When Mark wrote about Zagreus’ Journey back in December, the mod was already well on its way to completing its main goal: putting all of the original Hades into Hades 2. In the months since, modder Nikkel Mollenhauer has gone way beyond that target. The mod has officially hit 1.0 and it’s added new story beats, boons, and a tonne of new cosmetics to pretty up your lair.
In a very official looking new trailer, you can see the scope of what Mollenhauer’s achieved.
Watch on YouTube
After you’ve installed the mod and booted it up, in Melinoë’s home base at the crossroads, you’ll find a portal that will send you down to Zagreus’s home in the Underworld. From there you can start a fresh journey into Tartarus and on to Asphodel, Elysium and the Temple of Styx. You’ll encounter all of the old enemies and bosses, and, as Mark wrote about back in December, you can play through the original story. When you enter dialogue with a character Zagreus speaks while Melinoë hovers over his shoulder in the background.
Now, so far, that’s all as was the case a few months ago. However in this week’s 1.0 release, Mollenhauer’s folded in new cosmetics, boons, and story beats, as well as features’ from some other mods. For instance, Charon’s Tip Jar lets you give the ferryman any unspent gold, contributing it toward Obol points, and Flip The Arcana lets you spend the new resources you can only find in Zagreus’ Journey to buy radically different Arcana cards. That last change, really ties the two games together, and stops the jaunt into the original Hades being just a fun trip down memory lane.
Another layer Zagreus’ Journey adds to the original game are new boons from characters like Orpheus and Sisyphus. Orpheus’ God of the Dead boon, for instance, gives any enemy you slay a small chance of coming back from the grave and fighting for you. A nice twist on Aphrodite’s Charm and one that’s in keeping with Orpheus bewitching music.
Zagreus’ Journey has garnered a fair bit of attention already, in that Supergiant have given it their ringing endorsement, saying they were “blown away” by the mod. You can grab the mod and installation instructions over here.
I’ve sunk many many hours into Hades, but I’m still yet to play Hades 2. It would be just the silly sort of thing I’d do to install the sequel and this mod and never advance beyond Zagreus’s journey…
