Palace of Hades
Hades' friendly greeting makes us feel right at home. Start off by saving at the save point, then loot the chests around the room for various Orbs. The proper way to conquer this room, however, is to first haul the heavy pallet of stones from the right-hand room to the large wheel on the left side. Kratos will run into a small nuisance in the process of doing this, but they should do little harm.
Spin the wheel to open the gate above, then quickly wedge the pile of stones under the wheel to keep it from clicking back into its original position. This keeps the gate open for Kratos. When he enters the room, Minotaurs and vicious hounds break loose. Dispose of them and continue up the ramp to the next level.
Rotate the crank in the middle to bring up a coffin and lasso it with R1. With a great heave, Kratos smashes the coffin against the large statue and causes ladders to drop down on both sides of the room. Before exploring the two revealed options, there is a third ladder in the back on the left side that leads to red Orbs and a Phoenix Feather, one that should complete the first magic power-up.
From here, climb up the left-hand ladder and move to the back of the room to find a lever, ignoring the large wheel here for now. Activating the lever sends the platform to the floor below. Lift up the gate and attempt to drag the pallet of stones from the wheel here--it is now needed elsewhere. After disposing of the winged enemies, board the elevator with the pallet in tow and ride it back up. Now position the pallet near the wheel, slide down to the bottom floor and rotate the crank in the center.
You begin hearing methodic clanking sounds; quickly fly up the ladder again and this time, turn the wheel to force the statue's hand into the opened cuff. Slide the pallet under the wheel to keep it from budging. Return to the center crank with the intention of turning it once more. Afterwards, rush up the ladder on the right and spin the wheel here.
Interact with the pedestal once more to face off against Hades.
Boss Battle: Hades
Expect the battle against Hades to be a bit of a lengthy affair. From the get-go, Hades tries to claim Kratos' soul; mash the R1 and L1 buttons to keep his soul intact. Hades himself can be quite intense mostly because of the limited amount of space and his scary, far-reaching claws. Hades has quite a few attacks stored in his arsenal, some of which may not arise until a certain phase. Thankfully, there's a certain degree of predictability to his attacks, mostly due to his exaggerated pre-attack rituals.
In the first of five phases (yes, five) against Hades, Hades stomps around swinging his claws at Kratos and a small tremor attack. You can have an easier time dealing with him by unloading arrows in his face. Kratos can shoot arrows even whilst mid-air. Keep hitting him with arrows until the first prompt appears. During the brutal sequence, Kratos tears a chunk of flesh that needs to be eliminated right away. This needs to be done two more times (hence the numerous phases in this battle).
As the battle escalates, Hades unleashes more abilities. The perspective changes and he stays largely in one spot in the room. From there, he winds up and sweeps his claws across the entire room several times in a row. Jump straight up to avoid this; the longer pauses signify a mid-air sweep, so don't be fooled into jumping up when this happens. Next, Hades jumps to the ceiling and drops down, the shock of which creates an outward-flowing tremor. Jump up again to avoid this attack.
When Hades yells out something along the lines of "hell awaits," the floor quickly becomes covered in a veil of black except for one overtly clear spot. Run to this safehaven to be completely immune. When Hades squats and hunches over, circular pools of purple appear underneath Kratos, and within seconds chains erupt from these. Keep a constant move on to escape these erupting chains. The final attack variation involves Hades' summoning souls to his aid. Simply run around until they disappear or block.
Aside from the special attacks, Hades' melee attacks will intensify as the battle drags on. All of them can be avoided with rolling and jumping. Eventually, Hades and Kratos lock in a grueling tug-of-war. Receiving damage causes Kratos to lose some footing and gives Hades a slight edge. If he gets pulled into the water, mash the Circle button in order for Kratos to safely scramble out and regain his footing. Hit Hades with strong attacks while dodging his counterattacks until the prompt appears. Press Circle to receive the Claws of Hades.
These faster and awesome weapons grant the Soul Summon magic ability, which won't be of too much use against Hades at the moment. After picking off the underworld minions, Hades returns, a little ticked off and is hell-bent on inflicting otherworldly pain upon Kratos. In this final segment of the battle, Kratos can exploit the grapple points to swing around Hades and avoid his attacks completely. There's no doubt that Hades has already been significantly weakened. It's only a matter of time before the final prompt appears overhead and sentences the God of the Underworld to…where can the God of the Underworld even go??
With Hades' soul siphoned, Kratos can safely swim in the River of Styx. Save your game and dive into the water, aiming for Hades' Helm at the bottom. Follow the river, clear out some enemies using Soul Summon, activate the lever and return to the Forge.
Leave the Forge and return to the rotating platform. Attempting to rotate the crank shakes the stone Golems to life. These animated statues along with a half dozen annoying mutts have only one thing in mind: kill Kratos! Fight for his right to rotate the crank, and align the opening of the platform with the northern path.
Head along the familiar-looking path and aim for the now activated Hyperion Gate in the distance.
