# Zagreus (Hades)
**Zagreus** is the player character and protagonist of *Hades*, a 2020 roguelike action game by the San Francisco studio [Supergiant Games](https://www.edgepedia.org/supergiant-games). He is the son of Hades, the god of the dead, and the game follows his repeated attempts to fight his way out of the [Underworld](https://www.edgepedia.org/underworld) to reach the surface and, ultimately, [Mount Olympus](https://www.edgepedia.org/mount-olympus).[1](https://www.superjumpmagazine.com/hell-with-a-heart-storytelling-in-hades/) • [2](https://www.supergiantgames.com/blog/9/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Role | Protagonist and player character of *Hades* (Supergiant Games, v1.0 released September 17, 2020)[2](https://www.supergiantgames.com/blog/9/) |
| Family | Son of Hades; brother of Melinoë, the protagonist of *Hades II*[1](https://www.superjumpmagazine.com/hell-with-a-heart-storytelling-in-hades/) • [3](https://www.lemonde.fr/pixels/article/2025/09/24/on-a-teste-hades-ii-le-jeu-video-d-action-sisypheen-qui-nous-fait-plonger-et-replonger-dans-les-enfers_6642803_4408996.html) |
| Goal | Escape the Underworld against his father's will, seeking the Olympians and a person important to him[1](https://www.superjumpmagazine.com/hell-with-a-heart-storytelling-in-hades/) • [4](https://as.com/meristation/2020/09/25/analisis/1601038731_079093.html) |
| Voice actor | Darren Korb, Supergiant's composer and audio director[5](https://www.gamesradar.com/games/hades/weve-learned-to-love-and-trust-the-process-how-hades-2-built-on-supergiants-early-access-legacy-to-deliver-the-best-roguelike-of-2025/) |
| Mythological basis | A figure so obscure that the lead writer found only a single ancient mention, a fragment of Aeschylus suggesting Hades had a son named Zagreus[4](https://as.com/meristation/2020/09/25/analisis/1601038731_079093.html) |
| Narrative design | Story delivered serially across failed and successful escape attempts, with 30 fully voiced characters and thousands of unique events[2](https://www.supergiantgames.com/blog/9/) |
| Relationships | Potential romances with Megaera and Thanatos; the game presents his bisexuality through both[6](https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9789048553495/pdf?licenseType=open-access) • [7](https://www.avclub.com/how-hades-does-right-by-its-bi-protagonist) |
## Role in Hades
*Hades* is a rogue-like dungeon crawler in which the player defies the god of the dead by hacking and slashing out of the Underworld of Greek myth.[2](https://www.supergiantgames.com/blog/9/) Zagreus begins each run in the House of Hades and fights upward through Tartarus, Asphodel, Elysium, and the Temple of Styx, dying and returning home between attempts.[8](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/theres-a-mod-that-lets-you-play-hades-1-in-hades-2/) Because the game is built on the roguelike loop of repeated failure, the story is told through that loop: every return trip to Zagreus's home after a failed escape attempt opens new conversations with a recurring cast of Greek mythological figures, and the narrative continues to evolve even after failure.[9](https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2020/10/13/hades-game-origins/)
Supergiant designed the game for Early Access from the ground up, and delivering story in a serial fashion during that period was one of the studio's stated reasons for the approach.[2](https://www.supergiantgames.com/blog/9/) The full game contains 30 fully voiced characters and thousands of unique events and interactions, and characters remember Zagreus from visit to visit.[2](https://www.supergiantgames.com/blog/9/) Dialogue is gated by what happens in play: Megaera appears in the House only after an escape attempt in which she was killed in combat, and Hades himself is sometimes absent after a run that reached his fight.[10](https://teemo.dev/game-design/hades/systems/narrative-gating-and-relationship-system/)
