Hypnos is one of the many characters in the roguelike action RPG Hades, created by Supergiant Games, based on, and inspired by, various greek myths. He is possibly the sweetest, most harmless character in the entirety of Hades.
He only wants what’s best for his family and for Zagreus, Prince of the Underworld, even if his advice can be more aggravating than helpful at times. Regardless, that advice gives morbid humor to the game that would be sorely missed were it not there. When I first played Hades, Hypnos was, admittedly, my least favorite character.
However, as I progressed through the game and got to know him, and as I’m replaying it for the millionth time, I’ve discovered he’s actually one of my favorites. Even though dying is one of the main mechanics of the game, it’s so frustrating when the end boss has a sliver of health left, and you still die.
Yet, when Hypnos greets you after leaving the Pool of Styx, I can feel some of that frustration begin to evaporate. He is, without a doubt, the best character in the entire game.
Warning: This Hypnos Hades Guide contains spoilers for Hades.
Games Like Hades
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Sleepy Summary
Hypnos is the son of Nyx and Thanatos‘s younger twin brother. He has a rough relationship with both of them, though he only expresses love for them. As the game continues and you help Hypnos, the two begin to grow warmer toward their family member.
Although Hypnos is Sleep Incarnate, his main duty in the House of Hades is as the attendant, keeping track of who enters and who leaves. He frequently greets Zagreus whenever the Prince returns from his excursions and frequently helps Zagreus with useless advice.
He is at risk of losing his job in the House without the interference of Zagreus and the encouragement of his family, and once he is able to figure out how to best work, Hypnos thrives in both work and his personal life.
Dead Tired Descriptions
Physical
Hypnos can often be seen with a sleep mask pushed up into an unruly mess of white hair, constantly in a state of bedhead. He looks constantly exhausted, with an often drowsy smile and dreamy look in his eyes. Unlike other members of the House, his clothing is a bit more casual, as he adorns a large, plush, red quilt as a cloak.
A gold mantle, similar to his brother’s, sits on his shoulders, though Hypnos wears wings on both shoulders. Underneath that, he wears a long, red chiton, cinched at the waist by a belt decorated with poppies and a “sleeping” skull.
Just above that is the emblem for the House of Hades. He wears a simple gold bracer on one arm and a thin band on the other. He is almost never seen without his quill and parchment, even while sleeping.
Personality
Hypnos is broadly considered to be one of the most cheerful members of the House and brings a certain brightness to it that no other member of the House can do. At one point, after an escape attempt and after gifting Hypnos some nectar, Zagreus says that if it weren’t for Hypnos, he wouldn’t feel welcome in the House of Hades anymore.
In the codex entry on Hypnos, Achilles considers the cheer that he brings to be unconventional but much-needed. Aside from his usually bright demeanor, Hypnos is often disorganized and incredibly tired, often found sleeping at his post and being jolted awake when Zagreus walks close.
You later learn that Hypnos has a knack for creating lists and thrives when working on time table, and is highly organized – he just needs a little help getting to that point.
Place in the House
In the House, Hypnos is considered Sleep Incarnate, though he also works as the House Attendant, keeping records of the shades and who enters and leaves the House of Hades. He also keeps track of those who die and enter the House, right down to the exact details of their death.
At the beginning of the game, many do not believe that he takes his job seriously – even Hades. As you get to know Hypnos and progress through the game, you learn that he could be at risk of losing his position in the House, and it is up to you and Thanatos to encourage Hypnos to grow and figure out how to best perform his duties.
Sleeping on the Job
Usually, Hypnos will be there to greet you whenever you enter the House after an escape attempt and, depending on how you died, will usually offer you exceedingly unhelpful advice. He can even be caught offering this unhelpful advice to Megaera, saying that she should just try “dodging Zagreus’s attacks” if she wants to beat him.
If another member of the House wants to talk to Hypnos, they will come to him as he usually doesn’t leave his post as the House Attendant. He can often be found dozing on the job until you dash just slightly too close to him. After that, he’ll startle away and bounce to catch the parchment he was previously using as a pillow.
His dialogues and quips upon meeting you after you leave the pool don’t change whether you have God Mode on or not, so if you want an easier time playing, you won’t be missing out on anything if you turn God Mode on.
It’s Not a Dream; it Actually Happened
Depending on how you play the game, there are a number of encounters you could come across as the first time you see Hypnos interacting with someone other than Zagreus.
My first encounter involved Lord Hades discussing why Hypnos was late with his report (though it comes off more like a parent scolding a child for messing up).
Hypnos feeds him an excuse about his report having been found somewhere else and how he needed to make sure that it hadn’t been messed with. Hades tells him to make sure it’s right and dismisses the conversation in a huff.
