The System Behind Hades' Astounding Dialogue

[@DanatronOne]

Fun fact: Hades has exactly 19,597 lines of dialog. 120 of those belong to Charon.

[@diestormlie]

[Groaning Noise]

[@AcediaIX]

Hhhhrrnnnggggggg

[@arbiter6859]

Gnhhhhh fahhhhhh grrrr dyyy

[@rizkyanandita8227]

Classy guy.

[@asterV3]

W h a t

[@D9992.]

As someone who is progressing incredibly slow in the game, I really appreciate how I get roasted in new ways almost every time.

[@susannam3923]

same, I have 40 attempts and only got past Meg once, it's getting embarrassing

[@D9992.]

@@susannam3923 you have nothing to be embarrassed about. The controls are quite challenging and if you are a non gamer who likes games like me, then you will need your time to get around it and develop a playing style that suits you. In my case I started holding the controller in a weird position so I can spam attacks to get through lol. Also, I tend to get overwhelmed too quickly in encounters once the number of foes increases to a degree in the same room and that can be really hard to deal with. So take your time it's worth it, and every time you die you get to have some cool chats, so it's all cool. Sorry for the wall of text though

[@ink3539]

This is something us slow players have over people able to single-run this game. WE GET ALL THE BANTER

[@D9992.]

@@ink3539 more banter more fun 👏

[@donteo508]

@@D9992. Trust me, there is no rush. Actuallly, i'd even say you're more likely to enjoy the game playing it slower than you would other games

[@velocivoid7974]

“Thirsty For Thanatos” I’m dead

[@NickiRusin]

lucky you

[@ivyrose7204]

@@NickiRusin *wheeze*

[@MudakTheMultiplier]

So's Thanatos.

[@rainesjupiter7308]

i am deceased

[@zeldahyrule3127]

Yeah Thanatos x Zagreus is such a cute ship

[@Monsamune]

I think my favorite line was after I chose a trinket for my next boon to be from Ares, but Hermes showed up first and was like “I bet you were expecting someone else huh?” it just stuck with me that the herald of the gods was faster than the games priority system

[@emblemblade9245]

I got something like that too today. I was trying to max out the keepsakes and switched to Aphrodite’s, but I didn’t necessarily want her boons at the moment so I went to a Hermes door instead. Hermes then told me “Aphrodite’s running a bit late!”

[@cylnder]

And i love how after a fair amount of hermes butting in you trying to get a certain god from keepsakes he asks you if you want him to be silent for a while

[@rainboi5920]

for some reasons god keepsakes do not work in asphodel

[@Camnose]

@@rainboi5920 because thats when hermes starts to show up and he can override the keepsake to show up at the time hes supposed to in the run

[@rainboi5920]

@@Camnose so.. he just outran them?

[@ChozotheBozo]

I think my first experience of this was with Hermes. When I turned on the in-game timer, he commented on it. I turned the in-game timer off and he had a separate line for THAT as well. I was just astounded that they had not one, but multiple lines about something as niche as a few game settings that I knew this was something beyond special.

[@Pr1est0fDoom]

Oh wow, I never turned off the timer again! I'm turning it off on my next run for sure.

[@lhmsc]

For me he commented when I activated only the move speed + attack speed pact of punishment trait.

[@tobistein6639]

@@lhmsc I haven’t touched that one yet! It seems kinda OP lol But I’m only at about heat 9 with my best weapons (shield and bow), so I’ve got time before I have to turn it on 🤣

[@lhmsc]

@@tobistein6639 I'm still at heat 5 and I always use it cause it gives you 3 heat for only 20% atk speed and move speed increase. For me it's one of the easiest ways to get 3 extra heat.

[@ryanb846]

How do you turn on the in-game timer? I'm on Switch.

[@noahaist9401]

Damn, I never even considered that you could just never speak to certain characters. What a difficult situation to account for.

[@Nemamka]

Literally nothing would fuck with my brain more than that, I came here to roleplay and progress the story, I even run around the halls looking for ghosts to listen to and double-check if anything else has appeared to do..... now nectar-giving and romancing are different, I prioritized among characters based on my resources, but still :'D

[@dig8634]

@@Nemamka I once got a second dialogue option without doing a run in between after entering my room and going back into the main hall, and ever since I have always gone back and forth double-checking every character to find more dialogue. Never has happened again, though you can always check the "employee of the month" poster again, Zagreus just doesn't say anything the second time.

[@Nemamka]

@@dig8634 oh gosh yes that too! and ever since Skelly said to write things down... well alright no need to tlel me twice I start every escape with a whole agenda :'D

[@Starfloofle]

I love contemplating the blatant absurdities in possible player behavior haha. Back in one of my projects, (fire emblem-based, for those who know the series) there was a character who you could recruit from a neutral team, but *technically* wasn't required to be recruited. You could just completely ignore her when she showed up or just never trigger her appearance condition at all. The side of the map she spawns on gets destroyed at some point and if you never recruited her she has an entire event where she would run away and auto-join you, and an extra bit to the scene if you never broke the part of the map that would normally reveal her. But my favorite part of her recruitment was that she had a low enough constitution that characters in the party could rescue her, aka *pick her up and carry her around* before actually talking to you. If you did this she'd actually trigger a conversation and confusedly go along with it for a bit before asking to be let down and that she kinda wanted to join up with you anyway, and if you still don't let her down she grows increasingly desperate over the next several turns before eventually giving up There was even an alternate scene for her recruitment proper if you for some godforsaken reason kept her rescued the entire time, because the chapter ends with you running off on a stolen boat and you basically just kidnapped this girl without explaining why LOL

[@emblemblade9245]

TAmari Wow, I’m curious what parts of the programming you need to manipulate to make her comment on being Rescued like that!

