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Hades vs Dead Cells
- Thread starter xclk07
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IMO - Hades is a masterclass on how to do interesting narrative strokes within a cyclical gameplay loop. Even if you're very good, no one beats Hades the first time, but unlike most other roguelikes where dying is usually followed by a scolding and kick in the pants as you start again, Hades reveals more about the world and the characters within in such a way that really makes you want to know what's happening and why things are turning out the way they are. There's a TON to learn from how Hades handles its plot and characterization considering the core of the gameplay is mostly, rng not withstanding, an unchanging loop. I'd love to see a fighting game receive the same treatment, considering the thing that scares people off from fighting games in general is how they're made to feel when they lose.
With Dead Cells...if the gameplay loop doesn't grab you, then there's nothing really for you. And the frustration you get once you start using boss souls to progress your item collection can really make returning to the game pretty unappealing. I had a great time with Dead Cells but...I'm probably never going to get past 3 boss souls and I'm almost certainly never going to reach the true final boss, let alone beat him. So for me, that game is done, and its not very satisfying.
I played quite a bit of Dead Cells when it first came out, but only ever got as far as the second to last boss (at least I think it was).
Loved the feel of the controls and combat, and really liked the loop until it started feel like it was taking AGES to level anything up at a certain point which is where my interest sadly faded. I tried playing it a few months later but I lost all my muscle memory and didn't feel like Taking the time to get good at it again.
Since then more DLC and patches came out and I do want to get back to it someday since I did really like it.
Hades I'm kind of in a similar position. I got Hades not long after it came out and I loved it. Combats super fun, and I love the story and characters. The way it weaves the story into the repeating cycles is incredible and makes me want to replay just for more dialog.
But after a while the upgrades started to take longer to buy and I don't often progress very far so it takes a while to earn the upgrade points in this game (Haven't even escaped once yet, furthest I got was the gladiator fight at the end of the lush green heaven-ish area).
Thankfully I know there's a "God" mode in the settings to make the game easier if I do want to play just for the story. But I do like playing the game enough that I think I'll get back to it in normal mode eventually. It's a much more pick up and play game to me than Dead Cells was.
Loved the feel of the controls and combat, and really liked the loop until it started feel like it was taking AGES to level anything up at a certain point which is where my interest sadly faded. I tried playing it a few months later but I lost all my muscle memory and didn't feel like Taking the time to get good at it again.
Since then more DLC and patches came out and I do want to get back to it someday since I did really like it.
Hades I'm kind of in a similar position. I got Hades not long after it came out and I loved it. Combats super fun, and I love the story and characters. The way it weaves the story into the repeating cycles is incredible and makes me want to replay just for more dialog.
But after a while the upgrades started to take longer to buy and I don't often progress very far so it takes a while to earn the upgrade points in this game (Haven't even escaped once yet, furthest I got was the gladiator fight at the end of the lush green heaven-ish area).
Thankfully I know there's a "God" mode in the settings to make the game easier if I do want to play just for the story. But I do like playing the game enough that I think I'll get back to it in normal mode eventually. It's a much more pick up and play game to me than Dead Cells was.
I've played the shit out of both, and even ignorin incentives and variety of the narrative, Hades comes out on top. The core gameplay, the fewer, but more engaging weapon's and their aspects, the in-universe customisable difficulty settings, the music, the visuals ... I much prefer all of that in Hades
while I've enjoyed trawling through levels for extra stuff in Dead Cells, the necessity of getting as many upgrades as possible on higher boss cell difficulties just made the experience somewhat exhausting at times. Runs would last like an hour as opposed to ~30 min. in Hades.
I do really like the different biomes in Dead Cells though, and it cools how there are new and secret areas late in the game. I made it to the syringe guy boss fight in the astrological tower on 5 boss cells or w/e, but it feels like there could be even more to see, even ignoring DLC.
while I've enjoyed trawling through levels for extra stuff in Dead Cells, the necessity of getting as many upgrades as possible on higher boss cell difficulties just made the experience somewhat exhausting at times. Runs would last like an hour as opposed to ~30 min. in Hades.
I do really like the different biomes in Dead Cells though, and it cools how there are new and secret areas late in the game. I made it to the syringe guy boss fight in the astrological tower on 5 boss cells or w/e, but it feels like there could be even more to see, even ignoring DLC.
Everyone is so effusive in their praise of Hades that I feel like I have to give it a shot at some point, but like, all the videos I've seen really aren't giving me a good vibe. I remember everyone loving Bastion when that came out, but I gave it up less than an hour in, mostly on account of how floaty and inconsequential movement felt. The aesthetic in concert with the mechanics made me feel like I was pushing flimsy paper cutouts around on a tabletop. Gameplay in Hades is supposedly airtight, but in motion it looks like they haven't moved much beyond Bastion in terms of look and feel. To me, it just seems busy, choppy, with action and intent rendered hard to read.
