All things God of War

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kintaris

Re: All things God of War

Post by kintaris »

Down to the last couple of things to do now. I love that even at the very end, the game is still challenging me to rethink my strategy and my load-out.

I know these are normal things in many games, but the fact that GoW manages to do it without feeling either incredibly punishing or incredibly grind-y stands out to me in the modern crowd. Sometimes it's just nice to bask in some balance and competence, even if there's not so much in the way of innovation.

My fourth Platinum trophy is just around the corner hopefully!

EDIT: Yup, it was! A final celebratory image from Dad and Boy, using the lovely little photo mode added yesterday.
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Suits
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Re: All things God of War

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Suits wrote: April 18th, 2018, 12:34 pm Having never played any of the previous games - I'm getting on board with this.

So, I finished this last night, or the story at least.

What a wonderful game. A real system seller.

I found the story more than intriguing, to the point that I started (like many) lightly reading into Norse mythology.

I have to admit that I more than found the relationship between Kratos and Atreus extremely touching, possibly because I’m new to parenthood myself and could relate to the emotion and drive to protect and bring up his Son.

I generally think that this game is more than just the sum of its parts. I don’t particularly think it does anything in terms of trailblazing a new way of doing things or sets new standards, but all played together, it’s very good.

Like your Mum’s roast dinner.

I’m enjoying the late game and have a further hunger for more of the combat, so I’m going to play on.

I may even try and go for the that illustrious Platinum Trophy !!

Good video game, very enjoyable.
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Alex79
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Re: All things God of War

Post by Alex79 »

Finished this tonight. What a great game. One thing about the ending though...
Spoiler: show
I thought it was really anti-climatic. Not the story, but the literal ending. I liked the way the credits rolled over the final scenes, but then there was no end game screen, no fade to black, no cinematic build up of music before a big BOOM! GOD OF WAR! type thing. You know what I mean? It just kind of played through the end scene then said oh carry on playing if you like. I just felt it did a bit of a disservice to such an epic game. Maybe that's just me!?
This isn't really spoilery, but I'll tag it anyway just in case.
Spoiler: show
Awesome from start to finish though. I have read lots of people mentioning it lacks the scale of some of the original series boss fights, and that's impossible to argue with. There are hardly any actual bosses in the game and only one or two of them are of any size, so that was a shame, but the combat on the whole was incredible.
It look amazing, had a terrific score and sound in general, and good voice acting with interesting characters. Loved it.
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KSubzero1000
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Re: All things God of War

Post by KSubzero1000 »

Hm... If you want to see some more traditional ending credits, then...
Spoiler: show
Go back to the cabin!
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Alex79
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Re: All things God of War

Post by Alex79 »

Ah ha! Thanks, I will do!
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Re: All things God of War

Post by Alex79 »

I stumbled across this today, which I thought was a nice little story:

CONTAINS STORY SPOILERS!

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.poly ... nding-faye
kintaris

Re: All things God of War

Post by kintaris »

To your earlier point Alex - AC Origins did the same with their credits.

As someone who tends to push through until 3am to finish something I'm enjoying, I appreciate not having my eyeballs implode waiting for them to finish scrolling in case of post-credits shenanigans (see: every MGS game) :lol:
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God of War (2018)

Post by JaySevenZero »

Here's where you can contribute your thoughts and opinions of God of War (2018) for potential inclusion in the forthcoming podcast.

A friendly reminder to all that where feedback for the podcast is concerned, we love it - but self-editing (brevity) is appreciated. We do want to include a breadth of opinions where appropriate, but no-one wants a discussion podcast that’s mainly reading. Better to save yourself time and cut to the chase if you can.
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Re: 402: God of War (2018)

Post by Nupraptor »

The greatest improvement in God of War (2018) over previous entries in the series is in the character development of Kratos. I played through the previous mainline entries in the series. The epic reimaginings of ancient Greek Mythology were stunning to play through and the combat was always fun - even if less accomplished than the Devil May Cry games or Ninja Gaiden. But the games had one major flaw for me: playing as Kratos himself was deeply unpleasant. He was quite simply an unrelentingly awful douchebag. A guy you think might have been dreamed up by a focus group looking at what they *think* that the stereotypical young, male gamer wants in a protagonist. This paragon of the worst kind of toxic masculinity. This horrendous wish fulfilment of brutality and violence. The tawdry sex mini games included so that the Ghost of Sparta can not only hack and slash, but also hump his brutal, joyless way through the Greek Pantheon. The games themselves were fun, but the actions of Kratos and being forced to have him as your player avatar was just awful.
Thank goodness for his entirely believable redesign as a grumpy Dad in God of War (2018)! What a refreshing twist on the character. His regret for his past actions and his attempts to be a good father to his son, form the core of his character in this game. It makes for a for more engaging and enjoyable experience. The way Atreus is integrated into the gameplay just cements that sense of the game as being about their relationship and the attempts of Kratos to move on from his brutal past and to form a positive relationship with his son. He remains tainted by his brutal nature and complete inability to communicate any kind of emotional complexity, but now these are presented as acknowledged and tragic charger flaws that he is struggling to overcome.
In previous God of War games, I was kept going by the gameplay and the set pieces, but in this game, I was excited to see how the story of Kratos and Atreus would play out and I am very keen to see how their relationship develops and where the plot takes them in future games.
Plus, his new axe kicks arse.
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Re: 402: God of War (2018) *recording the week ending 19th Jan.*

