The Art of Hades

Hades is a title that touched me deeply as a gamer. It’s the standard-bearer of modern independent video games, and it took the whole industry by surprise with the quality of its production and its ingenuity. It was my ambition, one day, to sit down and talk fully about this unique title. I thought for a long time about how? How to approach such a generous title? A title so complete and rich? I could have talked about its fine, dynamic gameplay, which is as precise as it is satisfying; about its procedural narrative, which makes each run unique and interesting, with this impression of progressing in relationships at the same time as Zagreus learns more about himself, but it’s nothing of the sort.  

It was the Art Of format that imposed itself. A format that allows me to go into the details of the artistic inspirations that led to such a radical and identifiable graphic style. Between comics, painting and sculpture, the artists navigate this multitude of influences to create their vision of the Greek underworld. This format also allows me to take a deep dive into Greek mythology, in the midst of all the well-known stories that feed the tale of Hades. But also his music, whose melancholy and energy lull each game session to sleep.

Make yourselves comfortable on your klinê, because before looking at the work, I’m going to introduce you to the artists.

This article spoils certain elements of the game.

history of the studio and genesis of the project

The history of Supergiant Games

Supergiant Games is an American video game studio founded in 2009 by Amir Rao and Gavin Simon, two former EA Games employees who worked on the Command and Conquer licence. They both decided to leave their jobs to set up their own studio, Supergiant Games. They were soon joined by artist Jen Zee, who went on to become the studio’s art director. They hired musician Darren Korb to work on their first game, Bastion. They form the core of the team, and will be assisted by various external freelancers to help with development. 

Bastion is an Action RPG released in 2011 and published by Warner Bros. Bastion will set the tone for the studio’s identity: action gameplay with a soft hack-and-slash feel, an isometric layout, a beautifully drawn AD, polished gameplay, top-flight dubbing and music, and a narrative that progresses as the player advances. It was a critical and commercial success, winning IGN and Game Informer awards for best music of the year.

They are continuing the work done on Bastion with Transistor, which will be released in 2015. Transistor is also an isometric view Action RPG in which you play as Red, a singer who has had her voice stolen by a criminal gang known as the Process. You’ll be guided and helped by Transistor, your talking sword, to get your voice back. Transistor’s gimmick is to offer an active pause to programme a number of actions and attacks to come, giving a real strategic dimension to the combat system. With this project, the studio is perfecting its identity, the artistic direction is advanced, and the graphics are being refined towards a more drawn look. The art direction perfectly blends the science-fiction elements of the city’s futuristic settings and cyberpunk atmosphere with the inspiration of naturalist painters such as Klimt and Mucha. Their influence can be felt in the design of the characters and in the use of colour, particularly gold. We are guided by the voice of Transistor; the sound work, whether Darren Korb’s OST described as ‘electronic post-rock’ or the dubbing, gives the game a strong identity. Special mention should be made of all the little nods and references to the retro-wave style. It will be nominated at the Video Games Awards for Best Independent Game and Best Original Soundtrack, and will also win the IGN Awards for Best Art Direction of the Year.

They’re back with Pyre, and it’s the game that breaks most sharply with the work to which Supergiant Games has accustomed us. Pyre is presented as an action-RPG, so far nothing very different, but it incorporates the mechanics of sports games and visual novels. In Pyre, you are a Reader, waking up in the Nether, a purgatory of the Commonwealth, a dictatorship that forbids all forms of reading and burns all books that can be found. Possession of a book is a capital offence, because it is a breeding ground for dissenting thought and the uplifting of spirits. The punishment in Downbelow is life imprisonment, but our arrival could change all that. With Pyre and its visual novel feel, Supergiant Games is developing a large number of characters, each with a distinct identity and a strong personality, a premise for the work that will be done on the Greek pantheon of Hades. For the first time, Supergiant is experimenting with multiplayer. Although it is only being released locally, it was originally designed to be online. The multiplayer mode allows two players to take control of a team and compete against each other in matches. Pyre, like its predecessors, was very well received by critics, culminating in a nomination at the 2017 Games Awards in the Best Independent Game of the Year category.

The genesis of Hades

It’s 2017, Pyre has just been released, Supergiant Games doesn’t yet have an idea for its next game. However, they have taken a decision that marks a first for the studio: to show their development process to the public through early access. The public will have the opportunity to help Supergiant shape and balance its next title.

The team, which consisted of around twenty members at the time, got together to decide on the next steps for the studio. One thing was certain: the strengths of the Franciscan studio would have to be preserved and showcased in a completely new type of project. Greg Kasavin, creative director at the time, had an idea in mind: to create a game that would encourage players to replay it even after they had finished it. This was already a desire expressed with Pyre, and the number and variety of story branches are direct testimony to this. Unfortunately, Greg Kasavin admitted in an interview with RockPaperShotgun that he hadn’t managed to capture players’ interest enough to keep them coming back for more. 

The Roguelite genre was quickly discussed around the table. The team agrees that repeating the loops of the genre suits their open narrative structure. They even see an opportunity to use the narrative to make each run a unique moment.

Now that this embryonic game has a genre and a narrative intent, it needs a setting in which to express itself. For the team, Greek mythology seemed the ideal setting for this story. This led to the idea of using the Greek gods as characters, from whom we would borrow their powers. Hades was initially conceived as a dungeon crawler, taking place in the labyrinth of Minos, home to the famous Minotaur. With each run, the labyrinth takes on a different form. The aim is to reach the centre of the maze to confront the therianthrope beast. According to Greg Kasavin, the idea of this labyrinth worked very well for the roguelike aspect, but the setting prevented them from developing the story they wanted to tell. They’re also having trouble creating a protagonist that suits them. Originally, we were going to play this proud Theseus, and the name of the project was even ‘Minos’. The team never managed to find the right balance between respecting the mythology and reinterpreting it. The character was considered too iconic and well-known to make it interesting. Kasavin was passionate about Greek mythology and immersed himself in the writings of Diodorus Siculus, Ovid and Hesiod, as well as various translations of The Iliad and The Odyssey. It was in the course of his reading that he discovered a character who would become his own, Zagreus.

According to Kasavin, Zagreus is the ideal blank page on which to create the protagonist he imagines. Apart from a few lines and a vague reference to Hades, there was nothing to write about. The team then imagined the story of Zagreus, the son of Hades, tirelessly trying to leave the underworld to which he is linked. Each time he fails, he returns to the palace to be mocked by the master of the house. The gods of Olympus are a perfect way of offering the player different bonuses and advantages for each of his attempts. They also add an extra layer of depth to the narrative, represented as a large, dysfunctional family where each member has his or her own agenda and conflicts. This whole universe seems decidedly tailor-made for rogue lite.

