Summary
Time has obviously passed in-universe between the release of the firstHadesgame andHades 2.Melinoe is the protagonist now, and Hades, Zagreus, and Persephone have seemingly fallen prey to some plan at the hands of Chronos.
Not only that, but Melinoe has had enough time to grow into a full adult, being raised by Hecate. Therefore, there’s a whole lot of lore to catch up on for those who were keeping up with everything happening in theHadesuniverse. While not a ton is revealed in the grand scheme of things in the Hades 2 playtest, that’s still a whole lot of info in general. So, let’s go over any and all lore drops seen in theHades 2Technical Playtest.
9Melinoe’s Arm
Turns Out She Wasn’t Born With Her Ghostly Arm
First and foremost let’s talk about Melinoe’s arm. As anyone can see in any of the promotional material forHades 2, Melinoe’s left arm is seemingly ‘spectral’ with the actual bones in her arm and hand being visible through the spectral substance.
However, when players make enough progress in the Technical Playtest, they get to experience a flashback as Melinoe where she plays hide and seek with Hecate as a child. And, in that flashback, Melinoe has both of her arms completely intact. So, one can assume her situation where her arm seemingly happened after Choronos did whatever he did to Melinoe’s family, so her arm ‘situation’ likely wasn’t as a result of something Chronos did.
8The Status Of The House Of Hades
Chronos Has Hades, Persephone, & Zagreus Captive
Next up let’s talk about another obvious change inHades 2, the total lack of Hades, Persephone, or Zagreus. A lot of characters reference the fact that these three are gone and that it’s Chronos' fault. However, the ones who reference them don’t speak as if they’re dead, more as if they’ve been taken, stored, or sealed away.
So, the common assumption players seem to be making is that Chronos has Melinoe’s family captive. Additionally, at the end of the reveal trailer forHades 2,viewers can also see Hades literally chained up like a captive, so it’s very likely Melinoe will be rescuing themover the course of her runs.
6Hermes Is Working Undercover
He’s Playing All ‘Buddy-Buddy’ With Chronos
Of all the Gods of Olympus, only two knew of Melinoe since the days when she was very young, and that was Artemis and Hermes. Hecate kept her secret from everyone else, for fear of any Gods making rash decisions or revealing Melinoe to Chronos.
And, while Artemis has her own role to play in the Crossroads, so does Hermes. Fans find out through many different conversations that Hermes is actually playing the part of a spy within Chronos' forces, as Melinoe is incredibly worried for his safety. It’ll be interesting to see if he shows up as a God who can give Boons eventually, like in the first game, or if they’ll keep him entirely out of the rotation this time around. One thing is for sure, he very likely won’t beone of the game’s romance options.
5The Moon Iconography
Tons of Moon Symbology Everywhere
This is pretty obvious right from the start, at least visually, but there is a whole lot of moon symbology to be seen in many of the character designs ofHades 2. Both Hecate and Melinoe have crescent moons all over their designs, half of the Greek Gods have moons in their design, the game itself takes place over the course of a ‘night’ (time seems to be either slowed or stopped due to Chronos) and the goddess of the moon herself (AKA Selene) appears in the Playtest asone of the Gods Melinoe can receive Boons from.
Additionally, most (if not all) of the same characters with this moon symbology also have these sashes or strings on them that have a pattern of black, orange, blue, and then green. The most common assumption of these shared items is likely that they’re all part of the same group, but who knows for sure?
4Hypnos In Eternal Slumber
How’d He Get Put to Sleep?
This is probably one of the most tragic things seen intheHades 2Technical Playtest, and it has to do with one of the fan-favorite characters from the first game, Hypnos. Hypnos is another child of Nyx and the God of Sleep who fans loved in the first game due to his banter with both Zagreus and Thanatos. Hypnos' quirky way ofcommenting on Zagreus' deathsand his total lack of work ethic made him so relatable and so beloved.
However, inHades 2Hypnos is napping, and it doesn’t seem like he’s going to wake up anytime soon. The fact that in Melinoe’s flashback to when she was a child, Hypnos can be seen sleeping and he’s still sleeping in the present day while Melinoe challenges Erebus means that he’s been stuck asleep for years and years. Whether this is a forced slumber at the hands of someone else or a self-induced sleep it’s unclear, but we’re hoping Hypnos doesn’t stay snoozing the entirety of this sequel game.
3Demeter Is Ready To Fight
She’s Not Messing Around Anymore
Most of the returning Greek Gods have some pretty noticeable changes to their design inHades 2, with Demeter being included in that. However, compared to a lot of the other design changes, Demeter’s feel a lot more practical. In the firstHadesgame, Demeter is his this very comfortable and royal-looking clothing, aka stuff that wouldn’t be very practical for battle.
However, inHades 2Demeter looks like she could hop into battle at any minute. Her daughter has been taken or something has happened to her at the hands of Chronos and Demeter makes it very clear that she’s ready to actively participate in the battle against Chronos to get her daughter back.
2The Three Fates' Prophecy
Melinoe Has Been Raised With The Goal of Killing Chronos
Apparently, the Fates themselves had revealed a prophecy long before the events ofHades 2that foretold of Chronos falling at the hands of Melinoe. So, keeping this prophecy or fortune in mind, Melinoe was raised by Hecate to become a fearsome fighter in the hopes of proving this prophecy to be true.
In the flashback to Melinoe’s childhood, it’s clear that the young princess of the Underworld is ready and willing to repress parts of herself to become a more fearsome warrior. Thankfully, Hecate nips this issue in the bud and seemingly helps Melinoe at every turn by telling her she has faith in her, that it’s okay to cry, and recognizing the constant pressure Melinoe is under.
1Hecate’s Origins
Turns Out She’s A Titaness
And lastly, if it wasn’t already clear by Hecate’s gigantic stature (at least compared to Melinoe) Hecate is a Titan. Of course, anyone who looks up who Hecate was in Greek Mythology can find out just about everything there is to know about the Goddess, but for those who are solely relying onHades 2to give them this info, this reveal might have been a surprise.
After all, Chronos is a Titan, and Melinoe’s ‘catchphrase’ in Hades 2 seems to be “Death to Chronos” so it’s a bit surprising that a fellow Titan is training her with this goal in mind. However, Hecate has obviously sided with the Greek Pantheon of Gods, and as a reward for this Zeus made her a recognized God of the crossroads, witchcraft, necromancy, the moon, and more.
