If ever there was a video game series that either needed to do something new or just stop completely, it was God of War. Ascension in 2013 was an uninteresting prequel that felt like it was just made because the PS3 gen had stretched on so long. It was too early to make something for the PS4 after God of War 3 in 2010 but they didn't have much passion to make something worthwhile. Sony Santa Monica had a lot to prove with a return to such a tired series and BOY, did they succeed.
A lot can be said for execution in game development because on paper, God of War isn't doing anything special in the realm of AAA video games. Honestly, describing elements of it just sounds like you're going through the checklist of modern gaming. You got levels, skill trees, loot, crafting, stats, gear, gems to slot into gear all wrapped into a narrative driven cinematic package. It isn't open world like most games these days but has a sizeable hub that offers plenty of exploration off the beaten path and side quests. They bring it all together into a really entertaining and engaging experience and feels better than most of the other games that have all these elements.
Not only did this game have a lot to prove in bringing back the series but also in bringing back Kratos as the protagonist. The more God of War games that came out, the more unlikeable he became. I'm not sure he ever started as likeable but he definitely got worse as the series went on. He became entirely defined as a constantly mad rage machine that wanted to kill everything in the name of revenge. After running out of things to kill in the Greek world, he needed a change of scenery and emigrated to the Norse world. They do a much better job with the character here without completely rewriting his past. What would be the point of bringing back an old character if you just ignore everything that came before? He still is the monster he always was and can't be forgiven for what he's done but he's showing some room for growth and wants to contain some of his rage. He doesn't go looking for a fight; it quite literally comes knocking on his door. They humanize him a lot by having him go on a journey with his son. Atreus, outside of one portion that's pretty bad, is developed quite well and wouldn't be a bad choice if they ever want to pass on the torch. They do ultimately tell a very small story here despite the epic setting which worked really well for this reboot although I worry about the need to possibly up the ante for a sequel.
Combat and boss fights were always the highlight of the series for me. Unfortunately, this game is lacking in grandiose boss fights but the new combat system is fun as Hel. The Leviathan Axe is just as satisfying to swing around as the original Chaos Blades and is certainly not lacking in range since you can throw it and recall it back whenever you want. Doing the cleaving heavy attack never gets old. There isn't a deluge of combos to learn but I still felt they gave you a fairly wide range of attacks to use. The game has a skill tree but you are going to unlock everything in it long before the end of the game. I'm not against skill trees being used as a means to pace out your ability unlocks as for me it does encourage me to use my new moves and learn how it works when I unlock them. I have a tendency to be boring and only use a few moves when they're all unlocked at the start of the game. Still, the modern use of skill trees in games can be kind of annoying if you want to use them for unique builds and player expression.
That said, I do think there's some interesting things you can do with the gear system to make your own builds. Sure, it won't be as diverse as a good RPG and you'll still be mainly using the same strategies in combat but I found it satisfying to go for gear and upgrades depending on the playstyle I wanted. You can focus on vitality and make a really tanky build or put everything in strength and make a glass cannon. I liked enhancing the runic stat which are essentially magic abilities from the axe's ice attacks. There also a lot of useful abilities from gems and talisman's that have a chance of activating so you can go all in on a luck build to get them to proc regularly. It's not tremendously deep but I was very engaged with the system. There's a lot of looking through menus which I get people hate but I don't mind that. You're not inundated with constant gear drops. A lot of the armour feels pretty unique so you won't be constantly switching stuff out for a 1% improvement. I also really liked that a lot of the upgrade materials were fairly bespoke and you had a guaranteed way of getting it by doing a certain side quest or optional boss. There's no doing something difficult for a small chance of getting what you to drop. There's a few more general currencies that you may have to grind for but I generally enjoyed the grind.
It's definitely one of the best looking games on the PS4 which is rarely surprising for a Sony first party game. It has an excellent art direction and Santa Monica really brings Norse mythology to life but still making it their own from a visual standpoint.The game is presented as one long tracking shot with no cuts which is cool but I don't think it really added much to the game. It's 20 or so hours long and even more if you do side content so it's not like people are playing it in one shot. There's a cut every time I turn the game off for the night. It's impressive but not really worth the effort in my opinion. The great visuals are accompanied by a fantastic score by Bear McCreary; a man who has never taken a day off in his life since he works on everything.