Getting (finally) to the point relevant to the thread, Dead Cells is also a game I gave up quickly for similar reasons, which I only tried because it was hard to ignore the outpouring of love for it. So now I really, definitely feel like I need to try Hades before impulse buying it, haha.
Getting (finally) to the point relevant to the thread, Dead Cells is also a game I gave up quickly for similar reasons, which I only tried because it was hard to ignore the outpouring of love for it. So now I really, definitely feel like I need to try Hades before impulse buying it, haha.
I was very, very disappointed with Dead Cells, to the point where I even avoided Hades for a bit because they sounded like they had a similar loop. And they do....but Hades feels like the fulfillment of Dead Cells concept. Hades is for sure one of my favorite games this year and I can't recommend it enough
Hades does everything so well... The only thing Dead Cells does better in my opinion is in its variety. Dead Cells has more enemies types, more areas and is a lot less predictable than Hades. I wish Hades had a bit more areas to mix things up a bit after a while. It's a lot easier to progress in Hades always doing the same thing/build, than in Dead Cells where you have to adjust your runs according to what you get.
Cannot really go wrong with either though. But if you had to play only one, then Hades would be the answer.
Cannot really go wrong with either though. But if you had to play only one, then Hades would be the answer.
You'll hate Hades. Don't bother
And quit playing games out of obligation ffs
There is something very important in this kind of run based games, that's rythm.
Dead Cells has it, Hades not so much.
Dead Cells gets you in the zone, go, go, go, flowing, it makes runs seem short, you die and back you are on it.
Hades by design is not that, and in my opinion, for that reason the experience is worse.
Oh! I got to the third boss, cool, let's go again... Enter slow pace no consequence first world again to break my rythm.
Also while on Hades there are a lot of builds that are perfectly fine, I also believe that lots of runs are just doomed because of bad luck. The system in Dead Cells to develop the character is simpler, more streamlined, and yet the actual fighting is varied enough to keep you going.
I "finish" booth games, as in kill the final boss a couple times, so I am no expert than call talk about the real end game, but for the first 10-20h of experience, Dead Cells is a better game.
And yes, Hades has characters and story, while charming and well writing, to me they are still on the way of getting into the next run.
Dead Cells has it, Hades not so much.
Dead Cells gets you in the zone, go, go, go, flowing, it makes runs seem short, you die and back you are on it.
Hades by design is not that, and in my opinion, for that reason the experience is worse.
Oh! I got to the third boss, cool, let's go again... Enter slow pace no consequence first world again to break my rythm.
Also while on Hades there are a lot of builds that are perfectly fine, I also believe that lots of runs are just doomed because of bad luck. The system in Dead Cells to develop the character is simpler, more streamlined, and yet the actual fighting is varied enough to keep you going.
I "finish" booth games, as in kill the final boss a couple times, so I am no expert than call talk about the real end game, but for the first 10-20h of experience, Dead Cells is a better game.
And yes, Hades has characters and story, while charming and well writing, to me they are still on the way of getting into the next run.
Dead Cells is more of a true rogue like. Ther "perma" progression is very shallow and often detrimental, since the new stuff you unlock is often times flat out worse.
Hades is a GOTY contender. It better gameplay, progression, story and world building. Variety is also much better.
Also, none of that timer-chest bullshit.
Hades is a GOTY contender. It better gameplay, progression, story and world building. Variety is also much better.
Also, none of that timer-chest bullshit.
This implies Dead Cells did not get any GOTY nominations, which is untrue. It also received several, and won "Best Action Game" at Geoff's TGA 2018.
I much prefer side-scrollers and metroidvanias in general, but I reached the final boss in Dead Cells on my first attempt, and have absolutely NO interest in replaying the stages again to beat the game! I hate roguelikes/lites.
Hades though, I spent almost 20 hours on and didn't get bored until I beat it. I find the gameplay quite repetitive (attack - dash away - attack - dash away forever), but the aspect of developing good builds each attempt really grew on me, it felt very fresh and it was always exciting to see what my next powerup options were and how I could use them in my strategy. Also permanently upgrading your character little by little between each round made it feel like I was always making progress.
So yeah, it's the only roguelite I've enjoyed so far, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. And I don't even care about the characters/voice-acting, just skipped most of it.
Hades though, I spent almost 20 hours on and didn't get bored until I beat it. I find the gameplay quite repetitive (attack - dash away - attack - dash away forever), but the aspect of developing good builds each attempt really grew on me, it felt very fresh and it was always exciting to see what my next powerup options were and how I could use them in my strategy. Also permanently upgrading your character little by little between each round made it feel like I was always making progress.
So yeah, it's the only roguelite I've enjoyed so far, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. And I don't even care about the characters/voice-acting, just skipped most of it.
Whoa, this might be one of the few times I can effectively say that I've completed both! By far I had a more enjoyable time, both minute-to-minute and as a whole, with Hades. That said they actually are quite different in a number of ways, even though they share a few similar traits.
