4.5/5 ★ – stephenhill777's review of God of War.

If you only played the first few hours of God of War, it would be fair to call it a misstep. The opening act of the game is pointedly uneventful, a massive departure from the bombastic openings of the original trilogy. You cut down a tree, you paddle a boat, and your fight enemy fodder in a much slower, more reserved manner than before. Even when the arrival of a mysterious stranger literally kicks things up a notch, it still doesn’t reach the heights of the original games. And while this is certainly the weakest part of the whole experience, it could be argued that it is a necessary evil, the requisite pause and intake of breath before roller-coasting into the abyss. God of War is a reflective game. It reflects on parenthood. It reflects on grief. It reflects on identity. It reflects on the past, and what it is to live with regret. All of these things it does via some truly spectacular voice acting from leading men Christopher Judge and Sunny Suljic as Kratos and Atreus respectively. They absolutely carry this game and it would be nowhere near the achievement it is without their contribution. Kratos being forced into the role of caring father is a prospect that would be quite hard to imagine prior to this game’s release. The closest he ever came to fatherhood in the previous games was when he made Aphrodite call him “Daddy” in her bedchamber in God of War III. But God of War 2018 is not that game. The initial moments between Kratos and Atreus are pointedly uncomfortable, and their journey towards having a fulfilling father/son relationship is a nuanced and rocky one. It isn’t the cookie cutter rise to redemption arc seen in most games. Atreus proves himself quite a skilled ally from the very beginning, but where it goes from there might be unexpected. A scene in Alfheim, the Realm of Elves, shows their relationship at its worst, and I genuinely thought that things would probably only improve from there. However, their relationship is more organic than that. Things certainly improve after this point, but that improvement isn’t permanent. By journey’s end, you can see that they are stronger together, not because they had more in common than they thought, but because they understand each other's strengths and weaknesses. That uncomfortable tension remains, but it is complemented with love and well-earned respect. All of this wouldn’t count for much if the gameplay didn’t stand up on its own, but thankfully it does. Initially, the combat doesn’t impress much, despite the fact that the Leviathan Axe is a breathtakingly versatile weapon. Like Thor’s hammer, Kratos can fling it at enemies and summon it back into his hands in a heartbeat. It also has inherent ice magic, which is useful for both freezing enemies in combat, and solving puzzles outside of. The game plays a sneaky trick here, in that it essentially incorporates an FPS element into the gameplay without actually highlighting that fact. That said, the axe isn’t particularly strong at first, so you don’t feels as powerful as the Kratos we saw in previous games. This ties in nicely with the narrative however, as you are supposed to feel more cautious and guarded, until that wonderful moment in the late game when the beast becomes unchained. It might feel like this new God of War has toned things down a bit. However, there are moments on Kratos’ journey up the mountain that could easily rival anything in the first two God of War games had to offer…..though perhaps nothing can top what we saw in God of War III. There is also a lot of exploration to be had in this game, with lots of items that are neatly tied to stats and equipment development. Your hub area is the Lake of Nine, which you can traverse on your little wooden canoe. I felt a lot more encouraged to search for hidden treasures here than I did in a lot of modern games, because almost everything you find serves a purpose. Practically every item improves how battles feel in some way or other, which in turn makes it more fun to get into fights as your search for yet more treasure. Apples increase your health, blood mead increases your rage meter, there are special abilities to equip, resources for armour to find and even additional enemy challenges with high powered monsters. The cycle feeds into itself, making the endgame feel radically different from the opening hours, like the first rollercoaster plunge. By the time I hit the point of no return, I didn’t really want to wrap it up because I hadn’t gotten all of the weapon upgrades. I eventually yielded however, because it had been 30 hours at this point, and I wanted to see how it all tied together. So much of this game is built upon the centre conceit of growth. I wasn’t crazy about the combat, but as it evolved, it became hugely satisfying. I thought the perpetually damp caves and islands around the lake were a little monotonous at first, but as time went on, I considered them quite charming in a uniquely comforting way. The tone was a little pompous and disengaging when compared to previous titles, but as new characters and relationships were introduced, it became an altogether warmer experience than those games ever could. Atreus develops in a quite literal sense. He manages to skirt that thin line between annoying brat and believable child, and when he did lean one way or the other, it was for good, narrative reasons. And Kratos, bless his little heart, he undergoes the most growth of all. Because this time…he has a beard.