Artistic influences

The artistic direction of Hades is one of the elements that has made the licence such a success. We owe it to Jen Zee, art director at Supergiant Games. Jen Zee is an American artist and art director who has worked with the studio since its very first game, Bastion. Jen Zee has always been drawn to video games, and owes her vocation as an artist to the work of Tetsuya Nomura, in particular his chara design work on the Final Fantasy licence. Although she only worked on the Bastion project as a contract artist, her talent was quickly noticed and rewarded with the status of art director on Supergiant’s next project, Transistor.

As far as Hades is concerned, she is primarily responsible for the artistic vision behind the entire project, the chara design and the environments. The rest of the design team was responsible for the rest of the game. Josh Barnett worked on FX, animation and UI design, Joanne Tran on environments, Paige Carter on 3D models, Thinh Ngo as animator and Camilo Vanegas on animation and models. In addition, freelance artists helped to produce all the small remaining elements, such as icons and trophies.

Mike Mignola’s Hellboy

The first thing you notice is the title’s rather radical graphic style, with its high levels of colour and contrast, reminiscent of American comic books. Although the game was initially envisaged with a rendering closer to painting, it was the pen and ink technique that was chosen. Jen Zee had already decided to adopt this graphic style for Pyre. As well as offering a detailed rendering and vibrant colours, the time spent on each model is less than with a paint job. From the very first visuals, we can feel Jen Zee’s inspiration in the work of Mike Mignola, the famous American comic book author renowned, among other things, for his work on the Hellboy series. He has always had a passion for depictions of monsters and the gothic. Mignola stands out for his clear line drawing, a prodigy of chiaroscuro and renowned for the strong colour contrasts, angular characters and dark moods that emanate from his work. What better inspiration could there be to illustrate the infernal epic of Zagreus? You only have to look at these two illustrations below to see the similarities in style.

When we compare them, we see the same line drawing, which is always the same thickness, both for the contours and for the details. Unlike Mignola’s drawings, areas of colour remain open, and you can see the discontinuous line across Zagreus’s torso, between his skin and his outfit. The work on the shadows is similar, with the use of solid black, sometimes on entire parts of the characters, creating a strong contrast with the colour. These interplays of shadow and colour sculpt the volumes of the characters while highlighting every detail of their design. In fact, this is one of the main reasons for using chiaroscuro: to honour the volumes while adding drama to the image. The characters, shrouded in light, seem to emerge from darkness or the underworld. Black accentuates every facial feature and every body movement, revealing the physical and emotional state of the characters.

Mignola’s style is also palpable in the creation of the game’s settings. If we take the Asphodel, it could be taken directly from a Hellboy set. It has the same gothic graphic grammar, with imposing statues, columns, skulls, flames and wide-open spaces bathed in saturated red light. The high contrast of the sets helps to highlight each detail, while the limited colour palette ensures that the overall visual coherence is maintained. The pure black of the shadows, already used on the characters, is also applied to the environments. Take a look at the images below to see how the black enhances each colour, both in the game and in the comic strips. The chiaroscuro technique underlines the horrific atmosphere of the underworld. The edge of each arena is plunged into total darkness, adding a sense of mystery and oppression to the settings.

Fred Taylor

Fred Taylor was an English painter and poster designer who was born in London in 1875 and died in 1936. He studied art at the Académie Julian in Paris and then at Goldsmith College School of Art (London). Fred Taylor was a prolific artist. Thanks to his posters, he has worked for many prestigious clients, the main one being London North Eastern Railways. Fred Taylor has produced almost 63 posters for the corridors of the London Underground. His unique style of representation led him to work for the British army, creating camouflage and propaganda posters for British soldiers deployed in the First World War. These vibrantly coloured posters were intended to remind soldiers of the beauty of the country. His use of colour succeeded in giving the most banal of everyday scenes a certain appeal. They bring to life the extraordinary daily lives of the inhabitants of the underworld.

The black outline is irregular and not closed, but what interests us is the use of colour. The few visible shadows are created by changing the colour tone, as in the artistic direction of Hades. Pure black is also used for the most contrasting shadows. The certain elegance of the characters, particularly in their attitude, is also an inspiration for the poses that will be given to the various gods and demi-gods that we will come across. Here, the depiction of scenes of life is magnified in a dynamic and coherent visual whole. If you look at the scenes on the posters, they seem to be teeming with people and life, like the thousands of souls stirring underground. Taylor’s posters are a break with the way life is depicted, far removed from its difficulty and relative monotony. When you depict the kitchen of Hades’ palace, you’re depicting a kitchen, yes, but a kitchen worthy of a god. 

Yoji Shinkawa

Jen Zee is influenced by renowned Japanese designers such as Yoji Shinkawa. He was born in Hiroshima province on 25 December 1971. He was brought up on TV and Tatsunoko productions, and became fascinated by anime such as Speed Racers, Demetan, Shurato and Video Girl AI. It was with them that he discovered mecha through series such as Gatchaman (Battle of the Planets), Macross (Robotech) and Evangelion. The realistically-proportioned characters and slight comic-book inspiration of Tatsunoko’s productions influenced his work. At a time when everyone was dreaming of becoming a mangaka, his drawing was moving away from the traditional, trendy style of the time. Enki Bilal, whose work he discovered in his teens, was a revelation. He took Bilal’s blue-grey colour palette and adapted it to the Metal Gear Solid infiltration series. His style breaks away from the flashier, more colourful style of the time. His realistic ink drawings are characteristic of the artist, offering strong contrasts and giving his characters very dynamic poses. He did not hesitate to use solid black to sculpt each shadow and volume. The word sculpted is not insignificant: many of the mythological references used to create the designs of Hades’ characters come from statues. His characters have a very distinctive graphic look that will become the identity of the series. His drawing is lively, with a layout feel, and he tends to evoke shapes rather than draw them. This approach allows him to produce highly detailed drawings while at the same time giving a certain lightness to the characters. This graphic style offers a relative iconisation of the characters; they don’t really seem human but something else, something nobler, more beautiful. It’s a mode of representation that’s perfectly suited to gods. 

