Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment

‘God of War’ Review: A Perfect Gaming Experience On Every Level

Without trying to sound too hyperbolic, 2018’s God of War is perhaps the most significant experience that I’ve ever had as a gamer. It’s a game that, when it was first announced, induced a massive groan from me. You see, when a franchise reaches its eighth installment on its third generation of console, this is usually a sign that it’s running out of gas. It could be easy to fall back on the success of the previous installments, especially when it comes to the three main games release for both the PS2 & PS3. The release of God of War III in 2010 offered a sense of closure for a series that had stretched the limits of its concept to the maximum. Even an actual reboot of the series would have felt as is it was treading the same ground as its predecessors.

In a nutshell, it felt like there was no reason to make another God of War game. But as we began to see more from the new game, it started to become clear that this installment would push away from the past towards a new future. Luckily, God of War not only fulfills the promise of delivering a different gaming experience for the modern console generation, but it also sets an extremely high bar for any modern game to live up to. While the God of War is most certainly a complete game in terms of all the elements coming together that I’ve played In recent years, it’s the game’s innovative use of the camera that makes it truly special. Attempting to add a layer of immersive-ness that has never before been undertaken, the game features an unbroken camera throughout the entire story. In other words, the camera never cuts when traveling to new locations, when cinematic events happen, and even when boss fights occur.

Games are often considered “cinematic” because they incorporate and utilize the language of cinema. But it wasn’t until I played God of War that I understood what “cinematic” gaming was – or at least how it could be best utilized to further immerse the player into the world of the game. It’s surprising how such a seemingly insignificant detail could affect something so profoundly, but the unbroken camera is something that game developers should have utilized long ago. The only exception for the unbroken camera is when Kratos is killed in combat, but considering that developer Santa Monica Studio even found a way to incorporate fast-travel elements into the gameplay without cutting the camera, it’s a small consolation to make.

god of war
Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment

Part of the reason why this camera technique is so successful in the game is the placement of the camera itself. In the original trilogy, the position of the camera itself was more of a 3rd person omniscient perspective. What this means is that the camera was often pulled back, offering more of a fixed Proscenium presentation to the events of those games, at least in terms of combat. While this is an element that we’ve come to associate with these games in the past, it merely served as a way to showcase the high amounts of violence and bloodshed that those games seemed to revel in.

In the new God of War, however, the camera is strategically placed behind Kratos’ right shoulder. This not only helps bring the player closer to Kratos in more than a literal way, but it also adds to the immersive nature of the storytelling in the game as a whole. While the violence & bloodshed are acknowledged as an essential element of these games, director Cory Barlog seems to be more interested in using the camera as a storytelling device. Rather than being used as a reason to revel in the more violent aspects of these games, Barlog uses the camera to envelop the player into this world further.

Another critical change in this game is shifting the focus from Greek mythology to that of Norse Mythology. The new setting allows Santa Monica to tell a different kind of story than we’ve previously before. By making such a significant change in lore, the developers have allowed themselves to take the story in unexpected and rewarding directions. Doing away with the kitschy elements of Norse mythology that have made their way into popular culture, God of War paints the gods as selfish and unworthy of the power that they possess.

Perhaps the most surprising byproduct of changing the setting is the older, wiser Kratos that we encounter in this game. Aside from all of the possibilities that a more reflective version of the character provides with this new take, it also affords the opportunity to acknowledge the past as well. While the game doesn’t dwell on the past deeds of Kratos, they also play an essential role in the progression of his particular story arc, as well as the story as a whole. In this respect, the game takes individual liberties with many aspects of the franchise that pay off in supremely rewarding ways towards the end of the story.

god of war
Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment

From a plot perspective, God of War contains a reasonably straightforward story at its core. Whereas the original games focused more on the revenge aspect of Kratos’ adventures, this story follows Kratos and his son Atreus on a more personal journey. The game begins from the menu—with no load screen nonetheless—as he collects wood for a makeshift funeral pyre. Through the tutorial, we quickly learn that Kratos’ recently deceased wife’s final wish was for her ashes to be spread on the highest peak in all of the realms. There’s not much more to the plot than that. This is not to say that the story isn’t simple, but it allows Barlog and co. The freedom to focus on characterization more than any of the other games that had come before.

Aside from Kratos and Atreus, who have compelling arcs in their own right, one of the most surprising things about the characters in the game is how memorable they were. The characters of Brok and Sindri—two recurring dwarf brothers that upgrade Kratos’ armor & weapons—are perhaps one of my favorite character duos of all time in a game. There were so many times that I found myself chuckling while interacting with these characters throughout the story that I found myself excited every time that I would interact with them — not to mention that both of these characters have an arc in the game that is both satisfying and heartwarming.

