Warning: Minor spoilers up to the second boss of the game ahead!

The term “God Mode” usually refers to a sort of cheat code in video games that enables the player to accomplish things not normally possible in intended gameplay. Take Skyrim as an example. In that game, the “God Mode” makes the player character take no damage whatsoever as well as enabling them to carry as many items as they want. That reminded me of Hermione Granger’s beaded handbag, similar to the “Bag of Holding” in Dungeons and Dragons.

In Supergiant’s Hades, however, said mode is a lot more subtle. Enabling “God Mode“ in the game’s settings reduces all damage the player takes by 20%. Each time you end up dying, that percentage goes up by 2%, with a maximum of 80% total damage resistance. Turning on this option doesn’t account for previous deaths, so if you end up turning on this option after 20 unsuccessful runs you won’t suddenly have a damage resistance of 60%.

Apart from the damage resistance mentioned above, “God Mode“ doesn’t change anything else. You don’t deal more damage to your enemies, rooms don’t drop more items (like money, darkness or nectar) and most importantly, you don’t miss out on any story content by enabling it. I never thought that a subtle change of difficulty with each time I died would make such a big difference in my enjoyment of the game.

I stumbled upon this setting when I died to the infamous Bone Hydra three times in a row. I fought that boss using different weapons and boons, so I thought I was doing something wrong, or that maybe I just wasn’t good enough for the game. While I could’ve just as well kept grinding darkness to upgrade the different abilities the game has to offer, I felt like it would’ve taken way too much time to get me to an appropriate level to fight this boss.

So instead of doing that, I figured I’d give this “God Mode” a shot and try my hand at the Boss once again. While I didn’t end up beating the Hydra right away after turning it on, I got much further into the fight than before. It only took me two or three more attempts, the equivalent of 4-6% damage resistance as well as a couple more upgrades, to give me the necessary edge to actually beat the boss. You have no idea how accomplished I felt once I actually did it.

The main reason why I think this mode is so incredible is because as someone who works upwards of 40 hours a week, I don’t have that much time on my hands to play video games, so I often find myself asking: “Should I play game A for a couple of hours without really accomplishing anything, or should I play game B, which has a much easier progression system?” With this option enabled, I can play game A and get that sweet, sweet serotonin from the progress I make.

Hades‘ “God Mode” is a perfect way of turning down the game’s difficulty without making the player feel overpowered. So if you’re the sort of gamer that doesn’t have all that much time on their hands (like me) or generally doesn’t enjoy games that are “too difficult“ (also me), do yourself a favor and play Hades with “God Mode“ enabled. Looking for more Hades content? Check out Alexx’s article on why the game is setting a standard that will be quite difficult for future Roguelikes to meet.

Phenixx Gaming is everywhere you are. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

Also, if you’d like to join the Phenixx Gaming team, check out our recruitment article for details on working with us.

Phenixx Gaming is proud to be a Humble Partner! Purchases made through our affiliate links support our writers and charity!