[@mumble3535]

My favorite line of dialogue in Hades is "Hello Asterius. And the other one" Because I've been listening to all of Asterius' dialogue, but skipping Theseus'.

[@marigolden_mariposa]

wait, are you saying the dialogue changed because you skipped theseus' lines???

[@bye1551]

​@@marigolden_mariposaunfortunately no, Zagreus will start saying it after Zagreus has fought Asterius solo enough times. It's to signify that they share some kind of formality if not friendship by now where he simply hates Theseus.

[@bandawin18]

I like whenever you're about to face a fury and Zagreus will say something like "I bet it's Alecto this time" and when it's Megaera or Tisiphone he just says "guess not"

[@ethalis5649]

Can we take a second to admire how perfect Meg's voice acting is ?

[@JamesOfTheYear]

Vocal fry simulator

[@russellstringer5470]

[ASMR, Unintentional] Megaera calls Zagreus a crawling worm not fit to lick her boots

[@fairguinevere666]

I was vaguely interested in the game until I heard her voice which immediately shot it up to the top of my queue.

[@hypersapien]

My friend cant stand her, says she has too much "mouth sounds", to which I replied "all speech is mouth sounds".

[@MizuFujimori]

Everyone's VA is fantastic

[@chmpnz]

I found out that Thanatos had a specific line for when you encounter him using his keepsake, which if you don't know, is an item that buffs your attack after you clear a room without taking damage, and his specific dialogue in that moment was advice to let him take care of all the baddies for you, so that you don't take damage and therefore will buff his keepsake. Mind was blown. Favorite game of this year, if not of all time, just because of its attention to detail like this.

[@nataliegoodman4131]

I had that dialogue earlier today!

[@taps_lock]

Got it as well but proceeded to get hit since I wanted to best him haha

[@Acefdiamonds]

That's not even the craziest one imo

[@SuperMiIk]

He's so goated 😭

[@ShadowSans666]

Imagine Zagreus not getting hit while winning the competition. "What? You told me not to get hit."

[@veraeroes]

one thing I love about Hades is that it never feels like a chore repeating runs, 50+ hours in and I am still discovering new things in the gameplay and narrative. it’s really interesting to see how the dialogue works and adds to this!!!

[@Laezar1]

I'm 140hour in and it barely starts feeling repetitive, and by that I mean it start feeling like most rogue like I play just to get a quick game in, except it's the best of them. It's truely amazing how it managed to get me so hooked for the long that I ended up playing less of it cause I only wanted to play it while fully focused on it rather than what I usually do with games like that, playing a video in the background or something.

[@eljay1321]

For real!!! The only reason it ever "felt" like a chore to me is my hands are just terrible at using controllers for long periods of time. Otherwise, I'd honestly be playing the game the whole day. Finally finished the true ending today with more or less 70 hours and I'm still thoroughly excited about the side quests in the prophecies as well as seeing how all the different boons interact with one another!!! The narrative plus the gameplay are tied so well together, it's amazing!!!

[@r.c.c.10]

Well, for me the gameplay really became repetitive at 15 hours in. The story I just never got engaged. I don't think the story is great either, anyways, it's just more like simple varying conversations, but it's ok.

[@BenSKG]

Cannot believe there aren't any comments yet on how cute your Cerberus-ified dog portrait is

[@redacted5035]

Lol? There's dozens

[@dick_mor5780]

I just don't like those dogs.....they're mean. There like chihuahuas but.....more

[@ninkoudux]

there is though.

[@steverodriguez123]

The are whippets, sooo cute

[@PrettyGuardian]

I give it an A+

[@jedfromyourlocallibrary]

Asterius really does deserve better.

[@MamboCat84]

Let us give Asterius gifts!! XD

[@hypersapien]

That's a DLC i would pay for.

[@FlickTakFlakAttack]

@@hypersapien What's that? A THESEUS DLC? Right away! :D

[@semidecent4395]

@@FlickTakFlakAttack He would steal the glory like that

[@edarddragon]

HE DOES!

[@ezrawalker]

I have been in awe of Hades' dialogue over the last 90 hours. What a triumph. Incredible video and immaculate art, as always.

[@PeopleMakeGames]

Thanks so much :)

[@tobistein6639]

Try 140 hours 🤣 Definitely my GOTY

[@Vrais23]

I'm coming up on 60h and I haven't heard a line repeat even once. It's like a living breathing world with real people. Perfection.

[@ananmaysahu4563]

@@Vrais23 and they do it all with like 3 animations per character

[@rumplstiltztinkerstein]

120 hours here. Still getting new lines xD

[@merakkin]

I love how we can all get along and say that we hate Theseus

[@suakeli]

The Ship of Theseus dilemma: if a ship is gradually replaced piece by piece, does Theseus still remain a piece of shit?

[@swenpai]

All my homies hate Theseus

[@pufflemaster348]

I mean Theseus being the worst is taken directly from the source material

[@laurenbastin8849]

I have a love/hate relationship with Theseus personally... in that he’s such a piece of shit that I love him, and I love that he and Asterius are an item

[@Xervolmao]

@@laurenbastin8849 item?

