Played on PlayStation 4
God of War is a video game from Santa Monica studio published in 2018 by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It's the sequel to God of War III but also somewhat of a reboot to the franchise. Different settings, different mythology, different antagonists, but same old Kratos, the fallen Greek God of War, now with a son and a new journey awaits him.
2020 is the year that I went back into console gaming and this game is the first game that I've completed story-wise. I feel like it's the perfect introduction for me to the games of this generation; it won a lot of awards, highly praised by critics and beloved by fans. Well, it also came free with the console bundle that I bought so yes, it make sense for this to be one of the first game that I played.
Although I have enjoyed a lot of playthrough of the games in the franchise on YouTube, my experience in playing the games myself is not much, I've only played the first God of War game on PlayStation 2 which I must say was an amazing experience, I love that game. But the franchise has evolved throughout the years and with the 2018 God of War, a lot has changed not just in gameplay but narrative-wise as well.
A father and a son
One of the first thing I wonder when I play this game is whether I would be able to understand and enjoy the story since I didn't play the rest of the game other than the first game. Short answer is...YES! I've played it and enjoyed the game very much. The game did a very good job in developing the relationship between the characters and telling the story through them. There's conflict, heart to heart conversation, revelation, confrontation, and the story are brilliantly told through the dynamics of these relationships.
So what's the story about? It follows Kratos with his young son, Atreus, who must embark on a journey to fulfill the last dying wish of his late wife which will take him through several realms of the Norse mythology like Midgard, Alfheim and Helheim. Away from his home world of the Greek mythology, he will face new foes and find new allies and will be intertwined yet again in another conflict of the gods but this time in new realms that he is unfamiliar with.
Featuring another protagonist for the first time in the series, Kratos's young son Atreus, the game has a heavy task of building a relationship between the father and the son, not just making it believable but also to have the relationship connect with gamers. Needless to say, the developer did a great job on that front and the game features some great key moments for both characters. This relationship dynamics between the two help to make the gamers care for the characters and it also help to bring the story forward. While there are some great moments and amazing back story for the other characters as well, this game put extra emphasis on Kratos and Atreus, this is their game after all, and doesn't shy away in exploring the ups and downs of the relationship between the father and the son.
Axe and arrows
The gameplay for this game is completely different compared to its predecessors. The main difference that you'll notice right away is the over-the-shoulder camera. I love this approach so much because it feels "intimate" and suited to the very personal story that the studio is trying to tell. Another great aspect is the cinematography style which is a one-shot take or continuous shot without any camera cuts. It's pretty mind-blowing for me to think that the studio is able to do this type of shot for an epic story like this. I don't know much about video game development but I can imagine it is not something easy to do, and the studio even managed to come out with a highly polished end product, that is truly an amazing achievement.
Another thing that is different with the previous installments is the default weapon that Kratos will be using which is the Leviathan Axe. In the beginning I felt that the attack moves that you can use is a little bit restrictive but as the game progress, I found out that the attack moves are not so restrictive after all! You can use a variety of light and heavy attacks with your axe, magical runic attacks and additionally you can use your Guardian Shield for attacks or counter-attacks too. If you're really good, you can do some really advanced combat moves with all the attacks that you unlock. As for me, I usually stick to my most comfortable axe attacks, with some runic attacks here and there. The combat just feels so good and satisfying. In addition, Atreus can also gives assistance shooting arrows using his Talon Bow. I find his attacks helpful, and you can even acquires new skills, armour that gives additional boost to certain abilities, and runic attacks for him.
Epic journey in epic landscapes
One of the major aspect that I love about this game is its spectacular settings. You can visit multiple realms and Midgard is the realm with the most locations that you can visit and oh my god, the locations are both bizarre and amazing. The serene Witch's Sanctuary, the rocky Konunsgard and Thamur's Corpse (where you explore a giant corpse literally) are a few examples. It's fun to visit other realms as well and each of the realm are different enough that it is easy to differentiate them. The visuals of this game is so beautiful that it makes these settings so panoramic and fun to explore.
Another great aspect of the game is its amazing soundtrack. It's as majestic and epic as the locations that you explore, and it has movie quality to it that it complements the story of the game. It is like playing your own movie and it just sounds great.
There are of course some small flaws like the size of its subtitles (which I think is too small) and sometimes Kratos stuck in between an item and Atreus who is standing right behind him and made my Kratos stuck in between them, but to be honest they are really tiny issues that I can live with.
Conclusion
I didn't know that this franchise would evolved like this but I'm sure glad that it did because I like this style of narrative in video games, and I can't wait to continue with the story in its sequel. Great characters, great story, amazing settings and oh-so-visually stunning, God of War is the kind of reboot that we didn't even know we need but we got it anyway and I'm so thankful for it. It's a great video game and I hope those who haven't play it to try it out.
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