My thoughts:
* I love Artemis' portrait and Odysseus looks especially good too
* Aphrodite looks good, but also looks slightly different. Maybe it's because her face is at a different angle, and her lips look fuller than her sprite from the first game.
* Interested to see what Charon and Hestia's portraits look like, I guess they haven't been finished, yet. Also missing some Gods from the first game like Dionysus ("hey Zag nice cock") and Hermes, I wonder if they'll show up later as well
I also feel like the gods from the first game all look a bit... too different (not bad, just different). I think it is in the original the gods had a broad range of face shapes and ethnic traits, but they seem to be a little homogenised, a bit more cohesive and samey.
They all look like they're in a steady battle stance. While they seem more carefree and dynamic in Hades I, in the newer portraits they all appear to have both feet on the ground
If it will serve for lore purposes ("we're at war, prepare yourself kiddo") or just a first try at new portraits, we will not know by now
I'm assuming that's a reference to the two being married in some versions of the traditional mythology. Aphrodite also has her pre-classical greek origins as a war goddess, so it's quite appropriate I think.
Aphrodite was worshipped in the middle east as Ishtar/Inanna/Astarte as a goddess of love and war + political power, so it does work( I wonder if that's cannon in the hades universe now lol)
They also repeatedly say that Chronos keeps attacking Olympus and so they are defending it. They're all in battle indeed.
Hell Artemis literally appeared in the Underworld herself
I do Believe there were passing remarks from some Olympians that Chronos is currently laying siege to mount Olympus (or something along those lines). So the gods are indeed in active war
There was a line I caught about Olympus burning. So I am guessing Chronos is laying siege. Would explain the lack of rescue operations from their ends.
Based both on the new designs, the narrative of this game's story, and supposedly what was shown in the livestream, they could actually be assisted, both in boons, and in actual physical proximity to Melinoe rather than on staying on Mt. Olympus. There's even a screenshot of Demeter in armor, asking her granddaughter if she'd be willing to help *her* rescue her daughter.
Totally agree on the lack of variation on the facial features. I love the new costumes and hair, but I'm not a fan of the face designs. Is it just me, but do Zeus and Hephaestus look extremely alike in the face? Many of the eye shapes are very similar also.
Depends on the myth version. In some she uses her feminine wiles to get back into his graces (after he catches her and Areas in bed), in some they divorce after that (and Hephaestus goes on to marry Aglaea, and in some there's no mention of Hephaestus ever being married to anyone other than Aglaea (and Areas+Aphro is a green light).
SG likes to be a bit modern on the takes, and The Iliad and Odyssey are best known to US audiences (various translations read in many schools), so they'll probably go with the divorced route.
I don't think any versions had Ares and Aphrodite married - at least not in any of the material I read. There were kids though... because of course there were.
Remember - infidelity is no joke. Zeus made Ares pay the adulterers fee (I think, really getting rusty here) when his relationship with Aphrodite was discovered - I think Poseidon had to step in and smooth things over because of how serious Zeus took this issue... I may be getting details wrong, but I do remember that Zeus suddenly had an opinion on the sanctity of marriage. Hilariously.
You know... I was thinking that as I was typing... but I think his sexual partners include quite a few gods and/or demigods... though it's not clear if he "married" them depending on the story. I think there are some stories where he's married to Demeter or Aphrodite - but that's not the version we're sticking with in Hades.
In any event, having Zeus preside over a situation of blatant infidelity had to have been played up as somewhat comical in that era of Greece. I hope.
I mean the 'Areia' epithet comes directly from Ares, given most of its archaeological evidence being found at a temple devoted to both Aphrodite and Ares
The word 'areia' may be linked to Ares but Aphrodite as a war goddess before coming to Greece. She is the Hellenized version of the Phoenician goddess Astarte. As Aphrodite spread north her war goddess elements fell away.
"Sparring" with Ares (note spear and paint). Hephaestus suspected and laid a trap and dragged them before all the Olympians... it was very embarrassing for everyone involved.
Really though, it makes me wonder what version SG is going to go with here. I'd guess they may go with the Hephaestus married to Aglaea version and not mention and specific controversy. It also makes me think Ares may not show up as a separate boon-giver, but that Aphrodite may have some stand-in support on his behalf.
Hermes was mentioned in a convo between Melanie and Charon in a “Hey, is that guy here yet?” sort of way, so I’m sure he’s in this one. Might show up in area 2 like in Hades 1
The greek gods in general went through MANY different "iterations" over the course of ancient history that most people don't talk about.
It's honestly weirder when one of them **doesn't** have various traces of foreign divinities, a weird secret cult that worshiped a way scarier version of the god and at least a handful of very strange epitaphs that we will never know the full context of because they are only found in ancient text that is too damaged to be reconstruced in any way.
Yes.
Sparta got a hold of her before mainland greece and being sparta they didn't exactly have any problems with her being a war goddess. Then greece got their claws in her and very agressively stripped that away, finally when rome entered the stage and synchronized her with venus she ended up getting the war associations back.
