Yea this why can't we just praise an awesome game instead of bickering over platforms lol.
In this case because its early access phase was a critical part of its development, and last I checked this forum was kind of focused on the games industry beyond just "dis gaem gud y'all".
SuperGiant did something relatively risky with Hades. They did an early access game through Epic, probably to bank Epic money to cover them through the extended development process, then had significant community interaction from the very first iteration to tune the game in. Then about a year after releasing on Epic Game Store it came to Steam and they spent another ~6-7 months polishing it with increased community feedback.
As a day one backer I can say that the game at "final release" is not the same game I was playing in late 2018. Entire systems function differently, it wasn't just expansion of the levels and narrative. So when people comment on how polished it feels or how tightly all the gameplay mechanics work together thats something people in early know developed over time.
Hades more than any other game is a product of this current time in game development. EGS v. Steam, Early Access, the large indie/handheld friendly appetite on Switch. These are all part of a game development and release process that speaks more to what making a game now is like than any other project I can think of. Not only is it a great game from a great studio, it also gives us a facet into so many of the driving forces in the industry.
Writing that history off as "launching" now because its on Switch like its an indie game with a few thousand sold that suddenly broke out to a hundred thousand sold on Switch isn't in line with the philosophical discourse we're supposed to be aiming for on this forum.
NoClip has done a multi-part documentary on the development of Hades, for those interested. I'm really hoping someone does a interview with the SG team that goes a bit more comprehensively into what their past was like leading into this and what the next few months end up being like.
My suspicion is that Pyre under-performed for them relative to the trend line of Bastion and Transistor, which at least in some part contributed to the EGS deal, as to me Pyre was one of the first clear examples of digital marketplace crowding where even established smaller studios were getting overran by big AAA releases and their marketing deals with platform holders, Sony being the most egregious example of this after propping up indies on the digital storefront early in the generation, including specifically with Transistor. If so this game tells even more stories about how the industry has changed in the last ~7 years.
Hades might be the game of the year as a play experience but it might also be the game of the generation when we ask "what were the industry forces acting for/against developers during the 201x's?"
