Hades - Basically My Game Of The Year (Jimpressions) 

I love it when Jim loves a game...

I love the character of Zagreus. It would've been easy and totally justified to make him an absolute teenage edgelord, but he's actually a genuinely nice guy who's also an absolute edgelord.

"Dionysus, who happens to be my favorite, my wine boyfriend" I see your taste is as impeccable as ever, Jim

1:23 I thought you were going to say "you are Zagreus, the son of Hades, Lord of the Underworld and you are hot" because zagreus is a very attractive man

"Can you guess what Zeus gives you?" Herpes, probably.

the levels arent actually procedurally generated, they're all hand made. they just appear in a random order.

As an Aussie I instantly bought this game because the Protagonist says "Mate" to everyone! Thanks Mate :)

My favorite type of RU-vid video is "person gushing about thing they love". Shame it seems that Jim doesn't get as much views from being nice.

Wait, you can fish in this game? I'm hooked.

Jim: “To the point where I don’t really have a bad thing to say about it.” I feel like the space-time continuum is about to become destroyed or something.

Picked this up solely because of your recommendation, and I can't stop playing it! Thanks so much, Jim! 💜

"Dionysus, my wine boyfriend" honestly that line is the highlight of my 2020 and now I have to play this game because I, too, want Dionysus to by my wine boyfriend.

A roguelike set in Hades is so fucking spot on, given the whole Sisyphus thing.

The song at the beginning is called The Cult of Dionysus by The Orion Experience.

This was my game of the year, hands down the best design for a repetitive grindfest that rewards you with story. It's well educated on Greek mythology to an insane level, this game mentions stuff I thought only would ever serve me in Trivia Pursuit 😂. This is how a dev balances a grind with reward, no lootboxes required and it's more addictive without extra cost. If this dev drops a sequel it's a must buy for me, it's the ARPG rogue-lite platinum standard now.

"Just...one...more...run.." 3 AM: "Just....one....more......run."

Opening with Cult of Dionysus is exactly what I wanted from this video

Whenever anyone has asked me to describe this game, one of the first things I say is that it's a roguelike that _wants_ for you to win. No shade for games like Spelunky, but this is a game that wants you to play it, wants you to enjoy it, and wants you to finish it so that you'll be excited to go back and do it all again. It's a hedonistically perfect 5/7 imho. (Oh and Dio is my wine-BFF too!)

I am just happy there is a game that acknowledges Zagreous. Everyone assumes Hades never had kids, but he had 3, Zagreous, Macaria and Melinoe. Love ancient Greek mythos, might just check it out because of that.

I generally don't like the rogue-likes because I kinda feel they rarely respect my time, but not so with Hades. Everything I do in the game feels worthwhile to me, and I enjoy it greatly. I have yet to finish a run, but I'm getting there. :D

Fun fact: Darren Korb is the voice for Zagreus. He's also the singing voice for Orpheus. Including the songs where he's so high in the register he has to be singing falsetto. In a game full of impressive things, that combination of impressive performances is still the one that I love the most.

One of the most fun parts for me is the sly little references they make to more obscure points of Greek mythology. F'rinstance: at one point Dionysus asks Zagreus to play a prank on Orpheus, asking him to tell Orpheus that they (Zagreus and Dionysus) are actually the same guy. AND AS IT TURNS OUT, the god Zagreus and the god Dionysus had something of an intertwined cult in Grecian myth, so it looks like Orpheus bought it. Love this game, been playing since it dropped on Steam, 10/10.

Agreed on Megaera's voice. I gave this a game of the year immediately when she first spoke~

"snarking at you and belittling you and criticising you, and being a dad" oop felt that

That's rare, Jim just unconditionally loving a game, no "buts" or "ehm". I might just buy it off of that alone

Aside from the art, I think Supergiant Games have top tier voice acting. I have never fallen in love with a sword until I played Transistor

5:25 "Can you guess what Zeus gives you?" The ability to turn into animals and bugger people?!

