God of War

8

This one took me forever to actually finish. Not having played the ps2 or ps3 games all the way through, I was not a day 1 buyer nor excited for the God of War ethos. It took several tries and retries to finish it completely and I had an overwhelming feeling of competency from every part of the game. Good story, presentation, combat, design etc. but it never hit that special stratosphere for me. That may be due more to me than to the game, but this was an enjoyable adventure that I feel no need to replay for several years. My favorite parts were the world design and just the grandness of everything… The story shaped up nicely and it just had that huge adventure feel that was fun to experience. It’s hard for me to say it’s overrated or shouldn’t be considered as a top tier game, because I did really enjoy it and it may be my personal preferences and tastes that keep me from rating it higher myself.

System: PlayStation 5
Rating: 90/100
Playtime: ~27 Hours

Continuing with the theme of playing through games I've missed, I finally got around to playing God of War. I originally started with the Ragnarok just releasing, but time slipped away and I've gotten back to it now.

I originally played through the first God of War when I got it in the remastered PS3 copies, but never made it passed that. It was thus a very interesting journey to see the newer, "softer", version of Kratos. Starting off with a similar version to what I was used to, I enjoyed the progression leading up to the game's conclusion. The relationship between Kratos and Atreus was it's own version of touching, seeing the two grow together.

The moments like the few big boss fights would have to be described as "epic", starting off with the first clash that you have at the house. These were some of my favorite moments throughout the game, with the finish of the final fight touching on the relationship of the two main characters, showing how far we'd come.
The middle of the game hit a rough patch where I didn't love the writing of Atreus, but I can definitely understand the purpose of what they did. I felt like the writing was a bit on the nose, but it still served it's purpose.

Originally I thought that the combat was going to be a significant weak point for me, but after messing around in the settings I found the option that worked best for me, and I'd recommend that if you're struggling to click with it.

The navigation was also a mixed bag for me. I actually enjoy games that go in a different direction than a mini-map with a line directing you where to go; like the wind in Ghost of Tsushima. This game, however, was difficult for me to follow with solely the compass, and the map was confusing to me until embarrassingly late into my run. These are issues that are going to be on a player by player basis, and may not effect your experience.

amazing game; a little more subdued and less absurd than its predecessors but the endearing father-son dynamic makes up for this jarring tone shift. in fact, I think I actually enjoy the tone of this game more because it feels more authentic and nuanced than the mindless thrill ride attributed to its predecessors - not to say this game doesn't have its spectacle, it absolutely has its moments.

also, the combat is fucking amazing... the combat is very methodical and strategic blah blah blah.. also Kratos's axe has a real weight to it

the looting, crafting, and armor/weapon system fucking suck though. the needlessly complicated user interface amplifies this problem - everything is so cluttered and unintuitive to find.

overall a super fucking good game, very excited to play its sequel

Pros:

Immersive combat.

Lore and story delivered strongly.

The diversity choice of weapons and moves available.


Cons:

Same bosses over and over and over again.

So much fun, I found myself completely immersed in the world and story, despite the fact that the mythology is only really a backdrop in this game. The actor for the boy did a great job, and you could really feel Kratos' progression as a character. Combat-wise, everything felt great with the exception of some unnecessarily difficult outlier parts, and I would totally play this one again. Probably my second favorite God of War game after 3.

A transformação da franquia - da apoteose destrutiva do III para uma história de tom pessoal e intimista - é tão orgânica que nos faz esquecer do Kratos de uma década atrás.

Esse reboot-sequência é brilhante porque entende o que é God of War e como revitalizar a IP sem perder identidade, ao mesmo tempo em que dá a ela profundidade e constrói sua própria catarse, agora de caráter mais emotivo e maduro.