Mannerism

Mannerism (or ‘manierismo’ in Italian) was an artistic movement that lasted from the early 1500s to the early 1600s. It marked a break with the humanist art of the Renaissance. Mannerism moved away from the ideal representation of the body and the mastery of perspective. A group of artists, led by Jules Romain, sought to break with the exactitude of proportions and the harmony of colours to create new feelings. Although the break was made in the construction of the canvases themselves, the Mannerists quoted Renaissance painters such as Michelangelo and Raffaello. The Mannerists took up the same classical themes, but sought to depict bodies in the manner of statuesque postures. Mannerist works display a number of characteristics that are also found in the depictions of Hades. There is a deformation of the body with the famous ‘serpentine line’ (‘Figura Serpentinata’), characterised by the S shape given to the bodies. An exaggeration of shapes and a constant search for movement (as in ancient Greek art). They used acid and raw colours, inspired by Michelangelo’s work on the Sistine Chapel. Finally, it was an art of quotation and symbolism, aimed at a literate and cultured public. This mannerism can be seen in the poses of the characters in the game, and the ‘languorous softness’ that overflows from the bodies of the mannerist works is used to illustrate the gods and demi-gods of the underworld.

Mannerism also affected architecture, and was an influence on the depiction of the Palace of Hades. Mannerism in architecture also went against the codes of High Renaissance architecture. It abandoned the harmony of spaces for more exuberant ornamentation, present in very large numbers.

The pottery

In the graphic style of Hades, this drawing with its contrasting strokes also evokes the art of ancient Greece, and in particular pottery.

As you can see, the ornamentation on these vases reflects two of the main elements of Hades’ artistic direction. Firstly, the outline lines, in this case white, are executed with a regular, extremely fine line. These same strokes are used to add detail to the figures. Then there’s the striking contrast between the ochre colour of the bodies and the deep blacks of the background. The figures seem to emerge from the pottery, as if floating on its surface. Jen Zee also drew her inspiration for the characters in the game from representations on pottery. Theseus’ laurel wreath, for example, is a reference to one of his representations on vases. 

Le nu grec

The first obvious reference for Jen Zee in developing her characters is, as you might expect, the very real remains of ancient Greece that we have discovered. The inspiration came from statues, particularly Greek nudes. These statues, as imposing as they are graceful, bear witness to the cult of the body in ancient Greece, the celebration of the body being in fact the main subject of Greek art as a whole. Artists worked with the omnipresent idea of depicting the body in movement, the élan of the discobolus being a perfect example. The nude was a recurrent theme in Greek society, so much so that a word like gymnasium takes its etymology from the word ‘nude’, because yes, in ancient Greece, people played sport naked. There’s nothing like effort to admire the perfection of the body. 

From Latin gymnasium, from Ancient Greek γυμνάσιον, gumnásion, itself from γυμνός, gumnós (‘naked’).

The statues represent either sportsmen and women in the context of their sport, mythological scenes or the gods themselves. What better way to evoke perfection than the divine? In Hades, we notice this influence every time we meet one of the inhabitants of Olympus. They’re beautiful, charismatic, expressive; they show us just enough of their bodies to capture the full physical perfection of their being – in short, they’re imposing!

Look at them, and you’ll find them almost intimidating in their beauty, grace and confidence. Jen Zee has made sure to create a strong identity for each character, drawing on well-known representations of them and integrating her influences into the chosen graphic style. The final design is a blend of the real and the artist’s inspirations. To create the identity of each of them, she first gives them a dominant colour, yellow for Zeus, violet for Dionysus or pink for Aphrodite… In this way, they are quickly distinguishable as well as giving them a visual tone. Take Zeus for example, his dominant colour is yellow, synonymous with ego, power, knowledge and warmth in its positive aspects; and treachery, lies and deceit in its more negative meanings. Traits that perfectly match the character of the King of Olympus. Similarly, Poseidon is given the colour blue, a sign of wisdom, truth and fidelity, but also a symbol of melancholy, which will be perceptible in every word he utters. The simple colour evokes all the duality in the character of these divine yet very human beings. The work on their poses and attitudes also reflects the image we have all created for ourselves: Ares, proud, upright and determined in his gleaming armour, Hermes as light as air, his eyes riveted on his destination, which seems to pass by in a flutter of his wings. I was talking about movement; he literally seems to leap in a single step, between the pose and the perspective of the model, a great dynamism emerges.

Jen Zee has managed to find small visual elements that recall the role or status of each god. Zeus, for example, has a cloud at the bottom of his beard, a reminder of his status on Olympus. Dionysus is dressed in a leopard motif, an animal associated with him in many representations. Chaos holds a miniature earth between his fingers, and a galaxy of stars can be seen in Nyx’s hair. Hades’ beard logically takes the form of the symbol of the underworld, the Sigil of the Dead. It symbolises the bident, which he uses as a weapon. As for Aphrodite, her design is based on Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. The goddess of love is depicted standing naked, wearing only a few strands of her hair, the ends of which form hearts. All these little details enrich the illustrations, giving them a little extra soul and anchoring the characters in our imaginations.

Artistic choices

Impression enfers brûlants

If you’re wondering what it is that makes Hades’ art direction so special, that little extra something that gives the game its strong identity, you should know that it comes from color. First of all, highlights. Highlights are the ambient lights that follow the silhouettes of characters and set elements. In Hades, the colors used for these highlights are very bright, sometimes acidic. Look at the green on Alecto’s hair, or the orange on Zagreus’s hand.

The other element that completes the charm of this graphic style is the use of saturated touches of color to break up the large areas of solid color. This use of touches of color is reminiscent of Impressionist paintings. In the paintings of the great Impressionist masters, we notice color tones that are not found in real scenes. These touches contribute to the impression of the scene. In the game, small touches of color add dynamism to the overall rendering. They can be found both on the characters and in the game world. I can also cite the use of light, particularly the hexagonal halos animated around them, as one of the characteristic details of Hades’ art direction.

The logic of diversity

The designs of the Greek pantheon are highly diverse, and the team wanted to bring this diversity into the representation of the gods. It reflects the great cosmopolitan Greek empire. From Egypt to western India, via northern Arabia and Persia, the different ethnic groups at the heart of this great civilization are represented. It’s a way of visually expressing the long Greek cultural heritage and the influence of the Egyptian pantheon on the deities of Olympus. This diversity also stems from the desire to represent universal gods: yes, they are the gods of ancient Greece, but their domination is established over the world. Why should they be in the image of the Greeks alone, when their realm doesn’t stop at the borders of Greek airspace?  

