saggysamurai
2005
Played this on the PS4 and boy this games so good. The gameplay and the gunplay is so restricting and annoying and yet somehow soooo addictive and fun, idk what it is but the combat in the game is simply excellent.
The general tone and the characters are excellent, they are goofy but in a good way I think. The opening of the game is very suspenseful, tense and scary. One of the best openings to any game ever I think. It’s brilliant in the way it builds intrigue, tension and sets the tone. As the game goes on I found it getting goofier and more explosive and less focused on the scares which I didn’t mind at all cos there are some seriously sweaty sections of the game with some of the best and most varied enemy design in any game Ive played.
The bosses are well done for the most part, I can’t think of one that I hated, some of them get quite creative too.
Leon is way more confident in this than he is in re2 I feel. To match with the kind of action hero archetype that he is in this game, but he sells it well and he’s like comically badass at points, like someone will die in front of his eyes and he‘l make a sarcastic comment which I found extremely entertaining.
I think my one issue with game is when you play on higher difficulties, Ashley can be sooooo fucking annoying to deal with. But other than that, 10/10 it basically spawned a whole new genre of games too so...
The general tone and the characters are excellent, they are goofy but in a good way I think. The opening of the game is very suspenseful, tense and scary. One of the best openings to any game ever I think. It’s brilliant in the way it builds intrigue, tension and sets the tone. As the game goes on I found it getting goofier and more explosive and less focused on the scares which I didn’t mind at all cos there are some seriously sweaty sections of the game with some of the best and most varied enemy design in any game Ive played.
The bosses are well done for the most part, I can’t think of one that I hated, some of them get quite creative too.
Leon is way more confident in this than he is in re2 I feel. To match with the kind of action hero archetype that he is in this game, but he sells it well and he’s like comically badass at points, like someone will die in front of his eyes and he‘l make a sarcastic comment which I found extremely entertaining.
I think my one issue with game is when you play on higher difficulties, Ashley can be sooooo fucking annoying to deal with. But other than that, 10/10 it basically spawned a whole new genre of games too so...
2005
This is one of the greatest character action games of all time, DMC5 can eat my ass, this was so much more fun.
Im genuinely shocked this game originally came out in 2004, its aged like the finest of wines, the visuals are obviously dated but the art design has that PS2 charm that im a sucker for.
But the real reason this game is still so good is because its nearly mechanically perfect. The combat is brilliant, the enemy variety and the level design are excellent. And a lot of the bosses have that sekiro feeling of getting to the point where you have mastered everything they can throw it you and you begin to dodge and punish everything perfectly, its extremely rewarding at times solely due to its mechanical depth.
The parkour elements are genuinely impressive, especially for this era, although they are slightly frustrating. This game is hard, really hard, im not sure where it ranks yet as far as hardest games ive played but its defo up there and i love it all the more for that. It wont be for everyone though, this game punishes the new player quite heavily and can initially be quite hard to get into as there really are a lot of early game walls that you can hit hard. Personally though i adore this type of game and its up there with some of my all time faves.
Im genuinely shocked this game originally came out in 2004, its aged like the finest of wines, the visuals are obviously dated but the art design has that PS2 charm that im a sucker for.
But the real reason this game is still so good is because its nearly mechanically perfect. The combat is brilliant, the enemy variety and the level design are excellent. And a lot of the bosses have that sekiro feeling of getting to the point where you have mastered everything they can throw it you and you begin to dodge and punish everything perfectly, its extremely rewarding at times solely due to its mechanical depth.
The parkour elements are genuinely impressive, especially for this era, although they are slightly frustrating. This game is hard, really hard, im not sure where it ranks yet as far as hardest games ive played but its defo up there and i love it all the more for that. It wont be for everyone though, this game punishes the new player quite heavily and can initially be quite hard to get into as there really are a lot of early game walls that you can hit hard. Personally though i adore this type of game and its up there with some of my all time faves.
If i played this when it came out the score would undoubtedly be much higher but unfortunately the gameplay hasnt really aged well. This is the game that created the combat systems we know and love so it should receive credit for that but compared to any other arkham game ofc in the gameplay department it doesn't look very good. All that aside the story is still my second favourite in the series behind arkham city and the voice cast are all fantastic. This game more so than the others just feels like a continuation of the classic batman animated series. Theres one or two good bosses. The scarecrow and killer croc “encounters” are both amazing. The finale kinda sucks and everyone knows that but you should definitely still play this game.