Overall, this is a wonderful game that brought the series back into the spotlight in a spectacular fashion. If you're looking for an action adventure game with melee combat, there's no finer example.
A lot can be said for execution in game development because on paper, God of War isn't doing anything special in the realm of AAA video games. Honestly, describing elements of it just sounds like you're going through the checklist of modern gaming. You got levels, skill trees, loot, crafting, stats, gear, gems to slot into gear all wrapped into a narrative driven cinematic package. It isn't open world like most games these days but has a sizeable hub that offers plenty of exploration off the beaten path and side quests. They bring it all together into a really entertaining and engaging experience and feels better than most of the other games that have all these elements.
Not only did this game have a lot to prove in bringing back the series but also in bringing back Kratos as the protagonist. The more God of War games that came out, the more unlikeable he became. I'm not sure he ever started as likeable but he definitely got worse as the series went on. He became entirely defined as a constantly mad rage machine that wanted to kill everything in the name of revenge. After running out of things to kill in the Greek world, he needed a change of scenery and emigrated to the Norse world. They do a much better job with the character here without completely rewriting his past. What would be the point of bringing back an old character if you just ignore everything that came before? He still is the monster he always was and can't be forgiven for what he's done but he's showing some room for growth and wants to contain some of his rage. He doesn't go looking for a fight; it quite literally comes knocking on his door. They humanize him a lot by having him go on a journey with his son. Atreus, outside of one portion that's pretty bad, is developed quite well and wouldn't be a bad choice if they ever want to pass on the torch. They do ultimately tell a very small story here despite the epic setting which worked really well for this reboot although I worry about the need to possibly up the ante for a sequel.
Combat and boss fights were always the highlight of the series for me. Unfortunately, this game is lacking in grandiose boss fights but the new combat system is fun as Hel. The Leviathan Axe is just as satisfying to swing around as the original Chaos Blades and is certainly not lacking in range since you can throw it and recall it back whenever you want. Doing the cleaving heavy attack never gets old. There isn't a deluge of combos to learn but I still felt they gave you a fairly wide range of attacks to use. The game has a skill tree but you are going to unlock everything in it long before the end of the game. I'm not against skill trees being used as a means to pace out your ability unlocks as for me it does encourage me to use my new moves and learn how it works when I unlock them. I have a tendency to be boring and only use a few moves when they're all unlocked at the start of the game. Still, the modern use of skill trees in games can be kind of annoying if you want to use them for unique builds and player expression.
That said, I do think there's some interesting things you can do with the gear system to make your own builds. Sure, it won't be as diverse as a good RPG and you'll still be mainly using the same strategies in combat but I found it satisfying to go for gear and upgrades depending on the playstyle I wanted. You can focus on vitality and make a really tanky build or put everything in strength and make a glass cannon. I liked enhancing the runic stat which are essentially magic abilities from the axe's ice attacks. There also a lot of useful abilities from gems and talisman's that have a chance of activating so you can go all in on a luck build to get them to proc regularly. It's not tremendously deep but I was very engaged with the system. There's a lot of looking through menus which I get people hate but I don't mind that. You're not inundated with constant gear drops. A lot of the armour feels pretty unique so you won't be constantly switching stuff out for a 1% improvement. I also really liked that a lot of the upgrade materials were fairly bespoke and you had a guaranteed way of getting it by doing a certain side quest or optional boss. There's no doing something difficult for a small chance of getting what you to drop. There's a few more general currencies that you may have to grind for but I generally enjoyed the grind.
It's definitely one of the best looking games on the PS4 which is rarely surprising for a Sony first party game. It has an excellent art direction and Santa Monica really brings Norse mythology to life but still making it their own from a visual standpoint.The game is presented as one long tracking shot with no cuts which is cool but I don't think it really added much to the game. It's 20 or so hours long and even more if you do side content so it's not like people are playing it in one shot. There's a cut every time I turn the game off for the night. It's impressive but not really worth the effort in my opinion. The great visuals are accompanied by a fantastic score by Bear McCreary; a man who has never taken a day off in his life since he works on everything.
Overall, this is a wonderful game that brought the series back into the spotlight in a spectacular fashion. If you're looking for an action adventure game with melee combat, there's no finer example.