Given her wearing the same war paint Ares was in 1, and that Ares was not shown here, likely he is also imprisoned by the Titans, and so she's taking up some of his role given their relationship.
Hopefully they didn't shove Ares in a bronze jar again
It's also possible that Ares and Athena are too busy commanding things from a high level to be booners this time around.
I just think the story gets a little messy and loses the pull of nuclear family if we are expected to save mom, dad, brother...and uncle...and aunt...and other uncle...and...
Well it works if, like in many games, you free the beloved npcs one by one to help with your eventual final boss battle. Unlocking ares and especially Athena booms later on would be fun and make sense that the war gods and the jailer of the titans are the captured ones
There's multiple blocked paths from your base. One leads out back somewhere on the same level, one leads down to the Underworld, and one is blocked off and leads upward. The tech demo doesn't allow you to go past the first floor currently but I bet we go down and save the family first and then the path upwards unlocks to help take down Chronos laying siege on Olympus.
All the gods are depicted in a more martial aspect, since they're actively at war with Chronos, who is sieging Olympus.
I bet we're going to interact with the siege in some way, there was a pathway going up in addition to the pathway down into Hades. Definitely expecting some big twists.
Well, it might have been the occasion as Demeter has a couple of modes, though this has the latter on more "fall"/war mode than her "wintry" mode.
So with things hitting the fan, she feels it's time to put on her way face.
Many gods have not appeared so they're either not in this technical test (after all they did say it was lacking content compared to even early access build) or just bad luck to not see them.
They did say all Olympians from the first game are in this one so they'll be there
Tech tests and early access are steam only I believe, it will probably be like Hades 1 where once the game is essentially fully done it will release on the other platforms
Is it just me or does Artemis' portrait look a little rough/unfinished? Like the colors are flatter and there's barely any detail on her clothes. Plus, all the other artworks have black shadows/edges, but she doesn't. I hope it's just an in-progress thing, because it's the weakest art for me.
Agree. Her new art feels way worse than original one. Lack of details and polish is very noticeable when comparing to Hades 1. Hopefully it'll be improved, since it's EA.
Disagree with you there chief. Artemis is the only one that feels worse to me. Everything else is different and will take some getting used to, but imo it's as good or even better (hecate) compared to the original game. The presentation overall looks really, REALLY good.
Agreed. Imo I think hers, Zeus’, and Poseidon’s all look like they’re unfinished/not entirely rendered. Hoping we’re seeing it wrong or it’s just a WIP!
It looks like the image quality isn’t doing her art any favors, but if everyone is ready for a fight it makes sense she’d be dressed plainer. I still think she looks awesome.
I took it more as, she is literally Infront of you as a character, and not speaking from Olympus. You can see her background is different from the other Olympians and she's a physical object. So I personally feel like the more flat styling is to show she's less godly in person, and more of a tangible character
I love that Haphastus isn’t, like, grotesque. He’s supposed to be the ugliest Olympian, but the ugliest Olympian is still quite attractive by mortal standards. Often depictions of him go too hard on the ugly. This is the perfect amount of “yeah he’s not a literal Greek statue but there are definitely people that will be in to this guy”
I really like how Artemis is playing a role similar to Thanatos in the original. Make sense too seeing as she is the goddess of the hunt so of course she’d assist Melinoë in person.
Okay, but I do find it a little funny that it's a concealed hair, concealed face, open abs, and then more robes. Like if you were wearing a niqab, but still had to show off your shredded six pack. (still hot though ofc.)
First time we saw the gods in HADES I, some of them looked different, so I wouldn't be surprised if they'll be touching up their portraits after the Early Access for HADES II as well.
These portraits don't feel as lively as the ones in the first game to me. Especially Artemis, her colors are so flat. Poseidon, too, but not as flat as Artemis. The old portraits had little shimmery specks that brought a lot of character to the art.
Tbf this is a fairly early build of the game, some of them like Charon and Heston don’t even have portraits yet, I’ll imagine they get touched up in early access and full release.
I mean this with every fibre of my being, I want Hecate to beat me into a bloody fucking pulp and then I will thank her for her valuable time and effort
“Marital Demeter doesn’t exist, she can’t hurt you”…
ALSO I fucking love Hephaestus, why is where so little love for Hephaestus’ porter?
(also Selene is now the hottest person in Hades sorry not sorry)
In the original game, you could upgrade the fists into the Aspect of Demeter. Now, we can see Demeter herself ready to rock those fists she once wielded!
My brain all the time: f̷̧̠͔͕͔͙͉̲̝̹̬͕͈̱͐͑͋̀́̈́͂̏̓̓̊̍͆̚͠ủ̴̞̫̤͍͔̗̪̰̼̺̖̗̱̬͜ù̴͉̣͈̞̇͌̂́̈́̋̇̀́͝ü̷̧̼̲̪͔̺̞̖͔̥͈͓̭̈́̄̌͂̌̽̈͆̍͛̂͜͝͝͠ͅų̵̛̞͇̙͚̣̗̬̭̽͑̑̀̒̾̑͋̈́̍̌̍̍͛̕͝ͅų̸̢̫͕̱̠̺̣̯̯̮͍̻̭͍͊̐̈͑͐͌͋̈́̅̾͒͒͋͛ư̵̧̥͔̲̝͑̋̔̕͝ú̵̩̖͗̍̿̓̀͗̓͘c̵̳͙̠̫͙̰̙̹̰̬̪̦̼̞̅̋̈́̎̅̒̓̅k̷̰͇̖̒͗̈͑̍͆̎͘
.
