God of War Review

Genre: Action-Adventure
Players: 1
Playtime: 30 hours (Includes beating the game on Normal difficulty and doing some side quests)

(NOTE: Content in this game is not recommended for all ages due to mature themes, strong language, and intense violence; Parental discretion is advised.)


The new God of War released this past April, 2018 marks the eighth installment in the prestigious series and also a bold new opportunity to reexamine the fundamentals of this iconic franchise.  A new world of wonder and lore to explore as the setting now shifts to Norse mythology.  A whole new tempo and thought to gameplay as Kratos now wields a magical axe and fights alongside his bow-wielding son, Atreus.  A fresh and captivating perspective with a new camera system that never cuts away from the flow of the game.  Santa Monica Studio has not only crafted an experience that feels rich with exciting new potential, but also a world which respects and illustrates the growth of Kratos and this series.  Does this ambitious reboot reach the highest summits of the nine realms though?  Brace yourselves as we rage forward into the pros and cons of this otherworldly fury of a review.

Cinematography

One of the most notable and impressive feats of this game has got to be the new camera system and the awe-inspiring cinematography it provides.  From the very first moment you start your new game, the camera will never cut away (minus of course for things like menu navigation or loading your game).  The result is an experience that is so immersive, you can't help losing yourself into this game.  The seamless means in which the game dances between cinematic to gameplay can lead to explosive moments of pure adrenaline where you're always kept on your toes, ready to react and fight at a moment's notice.  And the fact that the camera is always following Kratos so closely really puts the players in a closer emotional involvement with the character.  Just as the camera refuses to cut away, so too is the player's investment in the game and Kratos' journey.  I'm quite often impressed when a film manages to pull off scenes or long shots in which they don't cut the camera.  Filming the entirety of the scene in one go really demonstrates an impressive amount of coordination equivalent to that almost of a live performance.  So imagine just how impressive it is that the equivalent to that is done for a 30+ hour game in which the player has free control dictating how the game is played / paced.  Simply amazing.

The opening shot of a new game in which the action to follow will never stop or cut away - Prepare yourself, boy.

Storytelling / World Building

Another impressive aspect of this game is its fluid and immersive means of storytelling.  It may be in part thanks to the unrelenting camera system that provides a consistent flow to the game, but the storytelling is paced at such a natural and perfect rate in this game.  Through means of side conversations, obstacles in the path, interesting writings of lore, and moments of cinematic anticipation and fury, players are consistently being enthralled and pulled deeper into the experience.  One of my favorite means of storytelling in this game are the many conversations and stories that are told in casual fashion as Kratos rows the boat with the boy (and later other company) around the Lake of Nine.  It feels so natural and makes traversal between destinations so much more enjoyable.

Lots of interesting lore to be found in these various shrines.

Because of the rich storytelling and wide amount of interesting lore presented in this game, the world feels all the more richer and fuller for it.  Unlike the previous entries of the God of War series which featured a more linear level structure, this game utilizes a much more open structure, allowing for a greater degree of exploration and ability to revisit areas.  And this world is much bigger than you may imagine, with there being many additional parallel realms to be visited.  Even being parallel realms, each realm is given such a superb amount of forethought into its design, lore, and overall construction to make each one feel entirely distinct from one another.  I particularly also love how much of the items and inventory in this game are managed to feel practical and conceivably carried, actually changing Kratos' appearance or visibly hanging off his belt.  This incredible attention to detail and engrossing storytelling make for a world players will assuredly want more of.

Solid Gameplay Mechanics

Changing Kratos' main and iconic weapon of the dual wielding blades to an enchanted battle axe was a bold decision, but one that assuredly made a profound effect to making this feel like a whole new experience.  And the mechanics of this simple new weapon deliver a really intricate and well-crafted system of combat, where players are constantly involved and making choices to keep control of the flow of battle.  The axe is a powerful tool that can be used in both a variety of close and ranged scenarios, but with a variety of enemy types and attack patterns, players will have to keep adapting and figuring out the best means to counter them.  These new mechanics definitely have a learning curve to become accustomed, but once players get a handle on them, they present an intricate and fluid means of play.

