u/Captain_Softrock

My goodness! Love this game! One of the best games that played all year and in my top favorite metroidvania.

Feels like Richard Scarry mixed with Grimm fairy tales. Such a great aesthetic.

The controls are completely smooth, the difficulty is perfect, puzzles are not frustrating, but also not easy.

It’s a breezy joy to play. I totally recommend this for anyone who wants a Halloween flavored game that isn’t horror or could go for a great metroidvania. This is a huge year for games and I hope this one doesn’t fly under the radar.

I know it gets repetitive, but for what it is, music in this game is great. I’m actively looking forward to listening to the soundtrack now that I’ve beaten it. It definitely gets old - especially in the beginning - but give me a few months and I’m gonna be wanting to go back to these songs.

As a kid, I loved gaming. I grew up with the NES, SNES, GameCube (skipped the N64 generation) and then took a decade plus hiatus from gaming. When the pandemic hit, a friend gave me his old Xbox 360 mostly to use as a dvd player so I could watch Seinfeld. He also gave me a small box of games and… suddenly I was back in love with gaming. Over the last 6 years I went from 360, to Xbox one x, to series x and now a ROG Ally x - building my gaming collection mostly around Xbox. (I do have a Switch as well). I like Xbox, but sort of “fell into it.”

I wrote this because the PlayStation has never factored largely in my gaming background. I really love cinematic single player games with rich stories and memorable characters. So I’ve always wanted to try some of their exclusives. Now that I have my Ally X, I can their PC ports. God of War was one of the first I purchased. As I write this, I just put down my controller after beating it. Felt I had to write a review.

Good

I’ll start with the graphics and the gameplay.

For a game that’s a few years shy of a decade old, this game still looks amazing. I played this in both docked and handheld modes. Either way, graphics were phenomenal. More than that, the art style was so tasteful, and the setting felt dream like - truly like an epic from another era and another place, but also universal and familiar. They wove together a stunning world.

I don’t typically automatically love fast-paced action gameplay. Generally like methodical games where you have to think and strategize. That being said, I found the combat fun throughout the game. Progression kept adding new layers to combat, and by the end I felt a satisfying feeling of mastery. For action rpgs, this joins Jedi Survivor and Elden Ring as the best I’ve played.

Graphics and gameplay were strong, but it’s not what kept me playing. It was the unbelievable game direction. The characters, the writing, the story, the pacing - were executed at the highest level. This game has an unbelievable amount of heart and deals with family dynamics and men’s emotions in ways that are not typically explored in a video game. It’s a game that has something to say and I appreciate it.

Also add that fights with Baldur were some of the most intense and best fights I’ve experienced in a video game. The final battle with him is in my top 10 boss battles of all time.

Bad

It’s hard to find fault with this game, but I will say that at times quests were needlessly hard to locate. The map could be a little confusing. Also combat could get a little disorienting when there were multiple enemies. Some of the mini bosses or enemy types also felt a little repetitive. Again, this is all very minor.

Overall

I rank every game I play and keep it in a spreadsheet. I know it’s dorky, but I like keeping track. God of War 2018 will be near the top as I gave it a 96. I’d love to explore other games in the franchise. More than that, I’m excited to keep exploring more PlayStation games. Who knows, maybe I’ll end up getting a PlayStation five down the road. Overall, this will be one of the best games I’ve played this year. I still have other realms to explore and Valkyries to fight, so I’m sure I’ll return to it again in the next year or so as well. Really glad I played it.

As a kid, I loved gaming. I grew up with the NES, SNES, GameCube (skipped the N64 generation) and then took a decade plus hiatus from gaming. When the pandemic hit, a friend gave me his old Xbox 360 mostly to use as a dvd player so I could watch Seinfeld. He also gave me a small box of games and… suddenly I was back in love with gaming. Over the last 6 years I went from 360, to Xbox one x, to series x and now a ROG Ally x - building my gaming collection mostly around Xbox. (I do have a Switch as well). I like Xbox, but sort of “fell into it.”

I wrote this because the PlayStation has never factored largely in my gaming background. I really love cinematic single player games with rich stories and memorable characters. So I’ve always wanted to try some of their exclusives. Now that I have my Ally X, I can their PC ports. God of War was one of the first I purchased. As I write this, I just put down my controller after beating it. Felt I had to write a review.

Good

I’ll start with the graphics and the gameplay.

