Hades is a game with a typical sandwich structure. Its loops are the combat encounters to escape the underworld, while its arcs are primarily the conversations in the House of Hades. This structure is perfectly woven into the narrative: the Underworld prince attempts to escape his domain—a daunting task where failure sends him back home, but each attempt makes him a little stronger. During the arcs, players can use the resources acquired from the loops for meta-progression, converse with NPCs to learn the story, and unlock new content. Once the player successfully escapes the underworld, the game utilizes a beautiful cutscene (arcs) to present the progression of the narrative. The new content provided by these arcs, in turn, drives the player to dive back into the loops and experience the variations in gameplay.
Even more interestingly, within the combat loops, there exists a smaller cycle of loops and arcs. After each minor combat encounter, the player obtains Boons from the gods. This triggers character portraits of the gods, brief dialogue, and blessings that alter the combat experience. This serves as a mini arc that breaks up the monotony of repetitive combat; it uses new elements to disrupt the existing mental model, requiring the player to build a new mental model in the subsequent battle. This ensures continuous “learning,” thereby preventing mechanical repetition and boredom.
