Hades

Hades is a roguelike game where you’re Zagreus, Hades’ son, battling your way out of the underworld. I’ve never played a roguelike before and this released out of early access a lot of fanfare that I checked it out. The art is incredible, the characters are intriguing and charming, and there’s a lot of heart in the writing. I’m terrible at it though, so I play with God Mode enabled, which gives me a ridiculous amount of damage resistance from enemies. You can pet the dog.

The story progresses as you continue to die and try to escape over and over again—the repetition is a core part of the whole story. And after escaping once, the story’s just beginning. It feels so satisfying to play since failure is still meaningful progress. I love the character design so much I’m drawing fanart of it.