Had a take about Supergiant Games that recieved a lot of pushback fromy two longest running best friends.
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tbh, I loved SuperGiant's themes and aesthetics, but not their gameplay. So often early games of Bastion and Transistor felt squishy, or like I was playing underwater - the response loop from button push to effect on screen seemed laggy. Tried both on various platforms, never really got past that feeling. lovely soundtracks tho
Bastion is a 6/10 beat-em-up with 10/10 art, music, and voice acting. I enjoyed that game a lot (and still listen to the soundtrack on road trips), but boy does the atmosphere carry the weight of an otherwise average game.
Pretty forgivable since it was their first effort. Hades feels nice and crisp while keeping all the other points strong, too.
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To be honest, I think they only made a sequel to Hades because it was so popular. I actually quite like that they create new universes every game. I also like the core gameplay of Pyre (not so much the mini-games) unlike most people. It sort of feels like Ballmasterz turned into a super cereal game to me. It probably inspired the show, which ever came first.
I watched this video a while back. Apparently, they were looking to develop a universe that they could make a sequel in. They ended up with Hades.
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I loved Bastion and Transistor and wished for sequels for both. But SG clearly seemed to prefer to not make sequels for its games all these years; to my knowledge, it has never made one. I’m not sure what or who changed at the company, but Hades 2 is an anomaly.
Has anyone interviewed someone at SG to ask sequel questions? If not, maybe someone will once H2 gets closer to officially shipping.
I honestly preferred no sequls, everytime something new. I haven't played pyre and hades 2. While I liked hades, I was a bit sad when I heard hades 2, instead of something new.
I'm not an expert, but money (sales) is probably the reason. How many of their previous games sold vs Hades.
Also, maybe it's a bit cynnical to think of it this way, but hades 2 would require much less effort compared to making something new and it will churn sales as the first one has been a success. Additionally, they probably already had good idea and materials for additions to hades. So why not make hades 2 out of them. Maybe after that they will work on something new.
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(Pyre)
What is wrong with it? A quick Google Search leads me to a pretty good game based on the reviews.
Pyre is more like a visual novel with some gameplay here and there. Now I don't mind story heavy games but towards the end I found myself just clicking through the absolute ton of dialogue there was. Vastly preferred Bastion and Transistor which almost never interrupted the gameplay but were still able to tell amazing stories.
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"I wish Supergiant would get the roguelite bug out of their system and make sequels to Bastion and then Transistor finally."
Was what I typed in our group chat. The three of us are mid to late 30s with me being the oldest by 3 months.
To say it went over like a brick balloon would be an understatement. So, I wanted to see if fellow game players had thoughts on it. Am I crazy? Do you agree?
Hades did straight numbers, not a shocker they'd go for another. Couldn't see Transistor or Bastion getting sequels, (Or Pyre but... lol Pyre.) and more importantly, I'd rather they tell new stories.
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"I wish Supergiant would get the roguelite bug out of their system and make sequels to Bastion and then Transistor finally."
Was what I typed in our group chat. The three of us are mid to late 30s with me being the oldest by 3 months.
To say it went over like a brick balloon would be an understatement. So, I wanted to see if fellow game players had thoughts on it. Am I crazy? Do you agree?
What I want Supergiant to do is.... whatever the fuck they want.
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"I wish Supergiant would get the roguelite bug out of their system and make sequels to Bastion and then Transistor finally."
Was what I typed in our group chat. The three of us are mid to late 30s with me being the oldest by 3 months.
To say it went over like a brick balloon would be an understatement. So, I wanted to see if fellow game players had thoughts on it. Am I crazy? Do you agree?
wrote last edited by [email protected]IIRC they (or at least their design lead) explicitly stated that since the founders were Diablo fans, something like Hades was basically their dream.(And imo you can already see some of that in Bastion and Transistor so I don't think it was PR talk) So it's not surprising they'd go for a sequel given how well it was received. But I'm sure they'll stop soon enough, they don't seem to be the kind of studio that is in it for the money and I'm sure Hades and Hades 2 are giving them more than enough money to take creative risks in the future.
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What I want Supergiant to do is.... whatever the fuck they want.
Yeah I say let them cook. Their "worst" game is Pyre (iirc it really didn't sell well) and it's still a very good game.
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I play a lot of roguelikes because I rarely have the time for a multiple hour gaming session anymore, and I can get a complete start to finish game in with a roguelike in 30-60 minutes. I think that may be part of the popularity.
I've played all the ones you mentioned, my recent vices are Magicraft & Star Vader's, both on steam. Slay the Spire & The Binding of Isaac are two I always come back to during my "what should I play?" moments.
Yeah. The shorter game sessions are what drew me in initially. Tie that with handheld gaming and it's just a perfect combo of quick play convenience. I'm probably just hitting burn out and need a break.
Slay the spire is another good one I forgot about. I played it heavy on the switch back when it was released.
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"I wish Supergiant would get the roguelite bug out of their system and make sequels to Bastion and then Transistor finally."
Was what I typed in our group chat. The three of us are mid to late 30s with me being the oldest by 3 months.
To say it went over like a brick balloon would be an understatement. So, I wanted to see if fellow game players had thoughts on it. Am I crazy? Do you agree?
I have the exact same take, and the exact same experience with my friend group. I love supergiant games. Anything they touch is solid gold imo. I've always said that Hades is an amazing game, it's just supergiant's worst game.
Personally, I think for me, it comes down to the setting. Bastion, Transistor and Pyre all had amazing, unique settings that made me as a player want to learn and explore everything I could. And again, Hades does an amazing job of painting the setting and fleshing out the characters, but it's kinda just Greek mythology, which has been done before and I personally find it less interesting.
To restate, Hades is an amazing game, just imo it's supergiants worst game.