[@lunaumbra5179]

I maxed out my relationship with Dusa first. I just adore her shy loving nature and the way Zagreus treats her. 💕

[@Hermaniac8]

I'm just a little bit sad that she's ace because the idea of getting sucked off by a floating gorgon head is very, very funny to me.

[@auntvivienne8669]

She’s babey

[@michaelbotha9207]

Why I have crush on floating gorgon head that clean house 😑😐

[@princessthyemis]

@@Hermaniac8 what?! Is she asexual? :D That's AWESOME, dude, what are you talking about?! Representation MATTERS! I'm ace!!!!!! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

[@GITANO_COSMICO]

maxing dusa myself. i just love hearing her speak.

[@Lucarioguild7]

Games like Stardew Valley and Harvest Moon could learn a LOT about how to do dialogue right from Supergiant where relationships play such a crucial role in the gameplay loop

[@ArariaKAgelessTraveller]

In Stardew valley defence It was made by only 1 person For music, character art, dialogue, etc

[@Lucarioguild7]

@@ArariaKAgelessTraveller Don't get me wrong SDV is incredible, but much like it's influences the dialogue can be a bit rough at least Concerned Ape has an excuse Natsume definitely doesn't lol

[@sonicfraisheya4028]

@@Lucarioguild7 i mean, rune factory still has a ton of dialogue, you could go a full year in rf4 and every day there's new topics that will be discussed between villagers.

[@Lucarioguild7]

@@sonicfraisheya4028 rf is decent, still no where near this level and there's definitely still a lot default dialogue

[@kwads1909]

I think more so than the games you mentioned, games like the TellTale games are the ones that really need to take note. It was fun playing those games and feeling like your choices mattered initially, but I felt cheated and never went back once it became clear that any life or death choice just meant whom ever you saved was guaranteed to die later to get you back on the track.

[@MarquisdeL3]

I remember being thwarted by the dialogue priority when I was working really hard on reuniting Achilles and Patroclus and went fishing in Pat's chamber, causing him to comment about that instead of talking more about Achilles. Then I finished a run and Achilles decided to ask me about things on the surface rather than Patroclus. Apparently Theseus and Asterius will comment if you enter their chamber with the temporary item the yarn of Ariadne.

[@MarquisdeL3]

Also, I played so much Hades I developed tennis elbow, so I've had to take a two week (minimum) break. Listen to your body and take regular breaks while playing video games, everybody!

[@isaaclevenstein2409]

Wow, I never even thought about the yarn having an interaction with them. I suppose that does make sense though, considering (if I'm remembering my mythology correctly,) Theseus used the yarn to find his way through the labyrinth when defeating the minotaur. These devs really did think of every little stretch case for the dialogue. Incredible work!

[@fenvy9566]

Yeah, and it's not just a one-off line either! I've had the yarn on me three times now while fighting him, and he's had different dialogues every time, including one where Asterius tells him off for badmouthing Ariadne. Don't know if there's any more yet.

[@begejekan1244]

Oh, wow! I've never heard of the Ariadne interaction before, I want to try it next time I'm playing

[@arnerademacker8548]

Yeah, I had a similar problem. I like my games hard, so I selected Hell Mode for my first playthrough. This completely screwed any and all priorities, as the first interaction I had with characters was them commenting about it, and on subsequent runs I would trigger important dialogue pertaining to the individual run that I was on rather than introductory dialogue, which then pushed out other dialogue. I had very little clue what was going on in the story, because the game felt it was more important to tell me how brave/stupid I was for picking Hell Mode or picking up a certain weapon or _dying_ instead of the important story beats I was encountering. The most extreme example from my game is Nyx commented on how I saved Orpheus from a certain fate about 8 or so hours after the fact, at which point I had given up caring because so many things had happened in the meantime. Not be a negative nancy, but because of this it didn't feel like the story had the correct pacing at all. I have completed several runs now, but don't know if I care enough about the characters to keep playing to the end, especially since the gameplay gets very samey once you have formulated winning tactics. Starting over on a lower difficulty would mean both repeated dialogue and basically no challenge at this point. I would have preferred another Bastion or Transistor or Pyre instead of a rogue like. The small narrative moments are really cool when they do work, but there is no story I know of that benefits from not having a rigid structure and Hades is no exception, unfortunately.

[@OstadPapa]

Holy shit you nailed the background.

[@PeopleMakeGames]

Aha, thank you! Our first time trying to build a set, so I'm mostly glad it didn't fall down. Edit: Oh my god, "nailed". NICE.

[@Kej1m]

WOW that's a good one, Pizza...

[@AFriskyGamer]

@@PeopleMakeGames I agree, you nailed the theme. The pomegranate decor and gag was also perfect!

[@NotBamOrBing]

GROAN

[@lcs-1]

It gives me ContraPoints vibes

[@LeDameMarciana]

"Theseus is A POS. JUST A BAD MAN." You. You are my people. You know what's up.

[@edarddragon]

I KNOOOW

[@leonardo9259]

why is he a point of sale

[@SjorsHoukes]

Even funnier when you consider that Thesus was originally planned to be the main character

[@BelBelle468]

@@SjorsHoukes I hope that he returns in some way in the future I always interpreted his story as not him being a jerk (well besides helping his friend with kidnapping Helen and Persephone) but more like he just forgot Ariadne left the boat and then forgot to put the white sail up. Idk why I just find that so funny

[@hartantoanggoro]

​@@BelBelle468considering that he is the last line of defense against the Chronos Army in Elysium, he might be unable to appear at all. Too bad the axe doesn't have the aspect of Minotaur.