Athena is depicted as a dark-skinned woman, Hermes could be from eastern Asia, and Eurydice is a beautiful black woman whose Afro hairstyle is represented by branches and foliage. Kasavin sees the gods of ancient Greece not as the gods of the Greeks, but as the most powerful gods in the world at the time of ancient Greece.

The mythology behind Hades

Setting the game in ancient Greece is also an opportunity to reinterpret some of the greatest myths of the time. The writers at Supergiant Games manage to integrate these myths into the game’s story in a remarkable way. It’s interesting to see how the team has appropriated the great myths. Characters and legends will constantly cross Zagreus’ path. These mythical heroes, these tragic stories, will serve as both inspiration and warning for Zagreus. Let’s take a look at a few examples to see how Supergiant has seized on them as a source of both respect and creation.

Hades

Hades (ancient Greek: ᾍδης or Ἅιδης / Háidēs), God of the Dead and King of the Underworld, gives his name to the game and is the father of Zagreus. In the game, Hades is a cantankerous character, depicted always at his desk, working tirelessly on his task as God of the Dead. He is cold to all characters except Persephone. This description matches that of the god in ancient times. A god who inspires fear and penitence, because of the fatal fate that concerns us all. He was so feared that euphemisms such as Polydegmon (“he who receives much”) and Plouton (“the rich”) were used to describe him. The game refers to these names several times when mentioning Hades’ immeasurable wealth, and one soul even calls him “God of the Rich”. These nicknames derive from his status as King of the Underworld, with everything below ground belonging to him. Giving the name Hades to the game is a direct intention to provoke fear. 

It’s a total respect for the myth, and there’s no need to touch it, as it serves the purpose of the game perfectly.

Nyx

Nyx (ancient Greek Νύξ / Núx) is a primordial deity, the very embodiment of night. She was born of Chaos with Gaia, Tartarus and Erebus. From these primordial divinities, the gods of Olympus were born. This ancestry can be seen in the game’s various dialogues between Nyx and Hades. There are few references to Nyx in the mythology, but Supergiant has made her the adoptive mother of Zagreus and the mother of all the underworld. She cherishes Zagreus like her own children – after all, she’s the one who breathes life into our prince’s stillborn body, and she’ll do her best to advise him on his adventure.

Supergiant takes advantage of the gap in the Nyx legend to interweave myth with fiction. It’s a clever way of creating a character who is both recognized and fulfills a purely fictional function.

Charon

Charon (Ancient Greek: Χάρων) is one of Nyx’s children, the famous ferryman of the River Styx, whose duty it is to transport departed souls to the realm of the dead. In the game he has the same function, in addition to running the various stores present in the underworld. It’s a symbol of the obols he receives as payment for transporting the dead. In Greek tradition, the obolus is placed on the tongue of the deceased. Charon was feared in ancient times, and this fear is shared by underworld figures and even the gods: Poseidon calls him a “nuisance”, while even Cerberus shuns him. In the game, he is a character of few words, expressing himself only in meaningless grunts. This aspect of his character is a Studio idea, certainly to make him even more mysterious, but there are no mythological references to support this choice.

In this case, the myth derives from a purely videogame function, namely the store, but finds a logical foundation in the character’s mythology.

Hypnos and Thanatos

Respectively the embodiments of sleep and death, Hypnos (in ancient Greek Ὕπνος / Húpnos) and Thanatos (in ancient Greek Θάνατος / Thánatos) are closely related – didn’t Nas say that sleep is death’s cousin? In Greek mythology, they are twin brothers, both born of Nyx. They work as a team, as the painted vase “The Body of Sarpedo” suggests, painted after a passage from the Iliad in which the two brothers take Sarpedo’s body back to his native village for burial. In the game, the dynamic is different: Thanatos is concerned with his role and determined to accomplish his task, while Hypnos prefers to take his best nap instead of working. Characters in the game describe Hypnos as annoying and a slacker, and Nyx sometimes worries about whether her son is fulfilling his duty. Thanatos even goes so far as to prefer the fate of Zagreus and his continual deaths to being Hypnos. This difference in personality between the two brothers lends a comic aspect to their relationship and their exchanges. As for Thanatos, it’s worth noting that he’s never been depicted with a scythe, a legacy of our vision of the grim reaper. The two brothers are a good example of how Supergiant Games interweaves different mythologies with made-up elements to create interesting characters for the game, while remaining consistent with their myths. They play with the character of Hypnos to make him more interesting, more endearing and create humor in his interactions with other characters.

Achilles and Patrocles

Achilles (Ancient Greek Ἀχιλλεύς / Akhilleús), is perhaps the best-known Greek hero and Patroclus (Ancient Greek Πάτροκλος / Pátroklos or Πατροκλῆς / Patroklễs), are another example in Supergiant Games’ way of playing with mythology. With their full story told in The Iliad and The Odyssey, the studio decided to write the aftermath for our two proud fighters. To return briefly to their story, Achilles and Patroclus are two friends, or lovers, according to the various writings. Patroclus died during the Trojan War. He fell in battle to Hector, pretending to be Achilles, who refused to fight. Achilles, seized with a vengeful rage, unleashed his wrath on the Trojans and killed Hector, their prince, to avenge his friend. These events would later lead to the death of Achilles himself. In the game, which focuses on the romantic relationship between the two men, we experience the remorse of both companions. Achilles will always blame himself for Patroclus’ death, and for his fate after death, stuck in the underworld. It’s also Achilles’ fault, for in his fit of anger, he delayed taking care of his friend’s body. While in the Odyssey, Achilles finds himself in the Asphodel meadow, in the game, he lives in the house of Hades. Zagreus acts as an intermediary between the two men, and is the driving force behind their mutual forgiveness. The scriptwriters have the good idea of continuing their story in death, a fine way of conveying all the mythical heritage of the characters while adding their own conclusion. 

In this last example, we see that they integrate the entire myth by continuing it through their own story.

You now have a slightly clearer picture of the different ways in which Supergiant Games has built its story around mythology. If you’d like to learn more about the entire mythology behind Hades, Orpheus and Eurydice, the Olympian gods, Sisyphus and the Furies, I can only recommend Ludiscere’s excellent video “The Mythology behind Hades” (link in sources), which served as my main support for this entire section. 

Zagreus, Greek hero

Chara Design

If we were to study just one character, Zagreus’ design would be the ideal example. Let’s focus on our hero, son of Hades and Persephone. Zagreus is the perfect, almost blank page for Supergiant to fill. 

