Thinking about how in Hades the game, stubbornness is an unambiguous virtue instead of the tragic flaw it would be in a classically Greek tragedy

Despite being relatively faithful to most of the Greek myths it invokes, it ends up being a way more optimistic take on those myths

(They took Camus's advice and made Sisyphus happy!!)

It's also a super... videogamey decision. To make people want to keep playing, you have to reward stubbornness. Here it's done not just with in-game rewards but with the narrative itself telling you that you're a Good Person for persisting!

It also has this amazing balancing act of giving you new abilities while also upping the challenges. It's really hard to tell how much you're getting better at the game vs. the game making it easier for you

One thing that feels like a microcosm of the whole game is the lyre sidequest -- you're supposed to learn how to play it through practice, but the way you "practice" is just to hit a button when you're near the instrument

And behold, after a while you get "better" or at least, the samples it plays back are not as dissonant! Just like that! It's funny to me how similar yet completely different this is to actual musical practice

(the old joke about playing piano just being pushing buttons in the right order comes to mind)

The point being that, in the game, you can't "fail" at this task. You just keep trying til you get it. There is no skill involved, only persistence

If you can't already tell from this thread, I have profoundly mixed feelings about this! On the one hand it has refreshingly positive vibes during a time when things feel increasingly, hopelessly dire