All things God of War

[ratsoalbion]

My Pro is blowing hard too. Wish it was as quiet as the XOX.

Might be time to look into cleaning it out.

[kintaris]

My base model is performing OK so far, though it's still fairly new.

I haven't turned off the grain and the blur yet but I may well do that. First thing for the chop for me was the blooming "active camera wobble" or whatever it's called. It's one thing trying to turn an over-shoulder combat game into a movie, quite another to try and turn it into a Bourne movie. More seasickness than Sea of Thieves for me.

But, four hours in and I'm enjoying myself quite a bit. This might be the first AAA PS4 game I see through to the end! About time...

[macstat]

You do have cute little instant 180 on d-pad down, but because I need to move my thumb from stick to do that it's not that intuitive to me.

Just fyi, you can change it to LS down + L3 in the options, which is somewhat more intuitive.

I actually changed that before reading your response and it makes things a bit better. I also turned up cam stick vertical sensitivity up to 8 and this is what made a huge difference. It almost feels like a mouse to me now

And when it comes to how loud my base PS4 is .... well I kinda don't notice it at all. When I sit a lot in close proximity to my PC, whatever PS4 has to throw at me its still nothing to how loud my GPU can get I guess I'm so used to it that I don't notice it anymore.

[KSubzero1000]

When judged on its own merit, I think this is an incredible game. I can't wait to keep playing.

Not a fan of everything surrounding it, though.

[Workyticket]

The more I hear about this game, the more interested I get. Was never a fan of the series, but it sounds like they've really struck out with something different. Shame it's coincided with unemployment, so no Kratos for me just yet, but I'll be keeping an eye out for it in sales over the next few months.

[Suits]

So, I’m very much enjoining this.

It’s not what I was expecting at all really, the combat, the tone the controls.

Having not watched any videos and generally avoided all interactions with this other, it’s all very much a surprise and certain game elements being introduced a few hours into the game are a welcome addition and this game is certainly a lot deeper than what I expected.

My PS4 Pro blows hard at times, like everyone else has mentioned. I had mine originally set to performance, then after my first little break I messed about with settings and had a look at the resolution setting – it looked very clearly richer, so I left it on that for a while and to be honest where there is probably a drop in performance – it’s not great enough top effect my enjoyment of it, so I’ve left it on resolution for now.

Chewed through hours playing it and can’t wait to get back into it – good game.

[KSubzero1000]

One thing this game certainly does right is making me binge-read Wikipedia articles on Norse mythology at times when I should be sleeping!

This world-building is so good.

[kintaris]

One thing this game certainly does right is making me binge-read Wikipedia articles on Norse mythology at times when I should be sleeping!

This world-building is so good.

Absolutely. Completely coincidentally I had just finished Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology, which is an excellent Anglicized retelling of the Edda. God of War is very faithful to what little Norse mythology exists in written form, and I love how creative it has been in filling the gaps or taking artistic license to gamify the lore.

[KSubzero1000]

I'll have more to say in a few days when I'm done, but until then:

Believe the hype.


Oh and for the love of God(s), be careful with spoilers. I've reached the part I knew about which ended up being absolutely incredible. I can only imagine how much better it would have been had I not known anything about it beforehand.

[Todinho]

I'll have more to say in a few days when I'm done, but until then:

Believe the hype.


Oh and for the love of God(s), be careful with spoilers. I've reached the part I knew about which ended up being absolutely incredible. I can only imagine how much better it would have been had I not known anything about it beforehand.

How about the combat? I saw that you werent too keen on it at the start did it win you over?

[KSubzero1000]

I think it did, yes. The combat in this game is a hard one to judge because it is very different from any other combat system I know. It's not traditional GoW, it's not Dark Souls, it's very much its own thing. There are definitely some quirks and issues with it, such as that its reliance on fancy long-winded animations comes at the cost of potential responsiveness and fluidity at times. I also don't think it holds up very well on higher difficulties. A good difficulty level is one that makes you appreciate the strengths of a combat system more, whereas here it's the flaws that become more pronounced. The enemy scaling alone takes away from the design purity of something like Bayonetta. There are also too many loose variables and stats for my taste.

The purist in me would prefer something more responsive and technical that holds up better on higher difficulties, like God Hand. But it is undoubtedly fun and very spectacular. The enemy variety is also really good, which is always a good thing in my book. For what it's worth, I'm tempted to start a new save from scratch just so I can fight some of the endgame bosses again, so that should count for something.

It's not perfect, it's definitely not a character action classic, but as far as western Action-RPG hybrids with skill trees and level ups go, this is about as good as it gets. Great presentation and variety.


(Hell, I think it's better than the combat in NieR: Automata!)

[kintaris]

I can't remember the last time I was upset that I wasn't getting to spend more time with a game. A wonderful problem to have.

For the first time since I started (10 hours in maybe) I took in some side quests rather than pursuing the main quest, though I had always taken the time to solve the puzzle chests along the way. Some wonderful, deep content with effective character beats and comic relief.

The way this game unfolds into a larger and larger experience the more you poke at it, yet never becomes obtuse or inaccessible, is quite fascinating. I really can't think of many things like it.

[KSubzero1000]

Okay yeah, this combat system definitely holds up once you've got the hang of it. I just recorded a video of beating one of the optional endgame bosses on the second highest difficulty without taking any damage or using Spartan Rage. It took me a few tries, but the system is absolutely robust enough to allow it without screwing you over. Although it does have visibility issues against multiple enemies at times.

It's a shame you can't replay those.

