Hades II early access begins today

The gates of Hell are open to all (on PC at least).

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By Ash Parrish, a reporter who covers the business, culture, and communities of video games, with a focus on marginalized gamers and writing about the intersection of video games and sex.

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The wait is over: Hades II launches in early access today. The game was slowly rolled out to select players during its technical test period that began last month. After that testing period — in which players got to experience the game’s opening area, fight the first boss, and meet a smattering of new gods and characters — early access grants players an in-progress build of the full game.

According to the Hades II FAQ page, this early access build contains “as much content from day one in Early Access as the original did.” Supergiant Games wrote on its FAQ page that it will implement several major updates during the early access period, which will expand story and gameplay content while addressing player feedback.

Early access will be available on Steam and the Epic Games Store. A console launch is planned for Hades II, and Supergiant will share more details on that at a later time.

I’ve only spent a tiny bit of time with Hades II’s early access, progressing past the first boss and into the second area. I won’t share spoilers, but the new area is pretty cool, with a markedly different vibe from anything I remember in the original Hades. I did not play the original Hades during its early access period back in 2017, so I’m excited to see the game take shape.

This post was originally published on The Verge