Post by Toon Scottoon »

As time passes it is normal to compare the people in our lives now to the versions of themselves we knew from the past. We hope they get better, and I can say that for me, this version of Kratos is a lot more enjoyable to spend time with than the throbbing slab of pixels and pain I remember from the HD remake of God of War, which is the only other God of War game I’ve ever played, and is not a game I enjoyed enough to finish.

Sure, Kratos still knows a thing or two about violence. He makes throwing the Leviathan ax through draugrs look easy, and the tuning-fork-against-the-loins sensation that comes from calling back his trusty blade is amongst the most satisfying in gaming. But I don’t think this is why 2018’s Kratos is such a better hang. Unlike in the previous God of War text I found myself empathizing with this big Spartan and his uphill climb to try to be a better version of himself. It’s a very rational goal set right alongside the very irrational fears many of us have of something terrible happening to our loved ones, a fear expertly expressed whenever we fail as Kratos and as he dies we hear that concussive thump of finality accompanied by Atreus’s echoing scream.

It also helps that the ancillary characters in this text are expertly written and acted, coming off as funny, vain, stupid, crass, horny, and imperfect in the most human of ways, even when they themselves aren’t human.

And like these characters this game too is not without its imperfections. Personally I find button cues in battles, especially in the very visceral battles with Baldur, particularly immersion breaking. Also, although the hub world showcases so much of how brilliant the art direction in this game is, it made me feel like each realm was cordoned off more than I would have preferred.

Still such quibbles are the complaints of a mere mortal, and who am I to quibble with a game that straddles the world tree of video games like a god.

Three word review: Uffda it’s good

Side note for those comic book readers out there, if you liked this game I recommend checking out Jason Aaron’s run on Thor: God of Thunder that began in 2012, which uses a similarly deft touch to explore strength and fragility on a grand scale while maintaining a terrific sense of humor.
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Re: 402: God of War (2018) *recording the week ending 19th Jan.*

Post by Electric Crocosaurus »

The word that comes to mind for God of War is ‘chunky’. Everything in this game has weight and heft. You feel the inertia of Kratos’ mass before he moves, sense the impact of his many, many axe throws. When they finally appear even the Blades of Chaos seem to carve the flesh of enemies, rather than floating through them as in previous GoWs.

In much the way that The Last of Us was on the PS3 it feels like an end-of-generation game, where a developer has mastered the strengths of a console to create something at the pinnacle of their abilities. The narrative is perfectly paced, that single-shot aesthetic really draws you in, and the sound design will really test out your speaker system (the first time the World Serpent spoke rattled my walls).

Altogether now... ‘boy’!
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Re: 402: God of War (2018) *recording the week ending 19th Jan.*

Post by TheEmailer »

The Limited open world works for me! I was surprised to love this.

The game is not massive open world, but hub and spoke or connected linear paths. I like this limitation, the open world feels very curated; enabling the design of well built and thrilling levels with paced combat, puzzling and story. Its a world away from the approach of a large map filled with many things to collect for collecting sake.

A smaller number of side quests and side characters than other open world games, makes each feel important. Generally the approach to lore and world building is very impactful, particularly the conversations between Atreus and Mimir.
The world is explained through stories and the characters constantly are giving their views on these stories.
The characters of Thor and Odin weigh heavy on the story, whilst never being seen. The game does a great job in building why they are important and the consequences of their previous actions. It builds two compelling villains completely off screen.

The game looks great, emphasised by the direction and close over the shoulder camera. It feels like you are intimately sharing the viewpoint of these two characters seeing the Norse world at large for the first time. Beforehand I thought the no cut thing might be a gimmick, but to be honest I never thought about it; I think this shows how it was used to reinforce the tone.

Finally, as someone who bounced off the previous games' combat, I was surprised by how much I got into this. It didn't feel like hack and slash button mashing, but more about awareness of threats and choosing the right tools. The chaos around Kratos contrasts with the slow & deliberate feel of the weapons. I really liked fighting non boss creatures, which shows how well the basic combat is built.
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Re: 402: God of War (2018) *recording the week ending 19th Jan.*

Post by TheEmailer »

Electric Crocosaurus wrote: January 9th, 2020, 12:06 pm The word that comes to mind for God of War is ‘chunky’. Everything in this game has weight and heft. You feel the inertia of Kratos’ mass before he moves, sense the impact of his many, many axe throws. When they finally appear even the Blades of Chaos seem to carve the flesh of enemies, rather than floating through them as in previous GoWs.