As I said earlier, Zagreus was originally Theseus, but he still retains some of the design details originally created for him. The Laurel wreath, for example, originally attributed to Apollo: 

It represents the victorious destiny of our young son of the underworld, in the image of Theseus’ victory over Asterios, the minotaur. He also inherits the massive shoulder pad that characterizes him: Theseus’ designs take the shape of a Bull’s head, while Zagreus’ features the three skulls of Cerberus, symbolizing his infernal origin. In character, he inherits all the confidence and determination of his predecessor. 

When we take a closer look at Zagreus’ design, many elements tell us more about the character, starting with his heterochromia. 

If eyes are the reflection of the soul, Zagreus’s betray a polarized personality, just like his Olympian family. A feeling of love, passion, but also anger and rebellion, burns with unquenchable fire in his blood-red right eye. The apparent incandescence of this eye suggests that Zagreus’s feelings are on the verge of explosion, seeping through his carnal envelope. His left eye, meanwhile, is indicative of his unlikely destiny, glowing with the green of hope, but also the green of failure. A direct symbol of the task that awaits him in the seeming impossibility of his hellish odyssey. His right eye, the red one, is inherited from his father, while the left shines the same green as the eyes of Persephone, his mother.

Another element of his design deserves our attention: his feet. Zagreus’ feet are incandescent, with flames coming out of the soles of his feet as he walks. While this may seem normal for the son of Hades, it’s a direct sign of the affliction Zagreus feels. These flames are Zagreus’ link to the underworld, the chain that binds him to his father and his destiny in the underworld.

While his feet link him to his father, his exact opposite, his hair, links him to his mother, Persephone. Looking at Zagreus from bottom to top, his design represents his entire destiny. A demigod with fiery feet that link him to the dead and to Hades, his father; but also a half-human who has inherited the life force of his mother Persephone, desperately seeking his reason to exist on the surface. The body of Zagreus represents the link, a bridge between death and life, between hell and the surface, but also a bridge between the various characters who cross our path.

Let’s not stop at Zagreus’s design; looking at his sword, Stygius, we notice on its blade six distinct runes illuminated in green. They represent each of the six Olympian gods of the first generation: Poseidon, Hera, Hestia, Hades, Zeus and Demeter. That the runes appear on Zagreus’s weapon represents blessings as the source of his power. The pommel of the sword, made of emerald and ruby, is a direct reminder of the hero’s eyes and his whole personality: passion, hope and anger guide his blade.

Mythology of a character

Of all the characters in the game, Zagreus occupies a special place. As his own myth is largely undeveloped, Supergiant Games draws on the myths of ancient Greece to write his hero. The game sometimes has fun with the character’s unclear origin, with Theseus even going so far as to tell him:

“He’s but a nameless, long forgotten minor god born of the depths, and bound to stay in them”

Theseus

The God of Blood

In the game’s codex, there’s an interesting note about Zagreus and his myth. It’s in the Thanatos section, he says of Zagreus:

“My thought is that the master’s son must be the God of Blood; of Life.”

This thought is not absurd, in the sense that in Greek mythology there is no God who embodies life or blood. This deduction from Thanatos makes sense when we look at the context of Zagreus in the history of the game. Blood, here, can be interpreted both literally and more symbolically. 

Literally, Zagreus is the only god in the game universe to bleed red, and Alecto often refers to this by calling the prince “Redblood”. Hades even calls this particularity “an aberration”. In mythology, gods don’t bleed. When wounded or killed, their bodies release ichor, which is commonly a golden color. Gold refers to power and immortality in Greek myths, as witness Jason’s golden fleece or the apples in the Garden of the Hesperides. This red blood makes Zagreus a mortal, which is only logical given that his mother, Persephone, is herself half-mortal. 

More conceptually, blood can represent family. After all, Zagreus goes in search of his mother and his origin on the surface, creating bonds with other members of his Olympian family in the process. Greg Kasavin himself describes the gods as “one big dysfunctional family”. Zagreus brings a sense of connection and a calmer relationship between the various characters. He even ends up reconciling his father with the rest of the Olympians.

What if the god of blood and life was in fact the god of rebirth? After all, this is a roguelite, and Zagreus spends his time dying, then being reborn. What’s more, the game tells us that Zagreus was originally stillborn, with Nyx breathing life back into the infant’s body. He is a hero who has learned to die before living.

Greek tragedy

Greek tragedy is a theatrical performance from ancient Athens, which reached its apogee in the 5th century BC. Originally, these performances were religious. Tragedy has come down to us through the work of three major authors: Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. Tragedy took pride of place in Athenian society, and served as inspiration for a great many authors in the centuries that followed. Almost all the tragedies we know today are based on well-known myths, while others tell the story of historical events. The recurrence of myths and stories was a problem at the time of the celebrations, as the audience already knew the ins and outs of each play. Authors would then imagine actions or events that would disrupt the narrative thread, the peripatetic. Aristotle theorized about peripety in his Poetics. He describes it as follows: 

“a change in the opposite direction in the facts that are accomplished […] according to likelihood or necessity.”

The peripatetic element brings surprise to stories, changing known situations to create something new. In a way, the peripatetic element embodies an initial reinterpretation of the great Greek myths. It was this ability to renew myths that made tragedy a major art form in ancient Greece. 

By interpreting Greek myths, shaking up established knowledge of these myths and creating twists and turns in his story, we can say that Supergiant takes up the tradition of the authors of the past to offer us a truly modern Greek tragedy.

The Greek Hero

The figure of the Greek hero is one of the best-known myths to have been retold down the ages. But what exactly is a Greek hero? 

To begin with, Greek heroes always have a human side. For the most part, they are demigods, with one parent being human and the other divine. Achilles, for example, has the goddess Thetis as his mother and Peleus, a mere mortal, as his father. Some, like Oedipus, have both parents who are human. Having human parents anchors these heroes’ stories in reality. By giving them a well-defined place of origin, the cities benefit from the hero’s aura, becoming places of worship and pilgrimage. There is no hero without a heroic quest or a great creature to face. This is one of the other constants in the stories of Greek heroes: after all, heroism is measured only by the height of the task the hero accomplishes. Folklore is full of impressive beasts: sphinxes, mermaids, hydras, the Nemean lion, the Erymanthian boar… These creatures represent a burden for populations, a burden from which the hero will free them. The hero’s quest, or trial, has a divine origin. Heracles is pursued by Hera after Zeus’ adultery, Ulysses pursues Poseidon for revenge, and Perseus is assisted by Athena. Finally, the Greek hero always possesses a particular skill that will make him famous. These include Heracles’ physical strength, Ulysses’ intelligence in evading the Sirens, and Oedipus’ simple ability to think through the riddle of the Sphinx.

