Review God of War: powerful, profound and unforgettable

It’s been quite a few years since Kratos fought the Olympians by tricking him into killing his own family, and our god of war has changed dramatically in this new game.

In this 2018 release, SIE developer Santa Monica Studio has simultaneously continued and renewed one of the most beloved PlayStation series, the Spartan warrior who left the kingdom of ancient Greece behind. and is now living a new life with a new family in Norse, the land of gods and monsters.

Although being set in the mythical Nordic kingdom has somewhat made the game different from its seniors in the series, God of War also gives players an experience never seen before. , far from what we imagined, the gameplay focused on the action has been reimagined, along with a completely new over-the-shoulder perspective and ax combat system that will somewhat limit the possibilities. Kratos’ ability to “fly” in the air like the previous parts.

In addition, he also has a friend to accompany him on his latest adventure, and the one brave enough to be able to side with Kratos is his son Atreus, while supporting Kratos with his bow. and his trusty knife during battles, as well as helping little in deciphering Norse texts and solving puzzles.

The father-son relationship between the two is also quite complicated, with the secrets of Kratos’ true nature (as well as Atreus’ good qualities) causing the two to always have opposites throughout the adventure. their.

And if you want to understand better, basically this God of War part will tell about the journey of a god who is learning how to become a mortal and vice versa.

The game will begin with the funeral of Kratos’ late wife, Faye – an event that seems to signal that his brief period of peace is coming to an end. Along with that he would have to raise Atreus alone.

The problem is, as we mentioned earlier, the two of them aren’t really close – they both seem to be pretty upset about their current state of life, but they have to leave. home to fulfill Faye’s last wish, which is to scatter her ashes on the top of the highest mountain of this land.

Though still a man with a brusque disposition, Kratos’ wrath has cooled somewhat since his time in ancient Greece – he has also ceased to tend to destroy things. in sight, and the moments that caused Kratos to raise his voice were often due to Atreus’ refusal to obey his orders.

This father and son duo will certainly be compared with Joel and Ellie in the masterpiece from Naughty Dog, The Last of Us, due to the similarities in the journey of a powerful guardian with a powerful guardian. innocent child, as well as how Atreus melted Kratos’ cold heart.

However, you should not think too much about this because on the contrary, this is a very wonderful thing. It is the maturation of the characters and the melodies in the game that bring this fighting series to a whole new level of emotion, making the overall experience of the game more profound and satisfying.

As Kratos and his son were about to begin their journey, they were visited by a stranger with the powers of a god (whose identity will be revealed later in the game), who then gave Kratos a Unexpected challenges that can only be solved by fighting.

After one of the bloodiest and most dramatic battles in the entire God of War series, the Norse gods clearly know all about Kratos’ past as the Ghost of Sparta, as well as quite worried. concerned about his “god-killing” conviction.

This had to cause Kratos to put himself on the defensive – something we never seem to see in this warrior. All of Kratos’ previous adventures have placed him in the shoes of an aggressor seeking revenge against those who dare oppose him, but now his sole concern is fulfilling his wishes. the wishes of his late wife and to protect his son.

Fortunately, however, Kratos has inherited Faye’s powerful Levithian ax, an ice-powered weapon that can be used in close combat as well as for throwing when he wants to perform attacks. range. You’ll spend most of your time controlling it, though you’ll be given an alternate weapon with fire powers after a while in the game.

Perhaps inspired by games like Dark Souls and Bloodborne, quick and heavy attacks will be moved to the R1 and R2 buttons, with added functionality when holding the aim button (L2).

This allows you to throw your ax at enemies or interact with puzzles in the game. Sometimes you can even toss them into the cogwheels to keep the platforms elevated while you fight bare-handed with your trusty shield by pressing the L1 button (doing the right time will save you money). so you can deflect enemy attacks, then counterattack when they’re open). Pressing the triangle button will cause the Leiathan ax to fly back towards you in the same way that Thor summons his hammer Mjolnir.

Aiming at an enemy and pressing the square button will cause Atreus to fire a volley of arrows in the specified direction – a very useful tactic later in the game when Atreus’ bow will be equipped with godly abilities. squash.

Like titles from the manufacturer FromSoftware, the battle system in God of War will often force you to lock each of your targets by pressing the R3 thumstick button and dodging enemy attacks by performing Roll yourself at the right time by double tapping the X button.