In much the way that The Last of Us was on the PS3 it feels like an end-of-generation game, where a developer has mastered the strengths of a console to create something at the pinnacle of their abilities. The narrative is perfectly paced, that single-shot aesthetic really draws you in, and the sound design will really test out your speaker system (the first time the World Serpent spoke rattled my walls).

Altogether now... ‘boy’!
Chunky is very apt! Heft too
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Re: 402: God of War (2018) *recording the week ending 19th Jan.*

Post by MarkHoog »

I concur with Electric Crocosaurus; every action in God of War has a palpable, physical heft to it. I think it's easy to oversee how difficult it is to simulate gravity and weight in a game. To me GoW's sound design is its best feature; the 'thud' of retrieving the axe in Kratos' hand is possibly the most satisfying sound I've ever heard in a game.
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Re: 402: God of War (2018) *recording the week ending 19th Jan.*

Post by midnightdayman »

I assume a large chunk of the episode will be a discussion of Kratos’s character in this game versus the older ones, so I want to talk about this.

Upfront, I think you have to divorce this Kratos from the previous one. The actions he takes in the previous games - the physical and sexual violence, the unrepentant misanthropy and misogyny, basically dooming all of humanity in 3 (at least all of Greece) for his revenge - is inexcusable despite what little attempts towards repentance is made at the end of 3. Too little, too late.

Now, 2018 Kratos - this strikes me more as an attempt to depict a PTSD-suffering Kratos. Imagine, for example, Walker from Spec Ops The Line coming home, moving to another country, and trying to start anew. A man filled with rage at his past actions, how he was at first used by the system (Athena and the other gods for Kratos), who then becomes the monster everyone painted him as, embraces it, acts on it, and wants forgiveness. Is Kratos worthy of that forgiveness? No, not at all. Not at the end of God of War 2018, where violence and embracing the monster he once was still tends to be the solution to his struggles.

But what this game does a good job at is depicting someone who recognizes that they have failed, spectacularly so. It is unclear to what extent Kratos wants to change, it seems he more wants to escape at first from his past than deal with it. But as the game progresses, as he has to save Atreus, he at least acknowledges how wrong he was. And that is something, something new and worthy of note and merit admits a sea of games that still revere violence. I am very interested to see where the next God of War takes his character.
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Re: Our next-but-one podcast recording (19.1.20) - 402: God of War (2018)

Post by Tibble_n_Bits »

Hello! Long time listener, first-time poster. [You can edit out that bit if need be.] I imagine most of the conversation surrounding this game will be extremely positive, as it should be! This game came along at just the right time for a franchise that had gotten long in the tooth. Its engrossing story, thoughtful reinterpretation of the character of Kratos, stunning presentation and tightly designed world make for a game I won't forget any time soon. And don't get me started about the Leviathan Axe--it's implementation alone make this game an incredible achievement!

That all being said, I thought I'd offer some criticism as a means to foster healthy discussion. While I do love God of War 2018, I think one key area it falters in is arguably the area that has been most important throughout the entire series--the quality of the combat. The earlier God of Wars struggled to balance the needs of the player when they pulled out the camera to focus on sometimes overwrought spectacle. The camera in the earlier games was also fixed, meaning the player was always at the whims of the designers. The 2018 game literally does the opposite with a movable camera that is focused extremely close behind Kratos at all times, in a clear attempt to put you in the shoes of the character, to feel every blow of his axe, and to get a sense of his thoughts and feelings.

While I understand the intent of Corey Barlog and his team, I can't help but feel that, like the opposite camera issue in the earlier games, this choice to focus the camera in so closely on Kratos hinders the otherwise fantastic combat more than helps it. I have a feeling the designers understood their camera choice had its drawbacks because they had implement large incoming attack warning arrows on screen behind Kratos to make up for the, in my opinion, far too limited view of the playing field. Aesthetically, these arrows stick out like a sore thumb in a game that wants you as immersed in its world as possible and keep the game from reaching the upper echelons of the hack-and-slash character action genre (for lack of a better phrase).

I became less forgiving of the camera direction after I played Devil May Cry 5, a game that lets you toggle camera distance from you character in the options menu. It is an amazing feature that I wish all action games could implement. I feel like there has to be a way for a God of War sequel to implement such an option while maintaining the non-cutting camera that makes cinematic sequences in the game stand head and shoulders above most of its peers. Such a feature may be difficult to implement, but I sincerely hope that, in the future, Sony Santa Monica can find the ideal balance between stellar design direction while better encouraging player expression.
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Re: Our next-but-one podcast recording (19.1.20) - 402: God of War (2018)

Post by OldBailey »

God of War 2018 has almost everything you could possibly want in a game. Incredible visuals, fun action gameplay, environments stuffed with collectables, deep RPG mechanics and a surprisingly well told story. Whatever you enjoy most about gaming, chances are it's represented here in some form.

