Summary
In just the reveal trailer forHades 2alone, quite a few new characters were shown. Of course, there is Hecate and Dora,but the Technical Playtestalso revealed quite a few other new characters for players to fall in love with over the course of Melinoe’s adventure.
Obviously, this Playtest doesn’t have every new character the game will have in it, as that would be showing too much, but there are a good handful of new characters that are revealed. So, let’s go over each of these new characters inHades 2one by one, talk a bit about who they are, what they govern, what their connection to Melinoe is, and more.
11Hecate
The Witch of the Crossroads
First up is Hecate, probably the most identifiable new character and likely to be the character Melinoe interacts with the most over the course ofHades 2. Hecate is the goddess of Witchcraft, Night, Necromancy, and a whole host of other things.
And, Hecate isn’t just incredibly tall and incredibly ripped, she also seems to be pretty emotionally mature since every time Melinoe doubts herself in the Technical Playtest, Hecate is right there to support her. Considering Hecate’s origin as a Titan, all of the different Domains she governs, and her abilities, there’s assuredly a lot more to discover about this character.
10Nemesis
Retribution Incarnate
The personification of personal retribution should absolutely look like someone who could snap you in two with ease, and thankfully Nemesis looks like all that and more.
Not only is she yet another one of Nyx’s children to be introduced (alongside Morose), but she’s also one of the original wielders of the Infernal Arm the Stygian Blade, more specifically the Aspect of Nemesis. And, based on her art in-game, it looks like she’s wielding this blade once again, though it could just be a replica or a blade that looks strikingly similar. To give a proper comparison between this game and the first, Nemesis will likely end up being this game’s Megara,complete with a romance pathand everything.
9Odysseus
The Man, the Myth, the Legend
Following the firstHadesgame’s example of having the protagonist see a tired and tragic human mythological figure as a pseudo uncle (AKA Zagreusand Achilles), it seems like Melinoe sees Odysseus as part of her family as well.
Odysseus seems to be the intelligence gatherer for the Crossroads camp of rebels against Chronos, which makes sense given his past adventures. Again, not a ton to discover about this character in the Technical Playtest, but with the little fans get to see, Odysseus is very likable.
8Apollo
God of Light
Apollo is the first God that players will (very likely) meet in theHades 2Technical playtest and he’s the younger twin of Artemis. While these two siblings don’t look all too similar, their familial relationship is immediately clear as soon as Melinoe either brings Artemis up to Apollo or Apollo up to Artemis. Apollo is the God of Light and is one of the new Gods inHades 2to offer Boons to the player.
The majority of Apollo’s Boons are centered around the new ailment Melinoe can inflict called Daze which, when applied, causes enemies to have a chance to deal 0 damage when they connect with an attack. There’s not a ton of time to get a sense of who Apollo is as a character, but in general, he seems pretty polite if not a bit overconfident in himself.
7Hephaestus
God of Craftsmanship & The Forge
This next God introduced inHades 2is one that the internet seems to absolutely be thirsting over already, and it’s the God of Craftsmanship, Hephaestus. Rocking the dad bod, topknot, and laid-back attitude, Hephaestus finally appears inHades 2as one of the Gods Melinoe can receive Boons from.
It’s a bit of a surprise that he’s on the side aligned with Zeus and Hera, considering how his family has treated him in the past, but Melinoe is more than happy to have him on her side considering his Boons seem to be centered around big bursts of damage and general tankiness.
6Selene
Goddess & Personification of the Moon
There’s a whole lot of moon or lunar symbology to be found inHades 2. Characters constantly have little crescent moons or lunar symbols integrated into their designs, and Melinoe herself has moons all over her body on her clothing and jewelry.
Part of this could be due to the fact that the moon is another domain that Hecate bears some governance over, but it could also have something to do with Selene, Goddess of the Moon, appearing in this game as well. It’s hard to get a lot of info on Selene from the small amount of content available in the Technical Playtest, but it is obvious that she’s very elegant, and that she’s on Melinoe’s side.
5Hestia
Goddess of Flame
Hestia is, unfortunately, one of the few characters to appear in theHades 2Technical Playtest without a fully finished design. Those who played the originalHadesin the early days of its Early Access are familiar with these robed characters, as Supergiant Games would use them as placeholders for characters with designs not ready to be put into the game yet.
While there’s no information on Hestia’s overall appearance we can get a glimpse of her personality, which seems very energetic and fiery, to say the least. We can give a pretty confident guess that this new God/Titan will quickly become a fan favorite as soon as the Early Access version ofHades 2comes out.
4Dora
The Listless Shade
Dora isvery obviouslyHades 2’sversionof the ‘I just work here’ side NPC such as Dusa from the first game. Dora is just a listless shade who is very close to Melinoe and doesn’t seem to care all too much about the events taking place in the outside world. In the Technical Playtest, Melinoe actually confronts Dora on her lack of caring by asking her if she even cares about Chronos or the fact that he took over the House of Hades.
And Dora answers honestly in response, saying that Chronos' decisions led Melinoe to the Crossroads which is where she met Dora, so she’s pretty thankful to him overall. If that isn’t enough to convince people that this character is great (even if originally understood) we don’t know what else would be.
3Frinos
Just an Adorable Little Frog
Going froma giant 3-headed Cerberusto a cute little frog is an odd choice to be sure, but let’s not judge what Melinoe chooses as a pet. Yes, Zagreus being able to pet Cerberus every time he came back to the House of Hades was a blessing, but petting Frinos the Frog whenever Melinoe is sent back to the Crossroads is every bit as adorable.
And who knows, maybe there is more to this frog than it seems, though players probably won’t need to clear a variety of different rooms to get food for the Frog so that Melinoe can pass as they did with Cerberus in the Temple of Styxin the firstHadesgame.
2Arachne
Silk Weaver & The World’s First Spider
Moving on to another side character, Arachne. Arachne is not only an adorable and slightly suspicious NPC, but she’s also the NPC in charge of one of the new mechanics introduced in theHades 2Technical Playtest, the Silk Attire system. Basically, when Melinoe chooses a dress to take from Arachne, it gives her varying amounts of buffer for her Health. This represents the dress’s durability, and when this runs out the dress itself breaks, losing the passive effect it grants as well.
Arachne as a character is very interesting. Much like Sisyphus from the first game, Arachne is someone who was punished for their slights against the gods (although Arachne is much less of a scumbag than Sisyphus originally was) and as such was turned into a spider by Athena. However, this only happens after Athena loses to Arachne in a weaving contest, and Athena’s outburst at her loss eventually causes Arachne to commit suicide. So, it wouldn’t be any surprise if this tiny little spider harbored a great hatred against Olympus, but fans will only be able to find out her true intentions in the full version ofHades 2.