## Character and relationships
Zagreus is written as an open, talkative protagonist rather than a silent one. Reviewers describe him as cocky and sarcastic at the start, undergoing a meaningful character arc over the course of the story.[11](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/how-hades-2-fails-its-protagonist/1100-6536369/) His central relationship is with his overbearing father, Hades, who rules the realm of the dead with barely controlled anger and total control; Zagreus's desire to strike out on his own reads as much like a family drama as a retelling of mythology.[12](https://gameinformer.com/review/hades/hades-review-the-highs-and-lows-of-repetition) Before the credits roll, that relationship changes in a way the game presents as irreversible.[13](https://www.pockettactics.com/hades/characters)
Relationships drive the story. Zagreus can pursue romance with Megaera, a Fury who battles him on Hades's orders, and with Thanatos, the personification of death; a scholarly analysis notes that the game does not prioritize the Megaera relationship above the queer relationship between Thanatos and Zagreus.[6](https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9789048553495/pdf?licenseType=open-access) Commentators have read this as an optimistic queer story about finding acceptance.[7](https://www.avclub.com/how-hades-does-right-by-its-bi-protagonist) Other bonds shape side stories: Achilles serves as a mentor who gradually opens up about his separation from [Patroclus](https://www.edgepedia.org/patroclus), Nyx acted as a foster mother to Zagreus, and through persistent effort Zagreus mends the broken bond between the musicians [Orpheus and Eurydice](https://www.edgepedia.org/orpheus-and-eurydice).[14](https://artsatmichigan.umich.edu/ink/2021/03/15/immersive-5-hades/) • [15](https://hades.fandom.com/wiki/Zagreus/Relationships) His kindness toward the Underworld's residents is treated by critics as a defining trait of the character and a central mechanic of the game's storytelling.[16](https://www.gamepro.de/artikel/zagreus-gutherzigkeit-macht-hades-besser%2C3371873.html)
## Mythological basis
Zagreus is a genuinely obscure figure in the ancient sources, which is part of why Supergiant chose him. In an interview, the game's lead writer Greg Kasavin, Supergiant's narrative lead on *Hades*, said that a small fragment of a play by [Aeschylus](https://www.edgepedia.org/aeschylus) suggests, from Sisyphus's point of view, that Hades had a son named Zagreus, and that this was the only mention of the figure he could find; from that fragment the story of *Hades* grew.[4](https://as.com/meristation/2020/09/25/analisis/1601038731_079093.html) The game's version departs from these sources: the GameSpot review calls him "a god of rebirth," and the plot around [Persephone](https://www.edgepedia.org/persephone)'s departure from Olympus is rewritten so that her withdrawal to the Underworld is her own decision rather than an abduction.[17](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/hades-review-the-long-hard-road-out-of-hell/1900-6417568/) • [18](https://sfrareview.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/sfra-5301-hades.pdf)
The choice of a little-known name also gave the writers room. Kasavin has said it was important that the characters never run out of things to say, because that is the moment a player discovers the limits of the character; the near-blank mythological Zagreus let Supergiant build a full personality, family drama, and cast around him.[9](https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2020/10/13/hades-game-origins/)
## Reception and legacy
*Hades* became Supergiant's fastest-selling and most critically acclaimed game at release, named 2020's Game of the Year by more than 50 publications, and Zagreus's characterization was a recurring point of praise, with reviewers citing the dialogue, voice acting, and evolving relationships as central to the game's appeal.[2](https://www.supergiantgames.com/blog/9/) • [12](https://gameinformer.com/review/hades/hades-review-the-highs-and-lows-of-repetition) One account credits the character with lightening the tone of the material, recasting grim myth as a story about a powerful, [dysfunctional family](https://www.edgepedia.org/dysfunctional-family) in which no one ever really dies and Cerberus is simply the family dog.[19](https://waseda.repo.nii.ac.jp/record/78523/files/Honbun-9205.pdf)