The character of Mimir was also a standout for me, simply because the idea of resurrecting a decapitated head and then carrying it around on your belt for the majority of the game is such an outlandish idea that only a game like God of War could pull it off. In the game, Mimir is the self-proclaimed smartest man alive, so on a practical level, this helps to add a great deal of exposition & backstory while you’re running around the game world.

Finally, there’s the character of Jörmungandr (aka The World Serpent), who is potentially one of the most epic characters ever put into a game. The sound design alone during the sequences is so effective that you almost forget that you’re witnessing something manufactured in a computer. Even though the Norse gods such as Odin and Thor lurk in the background never to be seen, I was okay with this because it allowed me to become invested in the aforementioned supporting characters by the end of the story.

god of war
Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment

The main draw of the God of War games has always been the combat. While the series as a whole has always been slightly too hack-and-slash for me, this game takes a more refined approach to the combat this time around. In rebuilding the combat mechanics from the ground up, this new game offers much less button mashing and a little more strategy within the combat. Gone are the quick time events, with Kratos’ weapon of choice this time around being the magical Leviathan Axe, a weapon that is simply…badass.

Much like Thor’s hammer Mjolnir, you can throw and recall the battle-ax at any point during the game. While this simple act seems that it might get old as you play more and more of the game, it doesn’t. This is partly due to the incredible sound design when throwing and recalling the ax, plus the slight vibration that accompanies Kratos catching it. Don’t get me wrong; Santa Monica still understands that the button-mashing aspects are part of the core of the game, but it’s little touches like this that feel like a more mature and sophisticated way of approaching the combat.

One of the primary reasons why the combat feels so fully rounded in the game is being able to utilize Atreus’ abilities during the various battles that occur throughout their journey. Not only does Atreus provide the crucial ability to fire arrows at the enemies of your choosing, but also he can cast various magical spells in times of need. While the previous games dabbled in the magic side of the combat mechanics, God of War embraces the magical side of things to its fullest extent. Aside from offering modern skill and weapon upgrading mechanics, the game also provides the ability to collect various magical artifacts that carry skill bonuses as well as magic spells that you can summon with the Axe itself. Once collected, these items and spells can then be applied to various weapons and gear, offering even further levels of customization to suit your playing style.

Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment

In terms of visual design and overall aesthetic, God of War is absolutely gorgeous. While this game is easily the best looking game that the PS4 has yet to offer, it comes at a price. Instead of rendering the game at the standard 60fps, God of War runs at 30fps to presumably conserve space and processing power. While I didn’t notice any real issues with the frame rate, I did notice that the game often tends to overwork the system, even running at a paltry 30fps. It should be noted that I was playing on a launch PS4 and not a PS4 Pro, but I’d be lying if I didn’t think that there were more than a few times where I was worried about how hard the game was working my system.

As the first open-world game in the series, the way that they designed the map was fun to explore at first but began to become a nuisance as I progressed further and further into the game. As I mentioned earlier in the review, the game does allow fast travel. The problem is that these abilities only become available late in the story, meaning that you are forced to backtrack through areas on multiple occasions to progress the story. While the developers do a good enough job of not making these areas carbon copies of each other, it’s still frustrating to have to run through the same areas over and over again, especially when it comes to the post-game activities that God of War has to offer.

Ultimately though, these things amount to nitpicks when you consider how much the game does right. I’ve been a long-time gamer for many years, but it’s hard to recall a time where I was so utterly engrossed by the whole experience of playing the game than I was with God of War. There were so many emotions that ran through my body while playing the game. There were times where I both loved and hated certain characters, some of which who were even the same person.

It’s interesting because when I usually play games, I often tend to rip through the story and cinematics as fast as possible. While I’m generally all about the gameplay, by the end of this game, I just wanted more stories. Maybe it’s because the developers smartly held back certain aspects of the story to use in future installments—but this is the first game I can remember where I was left wanting more and is the ultimate compliment to God of War.

About Taylor Salan

Taylor Salan is a independent filmmaker who currently resides in the San Fernando Valley. Since childhood, Taylor Salan had a fascination with movies. Although he was an avid fan of film as a child, it wasn’t until his years as a young adult that his passion for the art of filmmaking truly came to fruition. A current student of the film production program at California State University Northridge, Taylor studies Cinematography but ultimately has plans to direct full time if afforded the opportunity. In his spare time, Taylor produces audio podcasts and blogs about film for ageofthenerd.com. He is also a longtime musician, playing drums for over 8 years.

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