A lot of squabbles happen in the world of the Greek gods, and Zagreus’s family is not an exception. Zagreus is a godling with a very big ego and teenage rebellious tone, also with a desire to break from his family shackles and seek the overworld. Zagreus is trapped in the underworld, his dad is Hades, the god of the dead, and his sole aim is to defeat his dad’s minions to reach the surface and seek his mother, Persephone.
A Prince with Daddy Issues
Meet our flaming -yet charming- protagonist, Zagreus. His story starts with him knowing that he is not born to Nyx, the mother of the three fates, but in fact, he has a real mother, a mother that left the hellish underworld and lived in the overworld.
His dad being the jerk and oppressive god he is; denied Zagreus the right to leave home and seek his birth mother. So he decided it’s time to leave it all and run away, and here starts out his endless rebellious journey out of hell.
Hades 1 revolves around Zag’s attempts to leave hell and know the full truth about his mother, heritage, and obscure future.
But there is a tiny problem… The underworld is designed to be impossible to leave. Hades 1 underworld is like a sentient trap, constantly shifting to adapt to your moves, craving, and actions. There is always someone who can knock you out, and even if you prevail, you will always get back where you started. When Zagreus dies, he is sent back to the house of Hades, coming out of the river Styx, coughing dust, blood, lava, poison, or all at once really.
A Mother’s Love
Zagreus’s rebellion isn’t just about making Hades know that his son is a grown man now with needs and aspirations, though, knowing that Nyx, the goddess of night who raised him, isn’t his real mother; his actions became justified, he just wants to know about Persephone, the long-lost queen of the underworld, who just disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
Hades refused to even mention her no, and no one in the underworld is allowed to. Now Zag is truly mad and wants to know everything about her. Why did she leave him? Leave the underworld as a whole? Does she even know that her son is alive and looking for her? A lot of questions and turmoil plaguing the young prince, fueling his rage and focus.
Filled with range and need for information, Zagreus starts Hades 1 journey by Tartarus, and so we now talk about the layers of hell in hades. Taking them from the lowest, to the highest.
The Journey: Gods, Boons, and Banter
The road isn’t easy for sure, you go through four layers in Hades 1 underworld maze!
Zagreus has to fight his way through the four punishing layers of hell to reach his dear mother. The first layer is Tartarus, which is the domain his father and his office resides in. Then we have Asphodel, and it is molten sludge of ever-burning lava, with skeletons, hydras, witches, and many more foes.
Along your journey, you will get aid from the gods. They will aid you by special power surges, or boons. These boons die you with in the run, and sometimes the boon can become a “Call”, which is a devastating blow from said god to end a fight.
You upgrade your own skills and survivability inside your own room in Hades’s house.
The relationships between gods are… Complicated to say the least.
Demeter (god of ice) hated Hades as he took her daughter to the underworld, as she was “gifted” to him by Zeus back in the day. Kidnapping sort of thing, so she is holding a big grudge, also don’t know if her daughter is alive or not. The same goes to all the other gods, they tolerate or hate each other to a degree, and that’s why makes Hades 1 have such a very solid narrative and an ever-ending dialogues.
The Big Reveal: Persephone’s Tragic Story
After many escape attempts, you finally beat your dad and go to the overworld. At first, air is amazing, but after a moment you simply die, you’re not suited to live up there.
After many more attempts you grow solid enough to withstand it a bit and finally meet your mother, suited in a cottage, surrounded by flowers. Your reunion is heart-breaking at least. She is alive, exiling herself from all the gods’ drama. She didn’t know you’re alive, too.
Now Zag gets to know the trust. Persephone was gifted to Hades long ago, she hated it at first, but grew to love the big man. But Zagreus came a stillborn, and the poor woman couldn’t handle the truth and just escaped.
But she didn’t know that Nyx told her daughters (the 3 fates) that Zagreus should be brought back to life, and he did. But Hades feared the wrath of the god’s to such meddling, so he kept Zag a secret, of course, till everything came evident and the young price started to seek his mother.
The Resolution: Healing the Rift
Eventually, the family is reunited at Hades’s home after many escape attempts. Persephone is there at last, as the queen of the underworld, and let all the gods know about her and how much she loved Hades.
Hades approved Zag’s escape attempts after the queen came home, and called it “Security Tests” just to keep up appearances.
Though bound to the Underworld, Zagreus keeps returning to the surface, determined to convince Persephone to come home. Their conversations are raw and heartfelt, as mother and son begin to bridge the gap created by years of lies and separation. Slowly but surely, Persephone realizes that staying away won’t fix anything.
When Persephone finally returns to the Underworld, it’s a moment of healing for the entire family. She reclaims her throne as Queen, bringing warmth and balance back to the House of Hades. Even Hades, the grumpiest dad in all of Greek mythology, begins to soften. He grudgingly supports Zagreus’s escape attempts, framing them as “security tests” to keep up appearances.
Finally, peace is restored, and the family finally starts to function… as much as a family of gods can, anyway.
