In case you missed 2020's hit roguelike Hades, it's filled to the brim with gods and goddesses from Greek mythology. And you get to know each of them pretty well, as you die over and over again as you try to fight your way out of hell. Most of the big names are there: Athena, Dionysus, Zeus, and more. But there were some other gods left off the cast list, including Apollo, son of Zeus and twin brother to Artemis. A couple years later, that blasphemous omission has been rectified: Thanks to this fan mod, you can add the god of music to your next Hades run.
Published by AlexKage on Nexusmods and spotted by ResetEra, the OlympusExtra mod aims to expand on the pantheon Hades already provides. Though Apollo is the only addition at the moment, there are plans to also include Hera, Hestia and Hephaestus in the line up. Right now Apollo is the focus, so let's have a look at what his powers entail.
As with any of the other gods, there are boons and a keepsake to be collected as you play. Additionally, there are duo boons for Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, and Demeter. If you hit a chamber where you have to choose between Apollo's power and another god's, there's also an Apollo's Wrath event where he throws a little tantrum for being second choice. He truly is Zeus's son.
Even with just Apollo OlympusExtra is already pretty fleshed out, and oh my goodness the artwork for Apollo looks like it's right out of the original game, harp bow and all. The mod is still a work-in-progress, with more duo boons planned and voice lines and unique sound effects currently missing.
The page on Nexusmods doesn't show everything it adds with Apollo, but there are already videos of people playing the mod out there which can give you a better overview.
Apollo's signature curse which nerfs your enemies is called Blind. The description on Github where AlexKage houses the mod's code describes it like this: "For at least 3 seconds, victims have a 50% chance to miss their next attack." The boons you collect will inflict Blind in different ways, but also there are additional effects such as Blind-afflicted foes taking more damage, and even fountains giving you damage resist or extra coin. Apollo in this interpretation seems to be a self-obsessed musician, so of course he likes a little extra money.
We'll be keeping an eye on OlympusExtra for those extra gods, as we'd love to see how they play too.
