# Hades Style - RPG Template | Summer Engine

## About this template

The player dashes through a chamber of shades, chains a special into a dash-attack, and watches Ares blade rifts stack on Aphrodite weakness for a damage combo they never planned. They clear the room, pick a boon from Athena that adds deflect to their cast, and push deeper. Three chambers later, a boss kills them. They return to the hub, talk to characters who react to how they died, unlock a permanent upgrade, and start the next run with a different weapon. The narrative advances between deaths, not despite them. Dying is progression.

Summer Engine helps you build the room-based combat loop, god-boon upgrade system, run-based progression, permanent meta-upgrades, and inter-run narrative through conversation. You design the boon gods, the weapon aspects, and the characters who wait in the hub. The engine scaffolds the room encounters, boon synergy logic, mirror-of-night style permanent upgrades, and the death-to-dialogue pipeline that makes every failed run feel like a chapter ending.

The best roguelike ARPGs succeed because no two runs play the same. Boon combinations create emergent builds, weapon choices change the combat feel entirely, and the story gives players a reason to keep dying beyond just getting stronger. The hub between runs is where the game earns its emotional weight.

## Who it's for

* Solo devs who want tight run-based combat with meaningful death and narrative progression between attempts.
* Writers who want a story structure where death is part of the plot and characters remember previous runs.
* Designers inspired by Hades, Dead Cells, or Slay the Spire who want fast isometric combat with build-defining upgrades.
* Small teams building a replayable demo where each 20-minute run feels different from the last.

## Highlights

* ### Roguelike Combat Prototype  
Get room-based encounters, dash combat, boon selections, and a boss fight working so you can test the core run loop before building meta-progression.
* ### Narrative Roguelike Demo  
Build a game where hub NPCs react to how the player died, unlock new dialogue after milestones, and advance a story across multiple failed runs.
* ### Boon Synergy System  
Create a god-boon system where upgrades from different sources combine into emergent builds, the kind players post about online.

## Highlights

### Run-based progression

Each run is a fresh attempt through randomized rooms. Players collect boons, clear encounters, and push as far as they can before dying and starting over.

### God-boon build system

After each room, players choose from upgrades offered by different gods. Boons modify attacks, dashes, and casts. Combining boons from different gods triggers duo synergies.

### Narrative between deaths

Death returns players to a hub where characters comment on the last run, advance relationship plotlines, and unlock new story beats. The narrative requires dying to progress.

### Permanent meta-progression

Currency earned across runs unlocks permanent upgrades, new weapon aspects, and hub expansions. Players get meaningfully stronger over dozens of runs.

## Features

* ### Room-based encounter system  
Players clear rooms of enemies to unlock exits. Room types include combat waves, mini-bosses, shops, healing fountains, and story encounters with branching paths between them.
* ### Boon selection and synergy  
After clearing rooms, players pick from boons that modify abilities. Stacking boons from the same god powers up that element. Mixing gods unlocks duo boons with unique effects.
* ### Weapon and aspect system  
Multiple base weapons with different attack patterns. Each weapon has aspects that change its behavior fundamentally: a sword that becomes a thrust weapon, a bow that becomes a shotgun.
* ### Hub and relationship system  
Between runs, players spend resources in a hub area. NPCs have relationship meters, gift systems, and dialogue that tracks how many runs the player has attempted and how they died.

## Genre fit

* RPG
* Action
* Roguelike
* Roguelite
* Hack and Slash
* Desktop
* Gamepad
* Console
* Mobile

## Related Templates

[View All](https://www.summerengine.com/templates)

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[Roguelite RPG Build a roguelite RPG where players carry story and character fragments across procedurally generated runs. Lore accumulates. The world reveals itself through death. Describe your vision and Summer Engine builds it with you. RPG](https://www.summerengine.com/templates/rpg/roguelite-rpg/roguelite-rpg)

[Diablo Style Build an isometric ARPG where players tear through randomized dungeons, chase color-coded loot, and push endgame rifts for stronger drops. Describe your vision and Summer Engine builds it with you. RPG](https://www.summerengine.com/templates/rpg/action-rpg/diablo-style)

Source: https://www.summerengine.com/templates/rpg/action-rpg/hades-style

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