Hades 2 gets new region, weapon, familiars, and more in first major early access content update

Five months after bursting into PC early access, Hades 2 - the sequel to Supergiant Games' much-loved 2020 roguelike action-adventure - has just received its first major content update, adding a new region, weapon, and so much else its patch notes weigh in at over 3,500 words.

Hades 2's Olympic Update ("practically mountain-sized!", exclaims Supergiant) starts with the addition of a brand-new region - one you'll probably already have guess based on the name of today's release. If it's concrete information you want, though, we'll need to delve into spoiler territory - so turn back right now if you're sensitive to that kind of thing, otherwise I'll just get on and confirm Hades 2 players can now explore Olympus, the mountain of the gods.

Olympus consists of multiple new locations, and Supergiant notes today's update also adds new locations to several other existing regions. That's alongside an "otherworldly" new weapon - Xinth's Black Coat, to be more specific - plus two new allies with unique Keepsakes, and two new Animal Familiars (Raki the Raven and Hecuba the Hound) to find.

Elsewhere in Hades 2's Olympic Update, those looking to spruce up the Crossroads a little now have access to "dozens" of new cosmetic items, while Supergiant also promises "hours" of new dialogue (spanning 2,500 new voice lines) as the game's plot picks up the pace thanks to the arrival of Olympus and its denizens. Other key additions include a new world map that appears as protagonist Melinoë moves between regions, plus native support for Apple's M1 Macs.

Supergiant's full patch notes are appropriately supergiant in nature, so I won't be appending the whole thing to the bottom of this page. Instead, you'll find all 3,500+ words covering Hades 2's latest additions over on Steam; alternatively, Supermassive has brilliantly released a nearly 27-minute long dramatic reading of the whole thing.

Hades 2 is currently expected to leave early access next year, and a release for unspecified consoles is also on the cards. Already, though, it's a bit of a treat, with Eurogamer contributor Christian Donlan calling it "comfortable and familiar" and armed with the "power of surprise".