five gaming, hit us up on our discord. What else? I started up a. We got a subreddit now that you can join if you like or everywhere so you're gonna be everywhere. So no drug says pizza. All right, till next time y'all peace.

  Lo-Fi gaming is a studio. Low-fi production. Our theme music was produced by AJ Norman. And our shore was designed by Studio day job, independent podcast and would love. If you supported us by listening subscribing and sharing us with your friends. Visit us at the five, gaming.com

  You.