This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Hades 2's boss fights.
There are a handful of video game franchises that have been around for so long and that have been so influential that they've transcended the medium. Mortal Kombat is one such franchise, having become a household name overnight when it originally hit arcade floors in 1992, and it having a wealth of multimedia adaptations and spinoffs in the 33 years since. But alongside their own projects, hugely influential franchises like Mortal Kombat are often referenced throughout the medium they mostly belong to, and Hades 2 is the most recent example of that.
Mortal Kombat references have popped up in countless games over the years in various forms, ranging from alternate costumes in League of Legends to a collectible figure of Scorpion in Cyberpunk 2077 to a dozen different games using the line "Finish Him." But Hades 2' s Mortal Kombat tribute is unlike most that have come before it in that it's totally hidden from the average player.
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Hades 2 Features An 'Unseen' Mortal Kombat Easter Egg
Hades 2's Mortal Kombat Tribute is Linked With Its Final Boss Fight
Hades 2's latest Unseen update adds a new gameplay system called "Vow of Rivals." Available after defeating all of the game's bosses at least once (and completing a checklist of side activities), Hades 2's Vow of Rivals sees players work through the entire game again, this time facing off against dramatically harder boss fights. These higher-difficulty fights change boss attacks patterns, tweak arenas, and add significant challenges that weren't there previously. For example, Vow of Rivals adds Charbydis to Hades 2's Scylla boss fight.
The Vow of Rivals version of Hades 2's final surface boss fight against Typhon, the Father of All Monsters, sees Chronos, the Titan of Time, joining the fun. This essentially combines the two hardest Hades 2 boss fights into one absurdly intense battle, which is made even tougher by Chronos being invincible to any of the player's attacks.
If players can somehow make it to the end of the new Typhon fight, they're rewarded with Chronos pulling out one of his cheap tricks again. As he summons Typhon back to the arena, he uses his time powers to de-age Hades 2 protagonist Melinoe, turning her into a weaponless child who can only avoid oncoming attacks.
It's here where Hades 2 features a hidden reference to Mortal Kombat. According to a recent Reddit post by Hades 2 dataminer nh3maser, this phase of Typhon and Chronos' boss fight is referred to as "Babality" in the game's files. This seems to be an overt reference to the finisher move of the same name which debuted in 1993's Mortal Kombat 2, and sees players turning their opponent into an infant.
Supergiant Should Take Its Mortal Kombat Tribute to the Next Level
While it's great to hear that Supergiant had Mortal Kombat in mind while developing this phase of Hades 2's Typhon and Chronos boss fight, it's a shame that many fans will never know it's technically in the game. It might be nice to see a more direct Mortal Kombat Easter egg in Hades 2's 1.0 version, available for all players to see. This shouldn't be a major, immersion-breaking reference, but just a little nod to the fighting game franchise – like a throwaway voiceline – could be fun.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 95 /100 Critics Rec: 98%
- Released
- September 25, 2025
- ESRB
- Teen / Alcohol Reference, Blood, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Supergiant Games
- Publisher(s)
- Supergiant Games