First time i beat Hades and saw the first ending I actually cried. Truly special game

So when this game launched for switch a couple weeks ago I was super intrigued by the visuals but hesitant because I do not like rogue-likes, but I took a chance and currently have over 125 hours in game.. it's just too good. The story and dialogue (writing and voice acting!) are fantastic too, and there's a lot of surprises/clever little twists, for lack of a better term and not wanting to spoil anything.

Jim: you can pet the three-headed dog because he's a good boy Me: this game is perfect!

The Cult of Dionysus - The Orion Experience. A tangential reason I love Jim's videos is the consistently amazing sense of musical taste. If I'm not watching hoping for a little Bethesda Techno I'm being introduced to a brand new favourite band.

Very few games give me that "Damn it, it's already 6 AM" kind of gaming nights anymore, but this one did it a couple nights in a row. Absolute contender for game of the year, the sheer number of unique dialogue alone is worth a ton of praise. I've played the game for 20 hours and haven't heard a single line of dialogue repeated. Also it's funny you pointed out Meg's voice, myself and pretty much everyone I've heard talk about this game have a fondness for her voice.

Note that Jim has Fidi, which means he maxed his relationship with Dusa. Which is great! Dusa is lovely.

I've been playing Hades in Early Access for about 4 months now and it's become one of my favourite games, I'm so glad that Supergiant finally got a gigantic well deserved success. While their other games (like Bastion) were more cult successes its great to see the studio get the wide reaching recognition it deserves.

I’m only getting into Jim’s videos now, but the fact that they chose Eurydice over a double boon tells me pretty much everything I need to know about them (that is, that they’re amazing and I love them).

Considering every character looks like a Pillar Man, I can totally understand why this game would be your game of the year.

This game looks like the culmination of everything Supergiant has done to this point and I love it. Im definitely gonna have to scoop this up soon

Got 200 hours in Hades and counting -- And I'm STILL getting new dialogue and story advancements all the time! There is just so much story and narration to this game and it's all delightful. Characters will react to everything -- different voice lines for different weapons, for different weapon aspects, for even having a certain item on you at the time, and it feels like it just never stops.

Whew, I can't wait until Jim starts friending up Thanatos.

“And if you’re just here for the story there’s a god mode” !! I and my rickety-ass hands are suddenly a lot more interested :o

Whelp, hades just went from a “I’ll buy it sometime I guess” to “Its the next game I buy”

When you stockpile a ton of nectar Dionysus comments about it the next time you pick up his boon. There is a lot of interactions like that hidden throughout the game.

2:26 I was CONVINCED you were going to say "IF you die in a Hades run, you die in real life."

This is the most enthusiastic review I've heard in a long, long time. And I absolutely get why. This game makes you feel like a kid discovering videogames again. Those times you couldn't stop playing because they were so, so fun. 5 stars game, 5 stars and heartfelt review.

I had actually forgotten what Jim sounds like when he's happy with a game and I'm getting hella compersion from it xD LOVE this game!

I know Jim won't remember, but I sent him an email a while ago asking him to look at this game because I thought he would love it. Knowing I was right makes me really happy at a time when I haven't been very happy. I don't think Jim is playing because of me, but I am truly happy that he loves the game as much as I thought he would.

"Hades gonna Hate." Naw, the better current meme joke is "You Hades to see it."

Hearing a The Orion Experience song in the intro brought a goddamn tear to my eye. Such a criminally unknown band. Both albums are spectacular. Very cheesy at times, but the absolute best kind. All of them are non-stop, super feel good songs too. Which is the kind of music people might be needing in times like this year, so I recommended everyone who sees this to check them out.

"Little pet hell-lobster" is the best concept ever. This game has genuinely surprised me at how much i enjoy every aspect of it.

I'm glad Jim is enjoying this as much as I am. What I really like about this game is that even if I lose a run (which is becoming more rare as I get better) I never feel like I wasted my time. Edit: You eventually do unlock pets that follow you around, you just have to build up friendship with certain characters such as Megaera, Thanatos and Skelly. Keep giving them Ambrosias!

