Verdict № 01 · Action
Hades II review
Supergiant's sequel is the best action game in our set and the cheapest major release here. Every store charges the same £24.99.
Melinoë summoning green witchfire against a dark, ornate backdrop. Official image: Supergiant Games.
Hades II follows Melinoë, witch-princess of the Underworld, as she fights her way towards the Titan of Time, Chronos, one attempt at a time. Each run hands you a different set of blessings from the gods; each defeat sends you home to spend what you found on new abilities, weapons and relationships. After a year and a half in early access it reached version 1.0 in September 2025. It holds 94 on Metacritic, 99% of OpenCritic's critics recommend it, and it was named Best Action Game at The Game Awards 2025.
Its price is the headline for a value site: £24.99 on Steam, Switch, PlayStation and Xbox alike, with a free upgrade for Switch 2, free content patches and no in-game shop. It is also included in Game Pass.
The best-made game here, at half the price of most of its rivals.The verdict in one line
The review, milestone by milestone
- mark 9.0
Hours 1 to 5
Defeat as progress
The first hour teaches the rhythm that carries the whole game: fight through Erebus, gather resources and blessings, fall, return to the Crossroads and spend what you earned. The Arcana card system, incantations at the cauldron and six Nocturnal Arms give every return a purpose.
It is unusually good at making a defeat feel like a step forward.
- mark 9.5
The middle stretch
Two roads and a growing cast
Soon a second route opens, up to the surface and Olympus as well as down through the Underworld, which doubles the variety. Weapon aspects, familiars and keepsakes widen the builds, and the story advances between runs through a large, fully voiced cast.
The loop of run, return and grow stays compelling for dozens of hours.
- mark 9.0
The long tail
The true ending and beyond
Reaching the true ending takes many successful runs; a free patch in October 2025 extended it after some players found the original version abrupt. After that come Fear difficulty modifiers, hidden aspects, relationship stories and a new run variant added in April 2026.
Main story plus extras is about 53 hours; completionists report more than 100.
- mark 9.3
Craft and access
Smooth everywhere, kind to newcomers
Supergiant's art and music are superb, and the Switch 2 version runs at 1080p and 120 frames per second when docked. It was named best game on Steam Deck in the 2025 Steam Awards.
God Mode adds damage resistance that grows after each defeat, so anyone can reach the ending, and there are captions and full controller support.
The bill: what it really costs in the UK
Hades II is the simplest bill in our twelve: one price on every store and nothing to buy afterwards.
The bill · Hades II
The soundtrack is sold separately on Steam for £8.50 if you want it. There is no in-game shop.
Where to buy it and how you can pay
Because the price is identical everywhere, choose the store by the hardware you own and how you like to pay. Steam and Epic give PC players a refund window of 14 days and two hours; the Nintendo eShop gives none; PlayStation stops refunds once the download starts.
Nintendo eShop
- Visa or Mastercard
- PayPal (18+)
- eShop cards
PlayStation Store
£17.49 until 23:59 on 7 October.
- Card
- PayPal
- Apple Pay
- paysafecard
- Mobile billing
- PS gift cards
Xbox and Microsoft Store
- Card
- Mobile billing
- Xbox gift cards
Before you pay: it is included in PC Game Pass, Game Pass Premium and Ultimate, but at £24.99 buying it costs less than three months of Game Pass. Buy it unless you already subscribe.
How the scores add up
| How it plays | Weight | Mark |
|---|---|---|
| First hours | 15% | 9.0 |
| The middle stretch | 30% | 9.5 |
| The long tail | 20% | 9.0 |
| Craft | 20% | 9.5 |
| Access | 15% | 9.0 |
| What it costs | Weight | Mark |
|---|---|---|
| Price against play | 35% | 9.5 |
| Honest pricing | 25% | 10.0 |
| Ways to pay | 20% | 8.5 |
| Protection | 20% | 7.0 |
What we rate
- Superb combat with enormous build variety
- £24.99 on every store, with nothing else to buy
- A free Switch 2 upgrade and free updates
- God Mode opens it up to any player
What costs it
- Repetition is the point, and not for everyone
- The true ending asks for many successful runs
- Not sold on GOG
- Nintendo and PlayStation refund rules are strict
Buy it if
you want the best-crafted action game here at the lowest price of any major release in our set.
Think twice if
you dislike revisiting areas; every run starts from the same place, even if no two play the same way.
Final verdict
Hades II is the best-balanced verdict on the site: a superb game at £24.99, with nothing else to buy and no difference in price from one platform to the next. Only the uneven refund rules on consoles keep its Value score short of perfect.
Buy it on the platform you play most; on PS5, the sale running to 7 October makes it the cheapest route of all.
Weigh it against
Sources
This review is an editorial analysis of published evidence; see how we judge. Prices checked 25 September 2026.