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GOD OF WAR (PS4)
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Publisher: Sony.
Developer: Santa Monica Studio. Released: April 2018. Genre: Action/Adventure. Other versions: PC. Posted 8th September 2024. By Shane Battams © 2024 |
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With mercenary practices such as microtransactions, a heavy reliance on remasters and a general lack of creative spark from big production titles throughout the eighth generation, it would have been easy to approach God of War with a degree of scepticism. After seemingly wrapping things up with the third game, Sony would place the unenviable task of reviving this series in the hands of Sony Santa Monica, the series’ creators. They were tasked with overhauling the gameplay and departing from Greek themes and heading more towards Norse mythology, as well as delivering a change of perspective. It looked very different to what fans had come to expect, further heightening anxieties towards this PS4 exclusive. Despite this, God of War stands as a tremendous effort which reinvigorates the series, while keeping close to its heart several of the series’ key tenets.
After the climax of the God of War III, players once again follow Kratos’s story, as he seeks refuge in the Norse realm of Midgard and bears a child named Atreus with his second wife. After passing, she has a final request for her ashes to be spread at the highest peak. This sends the father-and-son duo on a perilous journey that will test both their survival skills and their familial bond, to the limit. God of War is an outstanding narrative achievement, creating a gripping look at one man’s journey through a past that continues to haunt him. Exploring grief, parenthood, hubris and power, the story never stoops below a mature tone, all the while channelling a multitude of emotional peaks and valleys. The glue that holds it together is Christopher Judge, whose outstanding performance as Kratos serves as the backbone of this narrative.
Combat remains a major part of God of War, with numerous ways of tackling some challenging foes
Mechanically, God of War serves as a dramatic departure. The cinematic camera is replaced with an over-the-shoulder view, all the while maintaining a one-shot perspective, with no interruptions. Midgard can be explored fully, rather than following the linear progression of before, and Kratos wields a Leviathan Axe instead of Blades of Chaos. However, some key sentiments are retained, including a copious supply of mythical monsters to kill, visceral combat that punctuates every blow, and incredible boss fights that see smaller-scale skirmishes mixed with gargantuan behemoths, which are just jaw-dropping. It’s a successful overhaul, with enough sprinklings of the older games to retain the God of War identity.
Despite the respective boons of exploration and narrative, God of War still delivers on the violence when required. Kratos, armed with an axe and shield, can also receive support from Atreus and his bow. Strikes are mapped to the shoulder buttons, allowing you to perform other actions with ease using the face buttons, feeling intuitive and allowing you to throw your weapon, dodge and activate both runic attacks and a powerful rage mode. This also removes the crutch of button-mashing which, admittedly, was a problem in previous games. Combat proves methodical and weighty, with every strike feeling hard-hitting and satisfying. With so many elements to experiment with, combined with varied foes and their varying weaknesses during the latter parts of the game, combat never becomes a chore. It feels a step above the previous games.
Despite the respective boons of exploration and narrative, God of War still delivers on the violence when required. Kratos, armed with an axe and shield, can also receive support from Atreus and his bow. Strikes are mapped to the shoulder buttons, allowing you to perform other actions with ease using the face buttons, feeling intuitive and allowing you to throw your weapon, dodge and activate both runic attacks and a powerful rage mode. This also removes the crutch of button-mashing which, admittedly, was a problem in previous games. Combat proves methodical and weighty, with every strike feeling hard-hitting and satisfying. With so many elements to experiment with, combined with varied foes and their varying weaknesses during the latter parts of the game, combat never becomes a chore. It feels a step above the previous games.
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Puzzles also make a return, usually revolving around Kratos’s axe, which can be deployed as a means of freezing switches to hold doors open. The chance for quiet time away from combat keeps the game fresh, and it also offers an opportunity to invest in Kratos and Atreus’s relationship. Optional collectables offer tangible rewards such as health and rage enhancements. After a certain point, you can sail around the main hub of Midgard, opening up a bevvy of side quests from a slew of odd NPCs, including foul-mouthed Dwarven steel forgers. Other realms open up, including the elf-populated Alfheim. While not as expansive as RPGs like The Witcher 3, Sony Santa Monica packs enough meat into this adventure to give God of War dozen of hours of gameplay.
God of War is a technical tour-de-force. Taking full advantage of the PS4, the Nordic realms feature rural mountains, grandiose interior décor and the fiery Muspelheim realm, and are all crafted with stark detail, fantastic lighting and wonderful art direction. Kratos, rocking the dad look, is amazingly detailed and animated, with the same praise attributable to Atreus and other NPCs throughout the game. The performance runs smoothly, and there are few visual deficiencies to speak of. The sound is also superb, with a fantastic score from Bear McCreary that perfectly captures the emotional valleys the game explores, hard-hitting combat with gruesome thuds and squelches, and excellent writing backed up by tremendous voice work, making for a complete presentation package.
God of War is a technical tour-de-force. Taking full advantage of the PS4, the Nordic realms feature rural mountains, grandiose interior décor and the fiery Muspelheim realm, and are all crafted with stark detail, fantastic lighting and wonderful art direction. Kratos, rocking the dad look, is amazingly detailed and animated, with the same praise attributable to Atreus and other NPCs throughout the game. The performance runs smoothly, and there are few visual deficiencies to speak of. The sound is also superb, with a fantastic score from Bear McCreary that perfectly captures the emotional valleys the game explores, hard-hitting combat with gruesome thuds and squelches, and excellent writing backed up by tremendous voice work, making for a complete presentation package.
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Atreus plays an important role as son and understudy to Kratos, as he struggles to come to terms with a merciless world
Not everything is perfect, though. Unlocking skills has been a function of the series since the start, but God of War traverses deeper into these systems, requiring you to unlock extra skills for both characters via XP, craft improved gear and a few other elements which, sadly, have become quite common-place this generation, feeling somewhat derivative, and also affecting combat balance, with numbers dictating challenge rather than skill. The endgame is also a touch bland, with two hidden realms unlocked – one containing a slew of challenges which test your skills in combat, the other a randomly generated loot grind which rewards better gear but removes all resources upon death. They don’t feel substantial enough, but are welcome nonetheless. The one-shot approach also can lead to some awkward moments, such as watching Kratos and Atreus waiting awkwardly on an elevator.
God of War takes an ailing series and gives it a major overhaul, with a sublime narrative, outstanding technological feats and progressive gameplay which retains the essence of the series. It suffers fractionally from trying to placate modern trends at the detriment of the experience, and its ambitious structure can overshadow the need for efficiency. However, these issues feel inconsequential in the context of the outstanding whole, and anyone with a PS4 should pick this one up, pronto. Those unfamiliar with the series should find this a great starting point, and fans will breathe a sigh of relief, as this is still God of War to the core.
God of War takes an ailing series and gives it a major overhaul, with a sublime narrative, outstanding technological feats and progressive gameplay which retains the essence of the series. It suffers fractionally from trying to placate modern trends at the detriment of the experience, and its ambitious structure can overshadow the need for efficiency. However, these issues feel inconsequential in the context of the outstanding whole, and anyone with a PS4 should pick this one up, pronto. Those unfamiliar with the series should find this a great starting point, and fans will breathe a sigh of relief, as this is still God of War to the core.
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VERDICT
"God of War takes an ailing series and gives it a major overhaul, with a sublime narrative, outstanding technological feats and progressive gameplay which retains the essence of the series." OVERALL: 9/10 |
OTHER GOD OF WAR GAMES REVIEWED
God of War (2005, PlayStation 2)
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God of War III (2011, PlayStation 3)
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