// THE MANUAL // ISSUE 04.18.26

Should You Buy Hades II?

Published April 18, 2026 · 7 min read · By The Manual
BUY

Buy without hesitation. Best-reviewed game of 2025 by Metacritic and OpenCritic. 96% Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam (62,000+ reviews). Now playable on PS5 and Xbox at 120fps with QoL improvements over the PC version. If you skipped Early Access, your patience is rewarded.

Quick Specs

Release
APR 14
Platform
PS5/XSX/PC/SW2
Price
$29.99
Type
ROGUELIKE

What It Is

Hades II is Supergiant Games' first sequel, following the GOTY-winning original. You play Princess Melinoë, sister of Zagreus, on a quest to defeat Chronos, the Titan of Time. Where the original Hades was about escaping up from the Underworld, Hades II splits in two directions — venturing further into the Underworld and ascending toward Olympus to take the fight to the Titans.

Mechanically it's everything Hades was, plus more weapons (Witch's Staff, Moonstone Axe, Sister Blades, others), more gods (the full Olympian roster), magick as a new resource system, and a meaningfully larger story script (over 400,000 words, 30,000 voice lines — about 50% more than the original).

Why It's a Lock

Hades II went 1.0 in September 2025 after a year-and-a-half in Early Access. The verdict was unanimous: best-reviewed game of 2025 on both Metacritic and OpenCritic. IGN, GameSpot, and Eurogamer all gave it 10/10. PC Gamer's reviewer named it personal Game of the Year. The Steam page sits at 96% Overwhelmingly Positive across 62,000+ reviews — those numbers are essentially unheard of.

The April 14, 2026 release brings Hades II to PS5 and Xbox Series X|S (including Game Pass day one) at 120fps, with bonus content and QoL improvements that also patch into the PC and Switch versions. If you've been waiting for a console release, this is the moment.

How do you even sum up something as beautiful, special, memorable, and admirable as Hades 2? Maybe it's witchcraft. Maybe it's magic. Either way, it's epic — and it's one of the best roguelites you're likely ever going to play.

The Case For and Against

BUY IF...

  • You loved Hades (this is bigger and arguably better)
  • You're new to roguelikes and want the best entry point
  • You want a single-player game with no live-service nonsense
  • $30 for 60+ hours of content is your idea of value
  • You have Xbox Game Pass — it's there day one

WAIT IF...

  • You actively hate roguelikes
  • You played the Early Access for 65+ hours already (still worth replaying for new content)
  • You're on PS5 and don't want to start fresh — no cross-saves from PC

Price & Value Math

$29.99 is the most value-rich price on this entire blog. Hades II isn't a 10-hour campaign — players routinely sink 60–100+ hours, and Supergiant continues patching new content (most recently a major patch with new dialogue, romance options, and gameplay tweaks). On a per-hour basis, this is closer to $0.30/hour than $3/hour.

Game Pass note: If you have Xbox Game Pass, Hades II is included day one. Try before you commit. But honestly, at $30 you should own it anyway.

The Bottom Line

There is no scenario where buying Hades II is a bad decision. It's the best-reviewed game of 2025, available now on every modern platform, at half the price of a typical AAA release, with hundreds of hours of replay value. Just buy it.

Ready to Decide?

If you're convinced, here's where to grab it:

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