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[madbabylon]

KRATOS

kratos antes de convertirse en papá luchón

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[drawingnikki]

Hubbys (Dela Longfish) art up on Santa Monica Studios Twitter!

[tapferart]

Father

[metalgearkong]

God of War - Review (PS4)

Developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment / Santa Monica Studios

God of War is not only a reboot of the series which has existed since 2005, God of War is a complete re-imagining of the series; not only changing the core gameplay, but its entire genre. Gone is the power fantasy of slashing our way through Greek Mythology. Now, we have an incredible adventure through Norse Mythology, but far more nuanced, meticulous, and grounded. This new God of War is more of a cross between Dark Souls and a Zelda game, more so than hack ‘n slash titles the series originally was inspired by. God of War is a technical masterpiece and also happens to be a great game overall. With this complete change of pace, it may not capture all fan’s attention, but as it stands, God of War is one of the best games of the current generation so far.

The concept itself it one of the coolest ideas for a story I’ve ever heard in fiction: the Kratos (Christopher Judge) the Greek God of War is traveling through Norse Mythology on a quest to spread his dead wife’s ashes from the highest peak of all the Nine Realms. I have never heard before of two mythologies crossing over so deeply, and the authentic execution on display is even more impressive. Much like how Red Dead Redemption got me interested in the Western genre, God of War has gotten me interested in Norse Mythology. This is one of the biggest things I can thank this game for, as I’ve already bought reference books and done online research about this mythos, completely captivated by its history.

Plot-wise, God of War is a bit weaker. While the overarching concept is brilliant, the actual beat for beat story is a bit less inspired. Kratos is traveling through the Nine Realms with his son, Atreus (Sunny Suljic). The drama between them is fantastic and subtle. The graphical detail, as well as writing, and motion capture have made their duo one of the best in gaming entirely. However, since their quest is so simple, it means this 25+ hour RPG has to keep finding excuses for the heroes to not reach their goal yet. Small obstacles keep getting in the way that force us to explore more of the realms, acquiring mystic and rare items from one place, combine it with others, and then bring it back to where it goes. It’s a noble quest to uphold his wife’s dying wish, but the protagonists (and the gamer) certainly go through a lot of trouble and danger for a woman the gamer has never met or seen (yet Kratos and Atreus’ affection for her is quite clear). 

Gameplay is methodical, using heavy and quick attacks with our sole weapon: the Leviathan Axe. This ice-based weapon is essetially our only main weapon throughout the game, but it has enough versatility and skill trees to unlock to make it a worthy weapon. Atreus is never controlled directly, but he can fire special arrows wherever we want, which, by extension, still makes him part of the player, especially in combat. Puzzles are equally dotted throughout every hour of the game as combat is. The new fighting system is a bit stiff and difficult to get used to at first, but the learning curve ends quickly. We collect XP to level up our abilities, and collect items and crafting components to upgrade armor and weapons.

This leads me to my only other nit-pick about the game, which is its overcomplicated menu system and abundance of confusing items. Spank me silly if I couldn’t remember the difference between runes, talismans, and enchantments for at least two thirds of the game. Every single items and attachment can be upgraded, but it’s hard to keep track of knowing if Kratos and Atreus are as truly optimized as possible with so many items and equipment. I’d rather it had been slightly simplified to keep the focus on the gameplay and story rather than scratching my head constantly deciding what is okay to sell and what should be kept for later. Either way, much like an action game, the ability to defeat greater foes more so comes from your skill as the player getting better at the combat, rather than relying on stats and special abilities (but they certainly do help).

I love how this game feels so new, yet so traditional. Things like locked doors and chests have to be passed up earlier in the game, and found again once we have the key or ability to open it. To inspire exploring old areas again, the developers creatively came up with the idea that the Lake of Nine (the hub area) constantly reveals more land because the World Serpent shifts his weight or lifts out of the lake sometimes, forcing the water to lower due to his displacement. We explore this hub lake via canoe and get to know Midgar (Earth) very well. The other Nine Realms aren’t quite as inspired, and tend to feel very similar to each other. Sure, one is “lava” themed and another may be “ice” themed, and enemy types certainly match their realm, but I thought there would be more variety in the lands themselves. I also thought I’d come across more foes and friends of Norse Mythology than we did, although there are many authentic scenes and interactions to keep a history buff surprised and entertained.

Aside from graphical detail, the game is also technically impressive purely in its processing performance. At no time (other than a death or firing up the game) do we see a loading screen; every cut-scene flows right into gameplay, and gameplay flows right into cut-scenes. Even going through doors from one massive area to another doesn’t force the game to enter a loading screen. This helps make the game immersive to never take our eyes off the protagonists, like an invisible third member of the party. The game uses creative techniques to disguise loading times while keeping you present with what the heroes are doing or saying. 

I also love how Santa Monica Studios clearly put all their effort into the single-player mode, and nothing else. Never did I find something blocked by obvious future DLC or microtransactions. This is a very big, pure, dense, single-player title that is a love letter to gamers. The developers (and publisher) did not sell out, which is an enormous relief to see from big gaming companies in 2018. Although a few of the realms were locked during the game, I suspect those might make an appearance in future DLC, I’d be happy to purchase and play those because it doesn’t feel cynical and greedy on the game creator’s part. God of War isn’t completely perfect as a game, beings none are, but its many technical, artistic, and gameplay achievements should be universally praised. We want more games like this, so vote with your wallet, and pick up this product. This game has incredible depth and value, and should make all fans of action, adventure, and RPGs extremely satisfied. 

9/10

[sneakysquire]

This is a preview of my fourteenth let's play video for God of War. Use this link to watch the full video on my YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/PqlmswFJN1k

[sneakysquire]

This is the thumbnail of my fourteenth let's play video for God of War. Use this link to watch the video on my YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/PqlmswFJN1k

[sneakysquire]

This is a preview of my thirteenth let's play video for God of War. Use this link to watch the full video on my YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/c-VeTn0akuk

[sneakysquire]

This is a preview of my twelfth let's play video for God of War. Use this link to watch the full video on my YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/LTFbL37K4Fk