For those in need of a break in between escape attempts from the ever-shifting chambers of Hades’ domain in the breakout Supergiant Games hit, other interpretations of the Greek pantheon may be of interest. Recent Netflix original anime series Blood of Zeus certainly offers a version of the classic mythology that hasn’t been seen before, at the least. With its anime inspired art style produced by Powerhouse Studios, the team who works on the Castlevania anime, it’s a genre cartoon for adults that sheds a grim light on well-known stories. But being a casual fan of Greek mythology, or even a standalone fan of the game Hades might not mean one is prepared to experience this new and violent animated series.
For the uninitiated, Hades is an independent game released in 2020 that uses the rogue-lite formula to have players continuously attempt escaping the underworld, all while weaving a multitude of playstyles and a single, cohesive narrative thread in a deft way unlike any in the genre before it (though lesser known Going Under shares many similarities and is also very good). One of the game’s main appeals is seeing Supergiant’s interpretations of well-established figures of Greek mythology presented in a modern light, with the titular Hades himself being a very stern bureaucrat who’s far too busy sorting out paperwork to form a relationship with his son and playable protagonist, Zagreus.
Without giving too much away, Zag finds himself motivated to break out of his home in the land of the dead and try to reach the surface, and the mighty gods of Olympus start to come in contact with him from afar to aid him in this journey. It’s ultimately a narrative about empathy and gradually coming to understand the points of view of others and the importance of connections, familial or otherwise.
By comparison, Blood of Zeus, while similarly about the son of a major Greek god, tells in its first season an extremely different and less hopeful tale. Being a fan of one certainly will not guarantee being a fan of the other, though the Netflix series isn’t without its appeal. To anyone who has enjoyed the Castlevania anime, this is indeed the same animation studio, though it does feel a bit rougher around the edges after coming off of Season 3 of the aforementioned video game adaptation.
For those looking for action sequences with viscerally sudden and grotesque gore, Blood of Zeus indeed continues the studio’s reputation. Seeing the superpowers of Greek gods obliterate flesh and disintegrate bone while blades dismember limbs and appendages in seemingly every episode carries a certain kind of savagery and drama that gives harsh imagery to the well-walked paths of these mythological figures slaying one another. It will be much more harsh to the eyes than what Hades players are accustomed to, however, so be forewarned. Where that game depicts death as more of an inconvenience, Blood of Zeus portrays violence as quick and grotesque, often times intimate in the same vein as The Last of Us.
With regards to Zeus himself, in Hades the leader of Olympus comes across as a privileged, well-off uncle with little understanding or interest in the struggles of those below him in status. In Blood of Zeus, the lightning god is humanized in a bit more detail, more specifically meant to feel like a sympathetic father figure, but anyone familiar with just how many children Zeus has given birth to and his relationships with those children may be skeptical of some of his behavior here. It’s welcomed to see a typically unsympathetic character of classic fiction given a more human touch, but in many ways the game Hades does this more effectively with some of its gods.
The gods are portrayed almost like anime super-hero figures.The narrative of Blood of Zeus is naturally more structured and deliberate than the slice-at-a-time pacing of Hades, and where Zagreus’ story focuses on the underworld and the gods and figures who aren’t living it good on Mount Olympus, it does center more on Zagreus’ family, both adopted and by blood. Blood of Zeus, you can imagine, is more fixated on the blood relations of two of Zeus’ half-human sons, specifically, and while it does feature a handful of recurring Olympians, it follows events pertaining more to its mostly human cast. It’s actually a shame to see so few Olympian gods given screentime – even very well-established ones like Athena don’t really make any kind of appearance. Zeus and Hera are the two gods who get the most air time, and while the human-born characters like Heron, Seraphim, and Alexia are more compelling in context, here’s hoping potential future seasons of the series – if there are any – shed more light on other gods of the pantheon and build them into more than just icons and names. In this regard, Hades does not disappoint, at least incorporating many figures into their interpretation with hundreds of lines of spoken dialogue and various exchanges.
If one is champing at the bit for more after dozens of trips through Supergiant’s take on the Greek mythos, not only is Immortals: Fenyx Rising on the way, but Blood of Zeus could help satisfy some Olympian pangs of thirst – if that thirst is, indeed, for buckets of blood and melodrama.
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