The new God of War can be treated as a reboot of the series, but it is also a continuation of the story of Kratos. With the completion of his quest for vengeance, he had planned to build a new life in Midgar. For a while it seemed like his old ways were behind him, until he was entrusted with the task of reaching the highest point in all the realms with his son Atreus. On his journey, he fights many monsters and gods of Norse mythology, resulting in this stunning new chapter in a series that had otherwise gotten stale.
God of War brings many changes to the formula, most notably the tone, the themes and the over the shoulder camera. Kratos’ primary weapon is the Leviathan axe which functions similar to Mjolnir — you can throw it and call it back at will. The sounds and animations used, as you watch it answer your every call and come back with a press of a button, never gets old. This mechanic is cleverly used in many of the games puzzles, which will often require you time your throws and recalls.
The game has a deep skill tree for Leviathan, your shield as well as Atreus to the point where combat can feel overwhelming at times. Even though all attacks stem from the same light and heavy buttons, you will perform different moves depending upon your state. Pressing them after specific actions such as holding L1/L2, running with axe, running without axe, parrying, dodging backwards or forwards, pausing mid combo and stance changing. Its an
excellent combat system that gives you many opportunities to deal damage, while carefully manoeuvring around and controlling the battlefield. This also means that combat rarely ever gets boring or repetitive, since you are unlocking moves and trying out new ideas at a steady pace.
While the game is mostly linear, there is a hub world of sorts that lets you travel to different realms and explore nearby locations to complete side quests or find buried treasure. There are secrets, puzzles and hidden chests everywhere you look.
Solving puzzles and finding various chests can get addictive while the side quests have plenty of variety and lore behind them to make them interesting. You can participate in the arena, take down Valkyries, fight optional bosses and unlock many more secret features.
The combat clearly sets it apart from previous games, but the story makes you empathise with and relate to the main character in unexpected ways. Atreus is not aware of Kratos’ past or his nature, as he tries to figure out what exactly is required of him. We see a monster trying to relate to his child, while also teaching him the ways of life. The story of the game works because it tackles the issues present in previous games directly. It doesn’t shy away from what Kratos had done and what he must do in order to secure safe passage for his family. Atreus’ naivety and cheerfulness compliments this wise and grumpy version of Kratos perfectly, leading to many memorable interactions. God of War is filled to the brim with character development for both protagonists as well as the supporting cast. The whole game being shot in one take, without any cuts cleverly heightens the tension in every scene.
While the main plot could have developed at a faster pace and I wish the story featured more bosses; I’ve rarely seen a game execute its design philosophy this well. It is one of the few games in this generation where storytelling and game design are always trying to one up each other over the course of 30+ hour journey. After Ascension, it seemed like the franchise had run its course. This game signifies that the future of the series could not be any brighter.
