VideoGame Epic, Beautiful, and Heartwarming
Despite never playing any of the original God of War games from previous generations of consoles, I'm more than familiar with the story. After destroying the Olympian gods and leaving Greece in ruin, Kratos has left and began a new life in the realm of Midgard where he's settled down with another woman, Faye, who gave birth to a son named Atreus. At the start of the game, Faye has passed away with only one dying wish; to have her ashes spread from the highest peak of the tallest mountain in all the realms. So Kratos and Atreus set out on this seemingly simple task, all while exploring this entire new pantheon of lovable characters and epic battles.
As usual with any God of War game, the biggest feature is the combat. Now, while it's not the same combat system as it was in the original trilogy, it's still incredible, as you have Kratos move between attacking, dodging and blocking, alongside with some massive scale fights. Now, while there are some fights that are controller snappingly difficult at times, it never feels deliberate. Most of the time, it's your own fault for dying, not the game's, which is why it also gives you the opportunity to prepare for fights like this by unlocking new attack moves, and upgrading your stats with armor you can craft.
Now, the most important part that makes this game so amazing in my personal opinion is the dynamic between Kratos and his son, Atreus. In the beginning, their relationship isn't exactly the most functional, seeing how Kratos was distant for most of Atreus's life. However, the main focus of the game is how the two of them start to bond and learn from one another, as Kratos helps Atreus learn what it takes to fend for himself, while Atreus helps Kratos come to terms with his past as well learn how to be a father again. After replaying the game for the second time, there are some moments between Kratos and Atreus that are genuinely heartwarming and actually portray a very realistic representation of familial bonds.
As far as flaws go, there really aren't that many. The biggest nitpick I have is that some fights go on a bit too long, almost like a gauntlet really, and mostly just serve to slow you down. Plus, even though her death is the main catalyst of the story, we never really get to know much about Faye. Then again, that might have been intentional, as the developers will probably expand more on her in future sequels that have been confirmed.
Now, there's a lot more I could cover, but that would take up too much space. In conclusion, God of War is a fantastic game, filled with action, adventure, and heart. It easily earns a 9/10.
VideoGame The only truly AAA game I've ever played
I've been around for most of the modern console generation, starting from the PS 3 era, and I've played all the God of War entries prior to this one, as well as a fair amount of other games boasting the classification of AAA - but out of all of them, this is the only one that lives up to that title.
God of War is a masterpiece on all fronts. Every aspect of the game feels like it had 100% of the team's effort put into it, from the revamped and more personal combat experience to the beautiful yet ruined world you get to explore to the small, realistic interactions between Kratos and his son, Atreus, which is in itself one of the best-written dynamics I've ever encountered in a video game or any form of media. The characters are all unique and believable, the story is truly mature and thought-provoking, and throughout it all, the camera constantly hanging over Kratos's shoulder and moving around during cutscenes makes you feel like you're really part of this experience - another example of the game's sterling quality.
Working as a soft reboot of the series, God of War is set after the events of III and makes reference to the cataclysmic events of the original games, but largely focuses on Kratos and his son making their way through ancient Norway and dealing with a new pantheon of gods. This works to its advantage, as Kratos trying to move on from his former life and make a better one for his son is a huge part of his character development here, and dare I say it makes him an incredibly human protagonist, which I doubt anyone would have predicted ten years ago when he ripped off the head of the sun god to use as a lantern. The game does preserve the usual formula of rewriting traditional characters and stories, this time for Norse mythology, but honestly? I don't care. It works just fine for the story it's telling, and near the end the game actually provides a reason why what we know of the pantheon might be different from the truth about them and their actions.
Combat-wise, if you're used to the stylized action of previous entries, this may take some getting used to, but what the game offers is satisfying and challenging in its own right, tying in even more with Kratos being an older and less agile man - no more high-flying chain combos here, it's all about hacking enemies apart with an axe. Which is great. Atreus is actually useful as an ally, too, imagine that. You've also got a crafting system for armor and weapon upgrades, which let you alternately make Kratos look like the Greek god of war once more or show off his FANTASTIC abdomen, and befitting of shifting to an RPG, there are several secret bosses to fight, several of whom will absolutely kick your ass if you're not prepared. Well worth beating, however.
Overall, God of War is exactly the kind of new entry the series needed - there's new life here, incredibly high quality in every corner, and great promise for the future of the series. I cannot wait for more.
VideoGame Good Gameplay, Killer Story
Let me start by saying that I've never played a God of War game before this, so that will affect my perception of the game. Nor do I plan to play the earlier games (although the series director says he has 5 sequels he wants to make, so I might check those out whenever they release).