Falling to Asterius
The first time you die to Asterius, Hypnos fawns over the Minotaur and begs Zagreus to get him an autograph, which is promptly denied. However, if you feel bad for the exhausted God of Sleep, you can go ahead and jump through a few easy-to-get-through hoops to get that autograph.
To get the autograph for Hypnos you need to die in six ways and hear six unique dialogue lines from Hypnos. You have to die three times to Asterius, two to Theseus, and once in the end boss room of Elysium (it doesn’t matter who causes this last death).
Don’t worry about keeping track or having to do it multiple times in a row, the game keeps internal track of this.
If you are concerned about getting this, however, make sure to knock out Asterius first at least twice and let Theseus kill you two times.
For the three times, Asterius is supposed to kill you, it’s easier just to seek out his mini-boss room, but you can go ahead and try to dispatch Theseus first. I’ve tried to get rid of Theseus first, but Asterius always gets caught in the crossfire.
Once this dialogue is heard, find Asterius in a mini-boss room, and he will comply, writing a small note to Hypnos along with his autograph. It reads, “To Hypnos, my biggest fan, stay vigilant” with a small picture of a bull – with this, Hypnos is thrilled.
Helping Zagreus
Aside from the bad advice, he gives to Zagreus, Hypnos has helped the Prince without question.
When Zagreus first wanted to snoop around the House and find some dirt on his father, something that he was hiding, he asked Hypnos to put the entire House to sleep, which the god of Sleep was able to easily achieve. That is, everyone except for his mother, Nyx.
Don’t Sleep on this Friendship
Hypnos is one of the many characters that Zagreus cannot romance, which proves unfortunate for the souls who become deeply attached to Hypnos (It’s me. I’m that soul).
Even though we can’t romance the sleepy attendant, we can become one of his closest, if not his closest, friends. In order to max out Hypnos’s affinity gauge, you need six nectar and two Ambrosia.
Keepsakes
Like most of the others you meet throughout the game, Hypnos only offers one gift – the Chthonic Coin Purse. Unlike most others, notably the Olympian Gods, Hypnos cannot offer you boons. His gifts are limited to his friendship, a single Keepsake, and his funny remarks on escape.
Even still, don’t let that stop you from giving him Nectar and Ambrosia. If you want to learn more about him and develop his personal storyline, you’ll need to keep offering him gifts throughout the game.
Chthonic Coin Purse
This Keepsake doesn’t enhance your infernal arms or offer you a better chance for certain boons. Instead, the Chthonic Coin Purse gives you 100 obols to spend during your run, though you can only get those 100 obols one time in your run.
I recommend equipping this before you head into Tartarus and equipping something else when entering Asphodel unless you are specifically trying to level this Keepsake up. It is worth leveling it up if you enjoy shopping as much as I do, as at two stars, the Chthonic Coin Purse gives you 125 Obols, and at three, it gives you 150 Obols.
These obols are only useful when shopping with Charon in the Temple of Styx, the Well of Charon, or one of the boatman’s many pit stops – it’s a use-it or lose-it item.
This item goes hand in hand with Herme’s Side Hustle boon, which gives you a little bit of coin every time you enter a chamber. Together, the two make you the god of wealth rather than Lord Hades.
Helping the God of Sleep Rest Easy
As you raise your affinity with Hypnos, eventually, you will be able to complete his favor. This requires seeing a series of interactions before the prompt comes up for you to complete. Unlike other favors in the House of Hades, Hypnos’s favor does not require you to buy anything.
To complete this favor, you need to see some interactions between Hypnos and Thanatos. After this, Hypnos will let Zagreus in on how he feels, telling him that he feels that Thanatos is displeased with him. Zagreus promises to speak to Thanatos on Hypnos’s behalf.
Once you are able to, Zagreus will confront Thanatos and tell him that he is being too harsh on Hypnos. Afterward, you will have a few encounters seeing the twins interact between runs.
During this time, Thanatos will criticize Hypnos’s work until he finds the right way to help his brother. After Hypnos begins to improve and his position in the House of Hades is locked down, Thanatos apologizes for being a jerk, and Hypnos thanks Zagreus for his help in this.
Getting on the Board
After helping Hypnos to improve his work, everyone begins to commend him on the excellent job he is doing. This eventually results in Hypnos getting his face on the House Employee recognition board, which Hypnos takes a great deal of pride in.
Too Tired to Socialize
Hypnos’s relationship with others does not extend very far outside of the House, and it seems he knows even fewer people than his brother Thanatos, who, according to Nyx, leads a solitary life.
He keeps his circle small, involving only his mother, his brother, Zagreus, and Megaera. The only one who doesn’t fit is Asterius, though his relationship with Hypnos is more like that of a celebrity and distant fan.
