3 reviews liked by Reena_


Hmm, hadn't revisited this one for a long time. Again I'll try to take in mind this is a 14yo game.

Having just finished a God of War replay, I can confidently say this one didn't stand the test of time as good as the first one. Not sure if it's the repetitive gameplay, unpolished combat system and weapons or the awkward rhythm and progression of the simple and uneventful story ark.

What I Played: The whole campaign on hard mode, completed with most Spells and Weapons maxed and emphasis on exploration.

What is Good:
- The first 3-4 hours. Returning to God of War feels refreshing and promising. Kratos has a couple of new moves and ways he can interact with the environment (for its time) which now looks more interesting than ever.

What is not Good:
- After the first 4 hours, the game starts becoming more and more like a clon of the original. The overall mood and environments become bland and repetitive.
- The puzzles are not as ingenious or interesting as in the first game.
- The sky battles seemed cool at the beginning but they could have done so much more with them. They feel like a wasted opportunity more than anything else.
- The story doesn't make sense. Using the concept of time as a story driving mechanism is not easy, and when you handle it irresponsibly it can break your whole universe apart.

Final Thoughts:
God of War 2 feels like a rushed clon from the original game. A lot of resources were invested on making the first act look and play great, but they couldn't translate that to the whole game. Still, I remember enjoying the hell of it when I was a late teen and could be a good time if you've never played it before ;)


What Is Good:
- Incredible setting, one of the more stunning Environment Designs in a Triple A Game from its generation. Also, the character designs and animations.
- Storytelling through character interactions rather than Logs or AudioLogs. Never been done this good.
- Mimir (70% of the previous point)
- Kratos and Atreus relationship (Except for when Atreus becomes a dick out of nowhere). I think this is the main reason you should play this game. Where the feels are.
- The first 70% of the game. Getting to know this new Kratos, facing new monsters, and the idea of this open world. Unlocking new skills and trying them out. Mastering the combat system.
- Some of the combat system. There's a nice flow to combat with some deep mechanics in play. A lot of variables to play with allowing different play styles.


What Is Not Good:
- Freya + Baldur Story and the last 30% of the game. The storyline and side quests start to feel repetitive and uninspiring. Character development comes to a stop until you get to the very end and even then, it feels like they could have done so much more.
- Seamless (Interactive) loading is not so seamless after the first 3 times you fast travel/change realms.
- Combat can get buggy, specially when using Runic Attacks. Very punishing when playing in NG+ and harder difficulties. Cheap deaths on 10+ minute fights are not what you expect from a game this big.
- Crafting System is linear and boring. Farming materials is not possible until later in the game making it imposible to try new sets and see what you like best.
Character growth depends too much on equipment to not talk about this.
- ''Open world'' too scripted and linear. Paths that should stay open close for no apparent reason making you unable to go everywhere without fast travel. This is very painful when going for 100%
- The enemies and Boss fights. I think there's only 3 Boss fights in the game. 2 of which you play several times. Then there are the stronger enemies that seem like Boss fights the first time you encounter them but end up appearing more than a dozen times in a playthrough without substantial differences. Very lacking.

Finishing Thoughts:
If you have a PlayStation 4 and you enjoy Triple A games and/or Fantasy then give it a go. You wont be dissapointed. A lot of things could be better but there's enough entertaining content to make up for it.
Replaying it didn't have a lot of value for me except for allowing me to experience the story again and to get me excited for the new one :)