The character extends into the sequel. *Hades II* (v1.0, September 25, 2025) stars [Melinoë](https://www.edgepedia.org/melinoe-hades), Zagreus's sister, and its story remains tied to his successes in the first game.[3](https://www.lemonde.fr/pixels/article/2025/09/24/on-a-teste-hades-ii-le-jeu-video-d-action-sisypheen-qui-nous-fait-plonger-et-replonger-dans-les-enfers_6642803_4408996.html) • [20](https://www.techradar.com/gaming/hades-2-review) Zagreus himself does not appear as a playable character there, and a community mod called Zagreus' Journey recreates the original game's route through Tartarus, Asphodel, Elysium, and the Temple of Styx inside *Hades II*, with Melinoë in the lead role.[8](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/theres-a-mod-that-lets-you-play-hades-1-in-hades-2/)
## References
1. [Hell with a Heart: Storytelling in Hades, SUPERJUMP](https://www.superjumpmagazine.com/hell-with-a-heart-storytelling-in-hades/)
2. [Hades FAQ, Supergiant Games](https://www.supergiantgames.com/blog/9/)
3. [On a testé « Hades II », Le Monde](https://www.lemonde.fr/pixels/article/2025/09/24/on-a-teste-hades-ii-le-jeu-video-d-action-sisypheen-qui-nous-fait-plonger-et-replonger-dans-les-enfers_6642803_4408996.html)
4. [Hades, análisis, AS MeriStation](https://as.com/meristation/2020/09/25/analisis/1601038731_079093.html)
5. [How Hades 2 built on Supergiant's Early Access legacy, GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/games/hades/weve-learned-to-love-and-trust-the-process-how-hades-2-built-on-supergiants-early-access-legacy-to-deliver-the-best-roguelike-of-2025/)
6. [Video Game Characters and Transmedia Storytelling, De Gruyter](https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9789048553495/pdf?licenseType=open-access)
7. [How Hades Does Right by Its Bi Protagonist, The A.V. Club](https://www.avclub.com/how-hades-does-right-by-its-bi-protagonist)
8. [There's a mod that lets you play Hades 1 in Hades 2, PC Gamer](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/theres-a-mod-that-lets-you-play-hades-1-in-hades-2/)
9. [Hades interview with Supergiant Games developer Greg Kasavin, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2020/10/13/hades-game-origins/)
10. [Narrative Gating & Relationship System: Hades systems, Game Design Lab](https://teemo.dev/game-design/hades/systems/narrative-gating-and-relationship-system/)
11. [How Hades 2 Fails Its Protagonist, GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/how-hades-2-fails-its-protagonist/1100-6536369/)
12. [Hades Review – The Highs And Lows Of Repetition, Game Informer](https://gameinformer.com/review/hades/hades-review-the-highs-and-lows-of-repetition)
13. [Hades characters, Pocket Tactics](https://www.pockettactics.com/hades/characters)
14. [Immersive #5: Hades, arts at Michigan](https://artsatmichigan.umich.edu/ink/2021/03/15/immersive-5-hades/)
15. [Zagreus/Relationships, Hades Wiki](https://hades.fandom.com/wiki/Zagreus/Relationships)
16. [Die Gutherzigkeit von Zagreus macht Hades zu einem besseren Spiel, GamePro](https://www.gamepro.de/artikel/zagreus-gutherzigkeit-macht-hades-besser%2C3371873.html)
17. [Hades Review – The Long, Hard Road Out of Hell, GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/hades-review-the-long-hard-road-out-of-hell/1900-6417568/)
18. [Media Reviews: Hades, SFRA Review 53.1](https://sfrareview.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/sfra-5301-hades.pdf)
19. [Kertomuksia pelien merkityksistä, CoGA / Waseda repository](https://waseda.repo.nii.ac.jp/record/78523/files/Honbun-9205.pdf)
20. [Hades 2 review, TechRadar](https://www.techradar.com/gaming/hades-2-review)
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*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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