Dope ass game, way ahead of its time in terms of the squad command system, you really feel like a team, you all fight as one, you can’t just run and gun by yourself like in halo or cod, you must move up with ur squad, issuing commands and covering ur fellow pod brothers as you work together against impossible odds. Delta themselves are also a really fun bunch of characters, their banter feels authentic and they are ACTUALLY funny.
The music and Star Wars atmosphere is awesome too, if this wasn’t Star Wars it would probably go down a whole star for me but it’s just a really solid franchise fps that still holds up, the controls are still really strong and easy to learn. The feel and look of each weapon is also really cool too, the shotgun u get in the second area is amazing and the DC-17 with all the different attachments u can switch out on it is also a really mfing cool idea.
The main “commando” theme track is like fucking great too, very Star Wars, very epic.
Solid ass game that I’ve been wanting to play for years, like literally used to watch trailers for this game when I was like 9.
The music and Star Wars atmosphere is awesome too, if this wasn’t Star Wars it would probably go down a whole star for me but it’s just a really solid franchise fps that still holds up, the controls are still really strong and easy to learn. The feel and look of each weapon is also really cool too, the shotgun u get in the second area is amazing and the DC-17 with all the different attachments u can switch out on it is also a really mfing cool idea.
The main “commando” theme track is like fucking great too, very Star Wars, very epic.
Solid ass game that I’ve been wanting to play for years, like literally used to watch trailers for this game when I was like 9.
2019
Ye was fun
2011
i think i like this about the same as the original, it’s a little more action heavy which i didn’t mind, i think they realised that the monsters stopped being scary pretty early into the last game so there’s less attempts to scare you although there are still unsettling moments and areas in the game. The gameplay is mostly exactly the same with just afew new enemies. These games are really nothing too special in my opinion.
2011
I do not like survival games in general and do not particularly like minecraft. I have two major issues with this genre. 1 theres just so much BS baked into these games, i really bristle against what i would describe as “eat your vegetables game design.” Game mechanics that force you to do tons and tons of boring shit to eventually arrive at a pay off. Grinding levels in a multiplayer game, levelling up in an mmo and gathering resources in an open world rpg, the survival genre combines all of these things together to create a creamy vegetable smoothie of pain without any of the pay off to make it worth it and thats the second major issue i have, for me the pay off just never felt worth it. These games rarely have compelling stories, they rarely have fleshed out endgames and they typically fail to create a feeling of satisfaction. You just feel like your on a hamster wheel the entire time and when you do make some big breakthrough like acquiring diamond equipment, your still gonna have to go back to the same boring activities you were taking part in previously. Survival games typically struggle to deliver a smooth feeling of progression. And thats really why i cant have a fun time in games such as minecraft.
Bonus note: My friends convinced me to get try minecraft again on ps4. I spent an hour staring at a “Locating server screen” until i gave up and went to bed, all the more reason for me to dislike this game.
Bonus note: My friends convinced me to get try minecraft again on ps4. I spent an hour staring at a “Locating server screen” until i gave up and went to bed, all the more reason for me to dislike this game.
2016
Cute little indie game. Very pretty and peaceful with some excellent music. I loved seeing all the different types of sea creatures in the art style too. Isnt that much to say about this one other than it was a very relaxing experience.
Part 1 is basically just more of Doom eternal but pushed further and harder, it may have been just me but I think part 1 is harder than part 2.
The three levels are all unique, large and well constructed with the 2nd level in the blood swamps being my personal favourite.
There are afew new enemy types that shake up gameplay a bit and the spirit enemies are especially challenging to deal with in a large brawl and the final boss was decent, nothing amazing but it was interesting.
The visuals and landscapes are just as breathtaking as they were in the main game but overall part 1 suffers from just being very similar to the base game which is definitely not a huge problem if you love it and I do.
The three levels are all unique, large and well constructed with the 2nd level in the blood swamps being my personal favourite.
There are afew new enemy types that shake up gameplay a bit and the spirit enemies are especially challenging to deal with in a large brawl and the final boss was decent, nothing amazing but it was interesting.
The visuals and landscapes are just as breathtaking as they were in the main game but overall part 1 suffers from just being very similar to the base game which is definitely not a huge problem if you love it and I do.
