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The short answer: breadth versus cohesion
There is no neutral, published rating that proves one soundtrack is objectively better. The useful distinction is what each album is trying to do. Hades condenses its musical world into an official soundtrack lasting two and a half hours. Hades II expands to just under four hours, which gives it room for more locations, characters and set-piece ideas.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Hades - Nintendo Switch | $59.47 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Hades II - Nintendo Switch™ 2 Edition | $49.94 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Hades Limited Edition (Nintendo Switch) | $62.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
![- Hades - [PlayStation 5]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51fwy58kArL._SL160_.jpg)
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- Hades - [PlayStation 5] | $26.28 | Buy on Amazon |
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That difference makes Hades II the stronger recommendation for most listeners. Its greater scale and wider palette make the journey feel less musically repetitive, particularly when you are hearing the score over many runs. The first game remains a compelling alternative when you want an album that feels immediately unified and whose vocal songs make a strong impression quickly.
| Question | Best fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Which has the broader musical range? | Hades II | Its nearly four-hour runtime supports more character, location and encounter concepts. |
| Which is the most cohesive listen? | Hades | The two-and-a-half-hour album is more concentrated around a consistent core identity. |
| Which has the strongest established vocal pairing? | Hades | Darren Korb’s compositions and Ashley Barrett’s vocals form the central familiar sound. |
| Which is better for repeated runs? | Hades II | Its additional environments and musical concepts create more opportunities for contrast. |
| Which should you buy if you want one album? | Hades II, unless you prioritize vocal-song cohesion | It offers the more extensive standalone collection; the original is the more focused alternative. |
How long is each soundtrack?
Hades: two and a half hours
Supergiant Games describes the official Hades soundtrack as “two and a half hours” of music created for the game. That description appears in the game’s 2019 storefront listing. It is a substantial album, but its length also gives it a clear shape: you can hear the central ideas, vocal colors and recurring dramatic functions without committing to a four-hour listening session.
#1 Best Overall
- Battle out of hell in Hades, recipient of more than 50 Game of the Year awards
- Includes a download code for the Hades Original Soundtrack, by composer Darren Korb, best known for his work on developer Supergiant's past titles like Transistor and Bastion.
- Also includes a full-color 32-page character compendium booklet, featuring beautiful artwork of the game's colorful cast of gods, ghosts, and monsters, all by Supergiant's art director Jen Zee.
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Hades II: just under four hours
Supergiant’s official release announcement calls Hades II its “biggest-ever soundtrack,” clocking in at just under four hours. The longer runtime is not merely a larger playlist. It reflects the sequel’s effort to give different places, characters and encounters their own musical identities.
Runtime alone does not determine quality. A long score can feel diffuse, while a shorter one can feel complete. Here, however, length is meaningful because the creative team ties the sequel’s expansion to variety: there are more concepts to distinguish, not simply more minutes added to the same sound.
Who made the music?
Darren Korb anchors both albums
Darren Korb composed both soundtracks, giving the two games a direct musical connection. That shared authorship matters when comparing them: Hades II is not abandoning the identity established by the first game, but extending it into a larger set of dramatic situations.
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Ashley Barrett’s vocals define a familiar thread
Ashley Barrett contributes vocals to both soundtracks. Her presence is a major reason the original can feel so immediately recognizable. The Korb-and-Barrett combination gives the songs a clear human focal point rather than making the score feel like background-only action music.
Judy Alice Lee adds another vocal color in Hades II
Hades II also features Judy Alice Lee on “Moonlight Guide Us.” That additional featured voice is one example of the sequel’s broader palette. It does not replace Barrett’s role; it widens the range of vocal expression available to the sequel’s musical world.
Why Hades II wins on variety
Locations are treated as musical identities
Supergiant creative director Greg Kasavin has explained that music is vital to each of the studio’s games and that musical variety helps make locations distinctive. That principle is central to the sequel comparison. When a soundtrack changes its musical character with the setting, a new area is not just a visual change or a different combat layout. It also arrives with a different listening expectation.
