God of War Review

"The Son of War"

Campaign

God of War is one of the defining releases of the generation that truly aims to push the boundaries of what's possible in games and its stunning. Every single moment of the game is a treat from the places you visit to the characters you meet. It's a linear, yet strangely open world experience that takes place within the realms of the Norse gods. While it's epic in scale, the journey is a simple one filled with grief as a father and son attempt to deal with this together. Kratos is older, and struggles to grasp fatherhood since his son is filled with wonder whereas he is colder. This journey they go on together allows both sides to discovers things about one another and grow as individuals.

That aspect was the core of the tale and something that stood out strongly through the entire narrative. Moving forward, this is a long and winding tale where you meet many unforgettable characters. The relationships around the duo were just as strong and interesting to see as they developed over the course of the tale. It's really hard to capture all of the content, but you're never bored considering the length and always have a desire to step off the core path to discover something hidden. There are challenges, side areas to conquer and it's just packed with so many things to do.

Gameplay

The visuals in God of War are stunning, few games bring the quality of realism to their environments that this entry does. From the gorgeous particle effects, to the breathtaking backdrops that help create a sense of purpose and area. They're all amazing and even more so how the characters react with each piece of the world. There are so many different types of environments to visit and each is clearly polished. The snow is deeply torn into during combat and those markings are retained afterwards. The impact of each hit is felt and you can see the enemies clearly getting ripped apart during battle.

Mixed with the particle effects it all feels so visceral and impactful. Combine that with the use of your son for extra combat as he continues to grow across the story and it's epic. The acting is fantastic and you can clearly see pain within the duo as they work across their journey. The character level elements are beautifully well done being in the background and light in how they're adjusted, while still directly impacting what you're doing. The collection of additional resources feels rewarding as you solve simple puzzles, take on special creatures or just venture slightly off the core path. Puzzles were never too hard to accomplish with everything feeling natural and combat had the right balance of difficulty.

The Conclusion

God of War is an amazing step forward in gaming that expands the general narrative beyond what one would ever expect. It achieves this by telling a deep tale of a cold father and his extremely curious son. The dynamics between Kratos trying to work through his past mixed with a boy that tries to see the good in things is heartwarming. Those two in action through the lengthy adventure was charming, even more so as things progressed. The side characters were great as was the amazing worlds you could visit throughout.

There's just too much to do with the core narrative extending countless hours and a whole set of areas beyond that. What's even better is that this whole experience is seamless with no loading as gameplay and cutscenes meld in complete sync throughout. Combat feels visceral, hits are impactful and the use of particle effects within the magic was gorgeous. It's hard to cover all elements in God of War as the game is just so massive in scope and scale. It's a wonderful new world and I can't imagine what comes next as you must keep in mind the general goal here is an intimate one that doesn't aim to be grand, yet does just that.

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God of War Review on Playstation 4

Rating Overall: 10