Hades

The player takes the role of Zagreus, the prince of the Underworld, who is trying to escape the realm to get away from his dispassionate father, Hades, and reach Mount Olympus. His quest is supported by the other Olympians, who grant him gifts to help fight the beings that protect the exit from the Underworld. He is also helped on his quest by notorious residents of the Underworld, such as Sisyphus, Eurydice, or Patroclus. The game features four "biomes", or locales of the underworld: Tartarus, Asphodel, Elysium, and the Temple of Styx.

The game is presented in an isometric view with the player in control of Zagreus. The player starts a run-through of the game by trying to fight their way through a number of rooms; the rooms are drawn from a pool of pre-determined layouts, but their order and the enemies that appear are randomly determined. The game has a hack and slash combat system. The player has a primary weapon, a special attack, and a magic "cast" which can be used from long range. Upon starting a run, one of the Olympians will provide a Boon, a choice of three persistent boosts for that run that the player can select from; the Boons are themed based on the Olympian, for example with Zeus providing lightning damage effects. Subsequently, after clearing a room, the player will be shown the type of reward they may earn if they complete the next room or choice of next rooms, ranging from additional Olympian Boons, weapon upgrades, restorative items, obols to spend at Charon's store, or items that can be used in the meta-game in the Underworld that affect future run-throughs. Should Zagreus' health points drop to zero, he "dies" and ends up facing his father, removing all Olympian Boons, weapon upgrades, and obols granted from the last run.

Between runs, Zagreus can explore the House of Hades before setting on a new quest. Here, the player can use items recovered from run-throughs to impact the meta-game. The player can unlock and upgrade abilities for Zagreus, order construction of new Underworld features that may appear in future run-throughs, or obtain or upgrade new weapons. They can also have Zagreus interact with the various characters of the Underworld and improve his standing with them, which provide narrative elements to the game and may also provide quests with additional rewards. The player also has the option to romance some NPCs as the plot progresses.