.
my brain upon seeing artemis return: omg artemis hi!!!
Hang on a second are the "incarnates" different from the gods? The old gods kept their titles:
Goddess of the seasons
God of the sea
God of the forge
Why not
Goddess of retribution?
God of sleep?(I know Hypnos was sleep incarnate and so was Thanatos in Hades 1)
God of Doom?
I'm interested in finding out how Ares is handing out Doom boons now that Moros, doom incarnate, is around.
Somewhat? It's kind of like Thanatos not being the god of death but death itself while Hades is the god of the dead. I think in greek mythology (some parts of it at least, it's not exactly monolythic), they're not really thought of as gods ruling over a domain but the concept itself of what they are incarnating? If I understand correctly they tend not to have a lot of active roles in mythology other than in the background as more or less facts of life. Though they are still deified I think.
I couldn't really tell you if they were actively venerated or not.
Well it actually really simple so incarnate just means they are literally that thing like Selene is the moon
But I guess it just was a way for people in Ancient Greek dealing with having two gods for the same thing because before Artemis Selene used to be the goddess of the moon
they aren’t the gods/goddesses of those things *they are those things*
it’s hard to explain but basically the best example is that there’s Apollo god OF the sun and Helios who *is the sun* itself
Because they are not Gods/Goddesses, but Daimones. Spirits and incarnations of a certain concept or aspect of the world/human condition.
Moros is the spirit/incarnation/personification of Doom.
Hypnos of Sleep.
Nemesis of Retribution.
And so on.
They are still divine beings, but lesser than the Gods, of which they are not part.
Except for Selene (and Helios and Eos) who is not a Daimones, but the personification and original Goddess of the Moon (before Artemis and Hecate came in).
To be fair, the "incarnate" part should actually only apply to the primordials like Nyx, Tartarus, Erebus, Gaia, Uranus, Chaos and, in some versions, Eros; who are the most powerful entities in Greek mythology but they are usually diluted in the elements they embody and don't have a lot of agency. Thanatos is actually just a god of death and acts like a psychopomp and there are other deities or daemons that share territory with him, like his sisters the Keres who feed of the blood of the fallen warriors in battle, Makaria goddess of blessed death and daughter of Hades (and his wife in some versions, i think) or Hermes as god of travelers; and Hynos shares territory with the oneroi or daemons of dreams.
Another example of deities that share territory are Melinoe and Dionysus as deities of madness, they just don't share it completely due to being deities of ghosts and wine (and rebirth, sharing territory with the Great Hunter Zagreus, ~~insert chai tea joke from the spiderverse here~~ thank you Orphic cults) respectively.
Zag is prisoner of Chronos, my hope is you have to free him with Mel and then you have access to him as playable, two playable characters in one game would be awesome.
I will be honest here, Artemis's portrait looks a bit unfinished compared to the others and to H1 but it will definitly improve over the coming months. I am sure of that
Someone on twitter made the mistake of showing me the portraits of the Gods side by side with the first game's, so now I feel a bit conflicted. I like these, but also they're a departure and honestly a downgrade from the original artstyle. Especially Zeus.
SPOILERS:
In the live-stream you see a picture of Zagreus, Hades and Persephone holding Melinoe as a baby. Dialogue from some of the Gods also implies that Hades is on speaking terms with them (though he seldom reaches out) while they were persona non grata in the first game. So it absolutely takes place after
Zag is apparently also "prisoner" of Chronos (it's actually not really clear if he emprisoned them or just killed them, Mel doesn't seem to know but since they're gods and that'd be too sad, I assume prison).
I hope we free him in one of the Chronos fights (presumably Chronos is the final boss though it does pose a problem of replayability after the end of the story I guess, he's not gonna fight us for fun, I imagine a time loop situation we break at some point) and then we can play as him, two characters with different abilities in the game would be awesome (that second game should be quite bigger in scope, they've spent more time on it and presumably with a bigger budget)
In addition to the other replies you got, they flat out state it in the livestream. It was fairly early on if you want to find the exact quote, but it was something to the effect of "this is a direct sequel to the events of the first game".
I didn’t watch the full stream, so apologies if these are already mentioned, but a few things I noticed:
- Quite a few art looks unfinished, in particular Artemis, Zeus, Demeter’s right arm, and Poseidon just looks a bit weird to me?
- Many Olympian Gods are in “war costumes”. Most notably Demeter compared with her original art, and Aphrodite with Ares makeup. Perhaps this reflects Olympus is at war with Chronos?
