[The winner of this award was Hades]
[Voiced by John C]

Let’s go back in time for a little bit. The /v/GAs, this humble award show started all the way back in 2011. We had dreams in our eyes and shitposting in our minds. Ten years ago, Bastion swept this award show and ruined our reputation for a generation to come. And now Supergiant is back to fuck us all over again.

Ultimately, there’s no better way to describe Hades than as a better Bastion. Or to describe Bastion as a worse Hades. Either one works. But Supergiant realized what they had done right, what thеy had done wrong, and made both of those rеsults even better. For once as well, “early access” wasn’t just a label that excused a company from getting paid for a broken product, and instead actually let the devs listen to feedback and organically evolve the product to what it is today.

Hades’ boasts faster gameplay than its predecessors, stars a cast of characters that actually feel as though they have a personality beyond just what you’re being shown, and gives you a roguelike experience that focuses on accentuating your chosen playstyle, rather than incrementally improving your assigned template.

While it took a while to go from release to launch, it really shows just what kind of shine can come from a title developed out of passion instead of greed. Hades took everything Supergiant’s fans had come to know and expect over the years, and delivered a true love-letter that perfects their previous formula. To fans of Bastion, it’ll feel like a welcome return home, and to anyone else, one of the most well-conceptualized roguelike games ever made. So thanks, Supergiant, we’re looking forward to another decade of being labelled as shills.