A brilliant first entry into the God Of War franchise. This game sets the tone perfectly for all entries to come, with gameplay and story enjoyable enough to keep you invested for its relatively short runtime. In hindsight with all the games after this, God Of War 1 is given an extra depth of enjoyment to see where it all began. The story is told in an interesting way, unveiling Kratos' past in small chunks to keep you invested through all the fighting and puzzle-solving. It's definitely the more simple of the other stories in the franchise, but its a perfect start that sets the foundation for Kratos' arc as far as Ragnarok. The gameplay is concrete and fun, but it does feel like the skeleton of a system that is perfected in the following entries. The art style is amazing, it really feels like I'm watching a greek mythology epic sprout from the page. The cartoony style helps mask the age in graphics. The soundtrack is perfection, with booming choirs and orchestral pieces that match the grandiose nature of everything about this game. Overall, this game is the most reserved compared to everything else, but that doesn't make it any less fun.