It's interesting to me how Hades incorporates a lot of the aesthetic and techniques from free-to-play games, but within a paid game. The result is incredibly ad

It's interesting to me how Hades incorporates a lot of the aesthetic and techniques from free-to-play games, but within a paid game. The result is incredibly addictive. It's a constant stream of vivid animation and sound, coupled with the gradual accumulation of different currencies and collectables that makes you always feel like you're making some forward progress. At times it can feel almost a bit _too_ slick and addictive. Like it's manipulating the reward centres of your brain bit too perfectly. Fortunately, what saves it from feeling hollow is the quality of the writing and the story. I'm just glad I've started playing it over the Christmas holiday, because all the times I've stayed up until 3am wouldn't be good if I had to get up for work the next day.