Part 2 of ancient gods is amazing.
Part 2 introduces new abilities, new enemies, new traversal mechanics and some really badass spectacle.
While part 1 felt very similar to the main game, part 2 separates itself nicely with some excellent additions like the new hammer weapon which at first I was quite underwhelmed by but as i began to use it in encounters, it became a very useful tool and something that should honestly become a permanent part of the slayers kit. Its very satisfying to use and adds a whole new layer to doom eternals combo system.
There are also 6 new enemy types that force you too play in different ways and utilise more of the slayers tool set. The best example is a the new cursed prowler, if one of these guys hits you, you’re cursed, you can no longer dash and you’re vision is blurred and you can get rid of it if you hit the dude back with a blood punch. It really makes you reconsider and changes how you approach combat situations. Very cool
Also you can now use the super shotguns meat hook as a grapple gun to traverse, excellent addition.
The three levels are all fantastic, loved all 3, technically 4. Excellent visuals and sum hella badass moments.
The final boss fight is long and hard, it’s not the best doom eternal has to offer in terms of bosses but it serves its purpose well.
This dlc is an amazing send off for the slayer and it seems like this might just be the last doom thing from ID? Atleast for a while.
Part 2 introduces new abilities, new enemies, new traversal mechanics and some really badass spectacle.
While part 1 felt very similar to the main game, part 2 separates itself nicely with some excellent additions like the new hammer weapon which at first I was quite underwhelmed by but as i began to use it in encounters, it became a very useful tool and something that should honestly become a permanent part of the slayers kit. Its very satisfying to use and adds a whole new layer to doom eternals combo system.
There are also 6 new enemy types that force you too play in different ways and utilise more of the slayers tool set. The best example is a the new cursed prowler, if one of these guys hits you, you’re cursed, you can no longer dash and you’re vision is blurred and you can get rid of it if you hit the dude back with a blood punch. It really makes you reconsider and changes how you approach combat situations. Very cool
Also you can now use the super shotguns meat hook as a grapple gun to traverse, excellent addition.
The three levels are all fantastic, loved all 3, technically 4. Excellent visuals and sum hella badass moments.
The final boss fight is long and hard, it’s not the best doom eternal has to offer in terms of bosses but it serves its purpose well.
This dlc is an amazing send off for the slayer and it seems like this might just be the last doom thing from ID? Atleast for a while.
The game is kind of an unfinished mess. The story sucks, the characters are inconsistent, Big Boss is barely a character, shit tons of filler missions, the story especially in chapter 2 is just made up of moments, there is no cohesive plot however im not gonna lie i still thoroughly enjoy this game cos for the first time in a metal gear game none of this shit actually matters cos the gameplay is where its at, phantom pain offers up these massive sandboxes with every imaginable tool at your disposal, you are given so many ways to approach missions. You can impersonate a woman, you can shoot your hand off, you can rescue animals and make a zoo, you can plant C4 on a dudes ass, wait for him to get in a chopper and then blow him up, Theres simply no end to the freedom you are given. A true masterpiece of gameplay design.
Really enjoyed this one. Not quite as good as the OG overall but the gameplay has been refined and enhanced really nicely. I really like miles as the protagonist and he separates himself from being too smilar too peter with his own personality and interests. The villains are kind of meh, troy baker’s character is just like pure evil and its kind of funny, the tinkerer is a decent villian but theres alot of things she does that annoy me or are hypocritical. She’s relatively unlikeable which isnt what they were going for. Prowlers role is alright too and rhino is just rhino. There are some really impressive set pieces and Seamless cutscene to gameplay transitions. The overall structure and pacing of the game is relatively well done, its certainly not bloated but i think the middle section of the game kind of drags, its like 3-4 hour stretch with no bosses for the entirety of the middle section. but the opening few hours are perfectly done and the final act is pretty great too. Peter parker is hilarious in this game even tho hes not in it a whole lot and the tease after the credits for the inveitable spider man 2 is really exciting. The bosses themselves are good i would say, none of them are bad, i enjoy the rhino boss fights and the final boss is excellent, the prowler boss fight is kind of whatever tho. The score is actually fantastic, it perfectly fits the atmosphere and miles gets his own memorable motif. The gameplay is alot of fun, the swining feels so natural, so seamless and the animations are beautiful, its been refined to a T and the combat has seen some really nice improvements too. Miles special powers are super satisfying to use and his abundance of new AOE attacks lets there be even more enemies on screen and this leads to the combat being alot more challenging than it was in the original, theres more of an emphasis on stealth too because there are so many enemies, you have to pick off atleast a-few of them before going loud. They have gotten rid off the boring MJ sections from the last game and replaced them with puzzles which are better but still not great. I can see puzzles working really well as a way to break up the great combat, traversal and cutscenes, they just need to improve them to create that perfect video game formula for the next game. The game obviously looks great even on a ps4 but i did have a few frame rate issues during moments where there was just too much going on for the ps4 to handle, get it on ps5 if you can.