[@akashchindam5647]

That is an insane graphic and animation for the showing off the dialogue system. It looks really amazing.

[@Lycanthromancer1]

I thought you said "arousing" for a split second, there... Not that that is incorrect, mind you.

[@cookiesyruplover]

I even thought this was a TEDtalk about HADES for some reason and that's a compliment because some animations for those videos are phenomenal, like this one!

[@Corruptedkiwi]

I think the point that the dialogue really hit me was when after completing a run you have the contract and one of the modifiers is giving the bosses new abilities which in the first boss makes all the sisters fight together. After you turn it back off Meg will thank you as she doesn’t like being around her sisters . I’m like damn they have dialogue for everything

[@emblemblade9245]

Holy crap thanks for the tip

[@LimeyLassen]

But if you leave the pact on for several runs she starts getting along with them.

[@kjj26k]

​@@LimeyLassen Ffffffffff I was really enjoying not having to deal with all three at once...but I guess I gotta be the one to fix this f-ing house! Hades has been rather thereputif for me, getting to experience the fantasy of fixing a broken family's nonsense.

[@Wolfscat333]

It took me until almost my 100th attempt to get out the first time, while a more experienced gamer friend, who had started playing at around the same time did it at about attempt 20 or so. We chatted a lot while playing and oftentimes I had experienced (understandably) a LOT more story elements than her, because she didn't have as many conversations yet. I reached the ending after having already freed 3 friends from contracts and maxed out my romance and it felt very organic and made sense to me, but a lot of streamers and let's players I've seen, as well as my friend, only did these things after already having reached the "end". I feel like I, as an inexperienced gamer, was given a fulfilling, long story before the ending, feeling almost like compensation for not beating the game as fast and that's really cool to me.

[@kenku6440]

I really apprreciated that, too! It took me longer to finish it since I have never been into roguelike games, I have close to zero experience with them. I always disliked the genre, but Hades made it so each failure rewards you with story content, which I feel is the perfect way to offset that feeling of losing progress. You may have lost the run, but you *always* progress in some other ways. And the charm downright dripping from the dialogue and characters certainly adds to that feeling a lot.

[@beehillyard7886]

it makes me think of a friend of a friend who apparently beat the game in like 6 runs or something ridiculous like that, and my friend was telling me about it because "you miss out so much of the game if you're good at it!"

[@firecat6666]

oh man, I beat the game in like 12 runs and on top of that I almost never care about dialogue and story in a game but Hades has such good story and dialogues that now I'm feeling bad for being an experienced gamer.

[@tyler403]

I beat it on my third run and my friend who hadnt beat it yet said there was so much dialogue I missed lol

[@kindmoonmushroom2146]

Ой у мене є друг, що пройшов Гадес за 4 години. Він назвав гру нудною та попередньою. Він був надто хорошим 😅

[@OriginalPiMan]

There's a relevant moment in Bastion that I recall well. There is a level where you're on a ship flying along fighting enemies. When you get to the end of the boat ride, the Narrator says something like "do you want to know how many times The Kid almost fell off that boat? _____ times." And the blank there is the number of times you fell. If you don't fall at all, he says "not even once", and if you fall more times than the game otherwise accounts for, then he says something like "too many to count".

[@PeopleMakeGames]

Ooo, I almost used that example in the edit, but wanted something a bit shorter in the end! -Chris

[@DarkRelm22]

I still wish there was a romance option for hypnos! But the fact that there is no penalty for romancing everyone shows a clearer understanding if Greek Mythology then most historians have.

[@Lycanthromancer1]

The game just might have more patches coming in the future...

[@TheVoidIsBees]

I was so pissed when I found out I couldn't romance Hypnos

[@MsPillzhere]

@@TheVoidIsBees Could be cuz hypnos is zagreus uncle? Lmao

[@derkrumel2105]

@@MsPillzhere But Thanatos is Hypnos brother, right? So why can you then romance Thanatos?

[@TheVoidIsBees]

@@MsPillzhere Thanatos and Hypnos are twins and you can romance Thanatos

[@DevonParsons697]

One of my favorites - Chaos makes fun of you if you screw up at a fishing spot in his zone

[@savary5050]

Choas is non binary. However I find it odd that you called them a he because I definitely get more feminine vibes from them.

[@augustuslunasol10thapostle]

@@savary5050 it's their most defining features IE the male physical characteristics

[@augustuslunasol10thapostle]

@@savary5050 it's their most defining features IE the male physical characteristics

[@savary5050]

@@augustuslunasol10thapostle what?

[@augustuslunasol10thapostle]

@@savary5050 chaos looks more masculine then feminine how can you not get that

[@tf7602]

In the beginning I took so long to get past Megeara, that Skelly told me about God mode 🥲 wonder if you hear that dialogue also if you take less than 30+ runs to clear the first boss

[@B_Skizzle]

I beat Meg on my second run and I don’t recall ever hearing that line in ~300 hours of gameplay, so I’m guessing not. I wonder if it applies to the other bosses as well?

