I’ve played a shitload of Hades, but never tried God mode since it was introduced at some point when I already had a pretty good handle on the game as I had it since day 1 of early access. Does it scale back again when the player becomes more successful? Is there any penalty with regards to achievements/heat level?
I didn’t know about God Mode either. Definitely going to try that out tomorrow. Maybe I’ll actually make it past the finally.
No, there is no scale back. You can turn it off though and do a run at regular damage received and if it’s too hard you can turn it back on and it will still be at the level it was when you turned it off.
I never tried God mode because from a design perspective it makes no sense to me - as I learn the game and play more, it makes the game easier. That’s not helpful. It’d make more sense for it to start easier and become dynamically more challenging.
I never used god mode but I think the inclusion was a great idea, and I like how it was designed from what I understand of how it worked (even if this was perhaps not well communicated). I like that it’s a more subtle sliding scale that adjusts depending on the player rather than some dropdown shown at the start which doesn’t communicate much of anything. A number of games are moving toward this sort of design and I think that’s a good thing for gaming.
And if you think the game should get harder over time instead of easier? Well, that’s exactly what heat was for.
But it is helpful. For folks like me, there is a definite plateau of skill before I hit burnout. There was no chance of me getting good enough to see the end of a run at the default difficulty before I go to keyboard throwing. I’ll gladly accept the pity. And if I do get good, I turn it off (or even restart with it reset back to 0 and see at least if I can beat my previous god-mode level).
How would you even know, since god mode makes it progressively easier every run?
My issue is not with the existence of an easy mode, that’s a great idea, it’s with the fact that its progressively changing difficulty in the wrong direction. It should start easier and get harder, not start harder and get easier.
That would be true if not for the fact that runs get more difficult as they become longer. For players that aren’t good at this sort of thing, the learning curve feels a lot more comfortable, while still requiring effort and not being a watered-down version of the game.
Hades also has other mechanisms to increase difficulty.
In effect, it tunes the game to the difficulty the individual player needs by starting with modest support that ramps up slowly only if needed, rather than some arbitrary difficulty changes that might be too much for some, not enough for others, and not giving the player the feeling they were playing the same game as everyone else.
I never thought I’d be able to play and enjoy a game like that and I loved the heck out of it because god mode exists.
Probably also worth pointing out that the mirror upgrades (or, more broadly, meta progression systems in gaming generally) have the exact same effect of starting off harder and making things easier in the long run. Unlike the weapon unlocks (which are more sidegrades), these just straightforwardly make the game easier. I got to the elysium boss fight on my first run without any upgrades, so the game is definitely beatable without them.
I think all of this affords the player the chance to get the best experience for themselves. Between the mirror, god mode and (eventually) heat, you can tailor the experience to your liking and ability. Which will never be the same for everyone.
Yes, but you have have the Heat system that precisely does that, you can get the game get harder and harder. If you want to play from easier to harder, the sequence is:
Play on God Mode in Heat 0 > Play in God mode in Heat 1-2 > Play without God mode in Heat 0 > Play without God Mode in Heat 1-2-3-4-5…
Man, Tom must love this game!
A static easier difficulty, it seems to me, would be more balanced in the face of that. The game’s core design is that you get a little further each time, after all. I’d have turned on a static easy mode in a heartbeat and I’d probably have enjoyed the game more as a result.
Everybody dies in this game. A lot. So it’s going to ramp up over time, whether it’s needed or not, which is the heart of my problem with it.
Again, my issue is certainly not with the inclusion of a mode like this, I’m no action gamer and I’d like to have felt like I could use it myself, but with the way the mode was implemented.
I wouldn’t know, I never got that far. Presumably that’s after you beat the game? I’m not sure I understand the point of ramping up the difficulty that late in things if you’ve been actively avoiding it until then but hey, to each their own.
I’m not criticizing the inclusion of god mode (far from) or anyone’s choice to use it. I’m saying the way it was designed encouraged me (someone terrible at action games) not to use it, and I thought that was unfortunate. That’s all.
Yeah, it’s like a roll-your-own New Game+
My understanding is that the game, via the level design gets harder as you progress through a run. God mode makes it much easier to see the entire game once - you get to see the entire Hades story, which is pretty great. This is @Rock8man’s initial comment, where he’d never beat the 3rd level, but would like to see the 4th.
If you want to continue playing after you beat the game, there’s plenty of heat settings that make the game much harder again, including one that completely counteracts fully charged god mode.
To quote the wiki:
God Mode is a difficulty option that can be toggled at any time from the menu on a non-Hell Mode file. God Mode grants 20% damage resistance, increasing by 2% each time a run ends in death (rather than escape). The damage resistance caps at 80%. This mode was added to make the game more accessible, as well as to give players a way to experience the story of Hades more quickly if they wish.[1]
This mode may be turned on and off via the options menu at any point without consequence. When turned off, the player will lose the damage resistance, but retain any percentage gained until God Mode is turned on again. Using God Mode will not lock players out of Achievements or content. However, God Mode run records are stored separately from non-God Mode runs.
There’s something you are missing here, I think. If you want to “beat the game” as you put it, you have to win a bunch of runs. Winning and losing runs can both advance the story in various ways, but it is FAR from over after you have your first victory. God Mode is both incredibly elegant and suits the larger design of the game perfectly, while providing an experience tailored to each player.
@espressojim is conflating a couple of things here. There is a heat system, (pact of punishment) that can make things more difficult. That is used within the context of a single playthru involving multiple wins and losses. Hell mode is more analogous to NG+, requiring selection when a save file is created and making the Pact available from the start.
Well, fair enough, again I can only speak to the fact that it looked (and quite honestly still looks) like something that would sabotage any sense of satisfaction I got out of progressing in the game. That’s a personal issue, though, and hardly matters anyway since at the end of the day my issue with the game isn’t that it’s too hard, it’s that it’s vastly too repetitive. Having to beat it multiple times, instead of just once, wouldn’t exactly enhance its appeal for me. :)
All I can say is that, as someone this system was intended for, my reaction was the complete opposite. The sense of satisfaction I got, feeling like I was actually playing the game with just enough assistance (versus turning it into a walking sim by lowering the difficulty too much) was remarkable. The only game I can think of offhand that provided a greater sense of satisfaction was Gothic I, though that was for different reasons.
So you’re right, Hades itself has an adaptive difficulty system, even if you don’t use the explicit “God Mode” setting. You get a little more powerful every time you play by leveling up your character. Whenever a new challenge kills you, the next time you’re a little stronger, and it’s a little easier.
Crucially, this means it still doesn’t feel easy. That’s because you beat each challenge for the first time when it’s in the “difficult but not impossible” side of the spectrum. Beating the game still feels like an accomplishment.
It’s kind of the same way Elden Ring handles difficulty. It’s good!
Everyone answered better than me, but I basically meant that I could start over completely and either: A) keep god mode off and see how things go or B) turn god mode on again, but see if I can ‘beat’ the game at least at a lower level of god-mode.