Over a short session, a concentrated score can be more satisfying. Over dozens of runs, however, distinctions between places become increasingly valuable. A wider set of musical identities helps prevent every encounter from blending into one continuous action cue. The sequel’s longer album gives those contrasts more space to develop.
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The Scylla and Sirens encounter is a deliberate set piece
Kasavin has specifically discussed Scylla and the Sirens as a collaborative musical concept. The encounter is presented as a glam-rock idea created to fit the characters and the situation, rather than as a generic boss track that could belong anywhere.
That concept illustrates what the sequel does best: it turns a character group and a location into a musical event. The appeal is not only the genre reference. It is the way the score can make the encounter feel like a performance with its own personality, giving a repeated gameplay sequence a fresh dramatic frame.
More concepts mean more kinds of contrast
A soundtrack approaching four hours can move between intimate, exploratory and confrontational material without forcing every cue to serve the same emotional purpose. The sequel’s additional characters and environments create more opportunities for those shifts. Even when two pieces share Korb’s authorship, their roles can differ because the world asks them to describe different people and places.
This is why Hades II is the safer recommendation for listeners who use game music as a long-term companion. The score has more room to surprise you, and the contrast between concepts can remain noticeable after the novelty of the first few hours has worn off.
Why the original still wins on cohesion
A shorter album can feel more intentional
The original’s two-and-a-half-hour runtime is not a weakness when you listen from beginning to end. Its smaller scope makes the album easier to absorb as a single statement. Motifs, vocal performances and action-oriented pieces occupy a limited musical world, so the transition from one track to the next can feel more unified.
That concentration is useful when you want to replay an album rather than sample a large catalogue. You reach the end of the journey sooner, remember the major emotional turns more easily and can return without wondering which portion of a much longer score you are in.
Korb and Barrett provide a strong center
The Korb/Barrett pairing gives Hades an especially clear identity. Barrett’s vocals make its songs easy to recognize, while Korb’s composition keeps the vocal material connected to the rest of the game score. The result is a soundtrack that can work both as dramatic game music and as a focused song-driven listen.
Rank #3
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That vocal identity is the main reason to choose the original over the sequel if your priority is memorability. A listener who wants a compact album built around a familiar singer may find the first game more satisfying even after acknowledging that Hades II covers more musical territory.
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Calling Hades cohesive does not mean every track sounds identical. It means the album’s parts feel as though they belong to one concentrated dramatic system. The distinction matters because a soundtrack can be varied within a recognizable frame. The original’s appeal comes from that balance: it has enough movement to support the game while maintaining a strong central voice.
How the two soundtracks work during repeated runs
What repetition asks of a game score
Roguelike structure changes the way you judge music. You may hear the same types of rooms, combat rhythms and transitions many times, so the soundtrack has to do two things at once: establish an atmosphere quickly and remain tolerable over extended play. A cue that is exciting once can become tiring if it offers no contrast after repeated exposure.
Hades favors a dependable musical identity
The original answers repetition with consistency. Its concentrated sound world reinforces the game’s identity each time you return. If you enjoy recognizing a familiar vocal and compositional language as part of the ritual of another run, that reliability is an advantage.
Hades II favors changing context
The sequel answers repetition with range. More locations and character concepts allow the music to change its emphasis as the run changes. The point is not that every track must be louder or more elaborate. It is that a broader set of cues can make the game’s different situations feel more distinct, reducing the sense that you are hearing one undifferentiated loop.
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For long-term play, that distinction tips the recommendation toward Hades II. For a listener who values the comforting return of a tightly defined musical world, the original’s approach may be preferable.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Which soundtrack has the best songs?
“Best songs” depends on whether you mean immediate vocal impact or the range of the complete score. The original has the clearer case for a concentrated song identity because Korb and Barrett’s collaboration is such a prominent part of its sound. If you choose an album primarily for songs you can remember and revisit as a coherent set, Hades is the better match.