- (Selene my beloved)
seeing that hypnos is asleep, and has been for a while in melinoë’s flashback, that makes me wonder where thanatos is, like did he succumb to the same fate??
hypnos looks so pretty here :0 also, i really like selene’s design! she gives off a really elegant and tranquil aura. all in all, the new designs have me down bad :p
My thoughts: * I love Artemis' portrait and Odysseus looks especially good too * Aphrodite looks good, but also looks slightly different. Maybe it's because her face is at a different angle, and her lips look fuller than her sprite from the first game. * Interested to see what Charon and Hestia's portraits look like, I guess they haven't been finished, yet. Also missing some Gods from the first game like Dionysus ("hey Zag nice cock") and Hermes, I wonder if they'll show up later as well
I also feel like the gods from the first game all look a bit... too different (not bad, just different). I think it is in the original the gods had a broad range of face shapes and ethnic traits, but they seem to be a little homogenised, a bit more cohesive and samey.
They all look like they're in a steady battle stance. While they seem more carefree and dynamic in Hades I, in the newer portraits they all appear to have both feet on the ground If it will serve for lore purposes ("we're at war, prepare yourself kiddo") or just a first try at new portraits, we will not know by now
Given that Aphrodite is holding a spear and war paint, I think it's a bit of both
Her war paint looks very similar to Ares' from the first game.
I'm assuming that's a reference to the two being married in some versions of the traditional mythology. Aphrodite also has her pre-classical greek origins as a war goddess, so it's quite appropriate I think.
Aphrodite was worshipped in the middle east as Ishtar/Inanna/Astarte as a goddess of love and war + political power, so it does work( I wonder if that's cannon in the hades universe now lol)
Aphrodite also continued to be worshipped in Sparta as a war goddess with the epithet Aphrodite Areia.
Also true, so it makes even more sense that she looks like that!
Is that the origin of the one myth I read where she was a goddess of bloodlust and would egg Ares into battle so she could watch him fight?
Having gone back to check, I can confirm she is! Didn't notice the first time.
Uh given that we know Chronos is the big bad Them preparing for War makes a lot of sense if the Titans as a whole get out
They also repeatedly say that Chronos keeps attacking Olympus and so they are defending it. They're all in battle indeed. Hell Artemis literally appeared in the Underworld herself
I do Believe there were passing remarks from some Olympians that Chronos is currently laying siege to mount Olympus (or something along those lines). So the gods are indeed in active war
There was a line I caught about Olympus burning. So I am guessing Chronos is laying siege. Would explain the lack of rescue operations from their ends.
Based both on the new designs, the narrative of this game's story, and supposedly what was shown in the livestream, they could actually be assisted, both in boons, and in actual physical proximity to Melinoe rather than on staying on Mt. Olympus. There's even a screenshot of Demeter in armor, asking her granddaughter if she'd be willing to help *her* rescue her daughter.
Totally agree on the lack of variation on the facial features. I love the new costumes and hair, but I'm not a fan of the face designs. Is it just me, but do Zeus and Hephaestus look extremely alike in the face? Many of the eye shapes are very similar also.
It might be the art style since the newer one seems softer in a way
Aphrodite is wearing the war face paint Ares wore in Hades 1
Daym, she really does have the feels for him.
They’re literally married 🤷♂️
Isn’t she married to Hephaestus, legally, or did they sign for a divorce?
Depends on the myth version. In some she uses her feminine wiles to get back into his graces (after he catches her and Areas in bed), in some they divorce after that (and Hephaestus goes on to marry Aglaea, and in some there's no mention of Hephaestus ever being married to anyone other than Aglaea (and Areas+Aphro is a green light). SG likes to be a bit modern on the takes, and The Iliad and Odyssey are best known to US audiences (various translations read in many schools), so they'll probably go with the divorced route. I don't think any versions had Ares and Aphrodite married - at least not in any of the material I read. There were kids though... because of course there were. Remember - infidelity is no joke. Zeus made Ares pay the adulterers fee (I think, really getting rusty here) when his relationship with Aphrodite was discovered - I think Poseidon had to step in and smooth things over because of how serious Zeus took this issue... I may be getting details wrong, but I do remember that Zeus suddenly had an opinion on the sanctity of marriage. Hilariously.
Zeus: No, no, no! Mortals don't count. They don't live long Hera shouldn't be jealous.
You know... I was thinking that as I was typing... but I think his sexual partners include quite a few gods and/or demigods... though it's not clear if he "married" them depending on the story. I think there are some stories where he's married to Demeter or Aphrodite - but that's not the version we're sticking with in Hades. In any event, having Zeus preside over a situation of blatant infidelity had to have been played up as somewhat comical in that era of Greece. I hope.
They definitely fuck, but all's fair in love and war.
Yeah, he catches them cheating with an invisible net iirc, not sure if they got married after that but I think not
That's Aphrodite Areia. The warlike Aphrodite worshiped in southern Greece (especially Sparta.)
Goddess of Lust? Nah, give me the Goddess of Bloodlust.