This is a good ass game. I played through on the hardest diffIculty and i didnt even realise but the combat encounters are alot more intense when you realise that you die in like 2 shots. Nathan drake makes so many jokes about peoples asses in this game that i have to give the writing a 10/10. The reason you play this game though is for the big indiana jones set pieces, you go from climbing up a train as its falling off a cliff to jumping from moving trucks fucking blowing up shit with a grenade launcher but there no knack so i had to drop a point.
2022
This review contains spoilers
I have adored most of my time with this game for sure. I think the story has some issues that didn’t quite sit right with me, especially regarding the ending but overall, this is a one of a kind, blockbuster type of game that everyone should experience. The previous game and this one especially have a habit of constantly giving a really cinematic, large scale, professional feel which i can’t quite describe properly.
it’s truly unique in how epic and well done it can feel for a video game that even if something feels slightly off, it sticks out like a sore thumb and thankfully, there isn’t a lot of that at all in this game.
It kind of feels like what the MCU should be (weird comparison coming) Just this big epic blockbuster with great action, music and a great band of characters going on an amazing adventure but also kinda feels PG in a weird way? Like the game is actually funny but it’s also really really emotional and heartwarming and it doesn’t break the tone, it’s just perfectly balanced man, so well done. The cutscenes in general just feel like scenes from a film, the first few hours of the game especially i was so impressed by the artistry of this game, the one take camera continues to work beautifully, in slower dialogue scenes as well as in intense action scenes which are fucking beautiful to watch btw, the animation and just the choreography of the action is so well done, you can feel the weight in kratos’ attacks with a perfect use of audio and shifting the camera in closer or further away to just nail that feeling of power, just the storyboarding of these sequences is so impressive and memorable, these elements are unlike anything else in the industry right now, there is clearly some very talented people working at santa monica and they set a new bar.
Combat for one, feels so much better. they somehow made the weapons even more satisfying and fun to use, the finisher animations add a nice gory flavour to the combat and the small tweaks to traversal and the parrying mechanics make combat so much more satisfying. The parrying system is so much better now, much more comparable to parrying in sekiro and you can combine attacks more to build stun damage. The changes seem small at first but the feel of combat is just so much smoother.
this is also helped by the MASSIVE amount of enemy variety in this game, i was seriously finding new enemy types, 35 hours into the game and they can all have distinct moves and ways of dealing damage, the asgardian warriors being my personal favourites to fight, who can utilise bifrost energy to drain ur health away. Along with this comes a much larger amount of unique bosses, including mini bosses and big story fights and some of these fights are seriously fucking cool, not just because of the story significance but also the mechanics of the fights, they really took the model of what made the valkyrie queen boss fight in 2018 so good and applied that philosophy to every boss, just so good man. It seriously makes the last games combat look like child’s play.
The only complaint i have is that we are not given 4 weapons, you get 3 and you have one place left on the D pad for one more and i was so convinced we would be able to get thor’s hammer or some shit because why tf wouldn’t you do that??????? Feels like a missed opportunity definitely, it’s not like you even have to be worthy to pick up the hammer like in marvel, it’s literally just heavy, why wouldn’t you do this man???? I’m guessing time and resources and it sucks cuz this gonna lead to the fucking spear getting so much hate because it’s the only new weapon even tho it’s fucking awesome, i really like it btw, it’s a lot of fun to use. But again it’s weird that we have gone through this entire saga and haven’t been able to wield a single one of the norse mythology weapons. Feels like a massive wasted opportunity.