I love it when Jim truly enjoys a game. You can tell in his voice, giddy, excited, sometimes tripping over his words. It shows me that is he genuine in his love for a game and gets me curious in looking into the game even if ends up not being my cup of tea.

It’s interesting this game’s portrayal of a really complicated familial relationship. I saw a lot of my own relationship with my mother in the relationship between Zagreus and Hades, where a lack of communication and an inability to just love each other, even though they do love each other

I'm with Jim in saying this is one of the best games of all time, for one simple reason: There is nothing to complain about. Every tiny detail has been polished to a mirror shine, and the things you get pissed about in other games simply do not exist here. - There's little to no loading times or time-wasting flourishes when entering rooms, opening menus, initiating dialogue, etc. - Menus and information are concise, fast, and clear so you spend just the right amount of time reading before moving on - The writing is so charming you don't mind sitting through them - You don't have to hoover dropped gold because it's automatically picked up - You can go to the next room once you're done without waiting for exposition, or status effects to wear out, or hunting for the goddamn exit - You don't have to micromanage your stats, every upgrade you pick is beneficial, there are almost no duds, and you can have an effective fighter regardless of how you build - The action is super clear even though the spites are so small and the action so fast, and that goes double for the enemies - When you think you've mastered a weapon, you get to unlock different versions with alterations to their movesets, and NO FUCKING PENALTIES - There are not one, but at least two confirmed gay couples in the game, possibly a third (not including Dionysus and Aphrodite) The only minor gripe I have is grinding for some rare resources to fully upgrade/decorate the house or give gifts to the gods, but even then, you can get all tangible gameplay benefits without getting to max level.

I remember hearing while it was in EA, it already had over 10,000 different voice lines and they've since added a lot more for its release. They really do make it feel like almost every single interaction, even ones with reoccurring characters, feel unique and that is an accomplishment in and of itself!

So you're telling me that I can PUT A BIT OF POISON ON MY BLADE BEFORE I GO.

This is absolutely my game of the year. I'm glad you recommended it, because that's how my sister got onto it and she in turn put me onto it. Where would I be now without Zagreus? Can't fathom it.

Pyre doesn’t get enough love, but I feel like it’s easily their most interesting, unique game. Here’s hoping that the greatness that is Hades will get at least a few more people to play Pyre.

Dislikes must be from Theseus and his alt accounts.

This game really has genius design for my taste. It's just the right amount of "rogue-lite" that still gives you builds and theorycrafting. It's hard to put into words but I'll try anyway, it's as if every Hades run was the compilation of the best moments of the process of leveling up a character in Diablo 3, getting skills/gear and killing high level content except in Diablo 3 this process takes 30, 40, 80 hours while in Hades it takes 25, 30 minutes most of the time. It's the highlights of a Diablo 3 character, only the fun, rewarding and exciting parts without the excessive grinding and downtime. And then of course there's the story, the characters, the rpg progression mechanics, the voice acting and the OST.. I agree, it's also one of my favorite games of all time.

Imagine being the developer and finding out Jim Sterling is publishing a video about your game. And you are blessed with that opening sentence.

I've had this game on early access for a long ass time. I think I got it shortly after it came to Steam and, Oh my god, does it more than deserve the praise! The gameplay is fun, the characters are great and the artstyle is gorgeous. Play it now!

137 hours in: Yeah, this game is alright. lol

This game has so much personality in it I never play it and end up in a bad mood, not even after a bad run. Also I adore the fact the developers forsaw people would complain about only beign able to pet one of Cerberus's heads, so they came up with a perfectly amenable reason for that (only that head likes being pet)

Thank you for bringing "Cult of Dionysus" to your platform. It popped up on my spotify last year, an it's a banger.

Get toys for Cerberus.

I love the Gods' interaction with Zagreus. They feel like real uncles haha.