Let’s take a closer look at our hero now: born of a god and a demi-goddess, he perpetually battles all the monsters of the underworld, as well as mythical characters and creatures. In his infernal epic, he is assisted by numerous gods who come to offer him their gifts. Zagreus is the very embodiment of the Greek hero. 

Depicting the underworld

As you know, the underworld is our playground, and particular attention has been paid to the creation of each of its regions. In mythology, the underworld is traversed by five infernal rivers, three of which are visible in the game: the Styx, of course, the Phlegethon and the Lethe. Its unknown and ever-changing geography was the perfect setting for all the trials awaiting our young prince. The only indication we have is that of its depth: Hesiod estimates that the bottom of the underworld is as far from the earth as the sky, and that it would take 9 days and 9 nights of walking to reach the bottom. The world is divided into five distinct parts. In the deepest part is Hades’ palace, the starting point for all our attempts to escape. Next, just above, is Tartarus, the darkest part of the underworld according to Homer. On the upper level, the Asphodel, then the Champs Elysées, before reaching the last stage before the exit, the Temple of Styx. To create each area of the game, Jen Zee explains that she works closely with Greg Kasavin. Artists and scriptwriters work together to determine several essential elements. Firstly, what the story of the zone is, in order to determine its tone. Next, the team considers the color palette that will best convey the feeling that the place should evoke. As for the representation of the underworld, you’ll see that there are many descriptions and works of art on which the team was able to draw. The underground world and its map have similarities with Sandro Botticelli’s depiction of the underworld in his Circles of the Underworld.

Hades’ palace

As far as mythology is concerned, there is no real mention of Hades’ palace. It was only later, in paintings and texts, that representations of a palace were made. Mythology indicates that Hades dwells in a part of the underworld close to the Champs Élysées, and thus to the exit from the underworld. This differs from the game, which places him in the background. In the game, it is described as a well-stocked house housing a number of residents. It is also said that the palace existed in another form before the Master of the house moved in. The main part of the palace is based on the layout of a temple, with a pool of blood acting as the Pronaos (entrance), followed by a long corridor lined with columns, the Naos, and then the office of Hades, the Adyton, the part dedicated to the temple’s religious services. At the sides are the living quarters, with bedrooms, kitchen and offices. Hades’ palace reflects his nickname of “the rich”, and is adorned with a multitude of gems, all reminders of the riches to be found beneath the earth’s surface. The interior is richly decorated, with moldings, gilding and embellishments lining every surface of the palace. Numerous statues and carpets adorn the walls. Its construction and rich decoration come from what is known as post-Parthenonian Mannerism, which brings together Greek constructions erected after the Parthenon. One room is dedicated to the display of cinerary craters typical of ancient Greece.

The Tartarus

Tartarus is the deepest, darkest zone of the underworld, reserved for evil souls to live out their eternal punishment. This is where we find the gods who betrayed the Olympians, Sisyphus, Ixion and many others who dared to defy the gods. Tartarus was above all a primordial deity of the abyss who is a child of Chaos, personifying the place. An explanation for the place’s lack of cartography, but also for its incessant movement. Tartarus is bordered by the Styx, the river that gives Achilles his near-immortality, and a symbol of hatred. Tartarus is a more modern, Western representation of hell. In the game, it is similar to its mythological description. An arid, frozen place of bubbling lakes of sulfur and pitch, surrounded by a river of fire. Jen Zee’s choice of metal to dress the space reflects the cold, inert image suggested by the texts. The color palette ranges from cold grays to tangy greens, as if to recall the nauseating decay of souls trapped here for eternity. Tartarus symbolizes eternal punishment and divine justice. Brueghel’s depictions of Tartarus bear witness to the hot, suffocating atmosphere of the place.

The Asphodel

The Asphodel is the second region of the underworld through which we pass. It’s the equivalent of purgatory, a place where souls, neither good nor bad, reside. It is the largest part of the underworld, reserved for ordinary mortals. Also known as the Asphodel field or Asphodel meadow, Homer mentions it several times in The Odyssey. It takes its name from the asphodel flower that covers the fields. It is sometimes also called the Meadow of Ashes (which is almost a homonym in ancient Greek), this nickname given to it because of the infernal flaming river that runs through it, the Phlegethon (literally Φλεγέθων, the Flaming One). Its liquid fire is designed to prevent the damned from fleeing the Fields of Punishment. As the Asphodel is reserved for banal souls, don’t think that staying there is all fun and games – the atmosphere is fiery, so much so that Zagreus admits he sometimes finds it hard to breathe. In the game, Asphodel presents itself as flowering expanses of asphodel, fragmented by the fiery arms of Phlegethon. It’s in this zone that you’ll meet Eurydice, Orpheus’s only love, who died after being bitten by a snake. The area appears crimson, due to the flooding of the river mentioned by Zagreus during the adventure. Here, the area is made up of reds and purples, giving it the appearance of scorched earth. The few paintings referring to it depict a veritable furnace. This zone is the most imbued with the infernal atmosphere we’ve come to imagine. 

The Champs Elysées

Put simply, the Champs Élysées are the equivalent of our Judeo-Christian paradise. The Champs Élysées were home to the greatest heroes of ancient Greece. Homer and Hesiod describe them as a place of eternal spring, with a multitude of flowers and birds. A peaceful place where souls who have received favor from the gods can live in peace with nature. The Elysian Fields are bordered by the infernal river Lethe, the river of oblivion (Λήθη / Lếthê, “oblivion”). Souls can come and drink its water to forget all about hell and be reincarnated. Poets describe Lethe as a calm, peaceful river, a river of oil that flows slowly and silently. In the game, the Champs Élysées appear as a much brighter, livelier area. To represent them, the team chose to use colors between green and blue, a choice that is not insignificant. Green represents nature, hope and life, while blue evokes calm, order and freshness. The color palette is radically different from the other two previous regions, to mark the break this place embodies with the rest of the underground world. The Champs Élysées, whether in texts or paintings, are described as a verdant, harmonious, almost Edenic place.

