Last night Hades II won the Best Action Game (of the year) at The Game Awards (like the Oscars for video games). When The Game Awards announced Hades II as the winner of Best Action Game, it capped a year in which Supergiant Games’ sequel managed to do something rare: it combined the studio’s signature artistic and narrative strengths with action design that felt both fresh and immediately masterful. The official ballot and winners list show Hades II beat out heavy-hitters such as Battlefield 6, Doom: The Dark Ages, Ninja Gaiden 4, and Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, a line-up that underscores how unusual — and impressive — Supergiant’s victory was.

Critical acclaim + momentum coming into the awards

One of the simplest practical reasons Hades II captured the Best Action Game trophy is critical consensus. The game entered the awards season with very high review scores and strong aggregator numbers — press and critics repeatedly praised how its combat systems, pacing, and progression loop refined and expanded the roguelike action of the original Hades while adding scale and narrative stakes befitting a sequel. That critical momentum matters in awards contexts: a game arriving with near-universal praise gets weighted in both juried and popular perception. Coverage of the event framed Hades II as one of the highest-rated original releases of the year, which helped set expectations going into the ceremony.

Design that marries spectacle to mechanical depth

Concrete design choices explain why judges and players found Hades II deserving. Supergiant doubled down on fast, kinetic combat while layering it with modular weapon loadouts, meaningful enemy telegraphs, and a rhythm that rewards reading the fight as much as twitch skill. In short: when action feels fair, varied, and tuned so that each success feels earned, it looks exceptional on a broadcast stage and plays well in short clips — a point that matters for televised awards. Reviewers repeatedly pointed to its combat as the game’s core triumph: frenetic yet intelligible fights that scale across small encounters and boss battles. That blend of spectacle and readable systems is exactly the kind of work that wins “action” categories.

Narrative and character work that amplifies each encounter

Hades II benefited from the rare feat of making repeated combat loops carry narrative meaning. Rather than treating runs purely as gameplay loops, the game threads story and character beats through player progression so that even repeated attempts feel narratively charged. That emotional freight makes action sequences feel consequential beyond leaderboard numbers — viewers and jurors often respond when a game’s fights seem to matter to characters and world, not just to stats. Several writeups about the awards emphasized how the game blends story with pure combat; that synthesis helped it stand out from other nominees that were either primarily spectacle-driven or primarily simulation/arena titles.

Supergiant’s reputation and the legacy of the original Hades

Awards aren’t created in a vacuum: Supergiant carried real goodwill into the ceremony. The studio’s first Hades had been a critical darling and a TGA awards success story earlier in the decade, establishing both an audience and a track record of high craft. Many voters and journalists were not encountering Supergiant for the first time; they were seeing a studio that has repeatedly combined artful direction, tight systems, and terrific audio-visual design. That pedigree meant Hades II was viewed not as a risk but as a credible candidate for top-tier awards.

Competition context: why Hades II had the edge

Looking at the other nominees clarifies how Hades II could win. Titles like Battlefield 6 and Doom: The Dark Ages bring big-budget spectacle and technical heft, but their design goals differ: large-scale multiplayer or raw arena fury. Hades II offered a compact, cohesive experience — one where every element pointed toward satisfying action loops and a coherent artistic vision. Awards panels often reward not only technical accomplishment but cohesion and identity; here, Supergiant’s focused game design felt like a complete statement. The result: Hades II read as both exemplary of its genre and distinct enough to feel award-worthy.

Player and community response — social proof matters

The broader player community’s responses — streams, clip culture, and social media reaction — also matter in modern awards. Hades II produced countless short-form highlights that circulated widely: clutch parries, narrow escapes, and boss-combat highlights that are snackable content for viewers and influencers. That visibility amplifies a game’s perceived cultural footprint in the week of the show. Reddit threads, streaming spikes, and social posts celebrating the win also reflect the enthusiasm that likely influenced popular voting elements and public perception.

Production values: art, sound, and accessibility

While the award category is “action,” jurors pay attention to craft across the board. Hades II delivered in art direction, sound design, and music — all of which increased the emotional impact and the clarity of combat scenarios. Supergiant has always prioritized audio-visual clarity (so players can read attacks and react), and this made fights look and sound great both in person and on-stream. Moreover, the game’s approach to difficulty tuning and optional systems can broaden its appeal — something award bodies sometimes reward because it demonstrates inclusivity without sacrificing mechanical intent.

Timing and awards-season strategy

Release timing can’t be ignored. Having a game release at a point when it’s still fresh in voters’ minds during awards season — and when players are actively discussing it — helps. Hades II arrived with enough time to accumulate reviews, patches, and conversations, yet close enough to the ceremony to keep it top of mind. Effective post-launch support and visibility via streams or developer outreach leading up to the awards are practical, non-glamorous factors that move ballots.

The symbolic win: indie/AA craft beating AAA spectacle

Finally, the symbolism of the win matters. In an era of blockbuster budgets and massive live-service games, Hades II winning Best Action Game is a reminder that craft, design identity, and thoughtful iteration still carry enormous weight. Many media summaries of The Game Awards noted that the night saw both big-budget dominance in some areas and indie triumphs in others. Hades II winning an action category that often goes to larger studios shows the industry (and its voters) still reward design excellence over pure budget.

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In short: Hades II won Best Action Game because it combined clear, expertly tuned combat with resonant story, striking art and sound, a strong critical consensus, and an engaged community — all delivered by a studio with an established reputation for craft. It wasn’t just that Hades II had impressive moments; it was that those moments cohered into a unified action game identity that outshone its competitors in the eyes of voters and pundits alike. The official winners list and live coverage confirm the result and the context of that win. Check out our old blog post about the Hades II launch for more.