I’m admittedly not hardcore enough for most rogue-ish games (Spelunky 2 absolutely wrecks me), but Hades hits the sweet spot for me. The progression over time i

I’m admittedly not hardcore enough for most rogue-ish games (Spelunky 2 absolutely wrecks me), but Hades hits the sweet spot for me. The progression over time is nice, but having a wide range of control — e.g. weapon choice and, essentially, god power up choice — is even more welcoming. What’s nice is that a run in which you cede control is just as fun and addicting. And the endgame mechanic of difficulty modifiers is surprisingly robust. Not just options to increase enemies/damage by n%, but a few options that drastically change enemy abilties. My biggest complaint is that the game could use more variety and randomness, but 100+ runs of entertainment is pretty solid value. One thing that Hades’s success affirms for me is the importance of story and world-building for players who aren’t just looking for hardcore mechanics and challenge. Klei (makers of Don’t Starve and Mark of the Ninja) created what I think is one of the pinnacles of turn-based strategy in Invisible, Inc [0]. It’s like X-COM except with a single, small squad and no (tactical) RNG. But its fatal flaw was that it ended anti-climactically after 3 in-game days, and Klei’s reasoning was “well it’s meant to be replayed, and you shouldn’t get too attached to your team” Each successful run in Hades can also feel short and anti-climactic, but Supergiant beautifully overcomes that with persistent story/dialogue state. Even when the action feels stale I was still happy to grind to move the story and subplots forward. [0] https://www.klei.com/games/invisible-inc https://www.klei.com/games/invisible-inc