Hades takes first prize for best game at the “Oscars of Sci-Fi and Fantasy”

It is one more consecration for Hades. And this is a great first for the Hugo Prize, which rewards the best works of science fiction and fantasy each year. December 18 had the new edition of the American Literary Prize and it included a novelty: an award for the best video game in 2021. And it is the title developed by Supergiant Games that won the bet.

The video game – the fourth designed by the independent studio, after the no less excellent Bastion, Transistor and Pyre – yet faced heavyweights in the video game industry, such as Nintendo (with Animal Crossing: New Horizons), Square Enix (Final Fantasy VII Remake) and Sony (The Last of Us: Part II). Two other titles, more confidential, also competed.

For those who follow video game news closely, the challengers in this category may seem strange: indeed, some titles were not released in 2021, but the year before. This is indeed the case with Hades (September 2020), Final Fantasy VII Remake (April 2020), Animal Crossing: New Horizons (March 2020) and The Last of Us Part II (June 2020.)

The point is that the category of the best video game did not exist until 2021 in the Hugo award. This temporal paradox is assumed and justified in the announcement made on November 25, 2020 by those in charge by presenting this new award. Thus, the Hugo Prize accepts that works published for the first time in 2020 can compete for the 2021 edition.

” A work eligible for the Special Hugo Award 2021 is any game or substantial modification of a game first released to the public on a major game platform in the previous calendar year in the fields of science fiction, fantasy or related subjects », We read. These platforms include Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, Switch, PlayStation and Xbox.

As for video games, it is defined as ” a work in which the player’s choice, interaction or participation has a significant impact on storytelling, play, meaning or experience “. In fact, all the nominees meet this definition: the choices we make have consequences during the game and on the fate of the characters we control.

Come out of the Underworld. Die. Start again

In Hades, the goal of the game is very simple: you play as Zagreus, son of Hades, and you have only one wish: to leave the Underworld to reach the surface – and incidentally to visit the gods of Olympus. Except that the father does not quite agree with your desire to escape: he will therefore mobilize all of his infernal forces to block your way, by all means.

The good news is, you won’t be truly lonely on your journey: every now and then, other deities will send blessings to you on your way to give you additional abilities. Choose well: sometimes they will get upset if you do not opt ​​for their power and will make it clear to you with anger, before calming down.

The game offers an isometric view – much like Diablo, in short – and is very dynamic and gives the possibility of achieving formidable combos by mixing the good blessings with certain weapons. It will take at least that to defeat the champions who stand in your way, whether it is the Minotaur, Theseus or the Hydra of Lerna – Lernia, for the close friends.

Besides an artistic direction that has been unanimously praised, Hades delights with its addicting gameplay and excellent durability – the game is long if you want to finish it thoroughly, with all the challenges to accomplish. The dialogues between the characters are also tasty and testify to a gradual evolution in the relations between Zagreus and the other characters. We love.

Towards a permanent category for video games?

It is not certain that the category of the best video game of the year will continue in the Hugo award, as it is not (yet?) A permanent category. Indeed, this time it was a special category, as it sometimes appears from one year to the next. The question of formalizing this award among the annual Hugo Prize meetings has been raised for several years.

The Hugo Prize is therefore added to a spectacular list of awards won by Hades for a little over a year.

Among his most beautiful hunting trophies, we find for example two victories at The Game Awards 2020 (best independent game, best action game), the Nebula prize for the best video game writing (a prize similar to the Hugo prize), three DICE Awards (action game, indie, design) and a few dozen other awards.

More generally, Hades has been critically acclaimed and the audience has been particularly warm. It has collected an average rating of 8.5 / 10 on the SensCritique site, 93/100 on MetaCritic and a number of major press titles that refer to it give it a maximum rating or more than 8.5 / 10 or 18 / 20, depending on the scoring system.

We were also very impressed by Hades, evidenced by our test. Half of the editorial staff have played or are still playing it, because of the excellent degree of replayability conferred by this title, through the difficulty system symbolized by the “heat”, which makes it possible to intensify the challenge by literally raising the temperature. To put it simply, this is our game of the year 2020.

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