For me though this creates a problem. Playing through it I couldn't help but feel a metagame of tug of war: the game's component parts are all good in isolation but have differing priorities that do not mesh, pulling against each other to make the game somehow less than the sum of it's parts.

The game's RPG leveling system has enough complexity for satisfying number crunching but undermines any attempt at creating a balanced combat system by creating "artificial" difficulty spikes.

Each encounters difficulty depends too heavily on the number above the enemies head, not your skill as a player. Why waste time beating your head against a tricky foe when you can come back in an hour or two and wipe the floor with it?

It also creates something of a reverse difficulty curve, especially if you're going out of your way to complete the numerous side quests along the way. All of the game's climactic encounters were comically easy for my overpowered Kratos, chaining runic attacks back to back whilst I sat almost passively as enemy health bars melted away.

You could argue that this is the point of good RPG sytems and generally I would agree, it just doesn't fit here.

Mechanically, the combat system is excellent but I would have much preferred a more developer curated difficulty level that demanded more of me as a player than my current level and gear setup.

It's also a layer of abstraction that feeds into the overall feel of "gamey-ness" of God of War that detracts from it's attempts at storytelling. The game is well acted and scripted but it's world feels like a playground, littered with chests, glowing item pickups and built around abilities that only the player possesses.

Many contemporary games that attempt to tell similarly emotionally charged tales use more natural feeling environments that give context to the plot and clever tricks like diagetic menus to immerse the player. God of War's incredibly filmic presentation feels at odds with it's more gamey elements and keeps me from fully investing.

The game also includes elements of metroidvania style progression but doesn't fully commit. The best games in this genre give you power ups that recontextualise it's spaces: think Metroid Prime's grapple that allows you to zip through previous areas and opening shortcuts to others. God of war's power ups are just a series of locks and keys. Finding all the game's secrets means traversing the same areas in exactly the same way, multiple times because you can now arbitrarily open that previously locked chest.

You may as well wait until the very end of the game before attempting any of this to avoid needless repetition and disappointing dead ends to your exploration.

A single, contiguous space would have allowed for a more satisfying version of this sytem but it's ambitous, multi-realm spanning plot progression didn't allow for it.

All that being said there is a lot to like here and I did enjoy my time with it overall. I just couldn't escape the feeling I was playing multiple games at the same time that never fully synchronised. God of War 2018 wants to have it's cake and eat it, then steal everybody else's topping too.
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DaMonth
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Re: Our next-but-one podcast recording (19.1.20) - 402: God of War (2018)

Post by DaMonth »

Really all I have to say is that the ending is dumb. Like, gross amounts of "Ok, Play God of War 4-2 AKA 5!" And maybe the enemy variety got to the point where I actively avoided doing the troll QTE because I was so sick of seeing it.
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Re: Our next-but-one podcast recording (19.1.20) - 402: God of War (2018)

Post by Senorb123 »

God of War was such an amazing experience to me. In any form of entertainment pacing feels like the most important thing to me. I don't feel that anything handles pacing better than this game. It flows so seamlessly from exploration, to action, to cut scenes. The combat is also great. Every enemy encounter felt well balanced. Even on the hardest difficulty level I felt like I was in control and any death was due to a mistake on my part. The controls were as smooth as butter and the more I played the game the more I began to feel like the God of War. Kratos responded to every button press almost immediately, and boy followed every order given just as quickly. God of War was just so much fun to play. The story and characters were also so compelling. I couldn't wait to see what would happen next, who we would meet next. I received this game as a birthday present from my brother and it quickly became my favorite birthday gift ever and one of my favorite games of all time that I will be revisiting at least once a year.
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Re: Our next-but-one podcast recording (19.1.20) - 402: God of War (2018)

Post by Alex79 »

Prior to the release of this game my excitement was up and down like a yoyo. The first E3 reveal had me literally punching the air in excitement as it was revealed we'd been looking at Kratos. Then I lost all interest and just wasn't bothered about it in the least. Even when the game came out I didn't care. But then the online hype got the better of me, and I actually bought it fairly close to release. I'm glad I did. Its an excellent game, the relationship between Kratos and his son was really well written, and the combat fantastically weighty. Every crash of that axe was felt. THWACK! The game world, the characters, the story, the voice acting, everything about this game oozes quality, it really is a high point of the PS4. I'd definitely be up for more of the same.

Three word review: Kratos is back!
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