For a game that’s a few years shy of a decade old, this game still looks amazing. I played this in both docked and handheld modes. Either way, graphics were phenomenal. More than that, the art style was so tasteful, and the setting felt dream like - truly like an epic from another era and another place, but also universal and familiar. They wove together a stunning world.

I don’t typically automatically love fast-paced action gameplay. Generally like methodical games where you have to think and strategize. That being said, I found the combat fun throughout the game. Progression kept adding new layers to combat, and by the end I felt a satisfying feeling of mastery. For action rpgs, this joins Jedi Survivor and Elden Ring as the best I’ve played.

Graphics and gameplay were strong, but it’s not what kept me playing. It was the unbelievable game direction. The characters, the writing, the story, the pacing - were executed at the highest level. This game has an unbelievable amount of heart and deals with family dynamics and men’s emotions in ways that are not typically explored in a video game. It’s a game that has something to say and I appreciate it.

Also add that fights with Baldur were some of the most intense and best fights I’ve experienced in a video game. The final battle with him is in my top 10 boss battles of all time.

Bad

It’s hard to find fault with this game, but I will say that at times quests were needlessly hard to locate. The map could be a little confusing. Also combat could get a little disorienting when there were multiple enemies. Some of the mini bosses or enemy types also felt a little repetitive. Again, this is all very minor.

Overall

I rank every game I play and keep it in a spreadsheet. I know it’s dorky, but I like keeping track. God of War 2018 will be near the top as I gave it a 96. I’d love to explore other games in the franchise. More than that, I’m excited to keep exploring more PlayStation games. Who knows, maybe I’ll end up getting a PlayStation five down the road. Overall, this will be one of the best games I’ve played this year. I still have other realms to explore and Valkyries to fight, so I’m sure I’ll return to it again in the next year or so as well. Really glad I played it.

As a kid, I loved gaming. I grew up with the NES, SNES, GameCube (skipped the N64 generation) and then took a decade plus hiatus from gaming. When the pandemic hit, a friend gave me his old Xbox 360 mostly to use as a dvd player so I could watch Seinfeld. He also gave me a small box of games and… suddenly I was back in love with gaming. Over the last 6 years I went from 360, to Xbox one x, to series x and now a ROG Ally x - building my gaming collection mostly around Xbox. (I do have a Switch as well). I like Xbox, but sort of “fell into it.”

I wrote this because the PlayStation has never factored largely in my gaming background. I really love cinematic single player games with rich stories and memorable characters. So I’ve always wanted to try some of their exclusives. Now that I have my Ally X, I can their PC ports. God of War was one of the first I purchased. As I write this, I just put down my controller after beating it. Felt I had to write a review.

Good

I’ll start with the graphics and the gameplay.

For a game that’s a few years shy of a decade old, this game still looks amazing. I played this in both docked and handheld modes. Either way, graphics were phenomenal. More than that, the art style was so tasteful, and the setting felt dream like - truly like an epic from another era and another place, but also universal and familiar. They wove together a stunning world.

I don’t typically automatically love fast-paced action gameplay. Generally like methodical games where you have to think and strategize. That being said, I found the combat fun throughout the game. Progression kept adding new layers to combat, and by the end I felt a satisfying feeling of mastery. For action rpgs, this joins Jedi Survivor and Elden Ring as the best I’ve played.

Graphics and gameplay were strong, but it’s not what kept me playing. It was the unbelievable game direction. The characters, the writing, the story, the pacing - were executed at the highest level. This game has an unbelievable amount of heart and deals with family dynamics and men’s emotions in ways that are not typically explored in a video game. It’s a game that has something to say and I appreciate it.

Also add that fights with Baldur were some of the most intense and best fights I’ve experienced in a video game. The final battle with him is in my top 10 boss battles of all time.

Bad

It’s hard to find fault with this game, but I will say that at times quests were needlessly hard to locate. The map could be a little confusing. Also combat could get a little disorienting when there were multiple enemies. Some of the mini bosses or enemy types also felt a little repetitive. Again, this is all very minor.

Overall

I rank every game I play and keep it in a spreadsheet. I know it’s dorky, but I like keeping track. God of War 2018 will be near the top as I gave it a 96. I’d love to explore other games in the franchise. More than that, I’m excited to keep exploring more PlayStation games. Who knows, maybe I’ll end up getting a PlayStation five down the road. Overall, this will be one of the best games I’ve played this year. I still have other realms to explore and Valkyries to fight, so I’m sure I’ll return to it again in the next year or so as well. Really glad I played it.