Smite 2 already has fans of the first on lock, but it needs to do a better job of winning new ones to grow its pantheon

pcgamer.com:

The coolest thing I’ve done in my time with Smite 2 was, I’m confused to say, entirely accidental. 

It’s not been a very good match for me so far. My character Hecate—a Greek goddess of magic and witchcraft—is a mage, supposed to sling spells from a distance. Unfortunately, my primary opponent has been Mordred, an armored knight out of the tales of King Arthur, who hasn’t been respecting my personal space. In this moment of peril, my teammates are trying to come to my rescue, but half the enemy team is already on top of me. Desperate and fleeing them, I mash my ultimate, which creates a pair of portals on the ground, stunning my enemies and delivering them into the arms of my team. While my confusion is no fault of Smite’s, I bear more of a grudge over my otherwise poor performance, because Smite 2 hasn’t done much to welcome and prepare me.

With Smite 2 being a playable «24/7 alpha,» it's in that somewhat awkward state where it's offering a $100 Ultimate Founders Edition while half-finished features and placeholder elements can be seen within the experience. Only 23 gods are available (OG Smite currently features 130), and Hi-Rez Studios says it expects it «to be in Early Access development at least through early 2025,» while promising monthly «Major Updates» that will expand the roster. 

Smite 2's roster still has a deep well of gods from the original game to implement, but Hi-Rez's brand new additions are what really have me excited. Hecate was one of my favorites to play, as well as my previously mentioned nemesis Mordred—the only two new gods as of yet. The work done so far to bring old characters forward seems successful⁠—another favorite of mine from the alpha is Neith, a bow-wielding ‘Weaver of Fate’, who originally came out in Smite over a decade ago in 2013.

The good news is that the core is in place: gameplay is smooth and fun, each of the gods have fluid and interesting ability sets, and the graphics are certainly improved on Unreal Engine 5. Character