I guess it depends on what you're looking for. I loved hades but as a roguelike i ended up being disappointed. If you're looking for a game to play hundreds of hours you are better off with dead cells. Hades was too short, too easy and too repetitive. I still enjoyed the hell out of it for 76h so im by no means trashing the game but dead cells i played over 200h and im still nowhere done with it.
Hades has less enemy and biome variety, every run is gonna be the same bosses, same zones in the same order, not too many different types of rooms either. After 76h i did all the achievements and did 32 heat which unlocks the last statue too, i also jumped from heat 11 to 32 because even though the game was challenging enough at first (started in hell mode) i reached a point where i was escaping every time, was at 18 escapes in a row while increasing the heat by one every time (which is all you need to do to progress, increasing more will do nothing). Dead Cells gameplay is also way better, doesnt mean that it is bad in Hades, Dead Cells just is on another level.
Hades has less enemy and biome variety, every run is gonna be the same bosses, same zones in the same order, not too many different types of rooms either. After 76h i did all the achievements and did 32 heat which unlocks the last statue too, i also jumped from heat 11 to 32 because even though the game was challenging enough at first (started in hell mode) i reached a point where i was escaping every time, was at 18 escapes in a row while increasing the heat by one every time (which is all you need to do to progress, increasing more will do nothing). Dead Cells gameplay is also way better, doesnt mean that it is bad in Hades, Dead Cells just is on another level.
It's not obligation so much as a curiosity in the medium. I routinely watch films that ostensibly hold little interest for me, but are praised by sources I respect; that's the only way to potentially expand your palate.
Point still taken, though, in that there's absolutely no reason to watch or read or play or listen to EVERYTHING you hear is good. Your own heuristics have to come into effect somewhere, and I think you're right in that I've got plenty of personal signals to place trust in in this instance.
Hades isn't absolutely hideous and free of anything resembling character or personality, so that alone is a point in its favor, on top of everything else.
They are both worth playing but if youre on switch i would advise against Hades.
I played on launch day and the performance was not that bad but i definitely prefer smooth 60 on PC.
Also in Handheld its sometimes too much for the little screen, details blend into each other that somehow gets really frustrating for me atleast.
Dead Cells on the other hand is more stable and the action remains readable even at an higher bc counter.
I played on launch day and the performance was not that bad but i definitely prefer smooth 60 on PC.
Also in Handheld its sometimes too much for the little screen, details blend into each other that somehow gets really frustrating for me atleast.
Dead Cells on the other hand is more stable and the action remains readable even at an higher bc counter.
This is a great thread.
I was holding on Hades ( despite being n1 in digital on the Switch beating even mario 3D collection) mostly because I played both Dead Cells and Slay the Spire and the repetitive gameplay was putting me off Roguelite games.
I loved them a LOT at first, super addictive gameplay, but after a while realized that luck was a big part of the game.
Apparently this one is more friendly and less punishing. I might try, maybe I'll finally finish a Roguelite game this time.
I was holding on Hades ( despite being n1 in digital on the Switch beating even mario 3D collection) mostly because I played both Dead Cells and Slay the Spire and the repetitive gameplay was putting me off Roguelite games.
I loved them a LOT at first, super addictive gameplay, but after a while realized that luck was a big part of the game.
Apparently this one is more friendly and less punishing. I might try, maybe I'll finally finish a Roguelite game this time.
Wow quite an eye opener with all the Hades over Dead Cells votes - I skipped Hades because of all the other games out and being OD'd on Dead Cells/roguelikes, plus I thought DC was unique in the way it just clicked for me. Now I will have to take a break from CP and D2 and check out Hades this weekend.
If you thought Dead Cells and Slay the Spire were repetitive then I can't recommend Hades to you. Every run is almost the same. Great game but repetitiveness is its biggest weakness unfortunately.
Gave the vote to Hades because 1.) I had more fun with it, but I like personally both games, as they played a role in my liking of roguelites in general.
The progression in Dead Cells is, on one hand, very clever and very well designed. On the other, it's slow and aimless and quite disheartening.
I've played them both this year, haven't really played roguelikes before. Really enjoyed Dead Cells even though I never quite made it to the end.
Started Hades this week and I am obsessed with it. Wrapping a story and characters around a rogue like is so great, and I feel way more comfortable with experimentation and starting back at the beginning. It's really amazing, I get the hype.
Started Hades this week and I am obsessed with it. Wrapping a story and characters around a rogue like is so great, and I feel way more comfortable with experimentation and starting back at the beginning. It's really amazing, I get the hype.
I think I "beat" Dead Cells on my 2nd run through, tried a 3rd run, and just kinda lost the motivation. It's a solid game, but it didn't have that long-term sticking appeal for several runs IMO.
I don't agree. Hades maybe has the best action so far, but gets a little boring after beating it a few times and learning which powers are strongest. It has weak longevity IMO.