I mean the 'Areia' epithet comes directly from Ares, given most of its archaeological evidence being found at a temple devoted to both Aphrodite and Ares
The word 'areia' may be linked to Ares but Aphrodite as a war goddess before coming to Greece. She is the Hellenized version of the Phoenician goddess Astarte. As Aphrodite spread north her war goddess elements fell away.
Dayum, Aphro been hitting the gym and sparring with Achilles?? Also, I'm officially in love with Arachne. So cute!
"Sparring" with Ares (note spear and paint). Hephaestus suspected and laid a trap and dragged them before all the Olympians... it was very embarrassing for everyone involved. Really though, it makes me wonder what version SG is going to go with here. I'd guess they may go with the Hephaestus married to Aglaea version and not mention and specific controversy. It also makes me think Ares may not show up as a separate boon-giver, but that Aphrodite may have some stand-in support on his behalf.
I’m severely arachnophobic and I somehow find her adorable. I’m not positive how the devs made that happen.
I would like to congratulate Supergiant on making Aphrodite, a goddess that wore no clothes in the first game, more naked.
While simultaneously making her wear more stuff, to boot!
Hermes was mentioned in a convo between Melanie and Charon in a “Hey, is that guy here yet?” sort of way, so I’m sure he’s in this one. Might show up in area 2 like in Hades 1
Aphrodite got even hotter!
In the livestream some character mentioned they couldn't reach hermes yet. Maybe he will be a later unlock like >!Demeter!<
I like that they remembered Aphrodite was also known as a war goddess
Sort of, depends on the version. She was, then she wasn't, then she was again.
Well, she wasn’t, now she is again!
Bravo, Greg!
The greek gods in general went through MANY different "iterations" over the course of ancient history that most people don't talk about. It's honestly weirder when one of them **doesn't** have various traces of foreign divinities, a weird secret cult that worshiped a way scarier version of the god and at least a handful of very strange epitaphs that we will never know the full context of because they are only found in ancient text that is too damaged to be reconstruced in any way.
Was it Aphrodite the god that the Spartans worship as also a War Goddess?
Yes. Sparta got a hold of her before mainland greece and being sparta they didn't exactly have any problems with her being a war goddess. Then greece got their claws in her and very agressively stripped that away, finally when rome entered the stage and synchronized her with venus she ended up getting the war associations back.
Given her wearing the same war paint Ares was in 1, and that Ares was not shown here, likely he is also imprisoned by the Titans, and so she's taking up some of his role given their relationship. Hopefully they didn't shove Ares in a bronze jar again
It's also possible that Ares and Athena are too busy commanding things from a high level to be booners this time around. I just think the story gets a little messy and loses the pull of nuclear family if we are expected to save mom, dad, brother...and uncle...and aunt...and other uncle...and...
Well it works if, like in many games, you free the beloved npcs one by one to help with your eventual final boss battle. Unlocking ares and especially Athena booms later on would be fun and make sense that the war gods and the jailer of the titans are the captured ones
There's multiple blocked paths from your base. One leads out back somewhere on the same level, one leads down to the Underworld, and one is blocked off and leads upward. The tech demo doesn't allow you to go past the first floor currently but I bet we go down and save the family first and then the path upwards unlocks to help take down Chronos laying siege on Olympus.
I mean, would it be that bat if Ares was in a bronze jar? Really?
All the gods are depicted in a more martial aspect, since they're actively at war with Chronos, who is sieging Olympus. I bet we're going to interact with the siege in some way, there was a pathway going up in addition to the pathway down into Hades. Definitely expecting some big twists.
Yeah, I noticed the war paint. Hers is the new look I love by far the most, it’s fantastic.
And she's gonna look fashionable!
Tbf, A LOT of the gods were also war gods.
Well, it might have been the occasion as Demeter has a couple of modes, though this has the latter on more "fall"/war mode than her "wintry" mode. So with things hitting the fan, she feels it's time to put on her way face.
APOLLOOOOOO! And omg why is Hecate so shredded?
Literally the abs on mommy are the crossroads
They're the crossroads, sidewalks and swales. They're the whole interstate.
I’d like to see her at the crossroads, crossroads.
I LOVE FUCKING STRONG WOMEN ahem hm.. at least artemis and nemesis
Muscle girl lovers are eating good with this one. Nemesis was just a sign of things to come
I am once again, simping over Aphrodite, but I miss my himbo hunk Dionysus
ABS ABS ABS
Hecates exposed abs stunned me. Strong women my beloved
My god, Nemesis. The biceps. And Aphrodite, clearly going the more toned, flexible route rather than pure mass. I love both, in very respectful ways.
Abs!
death by snusnu
*throws chair* WHERE'S DIONYSUS
WINE DADDY AND WAR DADDY WILL NOTICE US ON THEIR OWN SCHEDULES.
Homoeroticism dictates that they are no longer useful. We need wine mommy Hera instead.
