Hades 2 Is 2025’s Highest-Rated Game — Here’s the Real Story Behind the 96

Hades 2’s 96 on PC Isn’t Just a Flex – It’s a Statement

This caught my attention because the original Hades wasn’t just a great roguelike – it redefined how the genre handles narrative and repetition. Following that up is nightmare fuel for most studios. Supergiant took the slow-cook route with early access, and on the eve of 1.0 (September 25), the critical deluge says it paid off: a 94 Metacritic overall and a ridiculous 96 on PC. That puts Hades 2 at the top of Metacritic’s 2025 PC chart, edging out Expedition 33, with OpenCritic also loving it (93 average), and Steam user reviews stuck at a glowing 96% “Overwhelmingly Positive.”

Key Takeaways

• Hades 2 is the highest-rated new PC release of 2025 on Metacritic with a 96 – above Expedition 33 and other heavy hitters.
• Early access gave Supergiant time to tune balance, build breadth, and lock in a complete 1.0 arc rather than a content trickle.
• This is a win for premium single‑player design in a live‑service era — no battle passes, just depth and replayability.
• Scores aren’t gospel: watch platform performance, long‑tail balance tweaks, and how the endgame lands for returning players.

Breaking Down the Numbers (And the Caveats)

Here’s the scoreboard: 94 average across platforms, 96 on PC. On the Switch family, Hades 2’s 94 sits just below the 95s currently held by the Switch 2 ports of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom — key word: ports. For 2025 newcomers, Hades 2 is the king of the hill right now. Expedition 33 still boasts an excellent 93 overall (91 on PC), but Supergiant’s sequel edges it out.

OpenCritic tells a similar story: Hades 2 sits at 93, above Expedition 33 and other darlings like Blue Prince, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, and the finally‑arrived Hollow Knight: Silksong. The wrinkle is indie JRPG Shujinkou, which holds a 94 there — aggregator methodologies differ, so treat leaderboards as a snapshot, not a verdict from Olympus.

Player sentiment matters as much as critic math, and Steam’s 96% “Overwhelmingly Positive” (from the early access era rolling into launch) is a big green flag. If you remember how Hades 1 climbed into the stratosphere via word of mouth, this feels familiar. The cautionary note: launch‑day balance changes and platform-specific performance can nudge these numbers. Still, a 96 on PC isn’t a fluke — it’s consensus.

Why Hades 2 Earned It: Iteration Without Complacency

Supergiant’s not chasing reinvention for reinvention’s sake; they’re iterating on what made Hades lethal: fast, readable combat; choices that actually reshape your run; and a narrative that rewards failure. Swapping Zagreus for Melinoë shifts the vibe — more moonlit witchcraft than rebellious prince — while keeping the pacing sharp. The Arcana system layers a deck‑building‑flavored meta on top of the classic boon roulette, and the Crossroads hub with its incantations and crafting gives every run a purpose beyond the next boss. It’s the rare sequel that grows wider and deeper without getting bloated.

I’ve played a lot of roguelikes that confuse more stuff with better stuff. Hades 2 does the opposite. Oceanic arenas flow into mournful fields and familiar hellscapes with clarity; boons still synergize in ways that make you cackle mid‑run; and the storytelling nudges you forward even when you faceplant at a new boss. Where others pad with grind, Supergiant bakes in velocity. That’s why the early access runway mattered — feedback loops were visible, and the 1.0 drop feels like a finished album, not a playlist.

The 2025 GOTY Picture Just Got Spicier

Expedition 33 has been a genuine surprise — stylish, confident turn‑based combat and a tone that sticks with you. Silksong finally landing this year was always going to warp the conversation, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has carved out its own niche with simulation‑heavy medieval role‑play. But this is the kind of critical momentum that tends to dominate ballots. Hades 1 was an awards magnet, and Hades 2 is already outpacing it on some charts. That doesn’t guarantee a sweep — voters love novelty — but it means everyone else now has to beat a game that nails craft, style, and replay value in a single package.

Should You Jump In at 1.0?

If you sat out early access, you picked a great time. You’re getting the complete arc, tuned difficulty, and a healthy set of weapons and paths to experiment with from day one. If you’ve sunk dozens of hours already, 1.0 is still worth a fresh run: new beats hit harder when the systems are locked, and the late‑game cadence tends to be where roguelikes either soar or sputter. Supergiant’s track record — Bastion, Transistor, Pyre, then Hades — suggests they obsess over those final 10% polish passes most studios rush.

As for platforms, PC is the critical darling and likely the smoothest ride at launch. Switch and Switch 2 owners get the portability flex, but I’ll be watching performance and load times closely. The original Hades scaled beautifully on modest hardware; if Supergiant hits that bar again, the “just one more run” loop is going to eat commutes and bedtimes all over again.

TL;DR

Hades 2 leaves early access with a 94 Metacritic (96 on PC), topping 2025’s charts and setting the GOTY pace. It’s a sequel that expands the playbook without losing the soul of the original. Keep an eye on platform performance and post‑launch balance, but right now, this is the game to beat.