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"I wish Supergiant would get the roguelite bug out of their system and make sequels to Bastion and then Transistor finally."
Was what I typed in our group chat. The three of us are mid to late 30s with me being the oldest by 3 months.
To say it went over like a brick balloon would be an understatement. So, I wanted to see if fellow game players had thoughts on it. Am I crazy? Do you agree?
As a long time SGG fan i agree. Personally im sad we're getting a hades 2.
Bastion and Transistor absolutely don't need sequels though
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"I wish Supergiant would get the roguelite bug out of their system and make sequels to Bastion and then Transistor finally."
Was what I typed in our group chat. The three of us are mid to late 30s with me being the oldest by 3 months.
To say it went over like a brick balloon would be an understatement. So, I wanted to see if fellow game players had thoughts on it. Am I crazy? Do you agree?
I agree, but mostly because I dislike roguelikes. They get too repetitive and turn into a slog, and the success of your runs is often entirely dependent on which items you find.
I’d much rather have a tight, concise game with handmade maps. IME, roguelikes just pull the old NES/SNES trick of “well we can’t fit more data on the game cart, so just make the game harder to force players to replay it over and over again. That will artificially inflate the game length.”
Bastion and Transistor don’t need sequels, but I do wish they’d stop with the roguelikes.
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I watched this video a while back. Apparently, they were looking to develop a universe that they could make a sequel in. They ended up with Hades.
I sadly have little interest in watching things about Hades as because I am so burnt out from asking for accessibility assistance (I actually think I did it multiple times in case they didn't catch it) and I am just frustrated with them as a whole and this post reignited it. But I am glad that they got what they wanted because Greek mythology is expansive. I think someone else will be happy about it. I just think I realized I feel relatively "done" with the company as a whole =/!
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I honestly preferred no sequls, everytime something new. I haven't played pyre and hades 2. While I liked hades, I was a bit sad when I heard hades 2, instead of something new.
I'm not an expert, but money (sales) is probably the reason. How many of their previous games sold vs Hades.
Also, maybe it's a bit cynnical to think of it this way, but hades 2 would require much less effort compared to making something new and it will churn sales as the first one has been a success. Additionally, they probably already had good idea and materials for additions to hades. So why not make hades 2 out of them. Maybe after that they will work on something new.
There can be a tricky balance between building sequels or something new. Sometimes there is more you can do in a world, and people enjoy returning to worlds when there is good reason to.
I think the recent Doom reboot trilogy is a masterclass example. Not everyone enjoys each game, people often have different favorites. But the point is they’re all Doom and yet id Software did something unique with each one. New mechanics, new ways to play, pushing boundaries of what came before.
Of course, with Greek mythology, there is plenty more source material to explore and build on in a setting like Hades. They certainly hit a great formula to do it, and The People
were clamoring for it. But with SG’s established preferences for going after new ideas instead of sequels, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them do something else after Hades 2. Or who knows, maybe they’ll be able to grow enough to work on multiple games at once. That could come with its own challenges, but plenty of studios have done it. -
I agree, but mostly because I dislike roguelikes. They get too repetitive and turn into a slog, and the success of your runs is often entirely dependent on which items you find.
I’d much rather have a tight, concise game with handmade maps. IME, roguelikes just pull the old NES/SNES trick of “well we can’t fit more data on the game cart, so just make the game harder to force players to replay it over and over again. That will artificially inflate the game length.”
Bastion and Transistor don’t need sequels, but I do wish they’d stop with the roguelikes.
I dislike roguelikes and soulslikes. It feels like that cuts out the vast majority of indie games being made nowadays.
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Yeah I say let them cook. Their "worst" game is Pyre (iirc it really didn't sell well) and it's still a very good game.
I really wanted to like it more because they made some really cool choices in the design of it. I can see why it didn't sell well, but it should have at least been more influential
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"I wish Supergiant would get the roguelite bug out of their system and make sequels to Bastion and then Transistor finally."
Was what I typed in our group chat. The three of us are mid to late 30s with me being the oldest by 3 months.
To say it went over like a brick balloon would be an understatement. So, I wanted to see if fellow game players had thoughts on it. Am I crazy? Do you agree?
I never finished bastion but I really liked it. I should replay it
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I never finished bastion but I really liked it. I should replay it
You really should.
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Bastion, Transistor, and Pyre 100% do not need a sequel. They are stories about the end of the world and are beautiful in how self contained they are.
I am not the biggest on the roguelike mechanics for such story heavy games but... I would be lying if I said that Hades didn't repeatedly break me with the way it was used to convey Zagreus's relationship with the other characters.
::: spoiler spoiler
Hades just putting down his weapon and letting you pass is easily one of my top ten of all time gaming moments.
:::I am a bit skeptical on Hades 2. Then I remembered I was skeptical on Hades 1. As far as I am concerned, Supergiant (and Greg Kasavin) can do no wrong.
I understand the skepticism, but Hades 2 is pretty fantastic, in my opinion. It does a lot to distinguish itself while still retaining what made the first one fun. I've got a little less than 200 hours in both of them.
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I have the exact same take, and the exact same experience with my friend group. I love supergiant games. Anything they touch is solid gold imo. I've always said that Hades is an amazing game, it's just supergiant's worst game.
Personally, I think for me, it comes down to the setting. Bastion, Transistor and Pyre all had amazing, unique settings that made me as a player want to learn and explore everything I could. And again, Hades does an amazing job of painting the setting and fleshing out the characters, but it's kinda just Greek mythology, which has been done before and I personally find it less interesting.
To restate, Hades is an amazing game, just imo it's supergiants worst game.
Wouldn’t pyre be the worst by sales numbers?
I think your bias against roguelike’s is showing here.Hades is massively popular and well liked by a lot of people.