Rank #4
- Die Macher von Bastion und Transistor präsentieren einen actiongeladenen Dungeon Crawler im Rogue-likeGewand.
- Nutze die Kräfte und mythischen Waffen des Olymp, um aus der Unterwelt und seinem Herrscher höchstpersönlich zu entkommen.
- Mit jedem einzigartigen Fluchtversuch wirst du stärker und entdeckst mehr der Geschichte.
- Diese Edition enthält die folgenden Bonusinhalte: Einen Download-Code für den epischen Hades Original Soundtrack von Darren Korb – ein zweieinhalbstündiges Fest für die Ohren. Ein 32-seitiges Charakter-Booklet mit Artworks von Jen Zee, die die kunterbunte Riege an Göttern, Geistern und Monstern zeigen.
Hades II makes the stronger case when “best” means the most varied collection of individual ideas. Its music is connected to more characters, places and set pieces, including the Scylla and Sirens glam-rock concept. That produces more kinds of standout moments, even if a listener may not experience the album as one compact vocal statement.
Neither conclusion requires pretending that one game has no memorable material. The comparison is about emphasis: concentrated vocal memorability in the first game, versus breadth and novelty in the second.
Should you buy the Hades or Hades II soundtrack?
Choose Hades II if these are your priorities
- You want the larger standalone album, at just under four hours.
- You prefer musical variety that reflects different locations and characters.
- You replay roguelike games for a long time and want more contrast between encounters.
- You enjoy theatrical or concept-driven set pieces such as the Scylla and Sirens encounter.
- You want the most complete example of how Supergiant expanded its musical world after the first game.
Choose Hades if these are your priorities
- You want a two-and-a-half-hour album that is easier to hear as one complete arc.
- You value the established Korb-and-Barrett vocal identity above a wider range of concepts.
- You prefer a concentrated soundtrack rather than the biggest available track collection.
- You want songs whose impact comes from cohesion and immediate recognition.
- You are buying one album mainly for focused listening rather than maximum variety.
Buying through official digital storefronts
The official Hades and Hades II soundtrack albums are available through Supergiant’s Bandcamp storefront. Steam also lists the Hades soundtrack as downloadable content. Availability, regional pricing and included formats can change, so check the current product page before purchasing.
The available information does not establish a current physical release, vinyl pressing, CD edition or soundtrack-specific collectible for either album. Do not assume that a digital soundtrack listing includes a physical product.
A practical decision method
- Decide whether runtime or focus matters more. Pick the nearly four-hour sequel for scale; pick the two-and-a-half-hour original for a tighter listen.
- Identify your vocal preference. If Ashley Barrett’s established role is the main draw, start with Hades. If you want a broader vocal palette that also includes Judy Alice Lee on “Moonlight Guide Us,” consider Hades II.
- Think about how you listen. Long play sessions and repeated runs favor the sequel’s variety. Shorter album replays favor the original’s cohesion.
- Choose by musical concept. If a distinct encounter idea such as Scylla and the Sirens’ glam-rock presentation sounds exciting, Hades II is the natural choice.
- Buy both only if you want the evolution. The albums share Korb’s authorship and Barrett’s contribution, but they represent different balances of identity and expansion rather than duplicate versions of the same score.
Final verdict
Hades II is the overall winner because its just-under-four-hour score uses a larger cast of musical ideas, locations and character concepts to keep the world sounding fresh. The sequel’s variety is especially valuable in a game built around repeated runs, and the Scylla and Sirens encounter shows how specifically the music can be shaped around a dramatic concept.
Hades remains the better soundtrack for a listener who wants concentration rather than scale. Its two-and-a-half-hour album has a more compact identity, and the Korb/Barrett vocal combination gives it an immediacy the sequel does not need to imitate. Choose the original for the tighter, more cohesive listen; choose Hades II for the broader and more exploratory one.
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