The gaming industry is taking full advantage of Greek mythology in the development of video games. Let’s take a look at the games providing players with a taste of Ancient Greece.
Hades
Hades is a rogue-like dungeon crawler and has won plaudits for its game narrative featuring strong characters, excellent gameplay, and high-quality visuals and audio design. Players take on the role of Zagreus, the son of Hades, and guide him on a mission to escape the underworld. The game was rewarded with a string of awards in 2021, including Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game at the 24th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards and Game of the Year and Best Design at the 21st Game Developers Choice Awards.
There are other areas of the entertainment industry that ancient Greek mythology has inspired. In the iGaming industry, the online roulette game, the Age of the Gods, is a variation of traditional roulette. The roulette wheel features the numbers 0 to 36 as is customary, but there is a twist. When you play online roulette at Paddy Power, you can also place a bet on the Age of the Gods bonus and if the ball lands in this segment, it triggers a bonus round featuring Greek gods and goddesses such as Zeus, Aphrodite, and Poseidon.
Evidently, the popularity of Greek mythology has played a role in the success of these titles.
Total War Saga: TROY
Total War Saga: TROY is set during the Trojan War and is a turn-based strategy game featuring real-time battles between the Trojans and the Achaeans. The game includes eight heroes from Ancient Greece, such as Achilles, Agamemnon, and Hippolyta, who possess various special abilities, weapons, and strategic positions. The game developer Creative Assembly Sofia keeps fans happy with regular downloadable content in the form of new characters.
Imperiums: Greek Wars
Imperiums: Greek Wars was developed by the Czech gaming company Kube Games. The game features a combination of turn-based 4X and grand strategy. Players take on the role of ruler in the Greco-Persian world as they attempt to conquer all competitors. It also features a multiplayer game.
Hades is setting the standard for Greek mythology in video games. Creative Director Greg Kasavin highlighted the thinking behind each video game developed by Supergiant Games: “Our goal is for each game we make is to make it so it is the favorite game of some of our players who play more than one of our games. It just has to be good enough and idiosyncratic enough so that it hits someone at the right place at the right time like Hades was able to for a lot of people.”
It is hoped that the success enjoyed by Supergiant Games will result in further video game titles inspired by Greek mythology.
Greek mythology continues to inspire innovations in the entertainment industry. Ancient Greece provides tailor-made storylines of heroic battles, vengeance, and mythological creatures, which are perfect for video games and have led to innovations in other areas of the entertainment industry.
