4.5/5 ★ – exxwhyzed's review of God of War.

God of War is one of those videogames that I should have played a long time ago. I bought it around the time it came out in 2018 for the Playstation 4, but unfortunately I am not too keen on actually setting up and turning on my consoles to play the videogames I own. So much so that instead of playing the copy I have already, I decided to instead buy the game again on steam. The first thing I have to say about this game is that I'm not super angry about spending a total of about $105 or thereabouts on this game. Though the game takes a fairly large departure from the series' roots as a hack and slash combo-oriented game more similar to the stylish games of Devil May Cry and Bayonetta, this first game of the revived series takes a slower, more impactful approach to combat that I like to call "hit and roll" type games (I do not dare invoke the name of Dark Souls, because it's nothing like that). In this title we've traded the flash for film as each move seems to have more bravado while the overall system contains less flair. The hits hit hard, and there are much less of them. Personally I was a fan of the different approaches to combat, each with their own skill tree you could dump points into to unlock additional skills and moves. Despite the simplified approach, the game still maintains a decent amount of depth in move set application, especially regarding enemy type and attributes. Different groups (and to an extent, environments) lend themselves to different strategies, and while it may be possible to brute force yourself through these specific challenges, it's far easier to swap strategies on the fly and make use of every tool the game offers in order to succeed. I came into this game with middling expectations, and was pleasantly surprised. (Also, getting headshots on the axe to power up an explosive throw feels really really cool.) I really like the writing in this game. The game never strays too far from the path in that the original goal remains ever present the whole way through, and every action and diversion is always in service to the original goal of honoring the last wish of a loved one. Several times while playing I thought to myself: "Man, all I wanted to do was honor my wife's dying wish, and these guys are really just getting in the way of that." To that point, the game is not one of Kratos going out of his way to attack anyone; this is not a story of vengeance or conquest. This is a story about love of many kinds, and what a very strong man with a big axe will do to honor and defend that love. The unexpected dual theme of nature vs nurture shows up in both of our protagonists as Kratos and his son, Atreus, struggle with their identity and who they wish to be vs who they are. At the beginning Kratos takes on the role of big scary dad who is stern and cold with his son, perhaps in an effort to prepare him for a cold world that he's seen far too much pain from. The whole game I found myself yearning for him to just... be nice... to your son please? Tiny sparks of truth appear from time to time at the beginning of the game that make it clear that Kratos does indeed care very deeply for his son, but as expected he's not very good at expressing that. At all. Likewise, Atreus begins the game as a doe-eyed little sprout that wants nothing more than to please and impress his father, but all of his efforts are in vain as each attempt leaves room for a criticism or two. Atreus goes through all of the phases of teenage angst in the span of (technically speaking) one day, and it's glorious to see him eventually come to respect his father rather than to fear him. Aside from our main two, the supporting cast is equally well represented. Mimir's stories provide an incredible peek into the world of Norse mythology, and they were interesting enough to have encouraged me to sit and wait at the boat dock until he was finished telling his tale so as to not interrupt the story. Freya's character, as told not only through my interactions with her, but also through Mimir's tales, is that of an incredibly complex peacekeeper, goddess, and mother. Her actions and conviction at the tail end of the game not only revealed truths of her own, but also served to compliment the stories of our main duo in Kratos and Atreus. The game looks great. Varied environments, beautiful scenery. I've said my peace about photorealism before, so I'm not going to get into that. I could talk about the architecture, but I admittedly do not know much about that (it looks really cool though.) I do enjoy the vibrant colors of the game, and the contrast between the lush lively color of the forest and the desolate bleak cold of Hel. The designs of the characters are a slam dunk. Specifically I want to highlight Baldur's design, as minimal as it is, for hitting a spot that immediately captures the cocky bastard vibe he gives off (probably because visually he reminds me of Connor McGregor.) Also of note THE WORLD SERPENT. That's my guy. Love that guy. A+ for that guy alone. I have two gripes with this game, and one of them is really minor. The minor grips is that there are so many menus to navigate, and so many numbers that I just feel like don't really matter in the end. This is an issue I see in many games in general, and I personally am not the biggest fan of meticulously doing hours of content to make four numbers go up by three points. I don't think I've ever been a fan of "numbers gameplay" in which progression is locked to making your numbers slightly bigger over time and worrying about that. Truth told, I played through the game without even bothering to worry about armor sets or any of the upgrades until I either hit a wall, or the final sprint of the game. Those kind of systems just never appealed to me, so I engaged with it as little as possible. The second gripe I have with this game is the mixed messages I got when exploring. I was discouraged from exploring almost immediately after Atreus specifically said "Hey, we've got time. Why don't we go out and explore?" I heeded his words and sailed to an island, found a seal and was tossed into a fight that was scaled for double my current level. My issue is mainly that there is no way to tell when you're over your head until the fight starts, and by then you're locked out of performing environment actions, so there's no way to leave the fight; you just have to die. This happened to me about three times, and it was frustrating enough to railroad me back onto the main quest each time. I personally feel like closing off areas until a threshold is met would be better, and the most unfortunate part is that they have the mechanics to do that in the game. Several points in the game's areas I was presented with doors or obstacles that I lacked the correct tool to open or get past, standard backtrack encouragement. What I don't understand is why these tools weren't used in the hub world to stop me from wondering into an encounter that I am woefully underprepared for? I think using the same backtracking encouragement in the hub world would have stopped this frustration without compromising the feeling and ability to roam where I wished. All in all, God of War was a good game that I should have played a long time ago. It tell a solid story with impactful moments that hit almost as hard as Kratos does. The characters remain interesting throughout the game, and the development of our two protagonists was a treat to see. The world is beautiful and fun to explore, the puzzles are engaging, and the game itself is satisfying to play. I'm looking forward to the sequel in the future.