Free to playHades' Star One galaxy, shared by thousands
Grow a star system of your own, trade with your corporation and wage long strategic wars across a persistent online galaxy.
Is Hades' Star worth it?
Hades' Star is worth it if…
- you like long-term empire building you check on daily rather than finish in one sitting
- you want co-op PvE runs you can play with friends in short sessions
- you enjoy team strategy with room to talk and plan over days, not seconds
- you like quick PvP duels as an option, not the whole game
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Your own corner of the galaxy
Everyone starts in a Yellow Star system, the stable home where your empire grows at its own pace. You colonize planets, set up mining patterns and establish trade routes, then decide who else gets access: open your system to allies for mining or trade, or keep it to yourself. Diplomacy is a tool here, not a formality. The galaxy is persistent and shared with thousands of players, so your economy keeps running while you are away, and the long-term planning is the quiet backbone of everything else you do.
Red Stars: beat the clock
Build a Red Star Scanner and you can jump ships into dying stars that go supernova after 15 minutes. The loop is simple and tense: cooperate with whoever else jumped in, fight off the alien ships, pull Artifacts from the planets, and get out before the star blows. Those Artifacts get researched back home and unlock advances for trade, mining and combat. Higher level Red Stars mean harder enemies and better rewards, so there is always a next run to prepare for. It is the game's core PvE, built for short, focused sessions with other players.
Blue Stars: last ship standing
The fastest mode in the game. A Blue Star lasts five minutes while the whole system collapses, and each of the five players sends in a single Battleship. You fight the other four with your ship's modules, using the NPC ships in the system as weapons where you can, until one ship is left. It is pure PvP, decided in minutes, and regular participants earn daily and monthly rewards that feed back into their empire. When you want a sharp competitive fix between the slower empire-building, this is where it lives.
Corporations and five-day wars
Players organize into Corporations, and that is where the game's social side really opens up. Members help each other grow, and together they can scan for White Stars: matches where up to 40 players from two Corporations battle over Relics that upgrade the Corporation and benefit every member. A match lasts five days on purpose. Time passes slowly, giving everyone room to talk, coordinate strategy and plan future moves with the Time Machine, which lets you map out moves and see how future combat might play out. It is team strategy at a thoughtful pace, and a good place to find people to run Red Stars with.
What should you know before starting?
Can you play it solo?
Yes, with a caveat. Your Yellow Star economy, trade routes and research all run on your own, and you can jump into Red Stars alone. But the game is built around other players: Red Stars reward cooperating with whoever else is there, and White Star wars and Corporation perks need a group. Solo is a fine way to start; joining a Corporation is where it opens up.
How much time does it take per day?
It is paced as a daily habit rather than a marathon. A reasonable active session is roughly 30 to 60 minutes: a Red Star run, your shipments and upgrades, maybe a Blue Star. The empire grows between sessions, and the five-day White Star matches unfold in the background. Note that progress is time-gated, so waiting on timers is part of the design.
Is it beginner friendly?
Reasonably so. You start in your own Yellow Star system with no one else in it, learn the economy at your own pace, and move on to Red Stars early. One thing worth knowing: the game went through a major overhaul that divided its long-time players, so older opinions online describe a different version. As a new player you start fresh, unaffected by what came before.
Is it PvP or PvE?
Both, clearly separated. Red Stars are PvE: co-op runs against alien ships on a 15-minute timer. White Stars are large-scale team PvP between Corporations over five days. You can lean on whichever side you enjoy and treat the rest as optional.