I have mixed feelings toward beat-em-ups and puzzles. Mindlessly hacking your way through enemies can be fun, but Button Mashing gets old after a while, and I have trouble remembering combos in the heat of battle. Puzzles can be rewarding when you figure them out, but when you can't, instead spending 20 minutes in one spot trying to figure out what to do, they lose their appeal. But that's just me.
Of course, the gameplay does require a certain level of skill. And that's just fine. The combat has been well-refined — you'll need to use your head if you want to survive.
What you'll really remember are the story and characters. My research has led me to believe that the story of the old GOW games can be summed up as "Kratos angrily murders the Greek pantheon." Fast forward to the present game, and Kratos is still haunted by the ghosts of his past, and carries many of his old prejudices; however, he genuinely wants to get rid of the skeletons in his closet, if only to be a good father to his son Atreus (whom he genuinely loves, even if he has trouble showing it). There are moments throughout the game which will emit powerful emotional reactions inside you. You'll feel joy. Anger. Fear. Sadness — the Cerebus Rollercoaster is in full effect here. And stories that can pull that off successfully tend to be my favourites. My favourite quote in the game is (paraphrased) "A warrior's strength comes from his heart...but only when tempered with thisnote Kratos points to his son's head"
It's not Enjoy the Story, Skip the Game — the gameplay is too well-designed for that — but the story is the best part of the experience.
VideoGame Good acting, gorgeous views, atrocious characterization and boring story.
My experience with God of War can be considered thorough. While I’m not a fan, but I’ve played all the major titles from the PS series and my opinion is that, the first game is surprisingly close to Greek Tragedy themes, the second one blatant in turning Kratos into a villain within reason, and the third… Let’s just say that the least said about the third, the better. There is a lot to say, but due to T Vtropes limits, I will have to be short and blunt.
In God of War 4, the visuals are gorgeous and detailed. Each realm has its own style, color palete and contrasts, and within the main realm, each area has a different style and architecture. There is a LOT of detail to gawk upon and pay attention to, from paintings on walls and enemies to Kratos’s and Atreus’s gear. Might not be much, but I love these kinds of details, it shows that the devs were really paying attention, because very few players will look for these kinds of things.
The gameplay feels as if they wanted to mix both the ‘juggler action game’ (like old Go W titles or the likes of Devil May Cry) with more strategic slow-paced, dodgier and harder-hitting games like Dark Souls, and they chose to add RPG mechanics to the dough that would become the game. The result is… weird sloggy and clunky. Kratos is a slow tank made of china pottery (since he can't withstand two or three hits on Normal difficulty) in a grindy slow as molasses combat where you constantly dodge enemies that you can’t see, due the camera being too close to Kratos, dodge back to hit on the same foe you were mashing against (and enemies slooowly float with each uppercut), rinse and repeat. The RPG mechanics made things needlessly complex with layers of U Is and grinding for gear in uneven-levelled quests. Due to the attack upgrades being in the main quest and the armor upgrades being in the subquests, it feels less a 'do it at your own pace' and more like an annoying back and forth. And since healing is sparse, you may end up repeating fights over and over and over. At least Atreus is genuinely helpful, but I wish I could shut him up. Thank you Atreus I know I'm on fire.
Enemies aren’t varied, sadly. And with the rpg mechanics in play, the same zombie can kill you in one hit depending on the area, turning already slow fights into slogging battles of attrition. I refrain from being hostile in my reviews, but whoever designed the elf-bugs can rot in hell, since they can just ignore your attacks to fly away and make fights even slower.
Frankly, the story isn't bad, but isn't special either, its ye olde 'Roadtrip with Dad' following all the established beats, A Goofie Movie did it better in my opinion. The worst part of it all is the characterization. Basically the whole Norse pantheon was reduced to a bunch of whiny jerks, Odin is the ultimate evil that you don't even fight and the jotuns the ultimate good. Every single Norse story is turned into 'Odin is a jerk and Thor is a murderer', gods of a warrior mythos can't take a beating without literally crying or whining about something, and nearly every single character you meet is either petty, an asshole or annoying. Even Kratos didn't escape the flattening: To be the 'angsty roadtrip dad' he was stripped of his love and affection, now unable to even hug his kid. The soundtrack also feels generic and lackluster, especially if compared to the previous Go Ws.
But credit where credit is due, the Voice Acting and mocap are top notch. I understand why people may be touched with such a story from how Christopher Judge and Sunny Suljic from how they play a tortured and hesitant father and a scared but eager son, they truly sell their characters with gusto and skill. I just genuinely don't understand why this game is sold by its fans as 'one of the best games ever made'. Its average to good, not bombastic.