[KSubzero1000]

Finally finished the game, so here are my thoughts. I've tried to remain as vague as possible about certain things so as to avoid spoiling anything for those who haven't played it, but just in case:

Spoiler: show

I think the most important distinction to make between the classic GoW games and this one is that the former are gameplay-first experiences that try their best to have the most polished and spectacular presentation possible, whereas the latter is a presentation-first experience that tries its best to offer the most substantial gameplay possible. And this is what makes it stand out among other cinematic AAA titles. Whereas, say, Naughty Dog has seemingly nothing but utter contempt for the very concept of mechanics, Santa Monica embraces them and understands their importance despite wanting to tell a visually appealing story first and foremost. I especially appreciate the effort they put into designing the optional endgame content.

Genre hybrids are almost always doomed to fall into the "Jack of all Trades, Master of None" category for me due to the often conflicting nature of their various elements. This game is no exception. As a semi-open world action-adventure-RPG with TPS elements, GPS, sidequests, collectibles, color-coded loot, standardized control scheme and frequent dialogue segments, it doesn't excel at any one thing, but I have to give it full props for trying. The purist in me will always prefer dedicated character action games centered around deep and responsive combat systems, dedicated adventure games that demand proper orientation and planning, and dedicated RPGs with turn-based combat. But the content tourist in me is very satisfied with the way this game bridges the gap between these various elements. It's a very strange place to be in, quite frankly. The combat is great, despite suffering from responsiveness, readability and randomization issues that prevent it from being a classic. The exploration and level design is also really good, despite losing out on the kind of subtle structural hints that were made possible by the old camera system. In the end, I think that my initial concerns were well-founded, but also that the game turned out the best it possibly could when judged on its own merit.

With that said, the game does have one too many dumbed down element for my taste. Forced walking sections are a pet peeve of mine, and the NPCs who spit out a puzzle's solution 5 seconds after it has been introduced are just grating.

Without going into too many details, this story is definitely going places. I had the displeasure of having most major plot points spoiled for me through a very unfortunate set of circumstances, but I still had an excellent time with it. My main worry going in was whether or not this game would manage the thematic transition between the old and new Kratos in a believable way, and I think it did. Atreus' writing and characterization is also really good, even with children characters being notoriously difficult to get right. But it's the world-building where this game really shines. Everything looks and feels like Norse mythology. The writers and artists clearly did their research and it shows.

In the end, this game did leave behind quite a few elements of the classic formula (some of which were great, some of which weren't), but in doing so managed to create what is possibly the greatest love letter to / representation of Norse mythology in popular culture. I cannot wait to see what Santa Monica has in store for the future of the franchise. And man, what a sequel hook in the true ending!!! My jaw was on the floor when I saw it and now my mind is just racing with theories and speculations.

As far as soft reboots go, this one doesn't reinvent the wheel in the way that RE4, Metroid Prime or Ocarina of Time did, but I think it will nevertheless stand as a perfect example of how a series can carve a new path for itself while still respecting its roots. Hands down one of the very best PS4 exclusives. Overall, I might ever so slightly prefer Bloodborne due to its gameplay-centric design philosophy, but God of War is a very close second. Monumental game.

PS: I would also like to celebrate the fact that this is a properly developed AAA single-player game without microtransactions, season pass or tacked-on multiplayer elements that very much feels complete and worth buying at full price. May all the naysayers take note. This is what can happen when a studio is being given the time and resources necessary to fulfill their vision. Great stuff.

[Simonsloth]

My Pro is blowing hard too. Wish it was as quiet as the XOX.

Might be time to look into cleaning it out.

I recently bought a vertical stand with a fan attachment which has reduced my ps4’s output from that of a jet engine to a soft purr

[macstat]

Combat grew on me as well. I just think it took getting used to new controls and unlocking couple of skills which made it more fluid for me. Right now I'm having a blast.

What surprised me, even more, is how I like to watch the development of the relationship between Kratos and his boy. Its really well done I think and it shows in some parts of gameplay. One example is:

Spoiler: show

when the boy gets angry at Kratos he has a phase when he barely responds to any of your commands, while earlier he always yells "yes sir" or something like that.

[kintaris]

Cracker of an ending I thought. And a little tease at the beginning of the final stretch as to where the series might be headed -

Spoiler: show

When Atreus comes across the missing panel from Tyr's multidimensional travel story, and they discover they have to use Mimir's eye to get to Jotunheim, Kratos focuses on the Omega symbol in the top right corner and concludes that Tyr, like Kratos, managed to travel between mythological Greece and the realms of the Norse gods.

What the game leaves you to work out are the other symbols and what they imply. The top left is an eye of Horus, and we already know from earlier explorations that Tyr travelled to Egypt. A potential destination down the line for Kratos, perhaps?

More interesting to me were the bottom symbols, which represented Celtic/Ancient British mythology and Japanese Shinto mythology. That last one in particular could be an incredibly interesting and suitably epic mythology for Kratos to smash a fist into...

[KSubzero1000]

Did you get the secret ending, kintaris? If not, here's how to unlock it...

Spoiler: show

Go back to the cabin after finishing the main quest.

[kintaris]

I did! Very excited to see where that's going.

Spoiler: show

Barlog informally suggested he has five games outlined, so I hope for both a deeper look at those Norse familial entanglements and a bit of trans-dimensional myth-mashing via Tyr's secret pathways...

I'm so glad I'd read up on Norse mythology via Neil Gaiman's retelling before I started this. Every character introduction was a delight because I immediately saw how they were both honoured and subverted.

Looking forward to cleaning up some side quests and taking on the [REDACTED]s. I'm not done with this game yet!

[KSubzero1000]

Some of the [REDACTED]s did a number on my hardware, though. As soon as the effects started flying on the last one, the frame rate just gave up and went into hibernation!

Very sweet endgame content, though. Have fun!