[@n_aniki]

Yup. Remembered it, that's why I use god mode now

[@ArtificiallyIdiotic]

Another interesting dialogue based on settings is when you use the timer and meet Hermes, he comments a bunch of things about it, like he thinks it's cool that you're timing yourself, a good habit to do so, how he had set a rule to stop the timer during dialogs and boom choices, etc

[@tobistein6639]

@@ArtificiallyIdiotic it’s really nice that they pause it during boom selection and dialogue. I don’t want to skip through the dialogue! And picking the right combination of boons can be make-or-break at higher heats.

[@thelostremainunfound]

I actually got it after the fourth or fifth time I died to Meg! Possibly less? I think it may have been in part to the fact that my runs on the first floor took 20+ minutes because I was playing very cautiously. Now it takes me about 40 for the full run through tops, but that's because I set God Mode to early and now I have like a 76% resistance haha!

[@SimmonsProductions27]

One of my favorite lines was early on when I died to an inferno-bomber in Asphodel after I instinctively dove for a dropped bomb like it was a dropped item from a slain enemy. When I got back to the main hub, Hypnos literally told me “don’t try and grab those bombs!” like, wow. The devs knew what my exact thought process would be when I died specifically to that type of death. I fell in love with the dialogue structure after that.

[@sharonwong5688]

The talent over at Supergiant Games are on a whole other level istg. Everyone from the artists to their musicians to their voice actors to the writers, are just so PITCH PERFECT and so uniquely polished and fully realises their unique ideas and style(s). The voice acting all the way back from Bastion have been so gobsmackingly good, it's almost absurd. One game of theirs which I think is the most underrated is Pyre. The dialogue runs on a non-existent language yet the voice acting and direction is just so god tier that it pulls you straight in. I highly recommend anyone giving that game a go, if you're a fan of their games. Hell, just play their whole library. I have and every. single. title. is just so GOOD.

[@Laezar1]

I really need to finish pyre and play transistor. Also I think one thing that make supergiant games so great isn't just talent, it's the healthy dynamic the studio has. Turns out when you don't crunch and you make games out of love rather than trying to squeeze the most profit out of them you end up with better games!

[@StonedtotheBones13]

Aren't some of the va just straight up employees and not necessarily pro vas?

[@KingAtlon]

I'm approaching 100 hours played on this absolutely fantastic game, and the dialogue repetitions I've encountered are so few and meaningless that they might as well not exist. All the while I'm still finding new bits and storyline progressions even after having completed so many runs, maxed all relationships and finished all the main plots. This game is hust mind-blowingly well made and its storytelling is on a whole new level. Also, you're wrong about Theseus. He's a jerk, but a likable one. And he loves Asterius very much. Just as much as I loved your video, if not more!

[@Rawrmuffin0]

I feel the only dialogue repeats are either gods giving you their boon or NPCs after you’ve absolutely talked to them about everything. Even if you don’t make progress at a standard rate, the characters will comment on that and either offer advice or encourage you. So that being said, there’s a whole other category of dialogue where if you keep dying and failing, you still get unique dialogue that you wouldn’t if you were to win every single time etc

[@ClaraTehKitty]

I just love how when I finally made escaped for the first time and saw what happened, I was nearly in tears but I had so much determination to escape again, I had to, I needed to, Ive never had that feeling in a rouge like before.

[@Goobermanguy]

I remember going out on the ledge which overlooks Tartarus before every run, and being astounded that Zagreus had a new line to say every time. I don't think I hit a repeat until ~10-15 hours in (maybe 35-40 runs?). Mad props to Supergiant. P.S. Theseus can go eat a satyr sack.

[@parkermccarthy4265]

I'm impressed that every single line in that game is voiced

[@wontorres]

I did notice the way the dialogues were relevant to what I just did, and as a programmer I had this feeling that it was some sorted of weighted randomness, but having it explained clearly is still very intriguing.

[@asrieldreemurr5073]

4:38 "Thirsty for Thanatos" *oh yes we are*

[@thispersonwriting1889]

I'm not.

[@Velociferon]

Zagreus' voice does things to me

[@r.c.c.10]

I don't want to hate, but the voice acting of the game was pretty lame. Zagreus was fine though.

[@talahar123]

So far, Hades has been GotY for me. Supergiant really knocked it out of the park. First rogue-like to really grab me, too, and the story and dialogue is a huge reason for that.

[@danielledeedee]

I have over 300 hours in this game and am STILL finding new dialogue lines and I love it so much. Meg is especially interesting because at this point, I can’t remember the last time I lost against her and she mentions that! Her dialogue slowly transitions from “I’m gonna kick your ass,” to “let’s see what happens this time,” to “I know I can’t beat you anymore but I’m still going to try.” It’s fascinating because it inversely mirrors the way I felt going into her fights as I played through the game.

[@yorkoh5880]

Anni, once again, above and beyond. Truly one of my favourite art design directors on KZbin!

[@PeopleMakeGames]

That painting of our dog as Cerberus is probably the best thing that's happened to me in 2020. -Chris

[@christianlie218]

Big agree! All the graphics of this video are fantastic. Especially the tree from pyres structure!!

[@fauxrowsdower7610]

God this game is just a fucking masterpiece. 70 hours in and I’m 100% sure I’ve got at least another 70 in me. I still have to romance Thanatos goddammit!!

