Hades almost starred in Theseus, which would have been boring in AF

Imagine playing Hades, working to escape the underworld, fighting and succumbing to swarms of relentless enemies. Every time your character dies, you hear the King of the Dead’s low, sinister laugh in your ear, mocking you for your weakness. Until finally, after countless attempts, you stand before Hades, preparing for the final confrontation, and hear your character say, “To all of our fans, we dedicate this fight to you!” Because in this version of Hades, you are playing like Theseus.

Fortunately, this did not happen. But according to a report in the border, we narrowly avoided a Bad Timeline in which the platinum blonde buck was the star of Supergiant Games’ roguelite hit in 2020, rather than the sweet, gentle Prince Zagreus.

The game’s early concepts featured Theseus as he explored the labyrinth of Crete, said Supergiant co-founder Amir Rao in a lecture on the Clubhouse social invitation and audio app. Although Theseus is a popular heroic figure in Greek myth, the team was not satisfied with his development, as Hades‘hero.

“When we were trying to bring him to life as a protagonist, he took the risk of being too generic,” Hades creative director Greg Kasavin told Border. “But as soon as we start adding specific details[s] to him, he just doesn’t feel like Theseus anymore. “

Returning to the mythological drawing board, Kasavin found the neglected story of Hades’ son and decided that Zagreus would be a better protagonist.

“We just found a kind of better angle on the protagonist, on the general theme and on the technique of storytelling in one stroke,” said Kasavin.

Theseus as Hades‘protagonist made logical sense. After all, he is the celebrated hero of Greek myth, a killer of minotaurs. But HadesThe story worked because it subverted expectations. The gods were still capricious and petty creatures, but they are your family, and you love them, damn it. It still featured a disgruntled son killing his authoritarian father, but the main story of the game was about reconciliation, not revenge. Even the design of the gods themselves as people of color it was revolutionary. Although I think Hades It would have been fun, no matter who I flew in those tortuous dungeons, I think the game’s success is due to the fact that Supergiant takes the material used and has fun with it. At the Hades, Theseus is still a hero – an obnoxious, self-centered, overly groomed hero that everyone loves to hate.