Release Date: 20/04/2018
Played On: PS4
Available On: PS4
Time Played: 27h 28m
Progress: Completed
Developer: Santa Monica Studio
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Hype can be a double-edged sword, as it's often a result of aggressive marketing that never lives up to its promises. Over time we've learned to avoid buying into the huge swell of praise and applause handed out to big budget "hits", thanks to a long list of disappointing experiences that were supposed to be transcendental. It's a shame then, that when a truly excellent game comes along, it's mired in doubt on account of all the hype built up in its wake.
This is how it was for me when God Of War (2018) was unleashed on the world earlier this year. Within hours my Twitter feed was full of gamers and developers praising the game as a sure fire Game Of The Year contender. Forget the fact that it was only March, it seemed like the entire gaming world was salivating over the shiny new-ness of a fresh take on the God Of War franchise.
Naturally I was immediately put off, as It has been my experience that anything hyped up to that extent, would undoubtedly disappoint. Even if a game is truly great, it will never live up to the hype machine that whips fans into a frenzy where all rationale departs and gives way to rabid following. Thus, I was comfortable knowing that I probably wouldn't bother playing God Of War (2018) until the buzz had settled and my own scepticism had softened.
Fast forward to a couple of months ago when I noticed God Of War (2018) on sale at a reasonable discount, so I picked it up. Even then my thought process was to nab it while it was cheap, and play it later when I had nothing else exciting going on. As it was I spent a couple of weeks finishing off some other games before semi-reluctantly firing up the game for the first time.
At this point the buzz had settled to a low hum, and there were even some generally agreed on criticisms of the game, so I figured it might be worth dipping into. I was expecting to be impressed, but a little disappointed. Like going to see your favourite band play live, but they don't play your favourite songs. It's still a bloody good time, but you know it could have been even better. This is how I expected my playthrough of God Of War (2018) to go.
For starters, it's now a third person action game, instead of the isometric action of the previous titles. The trailers showed a greater reliance on narrative and story-telling, when the series is known for incredible set pieces and gore. Plus, why the hell does Kratos have a son all of a sudden? And why are they suddenly dealing with Nordic mythology instead of Greek? All of these things made me feel like I was about to play a game that would end the series I had otherwise enjoyed.
Thankfully I was wrong.
I managed to keep up my hesitant approach to the game for about the first third of my playthrough. I suppose I was waiting for the one thing that would make me think "ah, that's the thing that makes this game a terrible disappointment", but it never came. Even as I continued to try and pick it apart at every opportunity, God Of War (2018) never delivered a moment of filler in any way. By the time I was about half way in, any hope of scepticism I might have had was worn away entirely, and replaced with a relentless intrigue and sheer joy.
It turns out that the shift to third person is actually a welcomed change, as I had never really enjoyed the fixed camera of previous games anyway. Being able to freely explore and look around felt like invisible shackles had been taken off and I was finally able to experience the entire world that had been created.
While there are some genuine criticisms to be made about the game's combat systems, God Of War (2018) still felt as visceral and brutal as any other in the series. You're still fighting mythical beasts and ripping them apart in gruesome ways. There are combo strings and different special moves to learn if you want to dominate enemies, which all felt just like the old games. I don't know how they did it, but even with a new primary weapon the combat still felt connected to the originals.
However, the game does lack a little bit of enemy variety, which is more of a leftover from some of the poorer games in the series than anything new. Most of the enemies I fought were similar types with different levels of health and armour. There are some interesting variants that require particular tactics to defeat, but overall the range of enemies is slim. Even the large boss-type trolls and ogres end up being repeated throughout the game, with different elemental aspects and colouring to differentiate them.
In this way, the combat might be the weakest part of God Of War (2018), but it's not even that bad. Actually the coolest addition to the combat is your new axe, and having your offspring around to help out, which we'll get to later.
The axe carries a lot of weight during combat and feels like the mighty weapon it's fabled to be. During the game you meet the dwarven blacksmiths who created your weapon, and learn that it's special in more ways than you might have known. They'll also help you out along the way and upgrade the axe's abilities and powers as you level up and gather resources.
