Hades

Hades is an action roguelike from Supergiant Games, in which the player, as Zagreus, son of the god of the underworld Hades, repeatedly tries to escape the underworld to Olympus, with each failed attempt and subsequent death being fully integrated into the story rather than just a game penalty. During his escape, Zagreus fights his way through four distinct areas of Greek mythology inspired by regions of the underworld, aided in his upgrades by boons from the gods of Olympus like Zeus, Athena or Ares, who offer random combinations of abilities that change the style of each run - from chain lightning through bouncing projectiles to devastating critical hits.

The combat system is fast and readable: a basic attack, a special attack, a dodge and a thrown item are enough to build very different strategies from a combination of six distinct weapons ranging from a sword to a bow to a shield. The key innovation is a sophisticated narrative system: characters remember Zagreus's previous attempts, comment on his failures, and the story develops smoothly with each further run, turning the repeated dying typical of the genre into a meaningful part of the storytelling rather than a frustrating necessity. The sheer amount of voiced dialogue is enormous, so even after dozens of runs the game offers new conversations.

The visual style combines hand-drawn characters with a dark yet colorful stylization of Greek mythology, and Darren Korb's music gives the game a distinctive rock edge that turns into one of the most memorable game soundtracks of the generation during key battles. The system of permanent upgrades using the Darkness currency and relationships with characters motivates repeated playthroughs even after completing the main storyline, which is further supplemented by optional difficulty increases for those who want to go further. Hades collected an unprecedented number of Game of the Year awards across game criticism and is now considered one of the defining titles of the roguelike genre.