Hades Nails Its Depictions of Polyamory and Kink

After a lengthy early-access stage, the game was released in 2020 and quickly became a hit, hitting over a million sales in less than a year. The roguelike from developer Supergiant follows Greek god Zagreus as he attempts to escape from the Underworld run by his father while interacting with a host of other Olympian gods and legendary figures pulled from Greek mythology. What makes Hades shine is its excellent and nuanced writing. The game's romance options, which feature elements of relationships rarely touched on in other games, are a good example of this.

The floating gorgon head Dusa is one of three characters that players can have in the game. The players advance the romances between escape attempts by having conversations with each character and giving them a collectible.

Dusa will explain at the end of her storyline that she does not have romantic feelings for Zagreus, and the duo agree to a more platonic relationship.

Thanatos and Megaera are characters that Zagreus can have a romantic relationship with. Both characters can be pursued at their own pace. If players enter a relationship with both, a scene will occur with Thanatos and Megaera showing up in a room together with an offer to sleep together, after which Megaera states the three characters have slept together before.

Polyamory means having romantic or sexual relationships with more than one person, with all parties consenting to the arrangement. This is not a requirement of being polyamorous, which is not inherently sexual in nature. This is the status of the Hades trio for the rest of the game, because of the conversation they have together.

This depiction is noteworthy because it shows how rare it is in any media and in video games. In many games with romances, you can't explore another partner at the same time because you only have one partner. The Mass Effect series, for example, requires players to choose a single partner at some point and break up with them if they want to be with someone else. It was wonderful to be able to look at these two characters, and I was amazed by the representation.