Super fans of Hades will soon get their first chance to get their hands on an early version of the game’s sequel soon. According to the recent update from the developer Supergiant Games, the team is “close” to launching Hades 2 in early access, but before it does, the game will have its first “technical test.” The team didn’t specify how long the technical tests will run, but we know they will “begin shortly,” via X on Tuesday.
We’re getting close to launching HADES II in Early Access! A key step prior to that is our Hades II Technical Test, which we plan to begin shortly.
If you’d like to be considered for participation, you can sign up right now simply by clicking ‘Request Access’ on the Hades II… pic.twitter.com/BfAqWxjixP
— Supergiant Games (@SupergiantGames) April 16, 2024
As its name implies, Hades 2 is the sequel to the acclaimed action game, Hades. Just like the original, Hades 2 will be an action roguelike adventure set in a mythological underworld inspired by Greek mythology. You’ll fight with some cool swishy weapons. Die. Fight some more, maybe in a different place this time. Die again. If you’re lucky, you’ll get to flirt with a shockingly hot character. Overall — its approach to story, gameplay, and art direction are looking a whole lot like Hades — which is very much a good thing given how well Hades pulled it all off.
The biggest changeup will be its protagonist. Instead of playing as Zagreus, Hades 2 will allow players to fight as a mysterious unnamed character known as the Princess of the Underworld. A description of the game touts a “bigger, deeper mythic world,” where the Princess of the Underworld will fight to vanquish the forces of the Titan of Time and will wield the god-like powers of Olympus. We don’t have a ton of information on new gameplay like weapons, but trailers and game descriptions so far have said she’ll wield witchcraft and dark sorcery to fight.
According to previous updates, Supergiant Games plans to release the early access of the game in spring 2024. This technical test will help the team identify and solve issues that it missed up to this point, and help ensure that the early access version of Hades 2 is as polished as possible. Supergiant Games has stressed the importance of user feedback plays in its development process, so if you’d like to be one of the early pioneers of playtesting the next Hades game, well you can sign up for a chance to do it now on Steam.