[@bruh-zn8ju]

You don't need to. From the first moment, HE WAS READY

[@NolanMc88_]

Im 60+ hours in and i still havent seen the true ending (i presume whatever "the plan" mentioned in the list of minor prophecies is the true ending) u also havent maxed out all the trinkets, unlocked all the companion trinkets, filled out half of the prophecies and so on. There is so much content in this game, and i want to 100% it

[@fauxrowsdower7610]

hi folks, me again, just wanted to drop in and say that i'm now at 450 hours and am currently attempting to 100% the game on Hell Mode. just beat the final boss with 7 heat, no death defiances left and 8 health and i literally punched the air when i won! hades is the best game ever made

[@michaelcera11]

@@fauxrowsdower7610You playing hades 2?

[@sarahmaryja9762]

The relationships in this game are what keep me itching to go back and play more of it, achievements are nice, but the satisfaction i get from finding more nectar is bigger than that of defeating a boss, the relationships feel so meaningful because of the dialogue system!

[@atfruitbat]

This video was an interesting watch. I'm reminded that Disco Elysium clocks in at at least 1 million words. I can play through that in around 20 hours. Hades at 300,000 words is offering a longer play time to get through the different storylines; I'm >30 hours into it, have only had 5 or 6 complete runs and am a long way off completing the side quests for most of the major characters. And all the while the writing feels fresh to me. This video's given me a good idea of how that was accomplished. Other than that, 3-headed Peggy is

[@franciscofarias6385]

Disco Elysium is basically all dialogue though, with a lot of text delivered at once. On Hades you spend most of your time fighting enemies.

[@TheMikirog]

Not only that, but most of the game is fighting wretches, not really talking, even though you do that occasionally during your travel. I could say about 30-40% of the game is talking.

[@cozyfoxtrot5095]

here is a comment for the algorithm you beatiful people

[@PeopleMakeGames]

Appreciated.

[@Banquet42]

"It's all something to do with Al Gore's Rythmns"

[@swirltales6046]

i just noticed how rythmn technically has no vowels

[@cameronschyuder9034]

@@swirltales6046y is a vowel, sometimes, as is in rhythm

[@seanthebluesheep]

Wow, I never realised Hades' systems went as deep as they did.

[@callum2474]

Ooh it’s a quill! Thought you were just casually waving a knife around

[@ehsan_kia]

This is what I originally fell in love with in Bastion. The other end of the spectrum of are games with NPCs repeat the same damn line over and over on a timer until you progress. Nothing drives me more crazy than that. Bastion never repeated the same thing twice.

[@restlessryan809]

Who made that Cerberus painting? It's pretty sweet!

[@PeopleMakeGames]

That was Anni! She's responsible for all of PMG's animations and basically everything else that looks good that's to do with the channel. -Chris

[@Crosshill]

@@PeopleMakeGames yo anni is pog i was wondering why it looked like official hades art assets had been made for the video

[@ll-bz8re]

@@PeopleMakeGames Thank you Anni for making this video as fun to look at as it was to listen to!

[@Ahrpigi]

The one downside of such a magnificent dialogue system is how you can only have one talk with a character after a given escape attempt. So much gets backed up in the pipeline that I was being congratulated for defeating the second boss after I was challenging the fourth.

[@benjaminclark3861]

The quality of independent games like Hades makes me feel like my money is being well spent. Such an easy game to recommend.

[@jcassidy13]

So appreciative of this video. Supergiant is an incredible studio and their narrative inventiveness deserves this kind of spotlight. Love getting a peek behind the curtain.

[@SmilingTomatoes101]

I always talk to people even if they don't have a ! above their heads, and i STILL haven't had any dialogue repeat yet

[@Lipidman0]

The priority system is necessary but not perfectly implemented. The fact that you can only talk to each character once per run makes for some awkward dialogue-bottlenecking. The game tries its best but it can't exactly read the player's mind with regard to what we're expecting to talk about on any given run. At times it feels like the narrative is being hijacked. Despite this Hades has single-handedly ruined every other roguelite for me by being the best in the genre. While some of the gripes I have with roguelikes/lites are still present in Hades, their emphasis on narrative and subsequent in-universe justification for these genre-defining gripes tells me that Supergiant Games also understand and are at least willing to meet me half way. They've certainly delivered on every other aspect. Also Theseus is my favourite character. He's such a queen I love it haha

[@thrownstair]

It’s imperfect because I just want to trigger dialogue on the Patroclus sidequest so Nyx will mention where that file is but Achilles hasn’t showed up for THREE RUNS STRAIGHT, PLEASE But that said, I’ve played all the way through to the Epilogue on Game Pass, and I just bought the game on Steam because I wanted to play through it again and also I felt I should pay for it given the time I’ve already spent.

[@natileroxs5226]

What surprised me is that when I first got to Elysium I met Thantos right away but I've watched people playing it and not meeting him until after they've completed their first run.

[@cameronschyuder9034]

Could be that they’ve not lost as many runs/finished quickly, so they’ve not gotten a chance to make as much progress on the plot

[@odyodyodyssey]

"thirsty for Thanatos" IM SOBBING

[@TheAJKahn]

In my recent memory, I think this is the only game where I'm not skipping the dialogues. Haven't heard any repetition yet and the voice acting and script is superb, granted I'm only under 20 runs as of now. Can't believe I put this game off for such a long time. This is a classic!

[@rickyteel3462]

Your animations and illustrations are wildly elaborate for a youtube video. I love it.