It’s quite exciting that the game’s combat system, although a little rough at times, will be much more approachable than the Souls titles. As you level up and upgrade abilities, (spending XP points will allow you to unlock new attacks, like previous installments in the series), your weapons and armor (add gems on top of that). the armor will make you able to perform magic attacks, you can use hacksilver to buy and upgrade armor, axes, and bows for Kratos and Atreus), you will become more and more “buffalo” , making fighting multiple enemies at once as easy as turning your hand

Contrary to the primary nature of previous God of War titles, this encounter brings with it some of the environmental elements found in the Tomb Raider titles, giving you a larger environment to move around in, without getting too deep into the sandbox game genre.

True to Metroidvania elements, certain areas, items, and passages are initially locked, and are only unlocked after you’ve unlocked the new skills and weapons needed to clear them. Break the barriers that you were not able to overcome before.

Yes, that means you’ll have to replay some areas over the course of the 30 hour period and your playtime will continue to expand if you do side quests that pop up. scattered in different realms.

Yes, it’s true what you’ve read – the new God of War adventure will take you to many different Nordic lands, each of which will give you a different scene and experience. And this can be considered as one of the most beautiful environments that players can visit in video games.

An encounter with a friendly wizard early in the game grants you ‘Witch Compass’ – a kind of compass that helps you pinpoint your next target, meaning you’ll never get lost on your adventure this epic. And this device will become especially useful for traveling to different regions of each realm with your boat.

In fact, despite his scowl, Kratos was able to make some useful characters throughout the game’s storyline. Including the rowdy dwarven brothers, a wise talking head as well as the previous wizard. Although he can sometimes be a bit loud, Kratos has always respected his allies, showing that he is much less “hot” than in God of War III.

With an incredible art style and detailed graphics, this new God of War is among the best on the Playstation 4 – in fact, TechRadar calls it the best PS4 game in history. since Horizon: Zero Dawn by Guerilla Games was released.

The vast scope of the game is also aided by an unparalleled lighting system as the costumes, faces, and environments all possess an amazing level of detail – everything is brought to life. Take it to the next level when playing on the PS4 Pro system.

The PS4 Pro version of God of War will give players a total of two visual modes: the first mode will boost the game’s resolution, displaying at 2160p checkerboard (or 4K), and the other mode in return will prioritize performance, the game’s resolution will only be able to display at 1080p, but in return the frame rate will be able to reach close to 60 fps.

Which mode you choose will completely depend on your preferences. Camera movement is really smooth if you don’t play in performance mode, but the drop in image detail is really noticeable.

Of course, HDR will work with TVs that support this format, and it can be said that this function will make your experience more perfect in all aspects, especially the lighting effects and shadow.

Of course, a game will not be successful if it focuses too much on the visuals without a compelling storyline, and with this God of War, creative director Cory Barlog and his team at Sony Santa Monica has really succeeded in this when giving players a game that not only possesses beautiful graphics but also has an equally thrilling storyline.

Although Kratos can be a bit difficult with his son, and the fact that Atreus can be really annoying at times, their relationship is the “glue” that holds the whole experience together with together

Even the most overwhelming and thrilling action in God of War cannot overwhelm the emotional levels of the game. There’s something very special about seeing Kratos and his son’s unspoken love, as their father-son relationship grows more and more through this adventure.

Of course, that can sometimes be threatened by some of Atreus’s “young” actions, which make our war god quite angry, but really even if they are in trouble. no matter what, it’s really hard to have anything that can break the love that Kratos has for his son.

This new God of War title is truly the best in the entire series, with a remastered combat system, updated cameras, epic scope, and stunning visuals. But not only that, like the characters of the title, the game has really reached unbelievable heights by having something that the previous installments in the series did not have – kindness.

This version of Kratos finally feels like a fully developed character, not just a raging monster, but a Kratos with a deeper, more thoughtful soul, a person still has to endure much suffering and torment.

With Atreus present, the game gives the player a hope that Kratos will eventually be able to leave his haunting past behind him (during the game, Kratos will occasionally be visited by ghosts throughout the game. his past).

Although it was things like hatred and resentment that once fueled Kratos’ desire to fight, he’s now fighting for love, something unprecedented in the series – and has turned it into a battle. something stronger, deeper and unforgettable.

Source: Techradar