Nyx
Hypnos seems to want to have a closer relationship with his mother, though Nyx, in turn, seems concerned that Hypnos is too dependent on her, which may be hindering his growth into the role of Sleep Incarnate.
This has led to Nyx trying to keep Hypnos from engaging her in as much conversation, which only furthers Hypnos’s sense of isolation and loneliness. It has even grown to the point where Nyx commends Hypnos for his work, and he believes it to be someone else commending him through her words rather than his mother directly.
Nonetheless, Hypnos only espouses love for his mom, with comments here and there about how she often ignores him. Regardless, as he grows into his position as House Attendant and Nyx learns to be more open, there is hope yet for their relationship to better.
Thanatos
In the early stages of the game, Hypnos’s interactions with his older twin brother (when Thanatos actually appears) are solely about work. Mainly, they consist of Thanatos lecturing Hypnos about actually doing his work.
This likely is because Thanatos has little faith in Hypnos’s abilities and seems to almost genuinely believe that everyone else helped his brother when Hypnos submits a perfect report.
As you build a rapport with him, however, his relationship gradually begins to better with Thanatos, especially when Zagreus scolds Thanatos for how mean he has been to his younger twin. Even still, Hypnos shares only love and adoration for his brother, often wanting to spend even more time with him than he can.
Megaera
Hypnos almost seems to have a crush on Megaera, though after she rejects him, he happily settles for being close friends with her. Hypnos professes to once previously have thought Megaera as invincible, though after she falls countless times to Zagreus, that pedestal-like image of her disappeared.
Megaera is the only person, aside from Zagreus, who willingly talk with him on a regular enough basis. Whenever she dies to Zagreus and emerges from the pool of Styx, Hypnos will often give her the same useless but endearing advice he gives to Zagreus.
Zagreus
Zagreus and Hypnos seem to have a very close friendship in the House of Hades, with Zagreus making it clear after one of his many escape attempts in the early game that he isn’t sure he would feel welcome without Hypnos there to greet him.
Hypnos seems just as happy to speak to Zagreus whenever the Prince leaves the Pool of Styx, startling awake but smiling and waving. He is close enough to the Prince that he’s willing to speak to him about his emotional turmoil concerning Thanatos and once that is dealt with, Hypnos begins to consider Zagreus as his best friend.
Drowsy Nonsense
There are so many amazing quotes from Hypnos that it’s hard to pick just a few. Regardless, I’ve curated some of my favorites, all of which happen to be comments and some much-needed advice from Hypnos after Zagreus is killed on a run by various enemies.
He has some different dialogue if you’re killed by the same enemy multiple times, but with the face-paced action of the game, you should have an excessively easy time hearing different enemy death lines.
“Natural Causes got you again, huh? That’s a real shame, I mean, imagine one day you’re just going about your business, and then ack!! You’re dead! Although I guess you don’t have to imagine it like I do!”
“Looks like you really took the heat from one of those Bloodless Burn-Flingers back there, didn’t you? I know how tempting it can be to try and catch those fiery, explosive bombs they throw, but if I might offer you a bit of personal advice? You really shouldn’t do that.”
“Going toe-to-toe with one of those Bloodless Bone-Rakers didn’t go so well, huh? Next time they’re ripping you to shreds, remember: That’s your signal to be someplace else, instead!”
“Oh, you got throttled by a Wringer, must have grabbed and crushed you like a grape! You know what grapes are, right? They’re like big, squishy pomegranate seeds.”
FAQs
Question: Are Hypnos and Zagreus Related?
Answer: No, they’re not. Although Zagreus was raised by Nyx, he doesn’t have any direct blood relation to Hypnos.
Question: Can You Date Hypnos in Hades?
Answer: No, you can’t, and I’m definitely not mad about it. There were some fan efforts back in 2020 to create a romance mod between the two, but there have been no updates since. As such, you are only left with two romance options in the game – Megaera and Thanatos.
Question: Who Voices Hypnos is Hades?
Answer: Greg Kasavin voiced Hypnos for the game. He is also credited as “additional voices.”
Thoughts Before Bed
Hypnos has to be one of the best characters in the game, and it’s a shame that you can’t interact with him on a much more personal level. I hope he’s one of the few characters they bring back in the new game because if not, I think there will be a certain morbid cheer that might be missing.
If you’re considering playing Hades, or you’ve already played it and haven’t paid much attention to Hypnos, I highly encourage you to (re)play it and give this sleepy attendant the attention and care he deserves. His family may not be the nicest to him, but you can and, in the process, begin to repair his family bonds too.
Games Like Hades
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4.6
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4.1
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4.2
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