Should You Play Bastion, Transistor, and Pyre Before Hades 2?

Hades 2 exists. It is in early access and it is very good. You probably want to play it.

Supergiant has three other games (Bastion, Transistor, and Pyre) that came before Hades 1. The question the internet keeps asking is whether you need to play them first. The honest answer involves some math about your actual available time and what you are actually after.

The Supergiant Catalog at a Glance

Bastion (2011) — An isometric action game with a reactive narrator and a melancholy post-apocalyptic setting. Roughly 6-8 hours for the main story. The narrator reacts to everything you do in real time. It was the debut that announced Supergiant as a studio worth watching.

Transistor (2014) — A sci-fi action RPG with a turn-based hybrid combat system and a mystery narrative told mostly through found objects. 6-8 hours. Slower and more cerebral than Bastion. More mechanically experimental.

Pyre (2017) — A visual novel crossed with a fantasy sports game. You manage a group of exiles competing in ritual combat matches to earn freedom. No combat in the traditional sense. 10-12 hours. The most divisive Supergiant game by a significant margin.

Hades (2020) — A roguelite dungeon crawler. 20-50 hours depending on how deep you go. Won everything. You have probably played it already or know three people who have.

Hades 2 (2024, early access) — Same core loop, different protagonist, expanded systems. More of what worked.

The Honest Time Budget

Bastion + Transistor + Pyre = roughly 22-28 hours. At 7 hours of gaming per week, that is three to four weeks of playing nothing else before you touch Hades 2.

That is the real cost. Not dollars. All three are under $25 combined and go on deep sale regularly. The cost is time. Is spending a month on the back catalog the right move before playing the game you actually want to play?

The Ranked Entry Path

If you want to play the Supergiant catalog before Hades 2, here is the honest order of priority:

Hades 1 first, regardless. Hades 2 is a direct continuation in tone, systems, and world. Playing Hades 1 first is not optional if you care about understanding what Hades 2 is doing. This one is non-negotiable.

Bastion second, if you have the time. It is the shortest, it holds up well in 2026, and it tells you within two hours whether Supergiant’s style of environmental storytelling is for you. If you bounce off Bastion, you can make an informed decision about the rest.

Transistor third, if Bastion landed. More mechanically interesting than Bastion, slightly less emotionally immediate. Worth playing. Not urgent.

Pyre last, and honestly optional. Pyre is the game most players either love or feel completely cold toward. If you have limited time and you are working toward Hades 2, Pyre is the one to cut. It shares Supergiant’s production values and thematic depth, but it has no mechanical connection to the Hades games. Playing it first does not make Hades 2 better.

What the r/patientgamers Rubric Found

A recent r/patientgamers post scored all three pre-Hades titles on a 100-point rubric covering gameplay, narrative, art, music, and replayability. The takeaway aligned with the conventional wisdom: Bastion and Transistor hold up well in 2026, Pyre is the most niche of the three, and none of them are required to appreciate Hades or Hades 2 — they just give you more context for the studio’s sensibility.

The rubric is a useful frame. Supergiant games are consistently excellent at art direction and music. They are more variable on gameplay systems depending on what kind of player you are. If you want tight mechanical loops, Bastion and Hades are your entries. If you want story and atmosphere above all else, Transistor. If you want something genuinely unusual that might not be a game in the traditional sense, Pyre.

The Skip-Straight-to-Hades Case

Here is the case for ignoring this entire article and just loading up Hades 1: it is the best game Supergiant has made, it is the gateway to Hades 2, and it requires no prior context from the other three games.

You will not understand Bastion references you never encountered. You will not miss them either. Hades 1 and 2 are complete experiences that do not require homework.

Play the back catalog because you want to, not because you feel like you owe it to a studio before you are allowed to play their newest thing.

Bottom Line

If you have 30 hours to spend before Hades 2: play Hades 1, then Bastion, then decide if Transistor and Pyre fit your schedule. If you have 20 hours: play Hades 1 and Bastion, then go straight to Hades 2. If you have 10 hours: play Hades 1. That is the entry that matters most, and the one that will make Hades 2 make sense.