I've never been a fan of roguelike games, but I decided to give Supergiant the benefit of the doubt and give Hades a try.

I'm glad I did because this is a stellar game. It manages to marry story progress and character progression with dying and starting over in such a way that failing isn't frustrating. The voice acting and character work is very well done and the Greek Mythology theme and premise of escaping from hell works great here. Your father constantly doubting your ability to escape is a great motivator to keep pushing forward when you get stuck on a new boss or area.

Mostly though, its the action that carries the experience, because it is tight and extremely fun. All the weapons are varied great fun to use, and the different upgrades or "boons" you collect change things up drastically. The game does a good job of adding new elements to earlier levels as you progress further to keep things fresh. I had so much fun experimenting with different weapons and upgrades I took longer to clear my first escape attempt than needed because I couldn't stop myself from trying different weapons/builds instead of going with ones I knew would get me to the end.

After my first clear 18 hours in, I expect i'll keep coming back for a few runs here and there because the action is just that much fun and it seems the story will keep progressing.

One of the best games of 2020 and Supergiant's best work to date, very highly recommended