[@HillsideVids]

Supergiant Games does not miss. All of their games are incredible!

[@sadpee7710]

holy crap the graphic work on this video is great. whoever put that together deserves a gold star

[@crumzy8]

Try changing some cosmetic item while Hades is around - like the drapes - and then change it back to what it was before. Amazing.

[@emblemblade9245]

He snarks at literally every cosmetic purchase I love it

[@lilith3705]

Anni just doesn't miss, huh? Amazing art in an amazing video, as usual! PMG is a treasure. ✨

[@wobster109]

I like how Greg Kasavin's go-to relationship is "max relationship with Thanatos" :)

[@kkertsna9204]

a studio that loves games AND it’s players will have my eternal support.

[@asterisk5054]

this video made me get Hades about a year ago and it's one of my favorite games of all time!!! thank you ♡

[@TreesPlease42]

I love Hades so much. It's a masterpiece.

[@vizthex]

"thirsty for Thanatos" lmfao, nice.

[@jonahdodd3920]

seeing you eat pomegranates with a spoon instead of de-seeding them and eating them from a bowl makes me physically ill.

[@milocross9693]

i just graduated last month with a degree in game design, and i'm still learning about systems like this one. it's insane how much pure innovation is happening in the video game industry

[@Rognik]

It's probably a good thing you didn't end up eating those pomegranate seeds. Didn't turn out well for another underworld denizen as I recall...

[@phasein5413]

Some class right here. You may escape yet

[@TonkarzOfSolSystem]

I got a conversation with Meg earlier today that made no sense. The conversation seemed to be picking up a subject that they'd been talking about earlier, except that they were talking about things that I hadn't heard about yet (some secret queen?). Plus they seemed way more friendly than usual.

[@MetalMockingjay]

As someone who played a lot of mirrorless runs, I definitely appreciated those conversations with Meg. That point about Orpheus makes me curious to see if anything interesting happens when I play through the game with minimal interactions.

[@rizkyanandita8227]

Stopped playing Hades to watch this.

[@PeopleMakeGames]

Ha, the highest compliment! As I type this, Anni is in the other room playing Hades. -Chris

[@semidecent4395]

Honestly, if not for the variety in the dialogue I would have most likely gotten super frustrated with the game itself. I’m not very good at games, even if I enjoy them. Combined with Hades being my first rougelike, I’ve ranked up around 80 attempts, only making it to the surface twice. Frustrating, I know. But when the game comments on the little things I accomplished, it motivates me to keep going. For example, I died in one of the later zones on the game, right before the final boss. I was super salty and frustrated, but I went to talk to Nyx anyway. She had a conversation with Zag about how even though he failed, getting there in the first place meant he could most likely do it again. Idk, it’s such a small thing but hearing these characters you care about have faith in you motivated me to try again. And one of these days, I’m gonna beat Theseus into the ground without having to use a single death defiance.

[@sevith5277]

Something that I always think about when I fight Theseus is that he is probably just mad because we got to be the MC and he didn't. If you didn't know Hades was originally gonna be a game about Theseus and the Minotaur, the idea was scrapped for today's game.

[@AndreyKiselevFirst]

Marketed as “non-linear” and all-blown-out, Cyberpunk could learn a thing or two from Supergiant Games about building the plot and character reactions system.

[@TheNurseBetty0]

They did fail in anticipating one combination it seems though... if you are halfway through the story and about to attempt kill, for example, 5/10 of hades and start the fight with a hidden aspect of a weapon(I had the fists of Gilgamesh), you miss the pre-fight story dialogue as he does the hidden weapon aspect dialogue. if you beat the fight, like I did, you miss the story dialogue entirely as the Persephone and Zagreus dialogue acts like hades said his kill 5/10 dialogue when it never actually did (it doesn't even do the Hades death dialogue), but you never get to experience it as it treats the story point as completed and the story will continue on to fight interaction 6/10. I missed a crucial part of the story because of this (around the time Zagreus realises Hades really did love Persephone), and had to find a lets play online to find out what happened.

[@maimegidola9277]

Did you report it to Supergiant? They might get around to that

[@Carhill]

I've considered picking this up... you've convinced me.

[@MrZestyOnion]

Be warned...it is SUPER FUN! I couldn't put it down the first week I got it, and I don't usually go for rougelikes in general. Much more of a strategy or slow paced action RPG person, but the fast pace was addictive.

[@hypersapien]

I envy you for getting to experience it fresh =)

[@Banquet42]

I was on the fence about it but this video has convinced me too.

[@Z4Zman]

Just read a book. The gameplay is absolutely not up to snuff, you'll be seeing the same dozen levels and enemies over and over. If you don't care about watered-down mythology; if you'd like a fun game to play, don't buy this overpriced trash.

[@lunaumbra5179]

@@Z4Zman as with transistor, this game gets good once you've gotten far enough. The meat is learning about which skills to mix together to create an amazing character. But also as you progress the enemies change, new ones get added, and the ability to make the game harder by choice arrives. Sorry you didn't like it mate.

[@jesterlavorre6417]

i currently have about *20* hours in hades and i was impressed at all the dialogue and now im finding out there are people with more than twice that amount who are still having unique conversations

[@Olwwolf]

I just got to the credits recently and since I am not a good player at all, it took me about 80 runs. Still haven't gotten a single repeated line. Insane!

[@treyroady6592]

This video's all killer, no filler. Perfect explanation for why Hades really earns the accolades.

