God of War - Review

God of War - Review: God Among Mortals

Spoiler Alert - Sections that have spoilers will be clearly marked but be forewarned, I will be discussing events that should be experienced firsthand to fully appreciate

When I was eleven years old, the first God of War came along and completely upended my expectations for what a game could be. The fluid, brutal gameplay, the stunningly realized world that built upon and subverted traditional mythology, and an anti-hero who was not bound by any sort of moralistic ideology but rather on achieving his single-minded goal. Even my father, who knows nothing of video games, still recalls the first time he watched me play it and uses it as example of when he knew that gaming was heading towards bigger and better places. I have been an ardent fan of the series ever since and, especially with the release of all of the sterling early reviews, my expectations for this game were atmospherically, impossibly high. With all of that being said, I am so incredibly thrilled to say that God of War is not only the best game of the series but one of the best games ever made. The tiny nitpicks that I will be pointing out in this review can't hold a candle to everything this game does right so let's jump in, shall we?

The Tale of the Scorpion and the Frog

One day, a scorpion came to a riverbank. His home was on the other side but the bridge he'd used to cross had been swept away by the heavy current. Soon, he saw a frog preparing to cross the river and he rushed over and asked him, "Could you carry me across the river? The frog agreed and about halfway across the water, he felt a sharp pain in his back and he knew the scorpion had stung him. "Why did you do that? Now, you're going to die too!" The scorpion replied simply, "I had to, I'm a scorpion." The moral of the story is that people can't change who they are, even if it hurts them. This idea of change and growth and finding a way to accept who you are are major themes throughout God of War. Little moments punctuate this, with Kratos softly reaching out his hand to his son then retracting it or his curt responses when questioned about his past. Each line of dialogue builds upon the last, never betraying the conflicted but undeniably brutal character of Kratos which makes his journey all the more resonant when the story begins to crescendo. This story, these characters, everything feels earned.

The last time that we were with Kratos, he was an utterly single-minded, rage filled brute, mercilessly slaughtering gods and mortals alike to satiate his revenge. Many years have passed since then and our titular god of war has run from his homeland and seemingly settled down with a new family, intent on leaving the past in the past. As the game opens, his wife has died and has requested a seemingly simple task of Kratos and their boy, Atreus: scatter her ashes on the tallest peak. From here, the story spirals out but it never loses this basic goal, to honor the dying wish of a wife and a mother. Suffice it to say, things do not go according to plan and soon the whole of Norse mythology seems to come crashing against you. The primary antagonist in particular stands out with a conflicted past of his own and adding even more complexity to the game's overarching themes of family and acceptance. Probably the greatest triumph of the story is it never loses sight of the personal, poignant story at the core of the game even while you're battling titanic, mythical beasts. And more than anything else, this is the story of parenthood. Which brings me to Atreus, Kratos's son who accompanies you across the entire game. Having this sort of constant companion can be utterly detrimental to a gameplay experience and if any of the previous God of War titles had told me that they would be saddling me with an child for the experience, I would have been pissed. But, against all odds, Santa Monica Studios pulled it off.

Dad of War

Atreus is not only an fascinating character in and of himself but he gives Kratos someone to interact with on his journey, revealing depths to the character that would never have been otherwise seen. Watching him painfully attempt to become a parent based on his limited skill set is strangely moving even if whatever advice he gives is sharply pointed and not always sound. You will be hearing them talk to each other a lot during their voyage whether Atreus is simply commenting on his surroundings or within one of the many seamlessly integrated cutscenes. Atreus grows throughout the experience in ways that you would not expect and it's a pleasure to be along for the ride.

Furthermore, Atreus can actually assist in combat, firing arrows to distract or stun enemies, or, later on, even summoning magical animals to fight alongside you. Most impressively, the way that the progression of Atreus's skills takes place is completely natural with him gradually gaining confidence to engage more and more with the enemies that you battle with. Watching him flawlessly jump off of your back after a downward swing of your axe, firing an arrow directly into the face of an oncoming attacker is a pleasure that never got old. One of the most invigorating moments of gameplay in the entire game is the first time that Atreus grapples an enemy from behind, holding him in place while you charge up a vicious execution slam that literally rends the enemy apart. 

Later in the game, you're joined by another passenger in the form of an animated head named Momir who proves to be yet another worthwhile addition to the God of War landscape. Each time you set out to the open world or need to travel a significant distance, he will begin to regale you with tales from this version of Norse mythology, focusing on the infighting between the gods and the giants. These tales are more than just worldbuilding however, as they often echo a conflict within our main characters or shed light on recently encountered figures. There were many a time when I would deliberately slow my traversal so that Momir could finish his tale. He sheds light on the mysteries of the world and even provides some pretty spot-on and hilarious parenting tips for Kratos when the former god of war is being stubborn. All of this equates to yet another piece of a meticulously placed puzzle, with the overarching themes and ideas of the story being consistently upheld and maintained.

