One of my favorite games of all time is Hades, a rogue-like game developed by Supergiant games about the son of Hades, Zagreus, trying to escape from the Underworld. While the game has multiple different types of fun, such as narrative, challenge, and discovery, the one I’ll be focusing on is discovery.
At the beginning of the game, you are a super weak godling who has nothing and knows nothing. A set of mechanics that motivates you to explore are the different types of “collectibles”; from the excellent, seemingly-infinitely branching script of the game, to the different weapons and weapon upgrades, to the ever-changing map and Gods that may talk to you and give you boons throughout your journey (before your imminent death and restart.) All of these elements contribute slightly differently to the game and yet fulfilled the arguable most crucial dynamic to a rogue-like, which is convincing the player after they die to try again. As a player, I was eager to complete my next run even if I didn’t win because there was always something to look forward to, like talking to a new and exciting character or trying a new weapon next time.
The feeling of discovery carries through a sense of momentum throughout the game that continues even after you’ve put 50 hours into it. While the beginning is more exciting as every run is likely to hold something yet undiscovered, the team worked to make sure that even in the late game, there are consistently new dialogue options, quests, and even Gods that show up after a certain point. It’s insanely impressive how they kept up that feeling of “newness” even after so many hours of play.