In combat, the axe can be thrown at enemies, or wielded as a melee source of destruction. Hitting enemies feels meaty and powerful thanks to excellent audio and visual feedback. Kratos has to put some effort behind his swings and throws, making you feel like you're using something akin to Thor's hammer. It's heavy, it's powerful, and it rends monsters in its path, all while being a lot of fun to use.
It helps then that your axe is also needed to solve puzzles and access areas of the map along your journey. Not only is this mighty weapon a monster killing machine, but it happens to be a pretty useful tool for getting around the world as well. Littered throughout the game are many hidden areas behind breakable walls, and puzzles that required precision throws of the axe to unlock chests and the path forward.
Additionally your intrepid offspring is there to fire arrows and stun enemies, and can level up to grapple and choke them. It's a nice way of including some different combat styles along with enemy resistances to keep things interesting. For instance, some enemies need to be stunned with arrows, before being finished off by Kratos's fists. Others resist the mighty axe and need to be pummelled bare handed. The use of the boy to extend the combat mechanics is an entertaining and useful inclusion.
While the game itself is fairly linear, there are many short branches along the way that will reveal collectibles and resources to make you more powerful. This is another element that feels akin to the original games, as the puzzles are similar (and sometimes similarly frustrating) to the ones we all know from the series. The main difference I found interesting was that God Of War (2018) seemed to have an equal share of puzzles and combat. While the previous games were more focused on killing things, with a couple of brain scratchers thrown in for variety.
Although, one of the nicest surprises I had while playing God Of War (2018) was realising that despite any of the changes, this still felt like a God Of War game. I can't think of any better praise that I can give than that, as it managed to surpass my expectations with confidence and deft ability. It's like the game turned around to me and winked half way through, because it knew it had done a very good job at sucking me in.
Speaking of which, the story and setting of this new game started off as a very large point of contention for me. I didn't understand why Kratos had traded in Greek gods for Nordic mythology, and I had no idea why or how he had ended up with a son. The latter didn't bother me as much as the first, but without spoiling anything I can safely say that the game addresses my concerns adequately and in a satisfying way. In fact, as the story continued to reveal itself, I was more and more sold on how Kratos came to be where he is in the game and it ended up being one my favourite parts of the narrative.
Kratos's son Atreus is a different story, as it's fair enough to say that angry god man Kratos managed to meet a woman and have a child with her. Of course, being a father doesn't come all that easily to the God Of War and the first half of the game seems to be a tale about Kratos trying to get in touch with his emotions for the first time.
Right at the beginning we learn that Atreus's mother has died, so Kratos and Atreus embark on an epic journey to take her ashes to "the highest peak in all the realms". Initially it seems like a fairly generic way to push the plot forward and get you moving through the world, but as the story reveals itself we begin to understand that there's a lot more going on than we might have first thought.
In fact, that could be said for the entire game. I'm trying very hard to avoid spoilers, as talking about the plot of God Of War (2018) is littered with potential landmines. I suppose it's safe to say that at the beginning I thought I had a good grasp on the plot, but I was proven wrong on all accounts. Everything I thought was a simple aspect of the tale, turned out to be more involved and more satisfying than I had anticipated.
Essentially this is perhaps what made me fall in love with God Of War (2018)'s story, as it kept up an engaging pace from start to finish. There's a lot I'm not mentioning that I'd love to get into, but I would hate to spoil even some of the minor moments in the game. The pacing is excellently managed, as you're pulled through the world while more information is uncovered and discovered. I never found myself wondering what to do next, or waiting for a section to be over. Every second of the game has been masterfully crafted and designed to keep you heading in an interesting direction.
This brings me to Atreus himself, as he is as much as part of the story as Kratos. In a lot of ways you could even argue that this game is more about Atreus than old angry Kratos, but both characters are written excellently and with an intriguing amount of depth. Neither one ever feels like the vehicle for the other, and their relationship becomes one of the most enjoyable video game relationships I've encountered in a long time.
In the beginning Kratos struggles with Atreus, as he is lacking in the empathy and compassion department. After all, this is the savage and aggressive God Of War we're talking about, and Kratos fills his role impressively.