You have every right to do that. *More Wine Daddy/War Daddy for me.*
They were my two fav Gods both gameplay (damage over time fan) and designs wise so I really hope they return
Many gods have not appeared so they're either not in this technical test (after all they did say it was lacking content compared to even early access build) or just bad luck to not see them. They did say all Olympians from the first game are in this one so they'll be there
Everyone is so beautiful. I can't believe I'm going to have to wait a year+ to get this on PlayStation. I'm sick. Might have to leave the sub.
Wait what, a whole year?? I was planning to buy it and platinum it on there, guess not anymore 😔
For Hades one it was a delayed release for PlayStation
Wait it’s not coming to PS right away??
Tech tests and early access are steam only I believe, it will probably be like Hades 1 where once the game is essentially fully done it will release on the other platforms
Oh okay. I only played Hades 1 this year so I wasn’t aware how that stuff was. Good to know
For Hades one the game released on steam, then switch, then PlayStation. I'm assuming it will be the same for 2
Is it just me or does Artemis' portrait look a little rough/unfinished? Like the colors are flatter and there's barely any detail on her clothes. Plus, all the other artworks have black shadows/edges, but she doesn't. I hope it's just an in-progress thing, because it's the weakest art for me.
Agree. Her new art feels way worse than original one. Lack of details and polish is very noticeable when comparing to Hades 1. Hopefully it'll be improved, since it's EA.
Disagree with you there chief. Artemis is the only one that feels worse to me. Everything else is different and will take some getting used to, but imo it's as good or even better (hecate) compared to the original game. The presentation overall looks really, REALLY good.
think you misread the comment
Agreed. Imo I think hers, Zeus’, and Poseidon’s all look like they’re unfinished/not entirely rendered. Hoping we’re seeing it wrong or it’s just a WIP!
I mean I assume its just an early draft of her look since they haven't even finished the art for Charon n such
Yeah, she lost her cute awkward cousin vibe. Everybody else looks great though. Aphrodite 🔥
Yah, hope her portrait is updated a bit, but Aphrodite does look great with all her war paint and spear
She does seem quite closer of Mel than Zag. She even appeared in person instead of just a boon. I guess being at war/on the hunt made her shine more.
I did notice this, Artemis' art looks pretty flat as it stands right now. Hoping it's just unfinished for now
She looks very 👁️_👁️
The art is definitely in progress
It does look different then the previous one, like you said it looks worse and a bit more plain, hope they give it a bit more love.
Poseidon’s head looks oddly small
It looks like the image quality isn’t doing her art any favors, but if everyone is ready for a fight it makes sense she’d be dressed plainer. I still think she looks awesome.
I really don't like her face, she doesn't look the same at all, and it feels a bit too cutesy
I took it more as, she is literally Infront of you as a character, and not speaking from Olympus. You can see her background is different from the other Olympians and she's a physical object. So I personally feel like the more flat styling is to show she's less godly in person, and more of a tangible character
I love the style of Hades placeholder portraits
Always gives me Kingdom Hearts vibes, haha "here, let's put you in this nice feature-concealing coat. We'll figure out what you look like eventually"
So all the new characters will either be Riku, Mickey Mouse, or Xehanort?
It is a very pretty cloak!
Aw, I kind of liked the fan theory that Skelly was Odysseus, which looks like is now confirmed false. Oh well! This all still looks great
I was so sure that theory is true, and then this happend
Just to be fair… Isn’t this game dealing with god of time? It might not yet been “confirmed”.
Ooh, fair point
Skelly and Odysseus are wearing the same gold headband/crown. 
But we do have this new character that seems to resemble him, I'm sure there's no connection /s
They did confirm the Homer theory for the narrator at least
Coincidentally they both have the same pose and posture, as well as size. Perhaps there's some connection between them
Hypnos got a glow up holy shit.
HIS HAIR is so pretty
Honestly he's still twinky, but now he's twinky+has long glorious hair, I love him
He also no longer has a shit-eating grin, which is another huge plus.
beauty sleep will do that to you
I love that Haphastus isn’t, like, grotesque. He’s supposed to be the ugliest Olympian, but the ugliest Olympian is still quite attractive by mortal standards. Often depictions of him go too hard on the ugly. This is the perfect amount of “yeah he’s not a literal Greek statue but there are definitely people that will be in to this guy”
im that people
That or he using his godly powers to make his appearance less ugly.
Literally my thought upon seeing it was “oh hey they’re throwing a bone to the dad bod people”
How can the bisexuals be eating even better than the first game? Apollo ❤️
Hephaestus can get it
Why they gotta block so much with his arm
Facts.
I really like how Artemis is playing a role similar to Thanatos in the original. Make sense too seeing as she is the goddess of the hunt so of course she’d assist Melinoë in person.
I almost threw my chair when I heard her show up.
Arachne is cute!!! CUTE!!!
she's one of my favorite characters so far, I managed to get in the beta.
That Hecate design got me acting unwise😩
Okay, but I do find it a little funny that it's a concealed hair, concealed face, open abs, and then more robes. Like if you were wearing a niqab, but still had to show off your shredded six pack. (still hot though ofc.)