And this combat is also made even more enjoyable with the fucking score of this game. This will honestly be such an underrated part of this game but the score by Bear mcreary ( awesome name btw ) is genuinely brilliant and makes the game just feel that much more cinematic and emotional, seriously take the music away from half of the scenes in this game and it’s just not the same. It’s so so good. Movie level good.
Now onto the writing and the story. I do like it, most of it and maybe i’m looking at the game the wrong way because of marketing or miscommunication but personally my main problem first of all is the ending. This game is supposed to be the last in the saga, Ragnarok, the end of it all. But personally i wasn’t too satisfied with how it ended, so many loose threads, so many stories still left unfinished, the finale feels slightly rushed. After you kill heimdall i feel like everything after just happens a little too quickly, throughout the whole of the final battle i kept thinking, no way this is it, the music was all sad throughout and i was convinced odin had some master plan but it never really happened, Kratos just kinda walks into asgard and kills everyone no problem lol. The whole plot with the mask and infinite knowledge feels a little wasted, i was convinced time travel would have a big role in this game but no lol. I feel like this was a result of this game being basically two games mushed into 1, as this norse saga was supposed to be a trilogy originally and that hurts the pacing at times, it’s either going too fast or it grinds to a halt and i think that is the main problem with the story, it’s pacing. Some of the atreus sections can go on for a long, long time and the game picks ups immediately after these are over and i think the ending is just tooo fast for the amount of brilliantly executed build up that takes place in both games. I think the first game has a much tighter and better executed story which i think is a result of the change of game director, which is in my opinion, super dumb. I know cory said that it took everything out of him to direct the first game but i wish that he did stay on, because it’s feels clear that the story would have benefitted from it. Cory is a much better story director than eric, but eric is a better gameplay, combat design director. So we get a masterful combat system in this game but the story is slightly sacrificed.
These were my main issues with game so it’s all uphill from here. Other than than the bits i’ve mentioned, there is some great writing in this story, some great character moments and twists that i did not see coming, kratos and atreus are the heart and soul of this game, they keep the game together even when it gets messy and seriously both of their character arcs are perfect and the acting and mocap done for them is fucking excellent. Kratos’s role in the story and how he changes throughout is actually just brilliant. He’s come so far from who he once was and it feels so earned and real, its moving stuff. He is a fantastic character. Mimir is back and he’s great ofc, he gets a little more to do and you can tell how close the main trio are when they are all together, he’s like a brother to kratos and an uncle to atreus, love their dynamics.
Freya is back and she has a great character arc. The villains are great, Thor is brutal and depressed and so much more than just his hammer, it’s honestly kinda sad with the parallels you can get between him and kratos. They are very comparable characters but thor deals with his struggles very differently. Odin is the real villain of the story The guy is evil asf, would have liked to see him be a little more evil, we are told more about him than we are shown which may be purposely done to portray what odin is trying to convince atreus with throughout, would have liked more of him and atreus together and i assume that if this was a 3 part story, we would have got more of that but alas. I do enjoy how they handled tyr and the twists they took with him but at the same time, it’s kinda fucking weird that through this entire sagas main story we didn’t actually meet him, like, there was so much buildup for him in 2018 and the game does that a lot. minimises things that have been built up for ages. Jormungander as well for example, barely plays any part and his big time travel moment is like not even in a cutscene. it happens during gameplay while ur doing something else, again kinda weird to build that up for so long and barely even see it.
The more i think about things like this, the more i’m frustrated at this game, because it’s definitely an amazing game but for everything that’s been built up to the last 4 years, it’s kinda disappointing? sort of, maybe my expectations were way too high, it’s still awesome and i loved it but it’s so close to being even more than it is that it feels dissatisfying, it’s amazing but it’s so close to being a masterclass that it makes the game suffer for not quite being there. Very difficult to explain. like imagine if you were in a race and you come first but you also just miss out on breaking a record, you would feel pissed at how close you were even tho you did great. That’s how i feel about this game. It’s great but it suffers from being so close to breaking records that it’s annoying.
Onto more positive notes tho, the final line before the credits roll is so so good on retrospect. It’s like reading the last few lines in a great book.
Mimir: “A hole.”
Kratos: “What?”
Mimir: “Gets bigger the more you take away.”
….fade to black
Like omfg, what a callback, poetry man, ik they had that line planned for a while.
