I liked Hades a lot. I'm just not sure I loved it. And I certainly don't love it as much as most game critics out there.

My first exposure to the game came while listening to my favorite podcast, The Besties, on which the hosts heap upon Hades the immense wealth of adulation the vast majority of games can only dream about. Plenty of phrases were used, but one seemed to keep coming back up: "pure fun."

"Pure fun. Hades is pure fun." I usually don't disagree with something my boys Griffin, Russ, Justin, and Chris unanimously believe. But in this review I'm doing just that.

In this review, I'm here to tell you that, while Hades is fun, it's not pure fun. It drags in spots. It's difficult and punishing for players who are relatively new to the rogue-like genre (like me), and - because of this - it's repetitive as all heck. The amount of times you have to fight Megaera after making it (mostly) out of Tartarus turns my stomach, and - contrary to popular opinion - the other games within Hades don't make this repetition all that fun.

Because, yes. Hades is a light romance sim. It's also part Animal Crossing and probably a lot of other things, too. But the way you romance NPCs in the game is by giving them ambrosia. The way you spruce up the House of Hades is by paying gems to a contractor. And... how do you collect gems and ambrosia (not to mention all other in-game currency)? You guessed it. By going back into Tartarus, by fighting the same low-level foes, and then the same bosses, by hitting the same walls, over and over again.

And, I know what you'll tell me. You'll say, Jonny - rogue-likes are built on repetition. You have to pick a few things to get good at. You have to master your build. That's what the entire genre is about. And I'll probably say something like... ya, you're probably right. But Justin McElroy, someone I look up to a whole dang lot. A self-made podcaster extraordinaire. A smart critic, a hilarious comedian, and my personal in-ear companion for the better part of six years now has played over one-hundred hours of this game. And that's something that I will never do. I just don't get it.

That said, even though I wanted to get all that negativity off my chest, I still think Hades is the most fun (and certainly the sexiest/horniest) rogue-like on the market.

You play as Zagreus, son of Hades, and you're trying to escape the underworld. Kick-ass premise, right? Along the way, you meet your aunts and uncles in the pantheon of Olympus. The Olympians give you boons on your runs to make you a more potent adventurer. You collect coins that you can give to Charon - the ferryman who transports dead souls to the underworld - in exchange for boons, health-items, and/or power-ups. You face challenging bosses. You usually die. And, when you die, you are transported back to the House of Hades to chat with all the characters therein. These NPCs are also famous in Greek mythology. You spend different kinds of currency to gain upgrades, some of which are more practical than others. You unlock weapons, of which there are six in total. You give gifts, you talk to your lovers, friends, and family. You watch a compelling story play out over many runs.

All the characters, including Zagreus himself, are well-voiced. The art is beautiful (and, like I said, very horny). The graphics are smooth and true-to-form for Hades' developer Supergiant Games, the studio known for previous titles Pyre, Transistor, and Bastion.

It's a good game, okay?! There, I admit it.

If you want to read overwhelmingly positive Hades reviews, just google "Hades Review." Look no farther than IGN and Polygon. But that's not who we are here at Owl's Fine Reviews. That's not why you come here. You come here for the truth. And the truth is that Hades earns an entertaining 8/10. But, "pure fun?" I don't think so.

Where it shines:

• Pretty fun
• Pretty sexy
• Genre-defining

Where it fades:

• Repetitive
• Hellish