HADES brings out the absolute best in Xbox Game Pass cloud gaming

Information technology was only a few days ago that I wrote an article about how Microsoft should look at acquiring a mobile game studio for Xbox — not necessarily to build native mobile games either. My argument is that a programmer with expertise in mobility could raise and up-level existing Xbox Game Pass titles for smaller screens, tweaking the UI, calculation unique touch controls, and and so on. Only a couple of days later, a game striking Xbox Game Pass deject gaming that actually reiterated the central point I was trying to make in that commodity.

Hades is an action dungeon-crawler roguelike which really brings out the best in Xbox Game Pass, and showcases the opportunity Microsoft and Xbox developers alike accept in the deject.

Slick gameplay meets slick controls

Hades has been around for a while on Nintendo Switch and PC, but this calendar week marks the game'southward first outing on Xbox, dropping right into Game Pass.

For those who don't know, Hades is a dungeon crawler at its cadre, fix in the depths of the underworld. Yous play equally Hades' belligerent son, Zagreus, who is hell-bent (literally) on escaping his father's domain up to the surface.

Hades features mountains of chaotic procedurally-generated dungeon arenas, with stacking gameplay difficulty. To offset the challenge, on each run you lot're granted permanent upgrades that help you lot progress further and farther towards Zagreus' goal. Hades sets itself apart from other similar games by having very potent characters and a compelling story, alongside vibrant art, anime-style characterizations, and great sound.

I knew Hades on Xbox was going to be a big hit when it finally came to the platform. What I didn't know, or look, was how well it would perform on Xbox Game Pass' cloud platform.

Hades joins Minecraft Dungeons as the second game on the platform with a custom design UI interface for touch on. In that location are other games that use the default button iconography and take custom controls, such as Streets of Rage 4. Other games still just default to a regular Xbox gamepad converted into affect buttons, and don't actually offer a adept experience.

Hades feels utterly native even on my small-scale domestic network. This is exactly what Xbox Cloud Gaming is supposed to be.

For many titles on Xbox Game Pass, y'all demand one of the Xbox controller mobile clips coupled with a gamepad to get the most out of the deject, simply more and more than games are looking to bear on controls instead. Supergiant and Microsoft worked to create a version of the control schemes that prioritize the most of import deportment. Buttons y'all don't need for combat are shoved into the corner, while the main combat actions are spread neatly in a radial plumage, as you might expect from a native mobile title. Since Hades is a fixed camera perspective game, you merely demand one joystick too, freeing up more screen existent manor for those more crucial attack buttons.

Hades is all about movement and dodging. Enemies assail in ambitious patterns. Arenas have big traps and pitfalls. Y'all'd think that combining touch gameplay with the added latency of cloud streaming from Microsoft's servers would heap difficulty on what is already a pretty difficult game. However, I didn't really find that to exist the instance here.

Hades just feels nifty to play on Xbox Game Pass' deject platform. The stock-still camera perspective seems to help Xbox Cloud Gaming'south video encoder remain consistent, I barely noticed a single shred of artifacting while playing. I noted in another recent article that my current location doesn't provide ideal internet weather. I tried Shadow's streaming platform recently for a gameplay preview event, and found that it was just impossible on my home WiFi, even at 5GHz with 100MB downwards. Xbox Cloud Gaming admittedly crushed this, though. Hades feels utterly native even on my minor domestic network. This is exactly what Xbox Cloud Gaming is supposed to be.

A huge opportunity

Hades joins the likes of Streets of Rage four and Minecraft Dungeons in one of the few Xbox Cloud Gaming titles that offer a truly great experience ono a smaller screen. Minimal need for complex user interfaces, unproblematic controls, a capacity for shorter gameplay sessions, while also remaining incredibly fun represents the very platonic type of game Xbox Game Laissez passer should be gunning for on mobile devices. I tin can merely hope this is the starting time of many, many more.

If you oasis't played Hades yet, regardless of the platform you're on, I cannot recommend it enough. Hades is available now on every major platform, and is included in Xbox Game Pass for console, PC, and of course, cloud.

Battle the afterlife

Hades Boxart

Hades

Escape the underworld

Guide Zagreus on his personal rebellion against the steward of the afterlife, as you attempt (over and over) to escape the depths of hell.

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