[@sjsamphex]

Hi, I'm deaf. Can you please add captions to this video?

[@SpaghettiEnterprises]

There is a CC button in the corner now...

[@WiresDawson]

hi Deaf, i'm dad

[@evertonc1448]

I used to make captions in both english and portuguese for videos I liked in youtube. Sadly youtube killed community captions :/

[@Isaacandjed]

@@SpaghettiEnterprises youtube's automatic captions are super inconsistent. in this video they're not too bad (although still not very readable) but honestly for a channel of this size it doesn't really make sense for them not to have some kind of written subtitles

[@snowyyyyyyyyyyyyy]

youtube better bring back community captions dear god. also yeah, can you please add written captions or a way for people to contribute them?

[@neptwo9563]

I lost a 26 winstreak in hades, and the next run hermes mentioned to me how I had a good streak going. that kinda hurt but it still was cool as hell

[@addammadd]

WhoTF eats a pomegranate with a spoon? I’m so angry about this.

[@MurasakiNoKami]

What, what do you use?

[@vitodarelltjoa6781]

@@MurasakiNoKami fingers usually

[@FGXJK4500]

Came here to say this. No surprise "this didn't work out as intended".

[@_blank-_]

@@MurasakiNoKami A spoon but you don't eat a pomegranate directly like a kiwi fruit or an avocado. You remove the seeds by hitting a sliced pomegranate with a wooden spoon over a bowl. Then you eat those seeds with a spoon.

[@larsnyman2455]

Nah, the way to do it is you slice it into wedges, with a bunch of seeds exposed, then you eat each seed

[@urban713]

fun fact: If you are holding the Yarn of Ariadne when you face Theseus and Asterius, there will be unique dialogue.( hades wiki) i was very surprise to have discover dis when i played hades.

[@yokaii7109]

stumbled upon this. the vibe and production is just so good!!! love it

[@AntenneaChan]

I've been playing Hades for months now, beaten the main quest and maxed out every relationship (except Demeter because i haven't done the epilogue yet) and I STILL see new dialogue. From what I've heard beating the epilogue provides even more. the fact that I can STILL find new stuff after so long is really impressive.

[@threeprongedfork7061]

I didn't realize something weird had happened with my dialogues until I had escaped a few times, and then all of the sudden everyone in the house of hades congratulated me on escaping lol

[@rawrss]

Hands down, one of the best games ever. Certainly will go down as a GOAT in the rogue-genre. Amazing studio, they deserve all the love and credit. (plus - the voice actors are all existing staff! How cool is that? Imagine going to Bob in Accounting... "when's your recording session?" "oh Thanatos? it's after Lunch!"

[@yukko_yoshida]

this man had 5 pomegranates for a single bit

[@Toribell1928]

Ahh I’m so happy to see this video!! I was thinking the whole time I was playing like how the tf is the dialogue ALWAYS so spot on

[@Azleur1]

Give Theseus some credit, he literally saved Asterius from hell.

[@DrBunnyMedicinal]

Necrothreadia here, but one decent moment in his entire afterlife does not even begin to make up for how awful he is.

[@marigolden_mariposa]

love the creative touches in this video. great opening ❤ obsessed with this game still

[@anxiousrobot82]

Me, being gay and hating Theseus: yes, I’m gay and homophobic, we exist

[@D3wd20p]

@Shasvin Puvanesvaran You can be insulted he's in your same category. A true moral offense.

[@nakenmil]

@Shasvin Puvanesvaran I mean, most of the Greek gods were creepy rat bastards, so he's not much of an outlier there.

[@mellow_cholie652]

Theseaphobic

[@coronin8587]

@Shasvin Puvanesvaran He kidnapped Helen at 12 so he could marry her after 4 years of being his prisoner soooo

[@ALunarLight]

@Shasvin Puvanesvaran helen, also know as helen of troy😂

[@dandeliondew]

Really appreciated the beautiful and descriptive animations!

[@b.l7491]

Hades is my first computer game ever ( not including the sims or mine craft, lol). I was really worried that I would be alienated because of the rogue-lite nature of the game, but I found it super accessible. Was able to stay motivated enough to clear it in 25 attempts, and keep going another 10 times to get all the endings! Hades really makes death fun ha!

[@lixyororke]

I have no idea if it was intentional, but I was on a streak of escaping and in the latest attempt I made it to the final boss about 5-10 mins later than I usually did and he got mad at me and said he "should've expected" that, because Zag was always late. I don't know if that was happy coincidence or if that's something they somehow accounted for but it really makes the characters feel so *alive*

[@BlissBatch]

I actually worked out most of this logic by my time playing. It's a truly phenomenal system.

[@RobStevens64]

Revealing more story when you die was a remarkable choice, but they way they tied dialog specifically to choices as well, gosh it's amazing. I'm deeply hooking on this game, and I only just unlocked my first companion.

[@rogerfvb]

I just told my friend how there's enough voice acting in this for a whole Netflix season of something But 300.000 words... Holy

[@mariel1533]

The dialogue and voice acting in Hades is amazing and is what drew me to the game. Great video on what it takes to have it work so well. Also, showing how the set is a duvet cover nailed to the wall made me smile

[@Chloe-st7ni]

"a slow player who takes about 40 hours to the credits" It took me 75 with god mode.....

[@Raymando]

Wow amazing production value for a video game essay. Keep doing what you're doing mate