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GOD OF WAR
PS4
Platform: PS4 Genre: Action-Adeventure ESRB: Mature Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment Developer: Sony Santa Monica Studios
With ever so slight personality layers added to his resolve, our favorite Spartan has become far more
G
oing into this new
God of War reboot,
which has fully
embraced the theme
of Norse mythology, my
imagination ran wild with speculative
ideas and concerns, mainly
surrounding the games all new
narrative approach, now that Kratos
has a son, as well as the games new
combat direction, and how well it
would all come together.
With all of Olympus now extinct at
the destructive hands of Kratos, a
reimagining tale for the formidable
demi-god seemed quite challenging
to pull off, however after more than
55 hours and 94% of the games
trophies under my belt (I’m getting
that Platinum trophy), Sony Santa
Monica has with no uncertainty
crafted their best game to date.
appealing and relatable as a character.
From the very start, God of War is
something altogether special. The
atmosphere around all that your
senses are taking in is pleasantly
overwhelming, especially while
running on the PlayStation 4 Pro via
a 4K/HDR monitor. This new
direction is immediately felt from the
games splendid musical overtones,
brilliant and intimidating voice acting
and highly detailed universe.
Learning that the game had been in
development for more than four
years, you certainly see the results,
as seemingly every nook and cranny
of the environments elicit highly
scrutinized details, which is
consistent through out the entire
journey.
God of War plays out as a fully
connected gameplay experience,
seamlessly connecting all of its parts
or setpieces into one massive
undertaking. Early on, traversing the
woods while on the hunt for a deer
as Atreus’ first animal kill with his
father, can seem rather linear, as the
discovery of new areas introduce
much larger locales. One minute you
will find yourself piercing through a
cave that eventually opens into a
massive cavern with multiple
passage ways, leading to new areas,
yet you can easily overlook them if
you are not carefully scouring. Even
if you stay the course of the fantastic
campaign without wandering off,
which could be difficult to do, the
games scale is well presented and
wonderfully connected to those
triggered cutscenes, bridging it all
together.
Instead of simply using his brute
strength to decimate legions of the
undead, Kratos must now battle his
emotions, empathize with his sons
lack of and also learn how to tell a
decent story, among a few other
parental duties. Yet, as the father and
son relationship takes shape, many
lessons learned are accompanied by
Atreus learning the ways of combat.
God of War is an ever increasing,
powerful combat experience, only
becoming better the longer you
explore and discover those hidden
gems hiding in plain sight. Early on,
the axe may feel limited, however as
you learn to mix and match your axe
and shield while growing in power
and skills, the combat becomes more
addic ting. Take into consideration
that you also have Atreus who as well
becomes far more capable the further
you go down this rabbit hole and
eventually the two of you become a
serious force to be reckoned with.
Impressively, Sony Santa Monica
managed to offer a great combat
experience even without the heavy
usage of quick time events, which
the previous games in the series
were known for. Of course, due to
the games of the past overall
greatness QTE’s never bothered me
one bit, yet with the reboot they were
almost completely absent aside from
the occasional R3 button press,
signaling Kratos to perform a wicked
execution or the circle button option
which worked more as a quick
counter maneuver and was quite
effective, especially against those
vicious and elusive werewolves.
Adequately, the combat has been
synched to the games gear sets
making this God of War experience
closer to an RPG experience. A
fantastic addition to the series, gear
can be acquired through crafting or
purchased acquisitions by collecting
the appropriate materials. Similar to
Destiny gear levels are designated
by common (green), rare (blue),
legendary (purple) and epic (gold)
gear sets and pieces.
Ultimately, beneath the muscular
and menacing dexterity fans will
learn to appreciate this new take on
Kratos. With ever so slight
personality layers added to his
resolve, our favorite Spartan has
become far more appealing and
relatable as a character. As more of
this fragile characters worldview on
life and what he trusts is expressed
throughout this experience, you
begin to celebrate his maturity
beyond the battlefield.
While there are a few frustrating
combat nuances, this new God of
War experience comes together
brilliantly. Sony Santa Monica has
indeed breathed new life into Kratos
and I cannot wait for the follow-up.
9.7/10