Also i really like a lot of the side content in this game, most of the regions have large notable side missions that are completely unique and feel just like the main story missions with unique bosses, interesting storylines and spectacle. In alfheim there’s freeing the hafgufas, which are beautiful, in svartelheim there’s freeing the giant creature in the lake, which becomes its own level, in vanaheim there’s a couple, but one gives you access to a whole new huge area which was unexpected. There’s also the new berserker boss fights spread throughout the realms, which are the replacement for the valkyrie bosses from 2018 and some of them are fucking haaaaarrrrdddd but usually in a fair way, it’s extremely satisfying to knock ‘em down. Very fun fights. Then there’s the 2 challenge realms, musphelheim and niflheim which are fun distractions that i haven’t delved into too much yet
it’s truly unique in how epic and well done it can feel for a video game that even if something feels slightly off, it sticks out like a sore thumb and thankfully, there isn’t a lot of that at all in this game.
It kind of feels like what the MCU should be (weird comparison coming) Just this big epic blockbuster with great action, music and a great band of characters going on an amazing adventure but also kinda feels PG in a weird way? Like the game is actually funny but it’s also really really emotional and heartwarming and it doesn’t break the tone, it’s just perfectly balanced man, so well done. The cutscenes in general just feel like scenes from a film, the first few hours of the game especially i was so impressed by the artistry of this game, the one take camera continues to work beautifully, in slower dialogue scenes as well as in intense action scenes which are fucking beautiful to watch btw, the animation and just the choreography of the action is so well done, you can feel the weight in kratos’ attacks with a perfect use of audio and shifting the camera in closer or further away to just nail that feeling of power, just the storyboarding of these sequences is so impressive and memorable, these elements are unlike anything else in the industry right now, there is clearly some very talented people working at santa monica and they set a new bar.
Combat for one, feels so much better. they somehow made the weapons even more satisfying and fun to use, the finisher animations add a nice gory flavour to the combat and the small tweaks to traversal and the parrying mechanics make combat so much more satisfying. The parrying system is so much better now, much more comparable to parrying in sekiro and you can combine attacks more to build stun damage. The changes seem small at first but the feel of combat is just so much smoother.
this is also helped by the MASSIVE amount of enemy variety in this game, i was seriously finding new enemy types, 35 hours into the game and they can all have distinct moves and ways of dealing damage, the asgardian warriors being my personal favourites to fight, who can utilise bifrost energy to drain ur health away. Along with this comes a much larger amount of unique bosses, including mini bosses and big story fights and some of these fights are seriously fucking cool, not just because of the story significance but also the mechanics of the fights, they really took the model of what made the valkyrie queen boss fight in 2018 so good and applied that philosophy to every boss, just so good man. It seriously makes the last games combat look like child’s play.
The only complaint i have is that we are not given 4 weapons, you get 3 and you have one place left on the D pad for one more and i was so convinced we would be able to get thor’s hammer or some shit because why tf wouldn’t you do that??????? Feels like a missed opportunity definitely, it’s not like you even have to be worthy to pick up the hammer like in marvel, it’s literally just heavy, why wouldn’t you do this man???? I’m guessing time and resources and it sucks cuz this gonna lead to the fucking spear getting so much hate because it’s the only new weapon even tho it’s fucking awesome, i really like it btw, it’s a lot of fun to use. But again it’s weird that we have gone through this entire saga and haven’t been able to wield a single one of the norse mythology weapons. Feels like a massive wasted opportunity.
And this combat is also made even more enjoyable with the fucking score of this game. This will honestly be such an underrated part of this game but the score by Bear mcreary ( awesome name btw ) is genuinely brilliant and makes the game just feel that much more cinematic and emotional, seriously take the music away from half of the scenes in this game and it’s just not the same. It’s so so good. Movie level good.