There is an immense amount of satisfaction to be found in landing a blow with a thrown axe, and then hearing the magical swoosh as you summon it back like Thor's mighty hammer.

Lots of Content / Challenge

As mentioned above, the world in this game is deceivingly enormous with its many parallel realms to be visited, many of which are entirely optional and not at all pivotal to the main narrative.  If you should feel so inclined, there is plenty of content to be found in this game to which you could spend well more than the the 30 hours I've played here.  And a good amount of that extra content can provide quite a hearty challenge.  I got enough of a handle on the combat to get through the main game and a good portion of challenges, but I never quite mastered the counter.  So if these mechanics really click with you, there's plenty of challenge waiting to test your skills here too.

Tiny Text

Even after the game updated to specifically address this qualm, the text in God of War is still painfully tiny.  They sometimes have a lot of information to convey in the menus, but there must be a better way to display such without straining the eyes so much.  Having to slow down to read these long chunks of tiny text disrupts the flow of what is otherwise an entirely seamless experience.  After a certain point, I checked the journals less and less often because of just that.

I'm sure there's loads more interesting bits of lore to learn here, but they don't make it particularly easy to digest.

Narrative Resolve

I absolutely love the storytelling and means in which the game tells its story (as noted above in the positives), but the substance of the narrative leaves more to be desired.  I have no qualms with having a simple narrative.  A tale between a parent and their child; Simple, but moving.  However, much else of the story to be found in this game is just a lot of lore and backstory, that looks to hint or tease at something much bigger.  Something more important.  And this will inevitably be in the series' continuation, once developer Cory Barlog enjoys a long deserved break.  As this game stands on its own though, it doesn't quite have enough resolve to what story it delivers and hints at.

Enemy / Boss Reuse

Many enemies in the game are reused, getting slight alterations in appearance / abilities, which in then require players to deploy different tactics in defeating them.  That's fine, albeit it may feel a bit gamey, it at least creates a nice bit of variety to the gameplay.  But then you see some bosses start to recycle moves and animations, such as the many troll-like bosses you'll fight.  What irked me a little more though was this Dark Elf Lord, who was a satisfying final bout to one of the realms.  However, this boss is later used as a common enemy in other realms, which was not only incredibly frustrating from a challenge standpoint, but it honestly didn't make much sense why this enemy was in other realms story-wise.  This sort of reuse slightly diminishes the affinity and uniqueness for these bosses and climatic encounters.

Hello large troll-like creature with long pillar.  Your take-down will become very familiar by adventure's end.

So...Many...Patches

For the first few weeks, this game seemed to receive a patch on a nearly daily basis.  Every time I booted up the game, it was a good 5-10 minutes or so before the patch was downloaded and I could begin playing.  Patches do allow a game to improve or be fixed post-release, but I sometimes feel they serve as a crutch in which games get released before ready, and end up costing the players hidden time and memory on their system.  This is a minor gripe and probably a topic for a whole other post / discussion, but still worth mentioning here.  Be prepared for an extensive amount of patches to be downloaded.

Santa Monica Studio had great ambitions in delivering a new God of War entry that both felt fresh and would elevate the series to grand new heights.  And by and far, they largely succeeded in delivering just that.  Just like the series, Kratos has shown he is not afraid to grow and change.  As much as this entry has matured and demonstrated artistic brilliance, it is still very much a game with the endless task of war and gore to be played out.  But such is the fate of Kratos, for no matter how hard he tries, he cannot escape.  A strong foundation has been put forth with this new take on the God of War series, and I cannot wait to see how it continues to grow from here.

If you have any questions or thoughts about this game, please feel free to comment and discuss below.  Thanks.  And happy gaming!