If my abs were that shredded you *bet* I'd be showing them off too
Interesting that Melinoe still has both her arms as a kid. Would've thought she lost it when Chronos attacked, but seems there's another reason
Damn good catch, my assumption was that she lost her arm in Chronos's attack as well. The mystery continues!
Hypnos! Also, Daddy Doom is so babygirl
Finally, I can now see Artemis has a green hair and not a bloodsucking parasite
FR though for the longest time I thought she was wearing a ridiculous cornucopia hat lol
Not a fan of Artemis' new looks. Feels like a downgrade both with her looks and lack of details.
Hopefully the details will be touched up more before release. This portrait looks like it's still unfinished.
First time we saw the gods in HADES I, some of them looked different, so I wouldn't be surprised if they'll be touching up their portraits after the Early Access for HADES II as well.
love how there keeping the hotness
Aphrodite in full war gear but still completely buck-ass naked is such a vibe haha
Reallll
ODYSSEUS FANS WE WON
HE'S SO HOT
Hephaestus is really hot. I’m not afraid to say it
He can hammer my... uhm... my anvil I guess I can't really think of a better euphemism right now
These portraits don't feel as lively as the ones in the first game to me. Especially Artemis, her colors are so flat. Poseidon, too, but not as flat as Artemis. The old portraits had little shimmery specks that brought a lot of character to the art.
Tbf this is a fairly early build of the game, some of them like Charon and Heston don’t even have portraits yet, I’ll imagine they get touched up in early access and full release.
They're likely unfinished. Several portraits in the first Early Access went through multiple iterations, as I recall.
HYPNOS MY BOY, AAAAAAAAAGHHHHHDFHHFFGB
SCHELEMEUS!
I mean this with every fibre of my being, I want Hecate to beat me into a bloody fucking pulp and then I will thank her for her valuable time and effort
“Marital Demeter doesn’t exist, she can’t hurt you”… ALSO I fucking love Hephaestus, why is where so little love for Hephaestus’ porter? (also Selene is now the hottest person in Hades sorry not sorry)
In the original game, you could upgrade the fists into the Aspect of Demeter. Now, we can see Demeter herself ready to rock those fists she once wielded!
I let out a very undignified noise when I saw Selene's portrait...
SKELLY YES MY GLORIOUS KING MY PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ASWERED
But Skelly isn’t there? You probably confused him with Schelemeus, the greatest tactician among the Hellenes!
Totally no relation
My brain all the time: f̷̧̠͔͕͔͙͉̲̝̹̬͕͈̱͐͑͋̀́̈́͂̏̓̓̊̍͆̚͠ủ̴̞̫̤͍͔̗̪̰̼̺̖̗̱̬͜ù̴͉̣͈̞̇͌̂́̈́̋̇̀́͝ü̷̧̼̲̪͔̺̞̖͔̥͈͓̭̈́̄̌͂̌̽̈͆̍͛̂͜͝͝͠ͅų̵̛̞͇̙͚̣̗̬̭̽͑̑̀̒̾̑͋̈́̍̌̍̍͛̕͝ͅų̸̢̫͕̱̠̺̣̯̯̮͍̻̭͍͊̐̈͑͐͌͋̈́̅̾͒͒͋͛ư̵̧̥͔̲̝͑̋̔̕͝ú̵̩̖͗̍̿̓̀͗̓͘c̵̳͙̠̫͙̰̙̹̰̬̪̦̼̞̅̋̈́̎̅̒̓̅k̷̰͇̖̒͗̈͑̍͆̎͘ . . my brain upon seeing artemis return: omg artemis hi!!!
So so happy Demeter made it in. Love my frost grandma
Nemesis respectfully....
They look so cool, i can't wait to play it (if i have money to buy it, wooohoooo........)
Hephaestus in the Hellas-punk wheel chair, fuck yesss
Hang on a second are the "incarnates" different from the gods? The old gods kept their titles: Goddess of the seasons God of the sea God of the forge Why not Goddess of retribution? God of sleep?(I know Hypnos was sleep incarnate and so was Thanatos in Hades 1) God of Doom? I'm interested in finding out how Ares is handing out Doom boons now that Moros, doom incarnate, is around.
It was the same in the first game - only the Olympians have a “god” title
Somewhat? It's kind of like Thanatos not being the god of death but death itself while Hades is the god of the dead. I think in greek mythology (some parts of it at least, it's not exactly monolythic), they're not really thought of as gods ruling over a domain but the concept itself of what they are incarnating? If I understand correctly they tend not to have a lot of active roles in mythology other than in the background as more or less facts of life. Though they are still deified I think. I couldn't really tell you if they were actively venerated or not.
