Hades II is a female-protagonist roguelike (roguelite) action game developed by Supergiant Games. Its target audience includes action game enthusiasts and Greek mythology fans. I have recently played it for over 50 hours on PC.
Hades II inherits the roguelike combat system, “family story,” and “relationship development” system from Hades, while also undertaking a feminist modification upon this foundation. Therefore, with a female protagonist, Hades II is reformist rather than subversive compared to the male-protagonist Hades. On the one hand, this demonstrates the “entry” and “empowerment” of women in action game genres; on the other hand, it serves as a metaphor for the practical challenges facing the “destroy and reconstruct” vision articulated by Chess.
A Female-Protagonist Action Roguelike
In action roguelikes, the protagonist often wields multiple weapons, undergoes countless battles across numerous attempts, and ultimately defeats a powerful enemy. The protagonists of such games are usually male (Dead Cells, Hades…), but Hades II decouples the “game mechanics” from the “game characters” and proves that the game still works when the protagonist becomes female. In terms of specific mechanics, Hades II avoids stereotyping by not binding women to “excelling at ranged magic and crowd control, but lacking in melee combat.” Instead, it allows the protagonist, Melinoë, to master various combat styles simultaneously. The key is not to distinguish “what men are good at versus what women are good at,” but to reveal that “women can be the protagonists of action games and showcase their own strength.”
Image: Melinoë can choose from six different weapons
However, there is an alternative interpretation: the action roguelike genre itself embodies hegemonic masculinity, resolving issues through combat and generating pleasure through explosions and gore. Inserting Melinoë without altering the template proves women’s “entry,” but it lacks a reflection on the genre itself. Although the game incorporates a “charging” (Omega moves) mechanic compared to the first installment, this feels more like a refinement of the gameplay rather than a subversion of the genre.
A Grandfather Reformed Rather Than Destroyed
The beginning of the Hades II story repeatedly emphasizes “death to Cronus,” which is a classic revenge structure. But after Melinoë finally gets the chance to kill Cronus (her own grandfather), she chooses to hold back and forgive. Rather than “destruction,” the solution chosen by this story is “reconstruction”—giving Cronus an additional memory of “having spent a wonderful time with family” to dissipate his hatred. I would not call this approach “feminine” (avoiding tying women to the domestic sphere), but it is at least not rooted in “hegemonic masculinity,” allowing players to experience an alternative narrative possibility.
Yet, this also harbors a sense of crisis: the old order (represented by the grandfather) still exists, merely “reformed,” and in-game characters even doubt “whether Cronus will rebel again.” In the game’s second ending, the three Fates decide to stop weaving destinies, handing the era over to mortals; simultaneously, however, the gods remain and still wield power. When will the new era arrive? As Cronus states, time is a loop, and you will always see similar patterns. The story of Hades II features no absolute revolution. This can be analyzed as a “lack of force,” or it can be seen as “realism”—echoing Chess’s argument that “destroying and resurrecting” is a vision, whereas reality is far more complex.
Image: The conversation between Melinoë and Cronus after the Fates stop weaving destinies
Furthermore, the pleasure mechanism of Hades II is not climactic but rather rooted in delay. The initial goal of the story is to “make attempt after attempt to defeat Cronus.” But the resolution of the Cronus event, as mentioned above, is not a climactic catharsis. Once resolved, the story shifts to “making attempt after attempt to clear out possibilities in parallel timelines.” The game has a massive volume of text, and the roguelike structure itself ensures that every night offers a new experience. The story does not terminate at a singular moment but continues to unfold—forming a stark contrast to the climax-centric narratives of hegemonic masculinity.
Intimacy and the Body
In Hades II, the protagonist possesses the agency to gift items and develop relationships with characters. What left a deep impression on me was when inviting Odysseus to bathe together; he remarked, “In the mortal world, men and women bathing together is not common.” Melinoë replied, “In the realm of the gods, it’s nothing.” The worldview of Greek mythology in Hades II differs from contemporary societal gender norms. The game allows players to perform this alternative normative system, thereby encouraging them to examine their own internalized gender norms.
Image: The conversation between Odysseus and Melinoë at the hot springs
Another example: when I first started playing Hades II, seeing some counter-stereotypical female characters (such as the heavily muscled warrior Nemesis) and male characters displaying bodily beauty (such as Moros) evoked a certain sense of awkwardness. However, as the game progressed and I developed intimate relationships with these characters, it prompted me to engage in perspective-taking regarding the “male gaze”: a vast number of games are saturated with a “heterosexual male” aesthetic, which can similarly cause awkwardness for non-heterosexual male players. Hades II made me re-examine gender norms and practice other possibilities, reflecting the value of video games as “agentic-training tools.”
Image: A comparison of romanceable male characters: on the left is Thanatos from Hades, on the right is Moros from Hades II; the latter depicts bodily beauty more directly
Overall, Hades II demonstrates feminist potential in terms of entry, narrative structure, and agency, but it stops at reform rather than subversion. This “partial realization” serves as the most honest footnote to Chess’s argument: “destroying and reconstructing” is a vision, whereas real-world change is often gradual and requires constant negotiation. Yet, just as Hades II sets the player on a new journey every night—that change may be slow, but it is underway.