The Temple of Styx

The Temple of the Styx is not mentioned in Greek mythology. It can be thought of as the entrance to the underworld. One of the elements that links it to mythology is the presence of Cerberus, who ensures that no human enters the underworld and no soul leaves it. In mythology, Cerberus is the guardian of the underworld. There are many representations of the creature, but none of them allow us to visualize a temple. In the game, the temple appears to be an amalgam of Hades’ palace, with its architecture blending Gothic and Mannerist inspirations with the metal found in Tartarus. The area is decorated with a magnificent fresco of the Cerberus.

Creatures from hell

The underworld is populated by the worst creatures that mythology can imagine. Whether they’re the studio’s own creations or echoes of well-known mythical creatures, they deserve our attention.

Fictional creatures

The majority of the bestiary is created by the studio for the needs of the game. Nevertheless, they find their meaning in the universe. The Miserable Ones, for example, are a group of spirits inhabiting Tartarus. Their form is determined by the reason for their presence in the underworld. Thus, thieves and other villains are transformed into wretched brutes, while murderers take the form of rogues. Some other wretches, like the Cendropods, come from an amalgam of mischievous souls. Then there are the Exalted, the heroic souls of ancient warriors roaming the Elysiums. Bound to their weapons in death, they ceaselessly seek battle, perhaps to relive the thrill of their ultimate victory.

The amalgam

This enemy is a creation of Supergiant Games, but its origins lie in the myths of ancient Greece. In the game, the amalgam is represented by a luminous pink ball floating peacefully in the air. Butterflies fly close to it, attacking Zagreus as it approaches. It’s these butterflies that interest us. For the Greeks, butterflies are associated with the goddess of the soul, Psyche. She symbolizes the transformation of the human soul. The Greek word ψυχή (psuchè) can indeed be translated as “soul” or “butterfly”. In the legend, Psyche is condemned by Aphrodite to steal fragments of Persephone’s beauty. Upon opening the chest containing the precious fragment, Psyche falls into a deep sleep. Zeus, moved by her story, grants her immortality. She is reborn as a butterfly-winged goddess, metamorphosed from human to goddess, mortal to eternal.

The Erinyes

The Erinyes or Furies will come to try and stop Zagreus on his way out of Tartarus. According to Hesiod, the Furies are the daughters of Gaia and the corrupted blood of mutilated Ouranos. They have many origins, but Orphic traditions describe them as the daughters of Hades and Persephone. The Iliad also mentions an attachment to the underworld. We don’t know their exact number, but Virgil lists three: Shrew (Μέγαιρα / Megaira, ‘the Hatred’), Tisiphone (Τισιφόνη / Tisiphónê, ‘the Vengeance’) and Alecto (Ἀληκτώ / Alêktố, ‘the Implacable’). They are a personification of the curse, they will pursue the cursed being in life and in death if need be. They are represented as winged women with snakes for hair and armed with whips and green lanterns. Blood sometimes drips from their eyes. The Erinyes are widely represented in the art, and these illustrations serve as the basis for the creation of the Furies in the game. They lose their snake hair but retain the lasso and all their pugnacity.

Lernie

Ah, Lernie, good old Lernie, blocking our path as we leave the asphodel meadows. Lernie is none other than the Hydra of Lerna, the Hydra that Hercules brought down in battle when carrying out the second of the 12 tasks entrusted to him by Eurystheus. The defeated Hydra landed in the underworld, completely emaciated since bathing its body in the river of fire, the Phlegethon. Since then, Lernie has been waiting patiently outside the entrance to the Champs Élysées to ensure that no soul disturbs this sacred site.

Theseus and Asterion

The duo are waiting for us at the exit of the Champs Élysées. What could be more noble than the greatest king of Athens and slayer of the Minotaur as an adversary? Theseus now reigns over the upper reaches of the underworld and has befriended his former enemy, Asterion. He has even vouched for the master of the underworld to welcome his friend to the Champs Élysées. If Theseus is an annoying protagonist in Greg Kasavin’s eyes, he becomes, with his legendary arrogance, the perfect antagonist. Theseus and Asterion wait for Zagreus in an arena on the Champs Élysées, where the shadows come to watch the fighting. Here, too, there are many works depicting our heroic duo, including vases, paintings and sculptures.

The Rhapsody of Darkness

For the music and dubbing, Supergiant Games has been working with songwriter Darren Korb since Bastion. Darren Korb is a specialist in strummed instruments, and his repertoire includes bass, guitar, harp and mandolin. He also plays piano, drums and even accordion. Since Bastion, his work has been nominated and won several awards.

Voice Acting

Hades is a game that pays particular attention to its dubbing. Each character is wonderfully interpreted by the various actors who work with the studio. Each voice, each tirade, brilliantly underlines the character of our gods and goddesses. Hades, with his powerful, cavernous voice, commands awe and respect; Morpheus, with his nasal voice that sounds as if he has just woken from sleep; Achilles, who exudes great serenity and nobility when he speaks; and Nyx, who seems to speak with an almost ethereal voice. As for Zagreus, after a few unsuccessful attempts with actors, he is dubbed by Darren Korb himself. He perfectly embodies this son of the underworld, as jaded by his many defeats as he is galvanised by each of his victories. Zagreus is a touching hero, full of fears, weaknesses and questions. His voice and tone are always spot-on, whether after the defeat of the minotaur and the famous ‘Blasted ghost minotaur’ delivered with a certain detachment, or when he once again rebuffs Theseus. The exchanges between the characters become very lively and believable. 

If you’d like to find out more about the dubbing work done for Hades, check out the 3rd episode of the Noclip documentaries ‘Hades – Developing Hell’ (link in sources).

Metal as inspiration

Working on the music for Hades was a challenge for Darren Korb, as the game’s sound grammar is a far cry from the composer’s usual work. For Bastion, for example, he proposes a softer, more atmospheric sound, a genre he himself describes as acoustic trip-hop. For Transistor, he worked on a kind of electronic post-rock that he dressed up with what he called ‘old world’ instruments like accordion and harp. With Hadès, the challenge is huge: he has to make the underworld sound good, and there’s nothing like looking to metal for influences to achieve this.

Originally, metal was characterised by a predominance of drums and electric guitar with a powerful rhythm section. It’s a genre that emerged in the late 60s and has been evolving ever since. Its influences include the energy of rock, the lyricism of classical music and the melancholy of the blues. 

