This game has an amazing first half -- almost flawless. However the game fucking plummets in quality once you receive the Blades of Chaos. Atreus makes me want to advocate for child abuse with how annoying that shit got after he found out he's a god.

+ Story is so amazing and re-contextualizes Kratos
+ Great new side characters particularly Freya
+ Absolutely sublime first half with a beautiful marriage of gameplay and story up until the reintroduction of the Blades of Chaos and Athena. Peak Kino
+ Side quests whilst not the most innovative gameplay wise, tie in nicely with the themes and narrative
- RPG Lite leveling system doesn't belong in God of War
- Walking simulator
- A lot of backtracking
- Accessing the challenges is convoluted (I know there's an in-universe explanation but it seems lazy -- just have it be a separate mode)