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What Happens When You Quit Hades? A Deep Dive into the Underworld’s Save System

So, you’re diving into the depths of the Underworld as Zagreus, battling your way through hordes of enemies, seeking freedom from your father, Hades. But life (or rather, death) calls, and you need to quit. What happens to your progress? In short, it depends on how you quit. If you quit via the menu after clearing a room, your progress is saved up to that point. If you “Give Up” during or after an encounter where you took damage, you’re sent back to the beginning. Let’s unpack this further, shall we?

Understanding Hades’ Unique Save System

Hades doesn’t use a traditional save-anywhere system. Instead, it employs a system designed to respect the game’s roguelike nature. This means the game saves your progress between chambers. If you successfully clear a room and its reward, the game creates a checkpoint. You can then safely quit to the main menu via the “Quit” option, and when you resume, you’ll start at the beginning of the next chamber.

The Crucial Difference: “Quit” vs. “Give Up”

The key distinction lies between the “Quit” and “Give Up” options in the menu.

Quit: This option is only available if you haven’t taken any damage in the current chamber. Selecting “Quit” saves your progress at the end of the previous cleared chamber, allowing you to resume your run from the next room. Think of it as a mid-run checkpoint.
Give Up: This option appears if you have taken damage in the current chamber. Selecting “Give Up” essentially wipes your progress for that run, sending you back to the House of Hades before your escape attempt. It’s essentially a reset button. You’ll keep any resources collected before entering the Underworld, but the run itself is voided.

Implications for Your Escape Attempts

Understanding this distinction is critical for managing your time and risk. If you’re in a tough spot and need to quit, your best bet is to survive the current encounter and claim the reward. This secures your progress. However, if you’re caught in a difficult battle and see no way out, “Giving Up” might be preferable to wasting more time on a doomed run. It’s a strategic decision that impacts your long-term progression.

The Impact of Quitting on Key Game Elements

Quitting can affect several aspects of the game:

Win Streaks: Thankfully, choosing to “Give Up” does not break your win streak. You can freely abandon a run without impacting your progress towards certain achievements or rewards tied to consecutive wins.
First Chamber Reward: If you “Give Up” before even entering the second chamber, the reward offered in the first chamber will not change upon restarting, provided you don’t use a Keepsake to influence it.
Dialogue and Story Progression: Quitting strategically can allow you to manage the number of runs you complete to have the right conversations with the right NPCs at the right time.
Resources: Any Darkness, Gems, Nectar, or other resources you collected before starting the escape attempt will be saved regardless of whether you “Quit” or “Give Up”.

Preventing Save Issues

Although rare, some players have encountered issues with saving their progress in Hades. This can often be attributed to antivirus software interfering with the game’s ability to write data. If you experience save-related errors, try whitelisting Hades in your antivirus settings or temporarily disabling the software. Ensuring your game files are verified through Steam can also resolve potential corruption.

Continuing the Journey After Escape

So you’ve finally escaped the Underworld! What’s next? Hades offers a substantial endgame, including:

The Fated List of Minor Prophecies: Completing these prophecies unlocks rewards and provides long-term goals.
Increasing Affinity with NPCs: Gifting Nectar to characters like Achilles, Dusa, and Thanatos unlocks Companions, powerful summons that aid you in battle.
Unlocking the True Ending: By escaping multiple times and exhausting dialogue options with Persephone and other characters, you’ll eventually unlock the epilogue, which offers closure to the main storyline.
The Pact of Punishment: Once you’ve beaten Hades, you can use the Pact of Punishment to modify the gameplay and increase the difficulty, earning greater rewards in the process.
Experimenting with Builds: Even after completing the main story, there’s endless potential to explore different weapon aspects, Boons, and Keepsakes to create unique and powerful builds.

Hades offers a rich and rewarding experience that extends far beyond the initial escape. Whether you’re aiming for 100% completion or simply enjoying the engaging gameplay and compelling story, there’s always something new to discover in the Underworld. You can find a great community surrounding the game as well as research from organizations such as the Games Learning Society that provide insights into the game and its impact.

Hades: A Masterclass in Game Design

Hades’ success lies not only in its engaging gameplay and captivating story but also in its innovative design choices, including its save system. By blending the roguelike genre with a persistent narrative and a unique progression system, Supergiant Games created a masterpiece that continues to captivate players long after they’ve rolled credits.

The Educational Value of Gaming

Games like Hades can offer many benefits to gamers. The Games Learning Society promotes better understanding of how game designs can inform how we learn. By exploring how Supergiant Games balances risk and reward within their saving system, players can learn better strategies and learn how to make the most of what they have when faced with limited options.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Does quitting Hades mid-run affect my achievements?

No, simply quitting the game via the menu after clearing a room does not negatively affect your achievements. It’s only “Giving Up” that resets your current run.

2. Can I quit Hades during a boss fight?

Yes, but only after you’ve cleared a phase of the boss fight and earned a reward. If you take damage, the “Quit” option will be replaced with “Give Up.”

3. What happens if my game crashes during a run?

If your game crashes, it usually loads the game to the last completed room. You will lose any progress in the current room, but your progress from the cleared rooms will remain.

4. Is there a way to manually save my progress in Hades?

No, Hades does not offer a manual save option. The game automatically saves your progress after each successfully cleared chamber.

5. Does using a God Keepsake change what happens when I quit?

No, using a God Keepsake does not affect the save system. However, if you “Give Up” and then use a different God Keepsake when you restart, that will, of course, change the God that offers their Boon first.

6. How many times do I need to escape to see the true ending?

You need to escape a total of ten times to unlock the main story events. You may need more runs beyond that to get the true ending and see the epilogue as well.

7. What resources should I prioritize early in the game?

Early on, prioritize Darkness to upgrade Zagreus’ abilities in the Mirror of Night. Nectar should be gifted to NPCs to build relationships and unlock Keepsakes. Gems are important to unlock upgrades from the House Contractor.

8. How do I unlock the Pact of Punishment?

The Pact of Punishment is unlocked after you escape the Underworld for the first time. You find it near Hades in his office.

9. Are there any secrets hidden in the House of Hades?

Yes, there are secrets and hidden interactions within the House of Hades. Experimenting with dialogue and exploring the environment can reveal new information and unlock quests.

10. How do I unlock the various weapon aspects?

You unlock weapon aspects by investing Titan Blood into the base form of each weapon.

11. Can I play Hades offline?

Yes, Hades can be played offline after it has been downloaded and installed.

12. What are Companions, and how do I get them?

Companions are powerful summons that can aid you in battle. You unlock them by gifting Nectar to specific NPCs (Achilles, Dusa, Megaera, Sisyphus, Skelly, and Thanatos) to reach max Affinity, then completing a quest for them that will give you a Remembrance. You then trade the Remembrance and 5 Ambrosia to unlock the Companion.

13. What is Titan Blood used for?

Titan Blood is used to unlock and upgrade the various weapon aspects.

14. What should I do if I’m stuck on a particular boss?

Experiment with different weapon aspects, Boons, and Keepsakes. Also, focus on improving your dodging and movement skills. Consider watching videos of experienced players fighting the boss for tips and strategies.

15. Will Hades 2 continue the story of Zagreus?

Hades 2 features a new protagonist, Melinoe, Zagreus’s sister. While Zagreus may appear, the story will focus on Melinoe’s journey and her battle against Chronos.

What happens when you quit Hades?