Santa Monica took the best of God of War as a franchise and melded it beautifully with the most distinguishable designs of other modern games to create something with an immensely potent synergy.
Thirteen years since the original, and five years since the most recent in the series, God of War finally returns to PlayStation next week. Santa Monica Studios has been hard at work during this time making not just a sequel, but taking the acclaimed franchise in a robust new direction that, in a word, stuns. God of War combines the best of what the series has been known for and seamlessly mixes in layers of quality gameplay inspired from the finest modern ideas in gaming. To call this God of War a system seller just like those on the PS2, PS3, and PSP somehow seems inadequate — it’s just that damn good. God of War (GoW) is a must-own of epic proportions. And, actually, it is a system seller too, because it’s exactly what I was waiting for to cause me to make the jump to PS4 Pro thanks to the sweet Limited Edition GoW PS4 Pro console that launches next week.
GoW continues the story of Kratos, but it takes place a significant amount of time after Kratos’ exploits ending in chaos during his long, memorable time “in” Greek mythology. As you may know, the shift is to Norse mythology, which, as I discovered playing through GoW (and also recently Jotun), is every bit as deep and interesting as anything that came out of Greece. It’s a sensible change of scenario and mythos for Santa Monica Studio to explore, and the beauty of it all is that Kratos is still Kratos. The past is not forgotten or treated as a “mistake,” but it also doesn’t take center stage. Indeed, this is a fresh start for Kratos in nearly every respect; he now has a young son to raise in Atreus, and a journey that he must see through. Yes, I’m being intentionally vague here, and that’s not out of disrespect to any readers, but rather the opposite. Previous GoW games were far more intense action-driven experiences than is this new one — character and story were important and handled well in the past, but suffice it to say that those factors are more fleshed out and worthy of experiencing first-hand than ever before. So, like a new Star Wars movie or other such epic event, endeavor to not let the details of GoW get spoiled for you.
That said, there’s a lot of ‘safe’ things to know about GoW without risk of spoiling anything. One of my fears about the direction Cory Barlog was taking the franchise was that going open world, even if it’s not as wide open as a huge RPG like The Witcher 3. I was concerned that it was going to hurt the pacing of the experience. I’m glad to say I was wrong. Many, but not all, of the gameplay elements are introduced to you as the adventure of Kratos and Atreus begins during the first five hours or so, and at this time the experience is mostly linear, although there are some nicely fleshed out paths less-taken you should explore. A great deal more additional, optional content becomes available once you reach the Lake of Nines and Kratos and Atreus can row themselves around to new docking points (which are marked on the map as you discover them). With the old GoW games, you always knew what to do (unless there was some temporary confusion on a puzzle or something), and there was practically only one way to go about it all too — the experience was linear, but incredibly fun. With this new GoW, you have all of the intense visceral action and epic nature of the originals, but soooo much more as well, between skill trees, crafting, trading, perks, optional quests, and huge areas to explore (many of which are optional).
The more I played GoW, the more I began to think about my next play through. I’m not sure I have ever played a game that caused me to think this way so early (literally with four or five hours) in its span. It wasn’t because I was like “oh I should have went to this place instead of that, or upgraded this item instead of that one,” no, it was instead me thinking about how well designed and fun the game was. Clearly from a presentation standpoint this is the very definition of AAA. The soundtrack is not quite as bombastic as some tracks from previous series entries, and often time the game opts for very quiet tracks that, admittedly, better fit the situation at hand. The visuals are stunning; to date, I have only played this on my launch PS4. There’s no way to look or hear GoW and come away anything short of impressed, though. More importantly, the gameplay elements are like layers of a perfectly crafted cake; each facet compliments the other, and while you’re in the midst of one you might be so taken by it you’re unaware of how amazing the total package is until you take a breath and a step back.
I couldn’t help but think of how Santa Monica took the best of GoW as a franchise and melded it beautifully with the most distinguishable designs of other modern games to create something with an immensely potent synergy. I remember thinking similarly with The Last of Us, but, a few years removed from that and GoW being more to my liking anyway, and I have to say that GoW trumps even what Naughty Dog managed with The Last of Us. To be honest, it’s (clearly) hard to not gush about GoW. Because of that, it makes writing an interesting review hard because I can’t come up with anything to offer as a negative worth even mentioning. As a fan of the series from the start, it’s amazing to see the evolution between the Kratos and God of War games I know and love to what Santa Monica Studios have achieved now. Go get it.
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