It's so hard to put into words why I love this game, but this genuinely might be one of the best video games I've ever played. As someone who had very minimal contact with the roguelites genre (like? lite? I don't know...), I can confidentially say this was one hell of a first impression. There's so many elements to this that make it so much more enjoyable for me, like the fact that I already love Greek mythology and get to see more content that I'm familiar with, like references to other stories. Somehow the game manages to capture a new side of the characters, yet stay true to their source and I heavily appreciate it a lot. The actual story itself is pretty solid as well, while it's not anything absolutely mind-boggling, it's a tragic story that becomes hopeful and has a great premise. However, the characters are what make the story so good because everyone's a delight. Whether it's Zagreus with his cocky and "done with this shit" attitude, or the Olympians each with their own quirks, or Theseus with his bloated ego, or even Achilles just being a great mentor to Zagreus, or Sisyphus being an absolutely wholesome lad (despite his actual myth), all of these characters are fun to interact with and their dialogue (and voice acting too) are just perfect. The OST is also amazing, with each song fitting the vibe perfectly and most areas having a calmer part for normal battles and a metal part for the bosses. Some songs that really stick out for me are: The Painful Way, Field of Souls, The Exalted, The King and the Bull, and God of the Dead. Now after all that, we can finally get into the gameplay (there's so much to say about this game I love it). It's simple to start, but hard to master. The difficulty curve is pretty well done for the most part, I think the ONLY gripe I'd have is Elysium feels so much harder than Asphodel, but then I realized how this kind of game works: It gets easier over time. I needed to focus more on upgrading the permanent stuff and trying out new combinations, and eventually, I got my first clear. Soon, the rest would come and I ended with a five clear win streak on the last run before credits. There are six weapons, and each weapon feels great to use and has their own pros and cons, so everything feels viable. All the combinations with the Boons are great as well, and very rarely did it ever feel like my Boons were bad enough to cost me a run, rather it felt like it was my fault and that I needed to learn. All the Boon effects are really fun as well, I like making new combinations each time and figuring out what combos I can make that feel nice to play with. My personal favourite effects are Deflect, Crit, Doom, Hangover, and Chill, though all of them are great. There's a couple of annoying enemies to fight, and the bosses can be tough at times, but that makes beating them and finding great combinations so much more satisfying. Despite the repetitive gameplay, I could keep playing this for hours and hours and I'm definitely not done with it yet, though since I've reached the credits, I might as well do this review and log it. Overall, Hades is simply a masterpiece with many amazing qualities that make this game an addictive and fun game that I would go as far as to say is a "must play" for sure.