SPOILER ALERT - SKIP THE NEXT PARAGRAPH TO AVOID SPOILERS

The revelations at the end of the game were exciting, stunning and, more than anything, they made a lot of logical sense. The fact that Atreus's mother was a giant is consistently implied throughout the story from the time that Atreus mentions that giants aren't necessarily large in stature to the fact that she wanted them to go to Jotunheim, the realm of giants. Since Momir is constantly commenting on the ability of giants to foresee the future, it makes total sense that the entire journey had been previously recorded by Faye while not diminishing the shock factor of seeing it all play out. Now, perhaps the biggest reveal of all is the name that she wanted to give to Atreus, a name that is so familiar in popular culture that I don't want to even write it on the off-chance that it is glimpsed by an unspoiled summer child. While this may seem to come out of nowhere, it not only feels correct in the larger narrative, especially when considering his bizarre habit of hearing voices in the environment and his cold murder of Modi, but it is completely thrilling from a mythological standpoint. In Norse mythology, Atreus (his other name) is half giant and is constantly at odds with the other gods but, most importantly, when Ragnarok comes, he does not fight on the side of the gods but rather he fights with the giants in the final battle against Asgard. This historical dynamics fits so perfectly into the established game world that I can't help but to commend the game designers for exploring this exciting and unexpected turn of events

END OF SPOILERS

A Joy to Behold

It's simply inadequate to show you a picture of gameplay and explain to you how stunning this game is in every conceivable way. From the gorgeous graphics to the excellent art direction, from the abundance of particle effects to the pitch-perfect sound design, everything thing in God of War's presentation is praise worthy. Each environment you traverse has been painstakingly hand-crafted and is bustling with activity. Entering a mine, you'll see the cobwebs hanging from skeletons, you'll watch rats scurry away from you, you'll hear the sounds of distant wind pouring through the crevices. All of the game's locations have this same attention to detail and they are uniformly superb. A major aspect of any game that seeks to put you into a fantasy world is the art direction. God of War accomplishes this with the ability make even wildly disparate worlds appear to be within the same universe. At one moment you may be facing down ice trolls in a barren, snow-covered landscape and the next you'll be facing down witches in a bright rainforest but never do you consider that this isn't the same mythological setting. In battle, there are a myriad of sparks flying, magma spurting, ice crystals floating, and these effects sell you on the weightiness of battle, making you feel each impact, each crushing blow. The camera work is another marvel, with appropriate and cinematic shaking and zooming and panning as you move through the world. Since there are no loading screens in the entire game, even when your fast traveling, the camera always keeps your focus on Kratos, forcing you to sympathize with his plight. Very occasionally, I did notice a dip in my frame rates, particularly in hectic locales but never enough to detract from the overall experience. Visually, God of War is more than a treat, it's a magnificent feast for the eyes. 

Sound design throughout God of War is top notch with resounding crashes and pulpy crunches populating much of the action. The best part of the soundscape, however, are the subtle touches that each area brings. Remember those rats in the mine? Well, even if you can't see them, you can hear them skittering away. Animals throughout each environment make their own sounds alongside waves lapping against the shores, foliage rustling in the wind, and the rush of water through broken wood, it all sounds great. Musically, Bear McCreary of Battlestar Galactica has delivered an iconic voice to Kratos's theme, introducing him even if he's not directly in the scene. The main theme of the game is so resonant that's impossible for me to separate it from the character of Kratos at this point. Furthermore, while all of the battle scene music is appropriately epic, I was even more impressed by the music that played during the quiet, emotional scenes, putting your right in the mindset to empathize with your characters. And this music wasn't always the typical light piano but, as with our harsh main character, occasionally there was abrasive strings and horns that popped into the score that serve to express the jagged nature of Kratos. 

Bad or inconsistent voice acting is another part of a story-driven game like this that could totally break the experience, especially considering the constant dialogue while you're on the road. Fortunately, each character is voiced excellently, including Atreus, who could really have been a nuisance in a lesser actor's hands. Instead, at one moment his voice will be filled with childlike wonder at the magnitude of the world and then the next, he'll be believably sullen and insubordinate. The realistic father and son dynamic that Kratos and Atreus share is made possible by the quality of the voice actors behind them and God of War owes much of its success to their abilities and their direction.