So why does this music illustrate the underworld so well? If we look at the musical aspect alone, metal uses dissonant intervals, including the tritone. The tritone was excluded from all medieval music because it was considered unsightly. Some monks named the tritone ‘Diabolus in Musica’, the devil in music. It was from this name that these intervals became associated with the devil in the collective unconscious. Nowadays, these tonal dissonances tend to evoke an uneasy or even evil feeling. Add to this the Satanist iconography used by metal bands, in their names, on their album covers and even in their songs.

In another respect, metal seems particularly well suited to the Hades game. As we said earlier, Hades is a modern Greek tragedy, and the game also needs to show its theatricality. Metal and metal concerts are renowned for being highly theatrical – you only have to watch a video of a Rammstein concert to see that. Pyrotechnic performances, grandiose staging, exuberant costumes, theatrical narration, it’s all there. 

Metal’s themes are also in line with those evoked by the game. Like the story of Hades, metal speaks of love and solitude, but also of violence and death. The fact remains that the message of metal is not intended to be nihilistic, but rather a sometimes sombre assessment of reality. 

This track is a perfect example of Darren Korb’s work on the game’s soundtrack. It’s definitely a metal track, with a heavy presence of drums and guitar, to which he’s added a mandolin melody. From the 45th second onwards there’s even a lyrical flourish that recalls the influence of classical music on metal music.

The score of melancholy

Leaving aside the metal-inspired tracks, the rest of the music is imbued with a deep melancholy. Like an ode to the tragic fates of the characters who inhabit the underworld. One character crystallises this feeling, Orpheus. In the play, Orpheus is the musician in Hades’ palace. After his ill-fated attempt to save Eurydice from death, he finds himself in the service of the lord of the underworld, separated from his beloved. Time and again, we hear his pain and sadness echoing through the walls of the palace. One track in particular caught my attention, Lament of Orpheus.

Lyrics : 

“Hear, oh gods, my desperate plea
To see my love beside me
Sunk below the mortal sea
Her anchor weighs upon me
Fasten her tether unto me
That she may rise to sail free
Don’t, don’t look back
Close enough that light we can see
My doubt betrays the better of me
Glance to the stern is all it would be
That anguished shade shall haunt me
Ever on
Calm seas
Winds alee
But now the squall’s upon us
We’re foundering
Drowning
Don’t look back
Don’t look back
Don’t look back
Don’t look back
Don’t look back”

The music is a fine synthesis of Supergiant Games’ work, linking the title’s sound design with the importance of mythology in the creation of the universe. In this lament, Orpheus puts all his regrets into the lyrics and melody. He cries out his despair to the whole world, as if hoping that one day Eurydice might hear him.

Telos

I hope you now have a clearer picture of the studio’s enormous artistic output. The way they digest their many artistic influences to create a striking and coherent graphic style. Whether it’s ancient statues or American comics, Hades’ art direction forms a rich, creative whole with a distinct identity. The scriptwriters at Supergiant Games have played with mythology to create a new story, full of twists and turns, feelings and great figures, without forgetting to appear authentic. It embraces its rich heritage and codes to deliver a remarkable modern Greek tragedy.

Now that early access to Hades II has been available for a few months, it’s not impossible that you’ll hear me talking about the licence again, perhaps in a different form. In any case, like Supergiant Games, you can rest assured that I’m not done with the underworld yet.

Sources

Bounthavy Sulivey – bounthavy.com – Yoji Shinkawa, directeur artistique de Metal Gear Solid
https://bounthavy.com/yoji-shinkawa-directeur-artistique-de-metal-gear-solid/

Justin Massongill – blog-playstation.com – Inside the Artwork: An Interview With Yoji Shinkawa (11-02-2019)
Inside the Artwork: An Interview With Yoji Shinkawa – PlayStation.Blog

Alex Wiltshire – rockpapershotgun.com – How Hades plays with Greek myths (17-08-2021)
How Hades plays with Greek myths | Rock Paper Shotgun

MCV Staff – mcvuk.com – Behind the art of Hades (07-06-2021)
Behind the art of Hades: “We value artistic integrity and excellence in artistic craft at Supergiant, however we’re first and foremost a game design-led team.” – MCV/DEVELOP (mcvuk.com)

Animation 2d FX – Game Art, La direction artistique de Hades – 2022
(2) GAME ART: La Direction Artistique d’Hades – YouTube

Xavier Mauduit, Florence Gherchanoc, Stéphanie Wyler et Valérie Huet – Épisode 1/4 : Nu comme un Grec, se dévêtir dans l’Antiquité – Podcast Le Cours de l’Histoire – 52 min (20-06-2022)
Nu comme un Grec, se dévêtir dans l’Antiquité : épisode 1/4 du podcast Tous à poil ! Histoire de la nudité | France Culture (radiofrance.fr)

Thierry N. – les-docus.com – Couronne de laurier : d’où vient cette tradition ? (20-07-2024)
Couronne de laurier : d’où vient cette tradition ? (les-docus.com)

Luke Plunckett – kotaku.com – The Art of Hades (22-10-2020)
The Art Of Hades (kotaku.com)

Natalie Clayton – rockpapershotgun.com – Supergiant artist goes behind-the-scenes on building a god in Hades (20-10-2020)
Supergiant artist explains how to build a god in Hades | Rock Paper Shotgun

Ashley – criticalvideogamestudies.com – Character Designs in Hades and What Makes Them So Great (08-10-2022)
Character Designs in Hades and What Makes Them So Great – CVGS (criticalvideogamestudies.com)

mrpech – phylacterium.fr – Dessiner l’indescriptible : Lovecraft et les auteurs de bande dessinée – Mignola (20-12-2015)
Dessiner l’indescriptible : Lovecraft et les auteurs de bande dessinée – Mignola | Phylacterium

stylecomics – lescomics.fr – L’art et le style de Mike Mignola – Dans l’antre de la folie graphique ! (03-06-2022)
L’art et le style de Mike Mignola – Dans l’antre de la folie graphique ! (lescomics.fr)

Courtney Ehrenhofler – techraptor.com – Separating Myth and Fiction: The World of Hades (05-10-2020)
Separating Myth and Fiction: The World of Hades | TechRaptor

Rachael Fiddis – dualshockers.com – The Art of Hades Showcases the Talent That Went Into This Beautifully Vibrant Game (23-10-2020)
The Art of Hades Showcases the Talent That Went Into This Beautifully Vibrant Game (dualshockers.com)

Ludicere – The mythology behind Hades – 2021 – 3H33
(2) La mythologie derrière Hadès – YouTube