Hades has been a staple of Engadget’s living list of the best PC games, and it stands out as the only Early Access title to make the cut. It’s a roguelike romp through the bowels of Greek mythology — you play as Zagreus, son of Hades, in an attempt to escape the Underworld (and dear old dad). Zagreus fights upward through the levels of Hell with assistance from ancient gods and tragic figures including Zeus, Aphrodite, Sisyphus and Eurydice.

Though Hades is a roguelike — meaning players start from the very beginning with each death — ability and weapon upgrades persist across runs, and levels are randomized.

Our god-like rogue-like, HADES, is coming to #NintendoSwitch this fall, when we exit Early Access on PC!

Watch our new animated Launch Trailer, and stay tuned for v1.0, where we’ll be adding the true ending and much more! #HadesGame pic.twitter.com/gmP9RhIjg8

— Supergiant Games (@SupergiantGames) August 18, 2020

Since the release of Bastion in 2011, Supergiant Games has established itself as a solid indie studio with a flair for rich, hand-drawn science-fiction and fantasy settings. It released Transistor in 2014 and Pyre in 2017. Hades is its fourth title.

I can’t claim to have jumped on Hades early, it’s been out for more than a year. But I started playing it about a month ago, and it feels like Supergiant used the early access model perfectly. It’s a “roguelike” action RPG where you battle through the depths of the underworld, trying to reach the land of the living, all the while dying repeatedly. There’s a progression system where you can gain permanent bonuses, but most of your upgrades are found while playing, and are lost if you die. As with every rogue-like, you’ll be seeing the beginning of the game a lot.

This isn’t a new concept. But Supergiant, developers of the beloved brawler Bastion, along with Pyre and Transistor, has built on the combat from those previous games. It’s created an exceptionally well designed system with weapons that feel unique; fluid and fantastic movement (especially dodging); and a difficulty curve that always feels just on the fair side of punishing. Depending on what upgrades you find, combat can feel totally different from one playthrough to the next. For example, a “boon” from the ever-helpful Artemis launches a seeking arrow whenever you hit an enemy. That power-up felt underwhelming when I ventured forth with a slow-swinging melee weapon, but it made me nearly unstoppable while wielding a rapid-fire cannon.

Supergiant centered the game in the world of Greek mythology, filled with bickering gods and memorable characters to create an actual narrative, something many roguelikes are sorely lacking in. Plus it features three-headed hellhound Cerberus, and he’s the Goodest Boy in the whole underworld. (Petting Cerberus may be the most satisfying virtual-dog interaction I’ve ever had.)

In Hades, players take on the role of a son of Hades, the Greek god of the underworld, as he attempts to escape his father’s domain. Standing between the player and their goal is a mountain of hurt. Supergiant describes Hades as a “rogue-like.” That is, expect to die a lot as you learn the ins and outs of the combat mechanics and level design. Along the way, you’ll meet mythological heroes such as Achilles, as well as most of the Olympian gods.

Back when Epic launched the Epic Games Store last year, Hades was the company’s first major exclusive. Since then, Epic has used its Fortnite war chest to land other high-profile exclusives, much to the chagrin of some PC gamers. Since launching in early access, Supergiant has released six major content updates for Hades, adding new levels, weapons, story beats and, best of all, additional music by composer Darren Korb. Supergiant says players who purchase Hades before October 15th, 2019 will get a complimentary digital copy of the game’s soundtrack. If you would rather wait for Supergiant to finish development on Hades before paying to play it, the studio says it expects to launch the game sometime in the second half of 2020.