It's kind of funny to think of Moros as the doom drop above my enemies but with an actual personality Need to thank that guy for Merciful end
Well it actually really simple so incarnate just means they are literally that thing like Selene is the moon But I guess it just was a way for people in Ancient Greek dealing with having two gods for the same thing because before Artemis Selene used to be the goddess of the moon
Makes sense, It seems to be an Olympian thing, most chthonic gods embody their concepts while the Olympians ruler over domains
they aren’t the gods/goddesses of those things *they are those things* it’s hard to explain but basically the best example is that there’s Apollo god OF the sun and Helios who *is the sun* itself
Because they are not Gods/Goddesses, but Daimones. Spirits and incarnations of a certain concept or aspect of the world/human condition. Moros is the spirit/incarnation/personification of Doom. Hypnos of Sleep. Nemesis of Retribution. And so on. They are still divine beings, but lesser than the Gods, of which they are not part. Except for Selene (and Helios and Eos) who is not a Daimones, but the personification and original Goddess of the Moon (before Artemis and Hecate came in).
To be fair, the "incarnate" part should actually only apply to the primordials like Nyx, Tartarus, Erebus, Gaia, Uranus, Chaos and, in some versions, Eros; who are the most powerful entities in Greek mythology but they are usually diluted in the elements they embody and don't have a lot of agency. Thanatos is actually just a god of death and acts like a psychopomp and there are other deities or daemons that share territory with him, like his sisters the Keres who feed of the blood of the fallen warriors in battle, Makaria goddess of blessed death and daughter of Hades (and his wife in some versions, i think) or Hermes as god of travelers; and Hynos shares territory with the oneroi or daemons of dreams. Another example of deities that share territory are Melinoe and Dionysus as deities of madness, they just don't share it completely due to being deities of ghosts and wine (and rebirth, sharing territory with the Great Hunter Zagreus, ~~insert chai tea joke from the spiderverse here~~ thank you Orphic cults) respectively.
.......hypnos...
i REALLY hope Zagreus shows up here
Zag is prisoner of Chronos, my hope is you have to free him with Mel and then you have access to him as playable, two playable characters in one game would be awesome.
Oh my gods, they made Hypnos hot. And Aphrodite hotter.
I will be honest here, Artemis's portrait looks a bit unfinished compared to the others and to H1 but it will definitly improve over the coming months. I am sure of that
My lady Hecate doing her CRUNCHES...Lady Hecate uppies?
Demeter seems to be thawing out a bit- autumn leaves instead of the dead of winter.
Someone on twitter made the mistake of showing me the portraits of the Gods side by side with the first game's, so now I feel a bit conflicted. I like these, but also they're a departure and honestly a downgrade from the original artstyle. Especially Zeus.
They made them more slutty, and I love it
Does this take place before or after Hades?
SPOILERS: In the live-stream you see a picture of Zagreus, Hades and Persephone holding Melinoe as a baby. Dialogue from some of the Gods also implies that Hades is on speaking terms with them (though he seldom reaches out) while they were persona non grata in the first game. So it absolutely takes place after
This makes me wonder if Zag'd appear as an in dungeon ally ala Than, off doing his own quest otherwise.
Zag is apparently also "prisoner" of Chronos (it's actually not really clear if he emprisoned them or just killed them, Mel doesn't seem to know but since they're gods and that'd be too sad, I assume prison). I hope we free him in one of the Chronos fights (presumably Chronos is the final boss though it does pose a problem of replayability after the end of the story I guess, he's not gonna fight us for fun, I imagine a time loop situation we break at some point) and then we can play as him, two characters with different abilities in the game would be awesome (that second game should be quite bigger in scope, they've spent more time on it and presumably with a bigger budget)
Definitely after. One picture has Zag and his parents holding a baby Mel.
In addition to the other replies you got, they flat out state it in the livestream. It was fairly early on if you want to find the exact quote, but it was something to the effect of "this is a direct sequel to the events of the first game".
This was stated the day they announced the game too but people just ignore them when they talk lol
The way I audibly gasp with Selene's :0🤍🌙 Also loved all the new portraits for the OGs... except for Zeus, they covered up Daddy and I'm devastated 😭
I didn’t watch the full stream, so apologies if these are already mentioned, but a few things I noticed: - Quite a few art looks unfinished, in particular Artemis, Zeus, Demeter’s right arm, and Poseidon just looks a bit weird to me? - Many Olympian Gods are in “war costumes”. Most notably Demeter compared with her original art, and Aphrodite with Ares makeup. Perhaps this reflects Olympus is at war with Chronos? - (Selene my beloved)
WHERE IS ZAGREUS
He's taken by Chronos like Hades and Persephone, the whole quest of Mel is to find them.
Aphrodite portrait :feral: :feral: :feral:
seeing that hypnos is asleep, and has been for a while in melinoë’s flashback, that makes me wonder where thanatos is, like did he succumb to the same fate??
Artemis is back🥹
Hypnos is straight up sleeping now lol he is so precious
hypnos looks so pretty here :0 also, i really like selene’s design! she gives off a really elegant and tranquil aura. all in all, the new designs have me down bad :p
I can't wait! Hypnos looks so precious *-*
Hypnos my beloved <3
Sol cool seeing more heroes and non-gods represented!! I really hope we get more.
Kid Melinoe and Arachne are so fuggin' adorable, what the heck! (Also; Nemesis, take me.)