Let Me Axe You a Question

While the story is terrific, it wouldn't mean nearly as much if the gameplay was a slog to get through. Fortunately, the basic gameplay loop of God of War is enormously fun, highly addictive, and constantly rewarding. Kratos's new weapon is the Leviathan Axe, an armament that harness the power of frost and can be thrown and recalled at will. While I certainly had my doubts about a God of War game that didn't feature the iconic Blades of Chaos, as soon as I felt the control of the Leviathan Axe and understood the basic design of combat encounters, all of my doubts were dispelled. Earlier games in the series would allow you to simply mash buttons with occasional dodges and blocks to prove victorious. Not so this time with each combat engagement playing out in a much more tactical and thoughtful manner. With the camera over the shoulder of Kratos, tightly fixed on the space in front of him, you don't have a wide view of the battlefield and simultaneously, each, individual enemy becomes more of focused threat than ever before. Enemies will often swarm you, attacking from all sides instead of obediently waiting their turn to be cut down. This forces you to keep the action in front of you and be mindful of your surroundings. Little, colored arrows will alert you if there is an enemy approaching you from behind and demand quick reflexes to dodge away. With that in mind, attacks with the Leviathan Axe can send enemies flying, you can juggle them in midair, and even cleave them apart with a heavy attack. 

The star of the show here is the ability to toss your axe with precision and then recall it at any time with the press of a button. The action feels intuitive and powerful, often incapacitating an enemy with frost at a distance so you can walk up and beat them to death with your fists. That's right, your fists have their own moveset, offering quicker but less damaging strikes. The upside is that you will be able to build up an enemy's 'stun' bar which, when full, allows you to perform a classic, God of War execution. As I played through this game on 'hard' difficulty, an experience I recommend to anyone that enjoys challenging third-person action games, I would take about a third of my health each time I was hit forcing me to use all of the mechanics in the game to reach victory. This, in turn, made every single encounter rewarding, making me actually feel as though I had accomplished something,

Furthermore, the progression trees in God of War actually provide a tangible difference on gameplay for each unlocked node. You'll gain abilities that allow you to perform new maneuvers, like sprinting into an spinning attack and violently repelling an enemy after a successful parry, all of which will increase the options that you have during each fight. Beyond basic combat, there are also a plethora of Runic Attacks which are magically supercharged attacks that you can individually upgrade and utilize, each one offering something new to combat. These can range from a devastating, area-of-effect frost blast that freezes nearby enemies to a savage axe throw that tosses enemies across battlefield. Putting together all of these pieces, including Atreus's increasingly notable contributions to each fight, and you have a deep, rewarding combat system that is constantly engaging, exciting and well-rounded.

SPOILER ALERT - SKIP THE NEXT PARAGRAPH TO AVOID SPOILERS

The single greatest moment in God of War for me and, from what I can tell, for many other players was the moment that you realize that the awesome Leviathan Axe is not the only weapon in the game. About halfway through the journey, you are bestowed with the infamous weapons of Kratos's past. There is a rising tension of not knowing if you're really going to hold those famed blades again, whether or not the developers really put them in the game or if they're some sort of gimmick, and then there's the glorious crescendo of emotion that bursts when they ignite them, facing down the mocking reflection of Athena, and then proceed to obliterate a horde of enemies gathered outside with them. It was pure genius. Unadulterated genius. How they managed to keep that secret for the entirety of the marketing push is beyond me but I thank my lucky stars that they did because it was incredible to get them back in such a spectacular fashion. The best part is that they are in fact a full-fledged weapon in the game, complete with a progression tree, a host of Runic attacks and several levels to build them up. Additionally, it gave the developers more tools to work in terms of designing enemy encounters with the blades serving as excellent crowd control weapons while the Leviathan Axe excels at one-on-one battles. They complement each other in a way that no other weapon in the series has since secondary weapons are so often overshadowed by Kratos's traditional blades. This midgame shift in combat dynamics infuses the rest of the game with a healthy dose of excitement and flavor and mixes up the combat formula in the best way possible.