Now onto the writing and the story. I do like it, most of it and maybe i’m looking at the game the wrong way because of marketing or miscommunication but personally my main problem first of all is the ending. This game is supposed to be the last in the saga, Ragnarok, the end of it all. But personally i wasn’t too satisfied with how it ended, so many loose threads, so many stories still left unfinished, the finale feels slightly rushed. After you kill heimdall i feel like everything after just happens a little too quickly, throughout the whole of the final battle i kept thinking, no way this is it, the music was all sad throughout and i was convinced odin had some master plan but it never really happened, Kratos just kinda walks into asgard and kills everyone no problem lol. The whole plot with the mask and infinite knowledge feels a little wasted, i was convinced time travel would have a big role in this game but no lol. I feel like this was a result of this game being basically two games mushed into 1, as this norse saga was supposed to be a trilogy originally and that hurts the pacing at times, it’s either going too fast or it grinds to a halt and i think that is the main problem with the story, it’s pacing. Some of the atreus sections can go on for a long, long time and the game picks ups immediately after these are over and i think the ending is just tooo fast for the amount of brilliantly executed build up that takes place in both games. I think the first game has a much tighter and better executed story which i think is a result of the change of game director, which is in my opinion, super dumb. I know cory said that it took everything out of him to direct the first game but i wish that he did stay on, because it’s feels clear that the story would have benefitted from it. Cory is a much better story director than eric, but eric is a better gameplay, combat design director. So we get a masterful combat system in this game but the story is slightly sacrificed.
These were my main issues with game so it’s all uphill from here. Other than than the bits i’ve mentioned, there is some great writing in this story, some great character moments and twists that i did not see coming, kratos and atreus are the heart and soul of this game, they keep the game together even when it gets messy and seriously both of their character arcs are perfect and the acting and mocap done for them is fucking excellent. Kratos’s role in the story and how he changes throughout is actually just brilliant. He’s come so far from who he once was and it feels so earned and real, its moving stuff. He is a fantastic character. Mimir is back and he’s great ofc, he gets a little more to do and you can tell how close the main trio are when they are all together, he’s like a brother to kratos and an uncle to atreus, love their dynamics.
Freya is back and she has a great character arc. The villains are great, Thor is brutal and depressed and so much more than just his hammer, it’s honestly kinda sad with the parallels you can get between him and kratos. They are very comparable characters but thor deals with his struggles very differently. Odin is the real villain of the story The guy is evil asf, would have liked to see him be a little more evil, we are told more about him than we are shown which may be purposely done to portray what odin is trying to convince atreus with throughout, would have liked more of him and atreus together and i assume that if this was a 3 part story, we would have got more of that but alas. I do enjoy how they handled tyr and the twists they took with him but at the same time, it’s kinda fucking weird that through this entire sagas main story we didn’t actually meet him, like, there was so much buildup for him in 2018 and the game does that a lot. minimises things that have been built up for ages. Jormungander as well for example, barely plays any part and his big time travel moment is like not even in a cutscene. it happens during gameplay while ur doing something else, again kinda weird to build that up for so long and barely even see it.
The more i think about things like this, the more i’m frustrated at this game, because it’s definitely an amazing game but for everything that’s been built up to the last 4 years, it’s kinda disappointing? sort of, maybe my expectations were way too high, it’s still awesome and i loved it but it’s so close to being even more than it is that it feels dissatisfying, it’s amazing but it’s so close to being a masterclass that it makes the game suffer for not quite being there. Very difficult to explain. like imagine if you were in a race and you come first but you also just miss out on breaking a record, you would feel pissed at how close you were even tho you did great. That’s how i feel about this game. It’s great but it suffers from being so close to breaking records that it’s annoying.
Onto more positive notes tho, the final line before the credits roll is so so good on retrospect. It’s like reading the last few lines in a great book.
Mimir: “A hole.”
Kratos: “What?”
Mimir: “Gets bigger the more you take away.”
….fade to black
Like omfg, what a callback, poetry man, ik they had that line planned for a while.
Also i really like a lot of the side content in this game, most of the regions have large notable side missions that are completely unique and feel just like the main story missions with unique bosses, interesting storylines and spectacle. In alfheim there’s freeing the hafgufas, which are beautiful, in svartelheim there’s freeing the giant creature in the lake, which becomes its own level, in vanaheim there’s a couple, but one gives you access to a whole new huge area which was unexpected. There’s also the new berserker boss fights spread throughout the realms, which are the replacement for the valkyrie bosses from 2018 and some of them are fucking haaaaarrrrdddd but usually in a fair way, it’s extremely satisfying to knock ‘em down. Very fun fights. Then there’s the 2 challenge realms, musphelheim and niflheim which are fun distractions that i haven’t delved into too much yet
2015
the gameplay fucking sucks but this has gotta be one of the best stories gaming has produced, this is a truly excellent use of the medium to tell a unique story