With the Hades 2 technical test underway, we’re asking this question: How are the Greek gods of the game even hotter than in the original, Hades? Regardless of the answer, there are lots of new characters being added to the franchise’s lore, like Hephaestus, the god of the forge. Hephaestus is special because he plays a role in most other gods’ stories — he’s the one who crafted their powerful weapons, like Athena’s spear or Zeus’ lightning bolt. He’s also one of the few Greek gods who isn’t “perfect;” it’s said he was thrown from Mt. Olympus because of his appearance, and he was injured on the fall. He’s often depicted with a disability impacting his legs.
His design in Hades 2 takes this backstory into account: In Hades 2, Hephaestus is hot, fat, and disabled — something the community is celebrating. Hades, while praised for its character design, wasn’t especially known for its body diversity. Most, if not all, of the characters are depicted with thin bodies. The only fat bodies in Hades were of enemies, like the Wretched Louts, described in the Hades Codex as entities that have been “reduced to merely their most base of negative impulses.”
Hephaestus made a brief appearance in the Hades 2 technical test livestream on Wednesday, where he offers up his boons. He’s portrayed with lucious, long hair tied into a half-bun, holding a mallet or axe of some sort. Hephaestus has a prosthetic leg that’s decorated with similar iconography as his arm tattoos, and he’s using a wheelchair. Though he looks tough and sounds a little grumpy, his eyes show a different side: The expression on his face is sweet, soft — like he cares. Simply put, he’s hot.
Supergiant Games creative director Greg Kasavin told Polygon that the portrayal of Hephaestus and other characters is intended to “stay true to the spirit” of Greek mythology. “With each of our character designs, we’re always looking to stay true to the spirit of the classical mythology that inspired this game, as well as thinking about each character’s specific role in the story,” Kasavin told Polygon via email. “We’re excited for everyone to get to know all the new and returning characters soon enough!”
It’ll be interesting to see how his Greek backstory plays into how he interacts with other gods; because of his disability, he was often mistreated by the other gods. The Hades 2 technical test is limited to a small portion of the game, but players will likely see more of Hephaestus and the Hades 2 story when the game comes to early access soon.