Ok, you've convinced me. I'm not a big fan of roguelikes, but I can't help but be intrigued with games that make people this passionate

This game is like a perfectly crafted sandwich; I cannot believe how sublime the sum of it's parts have come out to be and I can't wait to take another bite. 🤤

This game feels designed to induce bisexual panic

When Jim said he was recommending this game on the last jimquisition, I was vocally gleeful. Seriously I was in love with this game before I even bought it, and then I played it and properly fell in love.

Wanna thank you for posting this, Jim. I remember hearing about this game a long while ago on a podcast back when this game was in Early Access and they seemed to like it. Then hearing the recent Podquisition episode where you and Laura raved about it got me very interested in it. All that was left was seeing a preview of what the game looks like and after this video I'm sold. This game looks to be right up my alley!

Just came back here to thank you Jim. bought it on your recommendation and I just love it so much!

2:28 PHEW lad, that's a tough choice right there....

This game, within about a week of release, became the ninth-most-played game on my Switch, even over titles I thought I'd spent ages playing. It's only going to climb from there, I'm sure.

He sold me on it when he tweeted it was good, been waiting ever since for the jimpression episode

I never watch game reviews, but I've been playing non stop for days and it's so amazing that if I can't be playing right now (because I have to eat on order to keep living and thus play more) then I'm gonna listen to somebody talk about how amazing this game is, I just love gushing about things I love and to hear others gush about them too

I've had Hades ever since it entered Early Access, and i gotta say its always been a great game, but its just grown so damn much its hard to believe its the same game sometimes.

That feeling when you've played Hades so much you recognize what Boons Jim has just from the visual effects. I shamelessly admit I use Athena's trinket from the start of a run until I get her Dash boon; it's a straight up hard carry boon, imo.

Once again I must thank you Jim for not only a great Jimpression but for leading me to some wonderful music

Great review, awesome to hear your enthusiasm bleeding through. Very much looking forward to picking this one up.

Yay!! Finally a “mainstream” review. Went from thinking I wouldn’t like it to balls deep 50+ hours in 2 weeks

Developers: Mention the damn fishing!!!

I've been playing for the last year and I absolutely love Hades. Dio, Zag, Than, Nyx...the characters are so wonderful.

I picked this up cause I heard you talk about it and I’m in loveeeee. I then came and watched this video. I trust your opinion and once again you haven’t let me down. Thank you for your hard work

Bisexual culture: The game.

I love how Jim can get across how much he loves a game without overselling it. Definitely looking into this one later tonight!

Got nearly 400 hours in this game. So happy to see it getting the love it deserves. I'm a Supergiant fanboy through and through.

The song at the beginning of the video is so catchy! I can not stop humming and hearing him.

I'm really loving your choice of The Orion Experience for the video intro, Jim

WoW! A happy Jim? The hits just keep coming this weekend!

I actually thought you were being sarcastic when talking about Athena’s boons (I’m autistic and have a hard time picking up on sarcasm), but after playing the game several times, I now know that you were being completely sincere.

I've never seen your videos before, but the intro song *definitely* earned you a subscriber.

I've watched a few hours of gameplay but they didnt mention a lot of this stuff. Granted, they were uploads of steams, but your review finally sold me. Thanks for sharing!!!

Thanks Jimmy for revealing that wonderful song in the intro!

The song at the beginning of the video is so catchy! I can not stop humming and hearing him !.

This is the first video of yours I've actually watched and it introduced me to The Orion Experience, so... 10/10, will subscribe.

I needed this today. Hades is my obsession as of late and I love how the entire gaming community seems to be here for it.

I went and bought this on my Switch solely based on this _sterling_ review...Okay I'll see myself out now (to go play Hades)

Bought this game after seeing Jim gush about it and 100 hours of play time later I can see why. Thank God for them!

I've been OBSESSED with this game since the 1.0 release and your gushing about it is so damn appropriate. Every single part of it is so well crafted it's actually unbelievable! Definitely in my top 3 games of all time.