Atreus is blatantly presented as a weak child, who is incapable of the impressive feats of strength that his father regularly performs. What's more, he often rushes into situations thoughtlessly and makes mistakes, which frustrate and anger Kratos, who is trying to teach him wisdom and restraint.
There's a lot of care taken with each of these characters, as it would have been easy to reduce them to stereotypical halves of the same coin. I half expected it to be a basic binary of Kratos being the angry aggressive violent wanker, and Atreus being the sensitive intelligent compassionate child. After all Atreus is gifted with languages and early on we learn he can communicate with animals, while Kratos seems to only be good at smashing things with his impressive axe.
It's difficult to put your finger on what makes good writing especially good, but just when I thought I had either character figured out, they would surprise me in a believable and meaningful way. This is especially clear later in the game when Atreus is acting like a spoiled brat and Kratos is on the edge of losing his cool.
I suppose the thing that stood out for me was how believable these characters were. Their relationship was never reduced to being a superficial video game veneer that served some other purpose. The father and son dynamic felt like it could have been any father and son, despite them both possessing extraordinary and fantastical powers and skills. It's perhaps the most 'human' we've seen Kratos be, but in a way that doesn't betray his past or feel like a complete reboot.
Actually, I think that's what surprised me most about playing God Of War (2018). Part of me was expecting a complete reboot that would ignore everything we know about Kratos and his history, but it does quite the opposite. By the end of the game you can be sure that everything you know about Kratos is still intact and relevant to his new character. Even the exchange of Greek gods for Nords is justified and makes sense within the context of his progression.
Without a doubt, this is the strongest God Of War narrative we've seen in a long time. It's nothing like the previous games that were focused on the ridiculous behaviour of the gods, but it's a lot more personal and nuanced in a way that those games could never have accomplished. The writers and designers have done an excellent job and keeping the gratuity to a minimum and instead opting for a succinct and meaningful narrative in its place.
I often gloss over things like graphics and animation, because I'm usually more interested in artistic intent than eye candy. I'll probably do the same thing here, but I have to admit that there were moments during God Of War (2018) where I could feel my eyes popping out of my head. I mentioned the excellent narrative pacing already, but the same could be said for sheer 'wow-factor'.
Just as I was getting used to a setting or particular part of the progression, the game would throw in something that blew my mind. That's a phrase I don't use lightly, as this was truly a mind-blowing game in many ways. Sure there were giant revelations in the story along the way, but they were accompanied by truly impressive set-pieces and the enormity of scale we all love in the series. After all, there aren't many other games that use scale in quite the same way as God Of War, and I'm here to tell you that nothing has been lost in this latest iteration.
What's more the aesthetic design of the world is up there with the best, and each new scene presented a myriad of interesting and beautiful focal points. The landscape changes drastically from one area to the next, not to mention from one realm to another. This being a God Of War game, it's safe to say that travelling through different godly realms is nothing new (so not a spoiler is what I mean).
Perhaps one of the benefits of being a platform exclusive, is that games like God Of War (2018) get to push their hardware as far as they can. I don’t have a PS4 Pro, but it still ran smoothly and looked incredible from front to back. For graphics and technical achievement along, this should be a system seller that lives up to its reputation.
I suppose that's the whole point of this post, as I started my time with God Of War (2018) as a sceptic, thanks to all the hype. Although, by the time I'd finished, I was left wanting more and spent some time soaking in everything I had just experienced.
Now I can tell you that this is currently the front runner for my 2018 Game Of The Year. In fact, if I were the kind of person to assign scores in these posts, I'd be keen to push this as close to perfect as I could manage. Sure it's not without its flaws, but I have to admit that playing God Of War (2018) has been as close to a perfect gaming experience as I've come in recent years.
So It's settled: the hype for God Of War (2018) is actually worthwhile and justified. I might only get to say that for every one in one hundred games, but this is definitely a one percenter. My time with this game felt satisfying and impeccable. This is a rare must-play for anyone with a Playstation 4.
Do yourself a favour.