END OF SPOILERS

Open the World to Me

While not an open-world game in the traditional sense, after you reach the Lake of Nine in Midgard, you are able to explore the surrounding islands, rivers, caves, towers, and ruins at your leisure before moving forward with your quest. Within these surrounding lands, you will find valuable treasure, hidden areas, and optional side-quests that are constantly rewarding you with empowering loot, upgrade materials, ciphers that unlock entirely new realms, and even new sets of armor. No time that I spent sifting through the side content felt pointless or forced. God of War simply offers you the chance to delve deeper into the wider world and then rewards you accordingly for doing so. Commonly, in addition to finding new loot, you'll also discover areas or chests that are locked behind some mysterious barrier. Knowing that returning to these locations would yield tangible resources always inspired me to set off into the wider world once I had acquired some new, barrier-breaking technology. Traversing these ruins can be done by climbing, unlocking shortcuts, and solving frequent puzzles that often involve some sort of physical manipulation utilizing your axe. While there is an immense variety to the puzzle design, they can begin to blend together if you spend enough consecutive time in the wilds. With that being said, you can always return to the primary journey if you're in need of a change-up in gameplay. 

Now, the single best part of exploration and one of the best parts in the entire game are a series of completely optional boss fights. These fights are brutal, fast-paced, and require mastery of your opponent's moveset to overcome. Finally taking down one of these opponents gave me that same rush of euphoria and adrenaline that is usually reserved for defeating a particularly nasty boss in the Souls series. Each battle rewards you with high-level gear and upgrade materials that make defeating them well worth the trouble. The pitch-perfect implementation of  their discovery (I never had to check online for a location), relevance in the mythology and story, and the incredible combat design completely blew me away. 

Green, Blue, Purple, Orange

To complement the open-ended nature of the environment, God of War has implemented a minor loot system combining the concepts from Bloodborne, Borderlands and Destiny. Kratos has a number of key statistics which identify your proficiency with specific attributes. For example, the higher your strength, the more damage you do and the higher your defense, the less damage you take. As you progress, you'll have access to green, blue, purple, and orange gear, marking their rarity status which will boost these attributes in various ways. While you will occasionally find or buy new armor sets, the true variety comes when you begin adding different enchantments to your gear which not only boost the base stats but can also provide perk advantages if certain conditions are met. For example, you may have a low perk activation chance of regaining a small portion of health on a successful kill or you might get a boost to your strength. Now for each armor piece, weapon upgrade, and enchantment, they will have a level indicator that increases your overall power level allowing you to combat higher level threats, of which there will be many that you find in the world. All of these items can be individually upgraded with materials that you will naturally find in the worldspace. 

With all of that being said, it's safe to say that the system is deep and constantly rewarding, scratching that looter's itch of constantly increasing your power and trying out new gear to test their various perk bonuses. One of the few, minor gripes that I do have with this design is that there is no ability to increase lower level gear to a high level beyond the constraints of that particular item. So, one of my favorite sets in the game, one that took a long time to put together and upgrade, became obsolete towards the endgame because there was no way to increase its power level any further. Since there are a relatively low number of armor sets in the game, it would have been nice if there was some way to increase power levels beyond their individual upgrade paths. Regardless, this was a minor annoyance on an otherwise well-designed and carefully constructed loot system that allows for customized character builds, especially in a game where no one expected this level of variability.

An Old God Can Learn New Tricks

Even now, as I write this, it's tough for me to fathom how good this game turned out to be. I went in to this experience every bit the skeptic, decrying the loss of the Blades of Chaos, complaining about the fact that I'm going to have some kid tagging along with me, and generally worried that they were just cashing in on a popular franchise with a subpar reinvention of the titular character. However, each and every worry I had was baseless and each expectation that I had for this game was surpassed over and over again. I didn't think I would love a weapon as much I as I love the savage Leviathan Axe, I didn't think that I would be as genuinely emotionally invested in a character that is as filled with hatred and rage as Kratos, and I didn't think that adding a child into a game like this would be a good idea but it turned out to be the single best idea in a game filled with them. Constantly, God of War proved me wrong and, in the mean time, set a new standard for video games moving forward. While I know that there are a flood of perfect scores for this game and that a game can sometimes be diminished by a tide of hype, this game is not one of them. It's an experience that every gamer, every lover of mythology and story, every fan of rewarding combat and deep loot systems, every person able to hold a controller should experience. What a ride, what a glorious, beautiful, evocative ride.

Final Verdict: 5.0/5.0

Review Score Breakdown

1.0/5.0: Essentially unplayable, not enjoyable, or devoid of any gameplay satisfaction or erstwhile value.
2.0/5.0: Has a few, noteworthy features but is otherwise unremarkable or has a seriously detrimental downside.
3.0/5.0: The game has solid if unremarkable minute-to minute gameplay with a few highlights and considerable downsides.
4.0/5.0: The game is consistently fun and stimulating without any major bugs or issues holding it back.
5.0/5.0: This is an exceptional game that is simultaneously engrossing and thought-provoking in both subject matter and gameplay and is as close to perfect as they can make.